As a woman recently pregnant, my body craved iron in silly amounts. I could have eaten a skyscraper. It's a shame this sort of thing is not on the French pregnancy diet - forbidden along with charcuterie and liver... It's true that boudin noir is not the sort of thing I'd buy at any old supermarket - ideally, you want a butcher who prepares his own. I bought mine from a mustached man with a little truck in the Apt market. I serve my boudin with sliced apples - this time, some golden delicious we picked up from a farmstand by the side of the road. I tossed the apples with olive oil, sprinkled whole lot with sea salt and added a cinnamon stick and a star anise to ground the dish with cozy autumn spices. Boudin is already cooked through when you buy it, but 20 minutes or so in a hot oven gives it time to blister, even burst. I'm an adventurous eater, but the idea of boiled (or cold) boudin makes me think about moving back to New Jersey. (No, not really.) By this point in the post, I know there is at least one reader (perhaps many) thinking...but, that looks like large labrador shit on a plate. True enough. But once you get past the aesthetics, you have one of richest savory tastes I can imagine. Good boudin has a velveteen consistency that marries perfectly with the slight tartness of the roasted apples.
4 golden delicious apples
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
Sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
A glass of white wine
Heat the oven to 400F.
Core and slice the apples, skin on. (½ inch slices).Toss apples with the olive oil. In a large ovenproof platter with low sides, arrange the boudin (cut into individual portions) and the apples. Sprinkle with sea salt and nestle in the cinnamon sticks and star anise. Cook for 20 minutes or until the boudin starts to sizzle and the apples have begun to brown.
Add a glass of white wine to the bottom of the pan. Cook five minutes longer. Serve immediately.