Friday 2 February 2018

La Tielle à la Sétoise.



I bought a couple of Tielles recently. I've been looking at them for years wondering what they were, and if I'd like them (there isn't much I don't like).

And then, last Sunday, I was watching a TV programme about Corsica and Southern France, when all my questions were answered, and last Monday morning I plunged.

So what is a Tielle? The outside pie crust is made from an ordinary bread dough with added olive oil and white wine, and the filling is chopped Octopus/Squid in a thick spicy tomato sauce. They are usually eaten either cold or tepid; I chose the latter.


Having never visited an artisan maker of Tielles in the town of Séte itself, my opinion can only be based on these supermarket bought pies; even though they were made in Séte.

I would say that they were pleasant without being remarkable. With the absence of a decent beef, chicken, or pork pie in France, they would make a good picnic alternative for a hot summers' day; preferably washed down with cold white wine.

Verdict: 6/10.


25 comments:

  1. We also have tielle in Italy, the most famous are the tielle di Gaeta. I wonder where tielle first originated?
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Séte is not far from the Italian border; it must be a Mediterranean recipe. You didn't say if you liked them or not!

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    2. I like them (shop bought) they are ok, but I've never eaten the freshly made which should be better.
      x

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    3. Of course Séte is much nearer to Spain than it is to Italy, but I was thinking in terms of the Med' coast.

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  2. Now that is an interesting little pie. I shall investigate that recipe and make some. Traditional people around here might just find them acceptable!

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    1. They would be perfect for the 'Greek Islands', plenty of Octopus and Tomatoes about.

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  3. Can't say I feel inspired. In my imagination there seem too many clashes in flavour.

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    1. In fact it was all rather uninteresting. Nothing that one could identify.

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  4. They look interesting.... must keep my eyes peeled!!
    Cro! I am surprised that you, or Lady M, don’t make and freeze your own pork pies... they are far nicer than all but the best butcher’s own recipe ones.... and they freeze very well!!
    So I make batches of them... mine are a trifle wider and shallower than the norm because all I have are those fancy rings for “plating up” rice or veg, etc.... and to get round the difficulty of pouring in the jelly, I make lattice tops.
    And making that lardy pastry does wonders for old hands!!

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    1. They're worth tasting once in one's life, just to know what they're like. We do have one Pork Pie (Waitrose best) in the freezer. I did make my own a couple of times, but couldn't get the jelly to set. About time I tried again.

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  5. I saw the hairy bikers there, in Sete the other night. I went to Sete once, slept in a youth hostel at the top of a steep hilly street, terrible place of steep streets, and a big oil refinery that never gets mentioned, and second night was going to sleep on the beach, then the police came and moved us all along, so it was back to the hostel. I think the tielles things sound nice, but P was going Ugh!

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  6. The fact that they have chopped up inner tube and such put me right off! A little real fish/prawn or meat would make all the difference. The pastry or dough sounds different.

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    1. The inner tube was almost non-existent. I wouldn't have known it was there.

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  7. I just left a comment but it disappeared so I'll say it again. We saw the Hairy Bikers in Sete the other night and these tielles. I liked the look of them, P didn't. He said ugh. I stayed in Sete once, a youth hostel at the top of a steep street, murder with a back pack, then tried to sleep on the beach but we got moved on by the police and back to the hostel. There is a big oil refinery there but nobody ever mentions it. Sete as far as I remember it was near the Narbonne part of the Med and not exactly near Italy but it was a long time ago.

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    1. It's near to Montpellier. I suppose it is quite a way from Italy, but I tend to think of it as being all part of the Med' coast.

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    2. A 30 min.drive away. My MIL lives in Montpellier. If one day you can eat the fresh made tielles you will see that it has nothing to do with the industrial produced which I find just "insipide".

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    3. I am sure you're right; it's the same with all mass-produced foods.

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  8. Octopus? Squid? Forget it for me.

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  9. I want to try one ...... is the filling like the tinned squid in tomato sauce that you can get in Mediterranean supermarkets ? I like that ! XXXX

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    1. I don't know; I've never bought (or seen) any. But it sounds as if it's a specially made preparation for Tielles.

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  10. Not convinced. I think I would prefer to try a 'proper' freshly made one.

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    1. That would be wise. When do you plan to visit Séte?

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  11. A decision I don't have to take. They are not a delicacy in non-Mediteranean Scotland.

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