Un petit apero
The early evening drink is the lifeblood of a small community like St Denis. Neighbours drop in on each other for gossip over a glass or two, and bonds are forged and broken.
When she first arrived, Pamela was keen to get to know her neighbours and threw a small drinks party. But the mad Englishwoman made a fatal mistake – instead of the bowls of nuts and crisps St Denis was used to, she put out trays of charcuterie, homemade rilettes and pate de foie gras, and a cheese board.
The small drinks party ended at 3am, when the food finally ran out. The biggest hit of the evening was figs stuffed with foie.
This recipe involves overnight refrigeration, so plan ahead.
20 dried figs
500g pate de foie gras
table salt
good sea salt
1. Cover the foie in table salt, then wrap in clingfilm.
2. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Using scissors or a sharp knife, trim the top off each dried fig. Use the handle of a wooden spoon – or a clean finger – to poke a small cavity in each one. Be careful not to poke through the skin.
4. Spoon the salted foie gras into the cavity. Depending on the size of your dried figs, you should aim for around a teaspoon of foie in each fig. Sprinkle some good sea salt on the top of each fig.
5. Refrigerate the stuffed figs for a further four hours.
To serve, put halved figs on plates with small glasses of chilled Monbazillac.