Question: The garnish " fermiere " or " a la fermiere "
By: dam
Published: July 26, 2010

I am trying to do some research on the classical garnish " fermiere " i have been less than lucky on gathering any information on the history of the garnish and the geography of the garnish.

If there is someone out there that can shed some light on this for me i'd really appreciate it.

Answers:
Chris Paulk

While my French is far from good, poulet fermier, usually refers to a free running or open range grown chicken.
Fermiere as in reference to a dish, I've seen two ways. One, as a vegetable puree or garnish, and the other in general to "farm food", hearty food that farmers would eat. Lots of vegetables and simple, plain, classic, food.
Stephanie Jobst

My educated guess is that it means "farm-fresh garnish"
Angel

Quoted from the Larousse culinaire:
A special method of preparing braised or pot-roasted meat, with a garnish of carrots, turnips, celery and onions cooked slowly in butter until very tender.
There is no other explanation but it has to come from the french countryside where 'les fermieres' (farmer's wives), would use the vegetables on hand to make a pot roast in the fall.
Stephanie Jobst

Found at http://corduroyorange.com, under the post Gourmet Glossary:
Fermière: \Fayr.me.air\ Garnished with onions, carrots, turnips, and celery. Ideally, all would be cut to a small dice or a brunoise. A chicken soup containing these vegetables could be called “Chicken Soup Fermière.”
Stephanie Jobst

also, from www.chefkelso.com:
PAYSANNE & FERMIÈRE CUTS: Cuts produced in the paysanne (peasant) and
fermière (farmer) style are generally used in
dishes intended to have a rustic or home-style appeal. When used for traditional regional
specialties, they may be cut in such a way that the shape of the vegetable’s curved or
uneven edges are still apparent in the finished cut. However, it is important to cut them
all to the same thickness so that they will cook evenly.
For a more rustic presentation, cut the vegetable into halves, quarters, or eighths,
depending on its size. The pieces should be roughly similar in dimension to a batonnet.
Make even, thin crosswise cuts at roughly 1/8-in/4-mm intervals.
In order to feature paysanne or fermière cuts as an ingredient in a classical dish or for a
more upscale setting, square off the vegetable first and make large batonnet, 3/4 in/20
mm thick. Cut the batonnet crosswise at 1/8-in/4-mm intervals.