In 1992 a book was released in France that aroused great interest and which still continues to be almost always present in French kitchens today. IS Recettes coquines et libertines (Jacqueline Chambon Editions), by Élizabeth Herrgott and his daughter Marine, a text that reveals many culinary secrets that could prove useful. The author, who is also a psychoanalyst, has also written other works always related to the themes of cooking and eroticism, such as Love letters to men and some women or The God and the fallen Lover.

Mother and daughter in the kitchen

"At least in the past," writes Elizabeth, "most of what a mother transmitted to her daughter took place in the kitchen, a privileged place for training and education". According to the author, in fact, it is here that a child refines his senses, first of all that of smell, when he is not allowed to touch or devour certain foods. Then he slowly begins to taste and his taste buds, Élizabeth continues, thus learn to know and recognize the various flavors.
The dining room, on the other hand, is the place where he learns to set the table, to arrange the tablecloth, plates and cutlery. And it is here that Elizabeth and her daughter Marine prepared the naughty and libertine recipes you find in this book, perfect for heating the cold winter months. «Our dishes have been designed to make the spirit and the senses boil, to pass from the table to the bed, to awaken virility and increase feminine ardor. Are not lust and concupiscence also the effect of gluttony, this divine traitor? .

Some naughty and libertine dishes

Many of the recipes in the book were collected by Elizabeth directly from some elderly ladies, according to her the only ones who have the tricks and secrets of these dishes, to know which ingredients really have an aphrodisiac power. In the book there are about fifty dishes, some also organized in gallant menus to do on the lawn, in the summer, or on the bed, when it is colder. In short, there is something for all tastes and palates, but above all for every season. In winter, for example, it is time to risotto with little olives, at the end of the collection, of Pompadour style wet celery gratin, mullet with truffles, or the Angevin horse's culotte. In spring, however, phallic asparagus with cream elixir or broad beans a la poulette, while in summer there are turgescent zucchini with coriander, aubergines with court grappa, potatoes with sea rose; but also desserts such as torment of love with coconut, the apricots in madness, the Mount of Venus, the perverse delight to fishing, Aphrodite's soufflé and many others. Finally, in autumn, it is a period of game and birds, so we find the lustful pheasant, the pullets of the divine marquis or, indeed, the rabbit in heat, of which we reveal the recipe.

The recipe for rabbit in heat

This dish is widespread in the department of Saone and Loire, in Burgundy, in particular in its capital, Mâcon, a city known to wine lovers for its large (and unique) production of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Here, every Saturday, the market, where especially in the autumn period there are birds, pigeons, rabbits. "Go to the market and get yourself some amber rum, a bottle with the five spices, some red and fresh Reunion peppers, some black peppercorns, Saumur wine vinegar, a small jar of cream, some small white onions, some white smoked lard, cold-pressed soy oil, then butter, chives and sugar. And then, please, choose a nice young rabbit .

Ingredients for six people

1 rabbit
20 cl of cream
500 g of small onions
150 g of white smoked lard
90 g of butter
3 chillies
to taste black peppercorns
1 bottle of five spices
to taste amber rum
to taste chives
to taste Saumur wine vinegar
to taste soybean oil
sugar to taste

Method

1. Cut the rabbit into 12 pieces and marinate it for at least 30 minutes with oil, vinegar, the five spices, a chopped red pepper, salt and pepper, all well mixed.
2. Caramelize the onions: put them in a pan with water and butter in equal quantities and sprinkle them with sugar.
3. Cut the lard into strips and brown it in the pan until it becomes crisp, English style.
4. Brown the rabbit in the pot for an hour.
5. Then cover it with the rest of the marinade and proceed with a flambé cooking with the rum.
6. Add the cream prepared with a mold, the onions and the bacon and cook for another 4-5 minutes with the lid on.
7. Season with the chopped spring onion and serve.
As an accompaniment, the authors of the book obviously recommend a Chardonnay from Mâcon: «Perfect for rabbit in heat, it softens its Venusian ardor and at the same time stimulates ours….