Tielle à la sétoise, also called tielle de Sète, is a pie made from bread dough. It is garnished with cuttlefish, calamari and octopus marinated in a spicy tomato sauce. It is a very popular appetizer that can be eaten hot or warm. Bouillinade, also known as bouillabaisse du Languedoc, is another specialty of the coast. Several fish are cut into slices and then cooked in a casserole with crushed tomatoes and potatoes. In general, three kinds of fish are used. Monkfish, gurnards and scorpionfish. It is a spicy dish with saffron and chilli.
The auricle or bougnettes is a delicious donut flavored with orange blossom. It has the particularity of having a thin and crispy dough. Another tasty dessert is the surprising little Pézenas pâté. This iconic spool-shaped cupcake contains an atypically flavorful filling. It is prepared with lamb meat flavored with cinnamon and sugar. On the Camargue side, Aigues-Mortes fougasse is perfect for breakfast or a snack. It is a variety of sugar brioche flavored with orange blossom. One of the regional specialties are sweets. These are the famous grisettes of Montpellier. Small black balls prepared with honey from Narbonne and licorice from Montpellier. This iconic delicacy has been eaten since the Middle Ages.
The Cévennes chestnut is eaten in soup. Chestnut soup is prepared with about twenty chestnuts, slices of dried apples and pears, prunes, milk or wine. Aligot from the Cévennes is a specialty made with potatoes, fresh tomme cheese, fresh cream and garlic. It looks like a puree with an elastic consistency. Castelnaudary and Carcassonne cassoulet is a dish of white beans and meat. Depending on tastes and variations, duck meat, goose confit, pork knuckle, sausage or lamb are added to bean stew.
