A couple of notes, before we go a-marketing:
Dear Readers, y’all are starting to send in recipes. Fantastic! To find out how to make Claude’s French Salad Dressing #2, and Barbara’s (of the blog ‘A Woman’s Paris’) luscious mushroom tart, go right to the ‘Share a Recipe’ page.
And one more Reader Alert: Elizabeth in Bandol, France seems to have added a new category: Recipes wanted! She writes to say she has a persimmon tree and needs new recipes for them. Can anyone help? See the ‘Share A Recipe’ page.
For a wealth of info on France, you can subscribe to a monthly newsletter at http://www.myamericanmarket.com, and also read my guest blog on Charleston Shrimp and Grits.
And now, off to the market:
Cluny is a small, charming medieval town with a historic abbey, once the center of Christendom, as its centerpiece. Only towns of a certain size have weekly markets. Cluny is a ‘market town’ but a special one—it has the liveliest market in the area, and the locals will drive quite a far piece to come on a Saturday.
For us, it’s a Saturday routine: When we arrive, Ron heads off to the boulangerie, and I go for the fruits and vegetables (and the artisanal cheeses, the local honey, the olives, the dry sausages, the flowers…). An hour later, having stopped a gazillion times to faire bisous and bavarder (kiss and chat), we meet at ‘our’ bar, the Brasserie Nord. Which has tables and umbrellas that cover the main part of the big place, and is nearly co-mingled with the market. You must squeeze between the organic food vendor and the la boucherie (butcher’s stand) to stake out a table. We start with a table for 2 (we are the earliest), and keep pulling up tables and borrowing chairs until we are 20 or
more, and usually 7 or 8 nationalities are represented. Overflowing market baskets and carts are jammed in under tables. There are expressos and chocolat chauds all round; then at some point in the morning someone switches to a petit blanc or a beer, and toute le monde follows suit. Around noon, some folks wander off and others start looking for a table for lunch. Then it’s time to head home and faire dodo—just a tiny nap. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday?
So, what to make with all that fabulous market produce? It’s hard to know where to start! The lovely French melons are in season, (Americans call them cantaloupes), so let’s start there. And since it’s summer, let’s make it easy!
RECIPES: 10 things to do with a French Melon
(Got some melon tricks of your own? Y’all are invited to share them in the ‘Share A Recipe’ Section).
My oldest step-daughter Kelly’s favorite: Melon with cherry tomatoes. Chop small-ish, toss with cherry tomatoes, halved.
From friend Dee, a Burgundy Brit: Melon slices with a balsamic vinegar glaze and torn basil (reduce some balsamic vinegar, with a spoon of sugar, by half, on low heat).
My favorite: Slices of melon sprinkled with chopped mint, served with a slice of lime.
From Nicole: Melon Pasta Salad. Cook some pasta in chicken stock. Mix melon balls, chopped parma ham, and a handful of basil with some lemon juice and olive oil and a little vinegar, plus salt and pepper. Toss with pasta, chill & serve.
From my sister Peggy in north Georgia: “I like sprinkles of candied ginger and some frozen blueberries and lemon.”
Melon Popsicles, for the kids or the kid in you: Throw some melon in a blender with a peach or a banana and some orange juice, and a small carton of coconut yogurt. Freeze in Popsicle molds.
My other favorite, Melon Soup: Purée a cut-up melon and a peach in a blender with the juice of a large orange. Add a tablespoon of sherry (or a fruit liqueur) to taste. Thin as needed with a bit of white wine or more juice. Taste, then add a bit of lemon juice or sugar if needed.
For appéros: Arrange cantaloupe and melon balls in a pretty dish, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and ground pepper, and garnish with a sprig of mint or basil.
Melon Brochettes: On skewers, alternate melon balls with: shrimp, cherry tomatoes, chunks of red pepper, honeydew melon, or…? Get creative!
And number 10:The Italian classic,melon wrapped in prosciutto.
10 thoughts on “Of Markets and Melons, in a Charming Medieval Town”
melon charentais. The only way to eat them in the charente. Cut a charentais melon in two, scoop out the pips, and fill the resulting void with pineau des charentes. For those that dont know pineau des charentes it is a cognac based fortified wine, similar (but much better) to Sherry etc. Melon served this way is extremely popular at this time of year. You can substitute pineau for Port if you wish
LOVING the recipes and the varieties of ways to serve melons! This is great but now I am really hungry reading it and I have to go my local farmstand and buy some melon!
The farmers’ market in Cluny sounds charming! I wonder if there’s a site that has reviewed the best farmers’ markets in Europe. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is.
I love your pictures! I admire your presentation and your attention to detail. Almost makes me want to cook!!!
What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday!
Makes me very hungry for a fresh meal al fresco, not to mention an hour at the brasserie. by coincidence we entertained a friend from St Louis for breakfast this morning, melon and blueberries, seven grain bread, butter, gouda, and prosciutto from La Quercia a highly-rated artisanal brand made here in Iowa. Oh, and espresso. Hmm. That was an al fresco meal. But not the same as one in Cluny.
Thanks for all the timely recipes. Can’t wait to experiment with melon.
Seriously, I am going to try every single one of these ten ways to eat melon…there’s a big one in the fridge, there are luscious Campari tomatoes on the counter and a big handful of basil in water as well…Yum.
MY favorite way to eat cantaloupe is with vanila ice cream…a childhood treat from upstate NY, where these are called “hand melons”, and the MOST delicious thing in the whole world. Just chunks of melon over vanilla ice cream Tahitian vanilla is my new go to for ice cream. Ah, I may just have to wander into the kitchen right this second…’scuse me.
Keep up the great work…it’s tough but someone has to live in France and write home about it!
Linda
Number 10 is my absolute favorite!
And I sometimes melon added to a Greek salad.
Just found your blog and am happily reading my way through it. Thanks for all the delicious inspiration!
An Italian friend fell in love with this way to eat melons when he lived in London: sprinkle ginger powder over the melon. Just that; he claims to be addicted even now.
Oh, Lynn, I continue to love your blog. I am always thrilled when the notice of a new episode arrives in my in box. You had me in stitches over the scarfing down of the pastry. Keep up the grand work.