Boudin noir - A semi-vegetarian breaks her rules

In my recent trip to France, I made the acquaintance of the boudin noir. This is a dark-colored blood sausage made by cooking down animal blood with meat or other fillers. I normally avoid pork, beef and all red meat, but since I was on vacation, and in Europe, and I do have seven adventurous bones in my body, I heroically gave it a try.

This particular boudin was artisanale (handmade) and came from a farmer's market nearby my friends' house in Avernes, a commune in the Val D'Oise département, about an hour's drive from Paris. My host Claude cooked it in the simplest way possible. Fry the sausages gently in some butter along with chunks of crisp apples. Once done, chop up the links into bitesized segments, and serve hot.

We had it with good, chewy country bread and a tomato salad drizzled with Patricia's wonderfully tangy dressing. It was easy, it was tasty, it was simple, just as most good meals are.