Travels To Mirepoix France, June 2012

One Sunday we left Toulouse in search of the French country side.  After leaving the toll roads, we found ourselves in wheat fields and sunflower fields.  The rolling hills were wonderful, and many people were taking advantage of this on their bicycles. Our destination was Mirepoix, between Foix and Carcassonne.

When I think of Mirepoix, it is generally in terms of cooking, a seasoning base.  And what do you know, there is a relation between the two.

Since the 10th century there has been a documented settlement in the area. In 1209, during the Crusade against the Cathars, the feudal chateau was taken over by Simon de Montfort.  He in turn gave the settlement to his loyal lieutenant Guy de Levis, who then received the title Marchecal de Mirepoix.  A flood destroyed the town in 1289, and it was rebuilt a year later in a slightly different spot.  The town continued to grow and prosper and was made a bishopric by then Pope John XXII. A band of robbers burned the town in 1362, so then it became a walled city.  Very little is left of the wall today, but you can still see one of the gate areas.

The town church is named St. Maurice.  It was first built in 1298 and over time was transformed into a cathedral.  Today, it is famous for having one of the widest naves of any built in the French Gothic style.  Only the church in Gerona, Spain is wider.  It has a bit of water damage from leaks, but overall is still quite beautiful.  The pipe organ is enormous, but we did not get to hear it on this visit.

Outside of the church, there is a main square surrounded by buildings that date back to 13th to 15th century.  Each of the buildings has the first floor constructed so that it juts out over timbers.  The shops and restaurants in the square a well kept and make for a wonderful place to stop and spend the day.

So, now back to the culinary portion of the blog.  According to The Food Lover's Companion, 4th Edition, 2007, a mirepoix is a mixture of small dice carrots, onion, celery and herbs sauteed in butter.  Sometimes ham or bacon is added. Mirepoix is used to season sauces, soups and stews as well as serving as the bed for braising meat of fish.  There are regional varieties of the mirepoix, but the name mirepoix is attributed to the cook employed by Charles-Pierre-Gaston Francois de Levis, duc of Levis-Mirepoix (1699-1757). This man was a field marshal and ambassador and member of the noble family of Levis, lords of Mirepoix in Languedoc since the 11th century.  With all of this in his favor, the Duke of Mirepoix is described by Pierre Larousse as having been completely incompetent and a mediocre individual.  That he owed his whole fortunes to the fact that King Louis the XV had a thing for his wife. The Duke of Mirepoix had but just one claim to fame: he gave his name to a sauce.  But in reality, having a good chef gave him a lasting place in history.