The Cuisine of Provence ....
(Christian Etienne's Tartare de Tomates)
So ....what's so special about the cooking of Provence?
Well, what many people fail to realise is that the cooking of Provence is essentially home-cooking.
Sure, there are complicated dishes in Provence - but these are best left to the professional chefs in the Michelin-starred restaurants that abound in the region: places like Christian Etienne in Avignon, the Oustau de Baumaniere in les-Baux-de-Provence, Alain Ducasse's world-famous Louis XV in Monaco, the Clos de la Violette in Aix, etc.
(Please see our Restaurant section for details of some of our favorite Provencal eating places.)
But a Provencal mother or house wife will have neither the time nor the inclination to indulge in such complex and extravagant dishes. Most of the time the food served up to family and friends will be essentially simple fare, but still cooked and served with care and imagination.
When you have such wonderful, fresh local produce on your doorstep - the fruit, vegetables, fish, herbs and olive oil for which Provence is renowned - there is little need to over-complicate matters.
Just think about the dishes for which Provence is famous: Ratatouille, Salade Nicoise, Stuffed Tomatoes, Pissaladiere, Sea Bass baked with Fennel, Grilled Sardines, Bouillabaisse, Bourride, etc....
What distinguishes these dishes is not the complexity of their preparation, but the freshness of their ingredients. Try making a Salade Nicoise or a Ratatouille - or, especially, a Bouillabaisse -from tinned or frozen products, and you'll know at once what I mean.
The cuisine of Provence depends first and foremost on taking the best and freshest local products you can find, and then transforming them by your own personal care and imagination into a good, wholesome, elegant and memorable dishes.
Here's an excellent example of what I mean:
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Filets de Rouget au Parmesan
(Fillets of Red Mullet with Parmesan)
Ingredients (for 4 servings): 8 fillets of red mullet; 50g fresh Parmesan cheese; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; a few leaves of fresh basil.
Method: Make sure the fillets of red mullet are completely free of bones. Remove any tiny bones with tweezers.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Cook the red mullet fillets, skin side down, over a moderate heat for about 2-3 minutes. Turn them over and cook for a further 1 minute.
Very carefully, transfer the fillets to a serving dish (or individual plates). Drizzle over some olive oil. Scatter over some fine shavings of Parmesan and shredded basil leaves.
Very simple - very delicious!
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Less than five minutes' work! Nothing could be simpler! Once you have found your fillets of red mullet, your extra-virgin olive oil, your fresh Parmesan and your fresh basil, the rest is a doddle (as we say here in the UK).
Here's another example. This dish takes slightly longer to prepare and cook, but the underlying principles are the same.
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Thon à la Ratatouille
(Tuna with Ratatouille)
Ingredients (for 4 servings): 4 x 200g fresh tuna steaks; 2 aubergines (eggplants); 2 onions; 2 red peppers; 2 green peppers; 2 courgettes (zucchini); 8 large ripe tomatoes; 4 tbsp olive oil; 2 cloves garlic; 2 sprigs fresh oregano; 1 large handful fresh basil leaves; salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Method: First of all, make a ratatouille. Slice the onion. Dice the aubergines, courgettes and peppers. Crush the garlic. In a large frying pan heat 1.5 tablespoons olive oil until very hot. Add the onions, garlic and aubergines. Cook on quite a high heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the peppers, and cook another 2 minutes. Then add the courgettes and cook another 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and the fresh oregano.
Cook for a further 2-3 minutes, mixing everything together to let all the flavors amalgamate. Season to taste.
Cover the pan and leave on a very low heat while you cook the tuna.
Heat the remaining half tablespoon of oil in another frying pan. Let it get very hot. Fry the tuna quickly for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on how thick the steaks are and how rare/ medium/ well-done you like your tuna. (Medium-rare is best!)
Take the pan off the heat and allow the tuna to rest for a couple of minutes.
Divide the ratatouille between four plates. Place the tuna on top, scatter over some torn-up basil leaves and finally drizzle with a little more olive oil, if the fancy takes you!
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Are you beginning to see the picture that's emerging here? No fancy sauces or pyrotechnical skills required. Fresh, simple ingredients imaginatively prepared and cooked - that's all! Whether you are thinking about starters, salads, side dishes, vegetables, fish dishes, meat and poultry dishes, desserts - the principles are exactly the same.
Here's one more recipe to complete the trio:
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Poulet grillé aux senteurs de Provence
(Chicken grilled with Lemon, Basil & Garlic)
Ingredients (for 4 servings): 2 small (and preferably free-range) corn-fed chickens; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 lemons; 2 large cloves garlic; 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence; 1 bunch fresh basil; salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method: Peel and crush the garlic. Squeeze the juice from the lemons.
Cut each chicken into 8 serving pieces: 2 legs, each separated into thigh and drumstick; and 2 breasts, each cut in half.
Put all the pieces in a large bowl or glass/ earthenware dish and add the olive oil, dried herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix the pieces of chicken well in the marinade and leave for at least one hour (but longer is best).
Pre-heat the oven to 190C/ 375F/ Gas Mark 5.
Heat a solid, ridged cast-iron grill pan. There is probably no need to add any additional oil. Lay the chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn them over and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. The skin should be golden-brown, even perhaps scorched a bit here and there.
You will certainly have to cook the chicken pieces in 2 or 3 batches.
As the pieces complete this preliminary cooking time, transfer them to a roasting tin in the pre-heated oven. Allow them to finish cooking until the juices from the thighs run clear. This should take about another 15 minutes or so.
When all the pieces are cooked, dish them up on a large serving platter. Scatter over some coarse sea salt and some finely shredded basil leaves.
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"Faites simple", as someone once said.
(I think it may have been Escoffier)
You can find lots of modern and traditional recipes on our Recipe Links page - all free of charge!
Happy Cooking - and Eating!
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