Le Boudin – a French shot at black pudding
Le Boudin
It has been a little while since the idea of eating black pudding or blood sausage in the morning has sprung to mind. For some reason, the idea of cooked meats fried bread and beans in tomato sauce – although very tasty – fails to tantalise my taste buds in the hours before midday. The Scottish dine on this blood drenched sausage on a regular basis, and have even been known to throw it into the deep fat fryer. Additionally, black pudding in Britain is often served with small bits of onion and pigs fat scattered throughout the sausage’s main body; a decision whose justification I have always failed to recognise.
Black Pudding: As served in Scotland
Admittedly, I should have known that such a rich and flavoursome commodity would have adapted its respected equivalents throughout the world. However, I was only made aware of this recently when ordering Le Boudin aux légumes purées et les pommes de terre sautées. Frankly, despite the presentational qualities of my plate, the sight of a long black sausage surrounded by a viscous skin had me sniffing my dish somewhat inquisitively.
Upon my first mouthful it was obvious that I was eating black pudding. But how much more enjoyable it was to eat firstly in the evening, secondly with an assortment of perfectly cooked vegetables and thirdly with a glass of full-bodied red wine. Furthermore, there was no additional fat in the middle of my sausage.
Le Boudin is one of the oldest cooked meats known to exist today, which perhaps explains it’s rich and aged savours. My boudin experience was a throwback to how I imagine food to have been during the Middle Ages. The full bodied wine had me leaving my table laboriously. It must be said that black pudding, like its dark interior, is more suited to night time eating. I can’t help but feel that a black pudding breakfast is not so much a gastronomic faux pas as an aspect to the British breakfast which has confused evening time eating habits with those of the morning. I thoroughly enjoyed my boudin and will always regard it as a night time speciality.
