Walnuts From the Périgord

Since walnuts are foraged, they must be carefully used, or else the labor of their gathering cannot be justified. The shells are ground up and used for fuel. A digestif is made from the tender walnut leaves by infusing them with old red wine, sugar, and some marc. Another drink is made by macerating fresh walnuts in 90-proof eau-de-vie. (This is an excellent aperitif, by the way, served over ice; it is also makes an interesting ice cream.) The walnuts themselves are employed in salads, cakes, and candies, with green beans and fish, and joined with Roquefort or endives. In the Corrèze, neighboring the Périgord, I once ate an extraordinary dish of sautéed duck in which the pan juices had been deglazed with the black juices of unripened walnuts.