Or roasted chestnuts for my english-speaking friends.
Switzerland’s culinary offerings are as varied as the regions and
cultures themselves. Everyone knows about Swiss chocolate ! Most people
have heard of fondue and raclette – two wonderful cheese dishes ; others
may even know the speciality from Zurich – rösti (hash browns, but ten times
better !), or the Tessinoise polenta and rissoto ; the dried meats of
the Grisons ; the perch filets of Lac Léman and I could go on and on –
there is a speciality per canton and often per village. The mountains where
winters are hard, the vallies that know little light in the winter, the flat
plains, the rivers and lakes – all meant that the Swiss usually ate locally.
The canton of Valais enjoys lots of sun and produces many items that one
wouldn’t necessarily associate with the alps such as apricots and even
asparagus ! With 50 different grape vareitals, It also has the largest
assprtment of grapes in Europe for one region. But back to La Brisolée :
just saying roasted chestnuts doesn’t quite represent this particular meal. The
basic version consists of roasted chestnuts accompanied by several cheeses from
the alpine pastures, fruits of the season such as apples, pears and the last pickings
of the grapes, the rye bread produced in the Valais and one usually drinks the
first press of the new wine – or cider. The « royal » version adds
dried local meats. There is always either a slice of apple tart or carmalized
pear as dessert : a feast for which one needs to walk several miles in
compensation !
And walk we did: first cocktails at a friends, then she led us along the
Dranse river towards Martigny La Croix under a very benevolent fall sun –
beautiful. Lunch in the Café de la Place (just in case anyone needs to know)
where the chestnuts were actually roasted in a barrel over an open fire :
I loved the dichotomy of the chap’s turning an ancient metal barrel over an
open fire all the whilst checking his iPhone!
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| La Dranse |
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| Bridge over La Dranse |
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| La Dranse as it comes down from the alps |
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| vineyards along the river |
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| vineyards and cable for use in the vineyards |
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| goats fleeing the fall sun |
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| a true chestnut roaster |
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| old and new |
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| pumpkin soup |
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| roasted chestnuts |
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| La Brisolée |
After lunch we wandered through the old town of Martigny (Martigny Bourg)
before arriving at the Giannada Museum. There we first took in the exposition
dedicated to Leonard Giannada who turned 80 this past summer followed by a
conference on the current exhibition, Matisse and painters of his time. I had a
plastic chair that had been distended enough to leave me in a half-sleeping
situation and sure enough lights out for the slide show following the
explanations had me half asleep. Enough so that when we re-entered the museum
for the exhibition itself, I told my hostess that as I had already seen it
three times, I would excuse myself. Another brisk walk back through town (good
to know a city as well as I do Martigny !) and along the river to pick up
my car and I was off to drive the fortunately short distance back up the
mountain.
All in all a great day meeting another 15 or so people I didn’t know
before !
