Specialities

Explore and taste the Haute-Garonne!

The identity culture of the South-West is characterized by its quality products, a gastronomy rich in flavors and traditions, to be consumed without moderation and in a festive atmosphere.

Many markets offer you to find local products during your stay. One of the most beautiful markets of France is in Revel on Saturday morning, it is definitely a must to have a look around. But also, on Sunday morning in Montbrun-Bocage, find the atmosphere of yesteryear or in Montréjeau on Monday morning. Taste the cheeses of the Mont Royal “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” and of course get around Toulouse where the halles and open-air markets rhythm the time in the neighborhoods… Poultry, lamb from the Pyrenees, veal from Lauragais, Gasconne from the Pyrenees… it’s up to you to taste them!

Treasures of specialties

THE CASSOULET OF TOULOUSE
An iconic dish from Toulouse, cassoulet is a dish made with products from the Occitanie region: lingot beans, Toulouse sausage, confit duck or goose legs, not to mention essential ingredients like pork meat taken from the shank, shoulder, or belly, pork rind, pork loin, duck fat… There are many variations of cassoulet, notably made with duck confit and goose fat.

PÉTÉRAM DE LUCHON
A typical dish from the Haute-Garonne region, Pétéram de Luchon is a culinary anthem celebrating tripe and offal. This succulent traditional recipe consists of sheep’s feet and belly, ham, veal, bacon, garlic, carrots, white wine and Armagnac, which must simmer for at least a dozen hours. This dish is served with potatoes.

TOURIN
Tourin (also known as torin in Occitan or tourri in dialect) is a soup made with purple garlic from Cadours, widely used throughout the South West. It is reputed to help relieve fatigue after a drunken dinner, and is traditionally served to newlyweds the day after their wedding. Tourin toulousain is made with eggs: the white is added to the stock to make lumps, while the yolk is added to the soup to thicken it. Serve with stale bread croutons.

THE LUCHONNAISE PISTACHE
Don’t look for the little green nuts in this dish from the Luchon valley. The first cousin of cassoulet, it’s a stew of mutton and Tarbais beans, topped with local ham, fresh sausage and vegetables (usually carrots, tomatoes and onions). Traditionally cooked in an earthen pot over hot coals, pistache luchonnaise needs to simmer for at least three hours, and can also be prepared with partridge or pigeon.

DUCK FOIE GRAS
A veritable emblem of French gastronomy, foie gras is an essential part of any festive meal, with its rich, powerful flavour and melt-in-the-mouth texture. It can be eaten raw, semi-cooked or cooked. To produce it, a very strict charter must be respected: the ducks must be reared in the open air for almost three months, before being force-fed for around ten days. In Haute-Garonne, around a dozen producers still prepare foie gras using traditional methods.

DUCK CONFIT
Confit is not, strictly speaking, a piece of duck, but a preparation that involves cooking the duck’s legs for several hours in its own fat (although the breast, neck and duck breast can also be confit). This traditional method of preservation makes the meat extremely tender. Duck confit is heated in a frying pan or oven and is generally served with potatoes, but it can also be used to prepare cassoulet.

THE FÉNÉTRA OF TOULOUSE
Fénétra is a speciality of the confectioners of Haute-Garonne, a registered recipe since 1963. It’s a three-layer cake, with a base of shortcrust pastry on which a thin layer of apricot jam is brushed, topped with a light almond dacquoise and garnished with slivers of candied lemon peel. This is a very old dessert, eaten by the Romans during the Feast of the Dead, the Férétralia, from which it takes its name.

GÂTEAU À LA BROCHE
Gâteau à la broche is an Occitan speciality. This unusual cake is baked over a wood fire, dripping a liquid pancake batter, which is very rich in eggs, onto a conical spit. At the end of the process, the cake should be peaked.

MILLASSON OF MONTREJEAU
Part custard, part creamy génoise, this little round cake from Montréjeau is thought to be the ancestor of the Bordeaux cannelé. The recipe was invented more than 150 years ago by the Suberbielle family, who have jealously guarded the secret for six generations, to the point of not registering a patent with the INPI (Institut National de la Protection Intellectuelle). Millasson has a light taste of lemon and orange blossom, and a melt-in-the-mouth texture.