Restaurant Spotlight : Comte Roger, Carcassonne
A highlight on our Mediterranean Coast tour is our final evening meal, at the restaurant Comte Roger, tucked away in the cobbled heart of the medieval city. We've been visiting the Comte Roger for many years, and head chef Pierre Mesa and his front of house team are always the most welcoming of hosts. The restaurant is commended in the famous Guide Michelin. The table for our group of 14 was laid out in the delightful open-air courtyard to take advantage of the late sunshine of our early summer visit; we had advised our guests to bring a cardigan, sweater or shawl in case the temperature should drop.
After settling in, aperitifs of kir or beer were ordered, at which point a selection of delicious nibbles appeared, including gruyere cheese choux pastries, paté en croûte, and anchoiade toasts. Ten minutes of studying the menus followed, with explanations and descriptions of French cookery terms provided by yours truly.
As a starter I ordered the carpaccio of octopus with mango, fennel and preserved lemon, while my neighbour, who was vegetarian, went for the velouté of root vegetables with a swirl of roquefort and chestnut emulsion. The octopus had obviously not long left the Mediterranean, it was so fresh, and beautifully complemented by the citrus marinade and crunchy fennel. If I had a complaint it would be that there was not enough of it, but I knew that my choice of main course meant that leaving a bit of room was a good idea. The soup, meanwhile, was described as "about the most delicious thing I've ever eaten" - the local fougasse bread that came with it also came in for praise.
We had ordered two wines for the table - a crisp Picpoul de Pinet from the coastal vineyards we had cycled through at the start of the week, and a robust Minervois red from the hills of Thursday's ride. The Picpoul was perfect with my octopus, and with the gravelax which other guests had chosen.
For the main course, I chose the local speciality for which Comte Roger prepares a celebrated version - Cassoulet. Cassoulet has 3 versions from neighbouring towns - Toulouse, Castelnaudary and Carcassonne - and each town fiercely proclaims the superiority of their take. All have the same base of haricot beans cooked in stock and tomato with herbs, but they differ in the meats which go into the pot. In Carcassonne, this means confit duck legs, garlic sausage and shoulder of mutton. It's peasant food elevated to gastronomy. Good job I kept some room! My vegetarian neighbour chose the vegetable cocotte with a spelt risotto (spelt is an ancient grain - you can think of it like pearl barley when put into a risotto). Other dishes which caught the eye as they arrived at the table (why do you always think "I wish I'd gone for that" even when your own dish is fabulous?) were a supreme of guinea fowl and a fantastic looking dish of seared scallops on a wild Mediterranean rice risotto. The Minervois red was a perfect choice with the cassoulet.
We had to ask our waiter if we could have a few minutes before choosing dessert, as those of us who had chosen the cassoulet were puffing a bit! For those of us who have trouble choosing, a wonderful innovation over the last few years at French restaurants has been the "café gourmande" - a coffee with a selection of mini versions of the items on the dessert menu. Of course this is what I went for! I was rewarded with miniature panna cotta, lemon mousse, chocolate financier and rum baba. The other desserts looked equally inviting, and the cheese board made sure that those with less of a sweet tooth were well catered for
All in all an epic meal to end an epic trip. Wandering back to the hotel just outside the fortified walls we could look pack and see Carcassonne lit up in all its splendour. Perfect!
