Tourist routes in Quebec | Make a sandwich on the Circuit du paysan

Located in Montérégie Ouest, on the border with the United States, the Circuit du paysan stretches between valleys and fields to offer passers-by treasures to savor. It was a great opportunity to harvest all the products needed to prepare a sumptuous sandwich filled with the best the region has to offer.

The bread

In Saint-Antoine-Abbé, you just have to follow the comforting aroma of bread to find your way to the Chartrand bakery. Here, loaves have been baked in a stone oven since 1860. Today, refractory stones have replaced field stones, but the crusts remain crisp and the crumb, perfectly honeycombed. It must be said that the secrets of baking have been passed down from generation to generation among the Chartrands, who have owned the business since 1941.

The old-fashioned bread, with its rye flavor and whole grains, offers just the right amount of texture to serve as the foundation for a sandwich worthy of the name. The challenge: not to lose your head in front of the displays of breads, cakes, pies and cookies at this must-try family-run address.

Visit the company website

The lettuce

Three minutes from the bakery, on Route 209, stands a charming fruit and vegetable stand run by Sarah-Emmanuelle Grandbois. “I try to keep everything that can be local,” says the owner, who also grows her own fruits and vegetables, including watermelons, morello cherries and various vegetables. In the middle of the counter, generous curly lettuces catch our eye. “They come from a producer in Saint-Michel, not far from here.” Sold!

Cheese

Some whisper that the best cheese curds in all of Quebec are made at the Le Métayer cheese shop in Napierville. “It really squicksquicks,” says a customer who came from the Eastern Townships to stock up.

One thing is certain, in this cheese shop opened in 2007 there are many varieties of cheddars to give a sandwich some oomph: white cheddar, orange cheddar or flavored with four peppers, chives, herbs and garlic. They even offer a Cristalya cheddar soaked in salt water, with a very pronounced taste.

“Everything is done by hand: we cut, salt and bag our products in an artisanal way,” says Kym Loranger, who has worked on site for eight years. “We are truly an artisanal cheese maker…”

It’s hard to choose from all the options here. It’ll be the chive cheddar for the evening sandwich. And a packet of cheese curds for the road…

Visit the company website

Condiments

Still in Napierville, Marie-Eve Dupont offers marinades and condiments inspired by ancestral recipes from the region in a small shop called Le Marinier. “I found a family recipe in each village in the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville,” she says. “I also sell regional products that I have transformed, such as rhubarb BBQ sauce, marinated tongues from free-range pigs or vinegar flavoured with chive flowers.”

Most of the time, the raw materials used are second-rate vegetables or herbs that would be lost if they did not pass through the hands of the woman who runs the shop in her own home. At the beginning of the season, the products offered are rarer, she says, but as the months go by, the glass jars filled with sweets accumulate: candied pumpkin, pickled yellow gherkins, tomato jams, etc.

To decorate the sandwich, we opt for thin asparagus marinated in a mixture of maple syrup and white wine vinegar. Minced organic garlic, preserved in white wine vinegar, sugar and cider vinegar, will be used to delicately flavor our mayonnaise.

Meat

Originally from Germany, Stefan Fritz offers the entire production of delicatessen meats in his butcher’s shop in Lacolle. This is where sausages, bacon, sausages, bologna, hams and other meat delicacies are prepared.

One of the great specialties of Charcuterie Stefan Fritz remains, however, the meatloaf, which is in fact a preparation of cooked meat in the form of a rectangular loaf. Various varieties of this German recipe are offered: olives, ham and cheese, peppers… The “bread” is then cut into thin slices to fill a sandwich (well, well). Our choice: slices of meatloaf with green pepper which will be combined with a little Westphalian ham smoked on site.

Please note: while all the products are prepared in Lacolle, Charcuterie Stefan Fritz also has points of sale in Brossard and La Prairie.

Visit the company website

To accompany our sandwich

In the heart of the charming village of Ormstown lies a small French-inspired café where they serve pastries to die for in a warm atmosphere. Its name: Boutique Fermière. A must-see along the beautiful Châteauguay River for those who love macaroons and tarts…

Finally, head to the Cidrerie du Minot, on the magnificent Covey Hill road, where it is pleasant to drive among vineyards and orchards. With its small 2% alcohol, the Crément de pommes – one of the Cidrerie’s flagship products – is a dream companion for an outdoor meal. In fact, you can sit on the site’s picnic tables to eat near the apple trees. A place where flavor and beauty come together, like this tourist route for wandering gourmets.

Visit the Cidrerie du Minot website

Visit the Farmer’s Circuit website

The road in brief

1998: year of creation; this is the first signposted tourist route in Quebec, made official with blue signs from the Quebec Ministry of Transport in 2004.

194: number of kilometers over which the Circuit du paysan stretches

85: number of producers and gourmet addresses on the Circuit du paysan

12: number of thematic circuits designed by the local development center of Jardins-de-Napierville for stays ranging from a few hours to two days