Pezenas – Making Mincemeat of the French!

Pity the French who must find it very difficult to understand the English language when it comes to food – we have mincemeat pies for Christmas which do not contain any minced meat – whereas in Pézenas (34 Herault, Languedoc) they do have small pies which contain a mincemeat of sweetened lamb rolled up in pastry – “Les Petits pâtés de Pézenas”. These sweet/salty concoctions in the form of a bobin are a speciality of the region, supposedly introduced by our Clive of India who stopped over in the town and his Indian cooks invented the pies from the available local ingredients. They are small pies usually served as a starter with a glass of wine.
Inevitably there is a “Confrérie du Petit Pâté de Pézenas” who have a ceremony every Ascension Day which gives them the excuse to dress up in extravagant gowns – but meantime you can always find a pie in any of the numerous Patisseries in this charming medieval town.

The town is in the middle of Languedoc wine country with some excellent Vins de Pays d’Oc and Coteaux du Languedoc, Picpoul de Pinet, and Muscat wines.

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