Landes cuisine: top 15 specialities from the Landes region

Want to sample the flavors of renowned southwestern cuisine during your next stay at a camping in the Landes ? A land of crops and livestock, the Landes is also a land of culinary delights, as evidenced by the quality and variety of its local produce: duck, poultry, asparagus, Adour kiwi, spirits, and more. To taste them, head for Landes restaurants or the lively markets of Dax, Peyrehorade and Mont-de-Marsan.

Typical Landes dishes

  • Salade landaise/Landaise plate: Composed of salad, duck foie gras, Bayonne ham, slices of smoked duck breast, white asparagus, corn, duck gizzards and pine nuts, salade landaise is a gourmet dish that showcases a wide range of products from the Landes region.
  • Salmis de Palombe: Similar to a ragout, pigeon must be simmered in red wine before adding Bayonne ham, herbs and a little flour to thicken the sauce.
  • Garbure: Garbure is a meat-based dish with a variety of vegetables such as blue or green cabbage leaves, fresh beans, potatoes, turnips, celery stalks, carrots and leeks.

Landes delicacies and desserts

  • Pastis: Contrary to its name, this is not the alcoholic beverage popular with southerners, but a Landes cake. Often compared to a light brioche, Landes pastis is often enhanced with orange blossom, anisette, vanilla or rum.
  • Apple croustade or tourtière landaise: Called tourtière, croustade or pastis gascon in the southwest, depending on the department, this cake is baked from apples or prunes flavored with Armagnac and then covered with an extremely thin pastry.
  • Les madeleines de Dax: First appearing on the shelves of Maison Cazelle in the early 20th century, madeleines de Dax have been on the store shelves for 5 generations now!

Landes wines and spirits

  • Armagnac landais (AOC): France’s oldest eau-de-vie can be discovered in the Landes region, with a tasting in the heart of the cellars.
  • Tursan wines (AOC and IGP): Between Dax and Mont-de-Marsan, Tursan vineyards produce red, white and rosé wines.
  • Floc de Gascogne (AOC): From the same terroirs as Armagnac, Floc de Gascogne is characterized by being made from both grape juice and Armagnac. It then comes in two colors, white and rosé.

Local produce

  • Farmhouse duck (Label rouge): Duck has a special place in Landes cuisine. So it’s hardly surprising that it’s on the menu in the form of duck breast, duck confit, foie gras and more.
  • Farm poultry: Poultry from the Landes region can also be found on restaurant menus, including the renowned poultry from the Saint-Sever farm.
  • Kiwi de l’Adour (label rouge and I.G.P.): Introduced 30 years ago, the kiwi de l’Adour benefits from all the right climatic conditions for its production, offering a sweet, juicy fruit with the particularity of not being acidic.
  • Sand asparagus (I.G.P.): From March to May, Landes sand asparagus can be found on market stalls, making it the leading early spring vegetable. They can be eaten hot, warm or cold.
  • Boeuf de Chalosse (Label rouge and I.G.P.): From noble breeds, Chalosse meat is a tender, marbled-tasting meat of the highest quality, respecting a breeding method, a choice of breeds and a protected geographical indication.
  • L’Amou: Cheese lovers can look forward to L’Amou, a pressed, uncooked ewe’s milk cheese with a fine golden rind.

So many specialities that you’ll want to spend your camping vacation in the Landes!