Seven Recipies for Burgundy Starters and Wine Pairings

For many people, the starter is the most exciting part of a dinner party, and often the most interesting and unique dishes are appetizers – so we’ve delved into Ellie’s cookbook and come up with some more great examples of Burgundy starters to introduce you to. In this article we’ll focus on vegetable and cheese-based starters. They include rare examples of Burgundy classics you may not have come across, like eggs in a meurette sauce, and salads using those quintessential Burgundy cheeses Époisses and Citeaux. Most ingredients should be able to be sourced locally, but where possible Ellie suggests alternatives that would work just as well. Don’t be afraid to experiment! And of course, there are some great wine pairing suggestions which we’d encourage you to try. They can really enhance a dish's flavors and take it to the next level.

So enjoy these seven amazing Burgundy starters – and if you have any questions, or you want to send us pictures of your creations, then contact us at info@eldenselections.com or use our online contact form. 

You can view the full ingredients list and recipes at this link.

Best Burgundy Vegetarian Starters 

• Pickled Red Cabbage and Cherry Salad: here’s a quick half-hour dish which will showcase cherries when they’re in season and at their best. The pickled cabbage Ellie serves them with is good at any time in the year on its own, but really complements the sweeter flavors of the cherries. And of course, a dish like this opens up many possibilities of what you could serve with the salad – for example, we like to serve it at summer buffets with simple grilled chicken. As there are so many options for this salad and its accompaniment, we recommend our Introduction to Burgundy Case of wine, which gives you a huge variety of red and white wines to pair with the food. These are some of our favorite wines, and they’re very affordable too.  

• Gratin of Zucchini Flowers: Zucchini flowers, while still a bit of a novelty in many parts of France, are abundant throughout Italy and are featured in a variety of creative dishes. At the Domaine de Cromey, guests enjoy exotic and delicate dishes made with these flowers. To harvest the flowers—especially the larger male ones—Ellie shares a special technique in her book. She advises picking them in the morning before they fully open when they are still crisp and have not begun to wilt. It's important to leave a good length of stem, which is also edible, and to check inside for any bees or bugs, as both are drawn to these blossoms. The stamen and pistil (the inner parts of the flowers) are perfectly safe to eat. Inside these delightful flowers, Ellie stuffs anchovies, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, then bakes them for 10 to 15 minutes in a hot oven.

 Best Burgundy Cheese Starters 

Cantal Cheese and Tomato Tart: if you haven’t come across the fruity cow’s milk cheese called Cantal then this is an excellent way to get to know it. It hails from the Auvergne region of France and here is given a typically Burgundian flavor by the use of Dijon mustard (the proper stuff made with verjus grape juice, rather than vinegar!) Ellie’s tip is to salt the tomatoes at least a half hour prior to assembling the tart – otherwise you risk letting their juice escape and making the crust soggy. There are only 8 ingredients in total, and all should be locally available (with the exception perhaps of the cheese, which could be substituted with another cow’s milk cheese which melts well). 

Shallot, Leek & Époisses Cheese Tart: Époisses cheese is one of the most famous of all Burgundian cheeses. It comes from the eponymous village which gives it its name and is a stalwart of so many dishes from this area. But its Achille’s heel is that it doesn’t travel well... It’s a whole milk cheese which is washed with a spirit called Marc de Bourgogne which stops it developing a skin, and when ripe it’s a real delicacy. But if it’s a bit on the old side, then it gets too strong and ‘ammoniated’. If you’re in the States, Ellie has seen it in Whole Foods Supermarkets on the east coast; the ones with moist skins which fill their boxes are the ones to pick. When it comes to wine pairings, one of the most favorite wines served at our home Domine de Cromey is the Clos de la Carbonade, made by our friends at Domaine Borgeot. Yes, you can have red wine with almost any cheese, but for us these sorts of creamy cheeses go best with a ‘chiselled’ Chardonnay which provides that counterpoint of crisp, clean minerality.  

Warm Citeaux Salad with a Walnut and Verjus Vinaigrette: Here’s another Burgundy cheese to discover if you haven’t had the pleasure already – Citeaux is made by the monks at the Abbey of the same name. It truly tastes of the green verdant pastures of Burgundy, made with cow’s milk. If it’s not available near you, then you can also use Reblochon. Ellie adds verjus to this delicacy, which is the juice of unripe grapes. It has a remarkable variety of uses, in fact; you can use it as a replacement for vinegar (cheaper Dijon mustards use vinegar instead of verjus – beware of imitations) or you can deglaze a pan with it, and use it for a great sauce base. Ellie adds toasted sourdough bread, white grapes, lettuce, shallots and walnut oil to make this truly scrumptious dish. Citeaux was really designed with wine in mind – it just tastes better with it, and of course Burgundy wine also tastes better when paired with cheese, so everyone wins... You can hardly go wrong here, but we particularly like to match an elegant wine such as The Domaine Jean Fery Morey Saint Denis.  

Warm Fava Beans and Peas with Goat Cheese: to make the best version of this Burgundy starter you’ve got to use springtime salad at the peak of its freshness! But let’s talk about the cheese for a moment: we use Crottin de Chevre, traditionally from the Loire valley, taking its name (probably) from an oil lamp used by winegrowers in years gone by. The cheese is similar to the lamp’s mould. (Although others suggest it may refer to goat’s droppings, with the name ‘Crotte’ meaning animal dung...!) However, in this dish it is wonderfully delicious, and you should look to buy ones that have developed a white crust but are still tender to touch. There are so many complementary flavors here with the salty prosciutto, the fresh beans, the fresh olive oil and the creaminess of the cheese. This dish take very little prep and cooking time, and is ideal for feeding up to six guests.  

And finally, here's a Burgundy starter that uses eggs in a really unique way. The sauce does include bacon but you could leave that out if you are catering for vegetarians:

Oeufs en Meurette Poached Eggs in a Red Wine Sauce: this is a really unique and memorable dish that many people will not have come across. A meurette sauce is a rich red wine-based sauce that’s made with shallots, mushrooms, onions, bacon and a variety of spices. But the real twist is that into this unctuous sauce we put poached eggs. Its reliance on red wine means it’s a good idea to choose the wine carefully; we’d recommend a Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais like this one from Richard Rottiers – something with good acidity and also some fruity notes. You’re looking to reduce the sauce volume by at least two-thirds by cooking it slowly down – the result is a sheeny, brilliant sauce. This recipe from Ellie’s Burgundy cookbook will serve six and should take around 90 minutes to cook.

 To savor these delectable Burgundy starters at our enchanting Burgundy manor house, Domaine de Cromey, simply click here to book your stay today. Additionally, you can join our Burgundy Wine Club or meet Dennis in his library to explore rare and exceptional wines by becoming a member of his Library Club.