Boudin Blanc Truffé aux Noisettes, Deux Purées de Pomme

[Truffle Hazelnut Boudin Blanc, Two Mashes]

Boudin blanc is a soft sausage, made with white meat (usually chicken or veal) enriched with pork or veal fat, cream, eggs, flour and mie de pain (the inside of a bread loaf), finely mixed and well seasoned. It is traditionally a Christmas dish, but in Paris you can pretty much find it in charcuteries year round. For my greatest pleasure, as it has to be one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. It has a very mild taste, a little sweet and a little peppery, and a soft texture underneath the thin casing, making it a sure kid pleaser.

The other day, while out food-shopping, Maxence and I stepped into a small charcuterie in the rue Lepic, in which we had never been before - for no apparent reason. It turned out to have a really appetizing selection of pâtés and sausages and traditional prepared dishes. Among these, their Boudin Blanc Truffé aux Noisettes caught my eye, a variation on boudin blanc that included truffles and hazelnuts. Sunday lunch menu : check!

I prepared the boudin blanc with its typical buddies : mashed potatoes and mashed apples. The French word for apple is "pomme", and potatoes are called "pommes de terre", literally "apples from the ground" (how cute is that?). This allows for nice dish naming, as in "deux purées de pomme", where "pomme" means both "pomme fruit" and "pomme de terre".

The mashed potatoes were made using the same recipe as for the Boudin Antillais, except I down-sized it to use only two bintje potatoes, and I used whipping cream in place of the milk. For the mashed apples, I just peeled and sliced two apples, of a variety that will melt when cooked (I used "Canada" apples). I heated up a small skillet, and just let the apples melt over gentle heat, for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and golden. The boudins were simply sauteed in a skillet with a little butter : they are already cooked, so only a little reheating and crisping up is in order.

I can't really say the truffle taste came through, but the little crunchy bits of hazelnuts were very nice. An absolutely delicious and satisfying and scrumptious Sunday lunch, this was. Did I mention I adore boudin blanc?