A Flock of Seagulls – Cooking in Theory and Practice

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think

sardines will be thrown into the sea – Eric Cantona.

Being the first step in my journey toward the larger world of tinned seafood.

The first pick from my Father’s Day hoard was Les Mouettes d’Arvor Sardines in EVOO w/ Lemon Confit & Chilli Pepper.

Les Mouettes d’Arvor translates to the Seagulls of Arvor. The favorite football team of Jacques Gonidec of Concarneau, along Brittany’s southern coast. Along with his parents he created Conserverie Gonidec, a canner of high quality seafood, including sardines. Brittany was once the center of seafood canning in France much as Stonington, Maine and Monterey, California were in the United States. In fact, modern canning began during the Napoleonic Wars, the invention of one Nicholas Appert, and in the 1830s, following Appert’s method, the fish canning industry was flourishing in Brittany. Today Conserverie Gonidec is the last traditional seafood canner in the region.These particular sardines are packed with a confit of lemon and a hint of chilli pepper. I admit I am a bit of the pedant when it comes to certain culinary terms, and confit is among them. Traditionally confit refers to the slow cooking of poultry or pork in its own fat – as in the duck confit used in the traditional French bean dish: Cassoulet. Whatever the name should be when the product is a fruit, the results can be delicious.

Tasting Notes:

The first thing I noticed when I opened the tin was the aroma of the oil. There is seafood packed in oil.
There is seafood packed in olive oil. There is seafood packed in extra-virgin olive oil. And there is seafood packed in really good extra-virgin olive oil. This fell in the latter category. The warm aroma of good olive oil was everywhere. The sardines themselves were plump and meaty and easy to remove from the tin.

Whenever I try a new sardine, no matter how I plan to eat it, I always taste a bit plain to discover it’s true nature. I’ve never been more glad to use that procedure than with these sardines. They needed no condiment, no sauce and no enhancement. I ate them as is with the small side salad with homemade vinaigrette as an accompaniment.

This is how the flavors came through: the first taste was the olive oil – smooth and light. Then came the citrus thoroughly infusing the oil without being overpowering. The flavor of the sardine was next. It was creamy and meaty and loaded with umami. Only at the end did the flavor of piment – the Chilli pepper – come through. It was appreciable but in no way overwhelming.

I’m just beginning this journey, but this may be the best sardine I’ve ever tasted. It needs no garnish and can be enjoyed us as simply as possible, on its own or perhaps on a toast point or cracker. Despite that, I admit that, in the end, I tucked a sardine and some salad into a slice of Wegman’s rye bread. With apologies to those readers who may not live in Wegman’s territory, it was heaven

As good as it was, there is so much more to explore.

And now, because a blog post called a Flock of Seagulls cannot end without a music video, I give you:

And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn’t get away

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/eric-cantona-quotes

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.
Eric Cantona
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/eric-cantona-quotes

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