Paris - Le plomb du cantal (Paris, FR)

Dear diary,

the Parisian culinary trip continues with a great restaurant in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, or else at the Montparnasse neighborhood: "Le plomb du Cantal". 


This restaurant features cuisine from Auvergne, a region in the center of France.

Here, I was introduced in 3 dishes that I had not heard of before, neither tasted. 
Two savory, and one sweet.

Aligot is the one, and Truffade is another.
They both resemble mashed potatoes, but are much tastier, with a rich cheese flavor.

Aligot (shown on the right of the photo below), is traditionally made with mashed potatoes, cheese and garlic. It is very creamy and gooey, and if you like garlic you'll trully appreciate it.

Truffade (shown on the left of the photo below), does not have a smooth texture; you can feel chunks of potatoes and cheese, and occasionally "lardons", which is thick-cut bacon.

Here are some recipes for Aligot (the last one is Martha Stewart's recipe)

1. http://cuisine.larousse.fr/recettes/detail/aligot-1
2. http://cuisine.larousse.fr/recettes/detail/aligot
3. http://www.marthastewart.com/334293/pommes-aligot

And the Truffade:

1. http://cuisine.larousse.fr/recettes/detail/truffade-d-auvergne
2. http://www.lesfoodies.com/ninie/recette/la-truffade-auvergnate

I would vote for the Truffade... For me, it was the best, less garlic, more cheese flavor, better texture.
I forgot to mention that both Aligot and Truffade were served directly to our plates from an old-fashioned bronze cookpot... (you can see it in the right back of the photo below...)

So rustic way to serve! I loved it!

Well, we also ordered come classic charcuterie items that were really delicious!

Another new tasting experience for me was the dessert "Ile Flottante" - meaning Floating Island.
I had no idea what this dessert was about, but I trust my sweet tooth sister when she insisted on trying it!

It's a meringue-based dessert, "floating" on creme anglaise! Imagine a light and vanilla-flavored meringue, together with a delicate custard! It was delicious!!

Needless to say that we got 2 more desserts to share; a classic chocolate mousse, and a creme brulle.
All three decadent French classic desserts we tried were great; but Ile Flottante was the best for me!

Here are a couple of recipes for this:

1. http://www.mycookinghut.com/2010/02/28/ile-flottante-floating-island/
2. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ile-flottante-recipe/index.html

Until later!

Yours,
Jennoula