Le Casse-croûte

The main meal of the day is at noon but the case-croûte (which means literally ‘breaking the crust’) staves off pangs of mid-morning hunger. It may be a rolled herb omelette, soup in a flask or a chunk of strong cheese-‘Lou Cachat’-on crusty bread. Those with noses and palates of cast-iron wash this pungent cheese down with a glass of the eau-de-vie in which it has fermented.