There are many wonderful parts of the French culture that we can include in our festive and New Year’s celebration, but your secret weapon can be Le Trou Normand or The Normand Hole.
The Normand Hole is usually presented in a small glass such as a champagne glass and consists of a strong alcohol and a small scoop of Sorbet. In France it is often known as the hidden course in a large meal, but the idea is to cleanse the palette and stimulate the appetite.
The tradition started in Normandy with apple brandy or Calvados, but today the course includes a variety of different flavours of alcohol and sorbet depending on the menu you are serving.
So how can this help and be included during your festive meal? Most traditional Christmas Day Meals include a starter, large Turkey or meat main course and then a hearty dessert course of Christmas Pudding or Yule Log.
The ideal palette cleanser could be a lime sorbet with Vodka served after the starter leaving room for your Turkey and stuffing. If you are considering making your own Trou Normand here is my favourite lime sorbet recipe from The Mini Sam Tan Kitchen:
Smooth Homemade Lime Sorbet – makes 1 litre
Stir together and dissolve over medium heat to form a thin sugar syrup:
If you have your own Trou Normand recipes, I would love to see them.
Monique x x
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.