The light pastry gougère, a classic French apéro nibble and its key component has a disputed etymology.
Said component is a simple ‘choux’ pastry (butter, water, flour and eggs), invented, legend has it, in the 16th Century by an Italian pâtissier called Pantanelli. As French chefs added it to their repertoire, its given name was ‘pâte à chaud’, or ‘hot dough’, because the base was dried over heat before eggs were added.
However, its name evolved. The splendid French food writer, critic and broadcaster François-Régis Gaudry, whose monumental, encyclopedic book Let’s Eat France! (2018, Artisan) should be on every self-respecting foodie’s shelf, wrote:
“In the 1920s, Prosper Montagné described the gougère as a “crown specked with cubes of Gruyère.”
Even if today’s version has taken on the shape of a “little cabbage” (hence the name in French for the dough, pâte à choux, “choux” meaning “cabbages”), it is still baked in the shape of a crown in some families.”
If you ever attend a wine-tasting, chances are that there will be a silver salver groaning under the weight of a pile of these delightful, slightly salty nibbles.
As for the gougère’s regional roots, Gaudry attests to a likely Burgundian origin:
“The gougère has a strong resemblance to an old specialty called ramequin, the name of a mould in which a pâte à choux batter was baked with cheese. Grimod de la Reynière attests its Burgundian origins in his Almanach des Gourmands in 1804.”
You will find gruyère used in other local gougère variations, and they lend a certain refinement to even the simplest of gatherings – classier than nuts and crisps.
No French wedding is worth attending if there is not a croquembouche served as dessert and traditionally cut by the happy couple. Also known as a pièce montée (which translates as ‘assembled piece’) – this is a towering stack of sweet, cream-filled pâte à choux covered in nougatine (caramelised sugar).
Meanwhile, the brasserie staple profiteroles also feature the light pastry. One more titbit for etymology fans: the word profiterole dates back to the 16th or 17th Century when a small bread roll filled with something savoury was given to servants as a reward, a bit like a tip. It means ‘little gift’ or ‘little gratification’.
Ingredients
125ml milk
125ml water
100g butter
150g flour
40g grated cheese
5 eggs
1 egg yolk (for glazing)
Do not forget to add the grated cheeseP-Kheawtasang/Shutterstock
Method
1. In a saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter (cut into cubes).
2. Once melted, add the flour and stir for one minute, then season.
3. Reduce the heat and stir vigorously for a further four minutes to dry out the dough thoroughly.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well between each addition.
5. Once you have a smooth batter, finish by adding the grated cheese and season.
6. Place the choux pastry in a piping bag and pipe the gougères onto a baking tray, spacing them apart.
7. Brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with grated cheese.
8. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 25 minutes.
