Foie gras - French for fat liver - is a popular delicacy in French cuisine, made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. French law states that "foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."
Foie gras is not cheap and people – including myself - tend to eat foie gras only for special occasions. This is different, however, when I am in Madagascar. There, food is in general cheap by international standards and there is plenty of excellent foie gras made in Madagascar. Many restaurants in Antananarivo have on a regular basis different kinds of foie gras dishes on their menu.
I recently spent about 2 months in Madagascar, mostly in the capital Antananarivo. The food we had over these 2 months was mostly French food and I ate a lot of foie gras. This posting focuses on an evening at the restaurant Villa Vanille, where my wife Annette and I both had one course – direct – and this was a foie gras course.
Wining and Dining in Antananarivo
I have compiled a comprehensive list of the restaurants in Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar and have issued my work in three postings:
Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
A Comprehensive Guide - in Alphabetical Order - to the Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
A Comprehensive Guide – Ordered by the Number of Stars - to the Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
See also:
The Wines of Madagascar
Foie Gras at Villa Vanille
Villa Vanille has several terrines de foie gras and foie gras poele on its menu.
My wife Annette had: La Terrine de Fois Gras a la Vanille (with sweet-sour chutney onions, raisons, sirope de grenadine and with gelee de vins doux).
I had: Foie Gras Poele (with Mango and Mango Sauce).
Annette’s foie gras was cold, mine was hot.
Foie Gras: Cold and Hot
Typically, foie gras is eaten at room temperature, or slightly below, as my wife did. Her foie gras had been prepared into a terrine some time ago and the terrine had been kept cold. My wife was served a couple of slices of the Terrine de Foie Gras a la Vanille.
Less common is to eat the foie gras hot, as I did. My foie gras had been kept raw in the fridge and pan-seared for a couple of minutes before being served with warm mangoes and a mango sauce.
Cold Foie Gras: Parfaits, Pate, Terrine, Mousses
Generally, terrines de foie gras as well as parfaits, pâtés, foams and mousses of foie gras are all slow-cooked forms of foie gras, at low heat, typically flavored with truffle, mushrooms or brandy such as Cognac or Armagnac. The foie gras of my wife was “a la Vanille” and had been prepared with Malagasy vanilla. These slow-cooked forms of foie gras are served at or below room temperature.
In French cuisine, pâté may be baked in a crust as pie or loaf, in which case it is called pâté en croûte or baked in a terrine (or other mold), in which case it is known as pâté en terrine. Additionally, a forcemeat mixture cooked and served in a terrine is also called a terrine.
Legally (in France), parfait de foie must have at least 75% content of foie gras and pâte de foie gras, purée de foie gras, mousse de foie gras and galantine de foie gras at least 50%.
Hot Fois Gras
Hot foie gras can be served roasted, sauteed, pan-seared (as was mine) or grilled. As foie gras has high fat content, contact with heat needs to be brief and at high temperature. Hot foie gras typically comes with a sauce.
100% Content: Foie Gras Entier, Foie Gras and Bloc de Foir Gras
According to French law, three forms of foir gras with a 100% foie gras content are distinguished: foie gras entier, foie gras and bloc de foir gras.
Foie gras entier is made of the liver of one animal, either one or two whole liver lobes.
Foie gras can come from different animals, but the foie gras content has to be 100%.
Bloc de foie gras is a fully cooked, molded block composed of (98% to) 100% foie gras. To prepare a block de foie gras, the liver is finely chopped and emulsified. If termed avec morceaux ("with pieces"), you can see the pieces of foie gras when you cut the bloc de foie gras in tranches.
The Wine: Lazan’I Betsilio Gris
We had a bottle of Lazan’I Betsilio Gris with the foie gras dishes at Villa Vanille.
Turning to the wine, Madagascar produces wine. The vineyards are in the Betsileo area in the highlands and total about 800 hectares. This compares with 100.000 hectares in Germany or South Africa. Traditional Malagasy wines – the vast majority - are made with so called French American hybrid grapes that are more fungus resistant than the vitis vinfera (European) grapes that dominate the world wine market. While traditional Malagasy wines tend to be of reasonable quality, they do not reach a quality level that would allow to marketed traditional Malagasy wines internationally. In particular, French American hybrid grapes tend to have a “foxy” taste that lets many wine drinkers stay away from these wines. See: The Wines of Madagascar - Good and Interesting Table Wines
But – and this is a brand new development - a new winery – Clos Nomena – has just started to produce Malagasy wine exclusively made with European grapes that tastes very much like the wines we are used to: Clos Nomena: Taking the Wine of Madagascar to New Heights
Lazan’i Betsilio S.A., Fianarantsoa
This is a large wine co-operative, created in 1971, which, with the support of Swiss development aide, used to make the best wine of the country. But, since the termination of the Swiss project, the quality has suffered, the co-operative has encountered financial problems (and had to suspend its activities from 2000 to 2006) and is now trying hard and successfully to get back on track. The wine co-operative Lazan’i Betsileo currently has 625 members. Their vineyard area accounts for about 40% of Madagascar’s total. They produce about 500.000 liters of wine annually. Lazan means pride in Malagasy.
Lazan’i Bestsilio offers one line of products: NV Lazan’i Betsili, Haute Matsiatra, Du raisin au vin par l’amour des paysans du Betsileo, eleve et mis en boutaille par Lazan’i Betsileo S.A., Fianarantsoa Madagascar. It comes as Rouge for Ariary 6300, Rouge Primeur for Ariary 7400, Gris for 6300, Blanc for Ariary 6300 and Blanc Moelleux for Ariary 8600, retail. We had the Gris.
Schiller Wine - Related Postings
Schiller’s 12 Favorite Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
A Comprehensive Guide - in Alphabetical Order - to the Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
A Comprehensive Guide – Ordered by the Number of Stars - to the Restaurants of Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar
The Wines of Madagascar
Wining and Dining in Antananarivo, the Capital of Madagascar – Christian G.E. Schiller’s Private List of Restaurants in Antananarivo
The Wines of Madagascar - Good and Interesting Table Wines
Christian G.E.Schiller’s Private List of Restaurants in Antananarivo That Serve Malagasy Wine
Clos Nomena: Taking the Wine of Madagascar to New Heights
Fine Wine and Fine Oysters in Madagascar: Oysters from Fort Dauphin and Wine from Clos Nomena
Restaurant and Hotel AKOA – An Oasis of Tranquility in the Buzzing Third World City Antananarivo in Madagascar
Tsiky – Charming Restaurant in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Serving Good Food and Malagasy Wines
Sea, Sand, Soul and Sakafo, and Whales and Wine – At Princesse Bora Lodge on Ile Sainte Marie in the Indian Ocean
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