Les Poissons

For such a huge country, France has the most sophisticated fish-distribution system you can find perhaps anywhere in Europe. Although the number of smaller fishmongers in the country towns of the South-West is shrinking, this is due to the intense competition of the supermarkets, where the range and freshness of the fish is astonishing. Even in our local village we can buy langoustines, mussels, salt cod, salmon and a variety of fish fillets from monkfish, cod, sea bass and the cheaper lieu. The larger cities also have markets, where whole sections are given over to fish: at the Victor Hugo covered market in Toulouse, for example, there were at the last count no fewer than 12 fish retailers who were able to draw on the varied resources of both the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. Here the variety of shellfish is astonishing, the small bouchots clamouring for attention from the larger more familiar variety: clams, sea snails (bulots), prawns and shrimps of all varieties and size, and langoustines whose size dictates their price. The following recipe for the baby mussels is typical of the way they prepare them in Bordeaux.