Sanquette
Alternative names
Type
Region or stateOccitania
Associated cuisineOccitan cuisine
Main ingredientsFresh blood
Ingredients generally used
Similar dishesSangre encebollada


Sanquettepronunciation [a]: 150  (French; Occitan: sanqueta; Aranese Occitan: sanganhèta[2]; Catalan: sangada[3]) is a blood dish from rural Occitania. The dish is made immediately upon exsanguination of livestock: the fresh blood is immediately collected, prepared and cooked. Typically a crêpe or pancake, sanquette varies by town across Occitania, including Spanish Occitania.

Illustration of a French farmer slaughtering a chicken, 1886

Preparation

[edit]

Sanquette may be made with the blood of various French farm animals, including chicken, duck, cow, goat and rabbit.[4][5][6]

Sanquette was traditionally made during the annual pig slaughter (tue-cochon), to use every part of the pig. Sanquette is also made during the slaughter of geese, a traditionally female activity in Occitania.[1]: 150 

The blood of the freshly exsanguinated animal is collected and mixed with bacon (the inclusion of which may be called sanguette vive[1]: 225 ) and a persillade of parsley and garlic, along with vinegar to prolong coagulation, and flour or bread crumbs to bind. The mixture - depending on preparation, of a consistency between a blood curd and pancake batter - is then fried in lard and served.[4][5][6]

Variations

[edit]

Variations in Ardèche include sanguette pochée, an omelette; sanquet de la faraça des Vans, with spinach and offal; sanquet au vin blanc or sanquet de Vinezac, with collard greens, offal and white wine; and sanquette de Saint-Pons, with giblets and sorrel.[4]

In Béarn, sanquette is a stew made with the blood, cheeks, tripe and spleen of a calf, finished with cornichons and capers.[5]

In Val d'Aran, the dish is known in the Aranese dialect as sanganhèta; the dish is largely similar to other parts of Occitania.[3][7]

History

[edit]

The dish was first attested to in French language text in 1796, in the Montpellier region, as "sanquet", from the Occitan language sanké ("wild"). The formation "sanquette" was attested to by 1900.[8]

By the late 1970s, sanquette was still a traditional food made during slaughter in Gers and Tarn, but had diminished in Landes, where blood was increasingly seen as worthless byproduct.[1]: 120 

Usage of term outside food

[edit]

Sanquette (also sanquetto) as jargon is a catachresis used in rugby football to describe a dynamic player. It features in the rally song of CA Castelsarrasin [fr] in Castelsarrasin.[6][9]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ also sanguette, sanguet, sanquet[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Valeri, Renée (1977), Le Confit et son rôle dans I'alimentation traditionnelle du Sud-Ouest de la France (PDF), Sweden: Folklivsarkivet med Skånes musiksamlingar, Lunds universitet, pp. 120, 150, ISBN 91-40-04530-7
  2. ^ Socasau, Jusèp Loís Sans (August 2023), Diccionari español – aranés (varianta occitana) (PDF), Institut d’Estudis Aranesi-Acadèmia aranesa dera lengua occitana, pp. v, 392
  3. ^ a b "sanganheta". Diccionari der aranés (via Diccionari.cat) (in Catalan). Translation by Enciclopèdia Catalana. Institut d'Estudis Aranesi. 2019.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ^ a b c Béraud-Williams, Sylvette (2004), La cuisine paysanne d'Ardèche: la vie des fermes et des champs racontée par une enfant du pays [The peasant cuisine of Ardèche: life on farms and in the fields as told by a local child] (in French), La Fontaine de Siloë, pp. 185–186
  5. ^ a b c Helou, Anissa (2011-08-12), An A to Z of offal, The Guardian
  6. ^ a b c Parguel, Marc (2021-10-03). "Cuisine : La Sanquette" (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  7. ^ M, Ivan (2019-03-22). "Cinco propuestas gastronómicas que tienes que probar en la Val d'Aran". Nevasport.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  8. ^ Laurent Catach, ed. (February 2021) [2001], "sanquet, ‑ette ; sanguet, ‑ette n.", Dictionnaire des régionalismes de France, Géographie et histoire d'un patrimoine linguistique [Dictionary of Regionalisms of France, Geography and History of a Linguistic Heritage] (in French), De Boeck/Duculot – via Centre national de la Recherche scientifique
  9. ^ "Gracia, vrai fer de lance de l'Arpal". ladepeche.fr (in French). 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-12-23.