Wanderlust Wednesday: Sweet Memories from Le Gargantua Farmhouse Cooking Holiday in Southwest France.

The wonders of travel provide us with a wide range of memories that we can relive, as we share and tell stories-the overall adventures of travelling are enhanced. Trying something new by experiencing a learning holiday in Southwest France, was one of the best travel decisions I have ever made. I absolutely loved the cooking holiday at Le Gargantua from beginning to end and have enjoyed staying in touch with the proprietors Marlène and Marc as well as Graham and John, the wonderful guests I met during my stay.

Recently, I recreated a recipe I learned at Le Gargantua for Apple and Prune Tourtière Gasconne. Immediately, I was taken back to the quaint and enchanting farmhouse nestled away in the Bordeaux region.  It doesn't feel like its been eight months since I was at Le Gargantua!!

This French dessert is a delicate filo dough based pastry filled with lightly sweetened apples and liquor infused prunes and then finished off with a light glaze made with liquor, sugar, and butter.  Did I mention butter? As it bakes, the flavours perfectly fuse together and the finished product is pleasing to the palette. 

Even the smell of the apples cooking on the stovetop, made me feel as though I was back in France, listening to Marlène enthusiastically instruct us on how to create this sweet pastry, as I eagerly learned how to create something new. Her kitchen was filled with laughter every step of the way.

I smiled and laughed while reminiscing about the precious memories made while cooking in the kitchen with fellow traveller, Graham from New Zealand and the wonderful hostess and French cuisine connoisseur Marlène.

The best part of recreating this sweet memory was seeing the joy from my family as they ate this delicious treat, it was so fun being able to share a recipe I learned at Le Gargantua.  I look forward to sharing more delights with family and friends. 

I hope you try this recipe and consider experiencing a learning holiday, for more information on Le Gargantua visit: http://www.legargantua.com. 

Bon Voyage and Bon Appetite!!

Apple and Prune Tourtière Gasconne

Note: I made half of this recipe. Tip: Be sure to use a scale to measure your ingredients. 



1,5 kg apples

85g butter

8-12 large prunes without stones, soaked in Armagnac

4-5 tbsp of Armagnac liquor (or substitute with a liquor of your choice, I used Grand Marnier. 

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

50g of caster sugar

8 to 10 sheets of Filo pastry
Touch of liquor.

Step 1: Start with crisp apples, I used a combination of two varieties: Pink Lady and Fuji. 

Step 2: Peel, core, and dice the apples. 

Step 3: Cook on low heat with 25g of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract, covered at first until the heat builds up, then uncover. Cook until semi-hard (think al dente as though you are cooking pasta). Note the golden colouring of the apples as they cook. 

Step 4: Soak the prunes in liquor and set aside. 

Step 5: Prepare your baking tins by coating with butter. 

Step 6: Fold the sheets of Filo in half in the length. Arrange them in a tart tin, like the sun, overlapping each other at the center of the tin.

Brush every sheet of Filo pastry with the plain butter.

Step 7:  Place the drained apples on the pastry, scatter the prunes on top. (I forgot to take a picture, here's a photo from the one I made at Le Gargantua. 

Step 8: Fold the pastry over, twisting once, and crunching up the end of each sheet. Brush the top with butter and Armagnac mixture, insisting on the roses.

Step 9:  Bake in preheated oven (220 degrees C) for 10-12 min, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for an additional 20 min. Since ovens vary, be sure to check to see the pastry isn't cooking too quickly. If you see the filo browning within the first 5 minutes, lower your temperature. I had to lower the temperature to 200 degrees C and then 170 degrees C. 

Step 10: Serve warm or at room temperature.