Speeches, Ceremonies and Traditional foods

Written by Carole Bumpus | 01 October 2009

Recently I was asked to accompany a group of WWII veterans on a tour commemorating the 65th anniversary of the 2nd D-Day on the southern shores of France near St. Tropez (August 15th). I flew to Nice, France to join eight veterans from the 3rd Infantry Division and their families for the two-week tour.
Each day of the tour, we traveled from one village to another—twenty-five in all, from St. Tropez to Strasbourg—following the veterans’ original ‘trek of liberation’. At each stop, villagers flooded into the streets throwing kisses, giving hugs and celebrating ‘the liberators’ of their country. Even children came out in throngs, dressed in traditional costumes offering their own hand-written letters as gifts to the men who gave their families freedom. The refrain we heard again and again was, “We will never forget; we will forget that you came to a foreign country to set us free.” “We will never forget that you liberated us from tyranny.” “France will never forget.” Who would have guessed that our dear veterans would be celebrated like the ‘conquering heroes’ that they were in 1944?
Along with all of the speeches and award ceremonies traditional foods and regional wines were shared. Following the final grand reception held in the regal City Hall of Strasbourg, officiated by the mayor, vice-mayor and members of Parliament, another extraordinary meal followed. You are now the recipient of one of those traditional recipes, a light, yet savory seafood stew, a form of ‘chaudrée’, or chowder, which incorporates a delicate balance of seafood, vegetables and milk/cream.

Seafood and Vegetable Chaudrée

(Serves 6-8)
1 dozen washed clams and/or cockles
1 dozen de-bearded, washed mussels
1 lb. white fish, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 lb. Golden Yukon potatoes, cubed
1 cup of shelled fava beans; 1 cup of carrot slices; 1 cup of cauliflower ‘florets’
1 chopped medium onion or the white of a leek, chopped
2 cups of half/half
2 cups of 1% milk
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 bay leaf
a sprinkling of tarragon
2 T butter; salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash and dice potatoes (with skins left on). Place in a small pot of boiling, salted water. Simmer for about eight minutes.
In a separate pan, place half/half, milk, 1 cup of the clam juice and the bay leaf in a pan and warm over low heat.
In a large pot, melt the butter and sauté the onion (or leek), carrot slices, fava beans and cauliflower florets. Add the second cup of clam juice and the fish. Simmer for a few minutes then add the cockles and/or clams. Simmer another eight minutes. Drain the potatoes and add to the soup, along with the warmed milk and the mussels. Simmer gently for six to eight more minutes, until the mussels have opened.
(Discard any unopened shells.) Serve in bowls. Bon Santé!