For us, Dijon—that bastion of mustard and former home to the powerful Ducs de Bourgogne—has been the nearby Burgundy town that is our neglected stepchild. It’s only half an hour beyond Beaune (where we regularly go, see my post 5 Reason to Visit Beaune on your Next Trip to France), but we rarely seem to get up as far as Dijon.
So when our friends John and Joan suggested an architectural tour for the day, with lunch of course, we eagerly hopped on board, with our international équipe (only 8 of us, but we were French, Dutch, Irish, Australian, and American).
And if you’re an architecture lover, especially of the historic variety, you’ll want to do the same, next time you’re in La Bourgogne. The churches, palaces, and public buildings of Dijon are extraordinary, and often distinguished by their toits bourguignons, or colorful geometric tile roofs.
We learned something new, though: We missed seeing the famous Musée des Beaux-Arts, as Tuesday is a universal closing day for museums, all across France. (Not to be confused with Sundays and Mondays, when most everything is closed, and often Wednesday afternoons, plus daily for a 2 to 3 hour lunch, plus fermatures exceptionnel, and a month of les vacances. But I digress).
I’m an architecture enthusiast, but here was my favorite thing in Dijon: we went to a tasting of les moutardes. Who knew? There is a famous mustard store called Boutique de Maille, where you can browse and sample mustards you never dreamed of. They give you little cigarette-sized crackers for dipping, if you were wondering how one samples multiple mustards. We tasted, for example: pistachio orange, hazelnut with black chanterelle mushroom, aubergine, cassis, apricot curry, gingerbread chestnut, and fig coriander. There was also mustard en vrac (on tap), made with various Burgundy white wines and dispensed from fancy canisters by comely French femmes. All quite posh, and delicious, I might add. I bought a sampler—good excuse for a tasting party chez nous! Though I’m to old to play the part of the shapely blond (OK, I never could), so I shall just have to fake it.
Photo, right: Serving up mustard en vrac, laced with various white Burgundies. You can find some of the Maille flavors in the US.
RECIPE: Not Rabbit in Mustard Sauce
For many years even before we moved to France, I’ve been making a recipe I cut from Gourmet magazine, called Rabbit in Mustard Sauce, which is a Burgundian special. Except I don’t eat bunnies! So I make it with chicken instead. It's fairly easy and really tasty. Now I’m thinking about all the fancy mustards I can try it with…
This serves 4 to 6 people. I like to serve it with rice.
• 1 medium onion
• 3 pounds (1.4 kg) chicken pieces on the bone (breasts, thighs, or a combination)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (294 ml) dry white wine
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (441 ml))
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard (4 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Finely chop the onion. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a deep large heavy skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken on all sides, in batches. Transfer pieces as browned to a large bowl.
In same skillet cook onion in 1 tablespoon butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by about half. Return chicken to skillet and add broth. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 45 minutes.
Transfer chicken to large bowl and boil sauce until reduced to about 2 cups. In a small bowl whisk together 1/4 cup sauce and mustard and whisk mixture into sauce. In another small bowl stir cornstarch into 1 tablespoon cold water and whisk into sauce. Simmer sauce, whisking, 3 minutes, or until thickened. Whisk in remaining tablespoon butter, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken to skillet and cook over moderately low heat, turning to coat with sauce, until heated through.
Dijon details, below: Entry to l'Eglise Notre-Dame de Dijon; and a carved wooden door from one of the many gorgeous churches.
I know many of you are familiar with Dijon (and our loyal reader Julie is lucky enough to have a house there!). Any Dijon moments or travel tips to share?
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16 thoughts on “Tasting French Mustard at the Source”
My all time favourite French dish involving mustard is Andouillette Grillee au Sauce Moutard. Not to everyone’s liking but Pete Jackson and I agree that it’s hard to beat!
I can’t wait for the day when I am there to head out for a taste testing. Thanks for the recipe and the architectural teasers. So glad to see folks out walking with umbrellas!! Here too!
Love the architectural tour!
Merci for the delicious recipe.
❤️ Thea
What a fun and lovely day. I love your comments about when, for what, and how often places are closed!
We, too, have neglected Dijon…thanks to you…it is now on the BUCKET list…off to points west and north…we will catch up when we return…miss you, P&J
Not having been there, I can truly see that Dijon’s architecture is incredibly gorgeous. I would be snapping away all day taking it in. Those black containers that contain the Dijon are beautiful enough just to buy the Dijon even though I’m not a mustard fan. Interesting post Lynn, thank you!
Another one of those things I love about France, personal time. Especially the siesta (sieste) break at noon and it’s healthy. In addition, those stores closed for 2 hours at noon are usually open until 8PM not 5 or 6 as they often are here in the US. And, what better than to leave work in the evening to go to dinner at a civilized hour. Not to forget that many small French restaurants are not even open for dinner until 8PM 🙂 A particularly memorable evening meal I enjoyed in Orange one time comes warmly back to me. Or that desert, si tellement riche in chocolate properly served with a glass of Banyuls in Perpignan. Or …. now I digress…..
Mel
Lynn,what a beautiful post,pictures,and wonderful recipe(I’m with you on the bunnies!)
I had forgotten what a totally charming place Dijon is(back then the mustard tastings
were not filled with such a wow! factor),and revisiting today arm chair fashion just captured my imagination.Thank you!
One of the TV cooking chefs here suggested substituting mustard for bechamel in the traditional feuillete au jambon recipe, brushed on the bottom dough (instead of using bechamel.)To be honest I still prefer bechamel but using mustard is a lot faster.(also zippier)
I have that recipe with a twist and make it often, always with chicken though. Lovely!!
Maille also has two outlets in Paris, one on Rue de Madeleine and one on Rue de Rivoli near the Louvre, and one in NYC, and also has an on-line shop. I haven’t tried the more exotic ones, but there was a bright green one that was really nice (I brought some home). Maille is the best!
Lynn,
I remember those amazing roofs and had to laugh about the French business hours…so true.
My French husband makes a wonderful mustard vinaigrette that is easy and quite piquant! He uses Amore brand because it is the strongest, but in the U.S. you will need to use Maille or Grey Poupon.
Olivier’s Mustard Vinaigrette:
In a glass jar mix equal parts of mustard and red wine vinegar with shallots. Shake well. Add olive oil to equal a bit more than the total amount of the mustard-vinegar mixture. Add pepper and shake well. Can be stored in the fridge for a week or so.
Dani Manilla
My number one rule for restaurant dining is: if rabbit is on the menu–order it (same with sanglier). Rabbit is just as cute as fowl and less inteligent–plus it tastes even better than the best French Bresse chicken. As they used to say on TV–“Try it. You’ll like it.”
I love the mustard tasting in Dijon! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
You and your équipe just missed Brad in Dijon. He’s vacated our apartment and is back home. I’ll arrive chez nous around mid-September. Glad you made it to France, but if you haven’t seen the newly renovated museum, you must return. As for le moutarde, I only cook with it; it is too strong for me otherwise. I love marinading pork chops with mustard, oil, spices and then broiling them. But your chicken recipe looks like something worthy of serving to my French guests this fall. I think I’d use my Dutch oven.
This recipe is a winner! I made it last night, and I can’t tell you how many times my husband commented: This is really good! Thank you so much for sharing. And thanks to Dani, a fellow Charlestonian, for the mustard-vinaigrette recipe. I hope to try it soon.
Hi Lynn, nice to find your blog. I’m not far from you in France for the holidays. Check out my blog which mentions our French garden and I’ll post more about the area. Following you on Bloglovin too.