I went to Sologne, located in central France, about 180 km from Paris. The region is rich in nature, with vast forests and some 3,000 ponds of various sizes (called Étang in French). In addition to castles and traditional villages, the region is also rich in gastronomy, with gibier cuisine, black truffles, caviar, and other delicacies. I had been here once before, a few years ago, but I did not get to see the traditional enclosure fishing at that time, so I revisited at the end of October.
It was in the Middle Ages that enclosure fishing began in Sorone with the creation of artificial ponds. Today, as an intangible cultural heritage, fishing can be seen in several ponds during the fall and winter. I arrived at the pond I visited, Étang de la Ville, around 9:00 in the morning, but the fence had already been pulled down and the water level had dropped considerably. Hot wine, homemade cakes, boudin noir (sausage made mainly from pig’s blood and stuffed in bread), etc. are sold around the pond, and locals drink, eat, and chat while waiting for the water level to drop further.
After a while, the fishermen enter the water with a net and enclose the fish. Another net is used to enclose the fish close to land, and they continue to scoop up more and more fish. A large bucket quickly fills up with fish of all sizes.
The buckets of fish were sorted by size and type before being sold. Local children also participated in the sorting process, getting wet from the splashing of the jumping fish, but they seemed to be accustomed to the work and seemed to enjoy it.
There are a variety of freshwater fish in the pond, but the one I bought was a pikeperch. It was the most expensive fish on sale, but the locals were eager to recommend natural pikeperch as it was precious and delicious, so I bought a 3 kg piece. I removed the scales and entrails, though unaccustomed to doing so at home, and simply oven-roasted the fish, which was a big hit with my family for its tender white flesh without any odor!
After visiting the fishery, we traveled to the town of Lamotte-Beuvron, a 15-minute drive from there. I had wanted to visit there because it is the birthplace of tarte tatin.
The tarte tatin was created in the late 19th century when the Tatin sisters, who worked at a hotel, inadvertently flipped an apple tart and baked it. The original recipe for tarte tatin is still available today at La Maison Tatin, a hotel restaurant in the same location. I was not surprised to find that the tarte tatin I was served was quite ordinary, but I was happy to have my favorite tarte tatin at the birthplace of the tarte tatin.
© Source travel watch