Food and French Mistresses

Today I made a dish either honoring a French King’s mistress or honoring French food lore--you decide. Many French meals have charming stories linked directly to famous events or persons.

I usually listen in awe when a chef reveals a historical food reference dating back 200 years. Perhaps my attraction to ancient food stories stems from the fact that most American dishes and desserts are descendents from other food cultures.


Last year a French chef’s food story transported me to June 14, 1800 onto the French battlefield with Napoleon Bonaparte’s chef who immediately after the bloody Battle of Marengo creates “Chicken Marengo”. Napoleon’s army has just defeated the enemies yet the horrors are not yet over; there is no butter, my god what does the French chef do? He creates a dish using olive oil, after all, they are in Italy.

This week it’s the story of Cotes D’agneau Champvallon revealing a sexy side of French culinary history. The chef relates that the mistress Champvallon of King Louis the XIV inspired this dish. Acclaimed Chef Daniel Boulud, of four-star restaurant DANIEL in New York, has a recipe for this dish and relates via several web sites that this dish was made by the mistress Champvallon to gain the king’s favor.

Unfortunately, when I researched this food-lover of kings, my fantasies were dashed as I failed to locate evidence of her. Apparently King Louis the XIV was a busy guy mistress-wise chalking up at least 14 officially recognized mistresses, none of them named Champvallon.

With the Chicken Marengo dish, food research related to this dish are included in many sources including Larousse Gastronomique , Oxford Companion to Food and The Illustrated History of French Cuisine. Several resources relate various dramatic details of the Marengo chicken event or deny that it happened. However, I prefer to recall the chef’s stories when I make these dishes as thinking about heroic and juicy food stories while cooking adds a little something special to the dish.

Here's Chef Boulud's version of Lamb Chops Champvallon (Serves 4)

You can prepare this regal version up to 3 hours in advance then reheat it slowly 15 to 20 minutes before serving.


Ingredients:12 lamb chops, 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick, trimmed of all fat. Salt, freshly ground black pepper, 15 ml olive oil, for cooking (1 tbsp), 60 ml sweet butter (4 tbsp), half of it melted, 2 large onions, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch (2 mm) thick, 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves, 1.35 kg baking potatoes (3 lbs), sliced 2 mm (1/8 inch) thick, 750 ml chicken stock (3 cups), 2 sprigs parsley, leaves only, minced. Preheat oven to 160 C (350 F).


Use a thick copper pot about 4 inches deep and 14 inches in diameter, or a large roasting pan that fits all the chops. Salt and pepper the chops, heat the oil in the pan over high heat and brown on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chops and set aside. Add 30 ml (2 tbsp) of the butter, the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaves to the same roasting pan and sweat for 8 to 10 minutes (making sure the onions do not colour).


Put the potatoes in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, onions, garlic, and herbs. Mix well. Brush the inside of the pan with 15 ml (1 tbsp) of the melted butter. Spread 1/2 of the potato/onion mixture evenly on the bottom of it, about 1/4-inch thick and include 1 bay leaf and 1 thyme sprig. Fit all the chops side by side over the potato layer. Cover with the rest of the potato/onion mixture. The top layer will also be 1/4-inch thick and include 1 bay leaf and a thyme sprig. Press down on the top layer with a spatula. Pour in the chicken stock until it reaches the top layer of the potatoes. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the inside of the pan to use as a lid. Brush it with the 15 ml (1 tbsp) melted butter and place it butter side down, covering the entire surface of the potatoes. Bake for about 75 to 90 minutes. The top layer should be light brown and the inside moist, with 1/3 of the chicken stock left. Discard the parchment, bay leaves, and thyme. PresentationSprinkle the dish with parsley, and serve from the pan.
(see http://www.frenchedonist.com/uk/archives-recettes/c.agneau.htm for more info)


Here’s some sites I use in addition to food history books:
http://www.foodtimeline.org/
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html#chickenmarengo (shows contrasting stories)
http://www.foodhistorynews.com/debunk.html#typology