Winter - Taste the Seasonal Dishes
Our beautiful region offers an exceptional range of rich and delicious dishes based on olive oil, fragrant herbs, garlic and spices. Provençal cuisine is characterised by the abundant use of vegetables. It is extremely inventive! Some preparations are known throughout the world, others a little less so.
Of course, the dishes proposed here can be enjoyed all year round! However, the specialities recommended in this section are recommended because they reflect tradition or because the vegetables used have reached maturity. Today, it is important to favour seasonal fruit and vegetables: they taste better, meet our nutritional needs, are richer in antioxidants, are less processed and less expensive! Bon appétit to all!
Truffle Brouillard
What is it exactly?
Brouillade is the word we use in Provence to evoke scrambled eggs. From February onwards, it is decorated with slices of melanosporum truffle from the Luberon, the real black gold of Provence!
Origin
The first recipe for scrambled eggs can be traced back to 1864 with the cook François Pierre de La Varenne. He advised simply cooking them in butter and seasoning them with salt and nutmeg. Since then, the recipe has evolved.
A Recipe
Truffle Brouillard:
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Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 mins, the day before Cooking time: 10 mins |
Ingredients
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- The day before, brush the truffles under a trickle of water, dry them and put them in an airtight jar with the eggs.
- 3 hours before the meal, break the eggs, mix the yolks and whites well with a whisk. Add salt, pepper and 25 g of sliced truffles.
- Set aside in an airtight container.
- At mealtime: prepare a bain-marie.
- Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan and pour in the mixture.
- Stir gently with a wooden spoon until it thickens.
- Add a spoonful of crème fraîche and stir vigorously off the heat.
- Add 25 g of grated truffle and mix.
- Enjoy!
Incredible but true!
A brouillade may look simple to make, but it has to be earned! It must be creamy and airy! It is therefore necessary to practice before succeeding in making the perfect dish!
Les pieds et paquets
What is it exactly?
Les pieds et paquets, also known as "pieds paquets", are a speciality of Marseille, a tripe recipe made from lamb offal: the belly and the feet.
Origin
The recipe was invented by Louis Ginouvès, a chef in the Pomme district of Marseille, in 1880. It has conquered all of Provence. In the last century, pieds paquets were the traditional snack of workers. For a long time it was prepared and eaten on Mardi Gras. Today, this dish is cooked in autumn and winter. It is still the traditional dish of the Provençal supper on December 24th, or the week before Christmas.
A Recipe
Les pieds et paquets:
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Serves 6 Preparation time: 15 mins, the day before Cooking time: 8 hours |
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 110 degrees.
- Cut the leeks, 3 carrots, celery and 2 onions into brunoise. Fry them in a little olive oil.
- Place the packets in a casserole dish, pour in the tomato purée, cover with white wine and add salt, pepper and herbs, the chilli, the vegetables and the onion studded with cloves. Bring to the boil.
- Place the covered casserole in the oven and cook for 4 hours. Leave overnight in the fridge.
- Degrease, add the rest of the carrots cut into sections and the feet, then put the casserole back in the oven for 4 hours.
- Steam the potatoes.
- Serve 4 to 5 parcels and a foot per person, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!
Incredible but true!
According to a legend, the origin of this dish dates back to the creation of the Phocaean city 2,600 years ago. Gyptis, daughter of the king of the Celto-Ligurian tribe established in the region, married Protis, a Phocaean captain. As a token of love, she offered him rolled lamb pansies stuffed with flesh and fragrant herbs.
Provençal Stew
What is it exactly?
This dish is a regional speciality based on stewed beef (or mutton, lamb, wild boar, bull) marinated in red wine and then cooked in a braised stew.
Origin
The word daube comes from the Provençal word adobar, which means "to prepare, to arrange" and refers to the way of cooking meats in a closed container called a "daubière". The dish was born in the 19th century on the roadsides of Provence. The carters transported goods from the villages to the towns. These men liked dishes washed down with a local red wine, especially beef stew, called "daube". Cooks took over the recipe and in the 19th century, every inn or post house kept a pot of daube hot to feed travellers. Today, each family has its own recipe, handed down from mother to daughter...
A Recipe
Provençal Stew:
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Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 min, the day before Cooking time: approximately 5 hours |
Ingredients:
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- Cut the meat into 4 cm pieces.
- Peel the vegetables, chop the garlic and onion and slice the carrots.
- Place the beef pieces in a bowl with the vegetables.
- Add the thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
- Cover with wine.
- Leave to marinate for a dozen hours.
- Heat 4 spoonfuls of olive oil in a casserole dish.
- Drain the meat and brown it in the pan, then add the bacon, garlic, onion and carrots.
- Add a spoonful of flour.
- Pour in the wine from the marinade gradually while stirring.
- Leave to cook over a very low heat for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add a little water or wine during cooking to prevent the meat from sticking.
- Enjoy!
Incredible but true!
The more you heat a stew, the better it becomes. It is therefore advisable to prepare it a few days in advance and to put it in the refrigerator between several runs over low heat...
Monkfish Stew
What is it exactly?
Bourride is a monkfish stew. The fish, cut into steaks, is poached in water and white wine with onion, lemon, orange peel and herbs. It is a speciality of the city of Sète.
Origin
This dish dates back to the settlement of the Phocaeans in Massilia (Marseille). The term "bourride" comes from the Provençal boulido which means "boiled".
A Recipe
Monkfish Stew:
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Preparation time: 20 mins Cooking time: 40 mins |
Ingredients :
For the aïoli:
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- Cut the carrots, leek whites, celery, onions and garlic very thinly and put them cold in the olive oil in a cast iron casserole dish.
- Cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Cut your monkfish fillets into pieces, and add them to the vegetables in the casserole, along with the white wine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
- Prepare the aioli: peel the garlic cloves and chop them, then put them in a bowl and add salt. Add the egg yolks and mix for 2 minutes, season with pepper and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Drizzle in the peanut oil as you would a mayonnaise, then add the olive oil in the same way. Adjust the seasoning.
- After 15 minutes of cooking, remove the monkfish from the pan and place it in a hot dish.
- Add the aioli that you have just prepared to the cooking sauce in the casserole. Leave this sauce to reduce for a few moments, leaving it to simmer over a low heat.
- Serve the monkfish bourride à la sétoise covered with its sauce.
- Enjoy!
Incredible but true!
There's nothing incredible about this recipe, except that once you've tried it, it's impossible to get enough!
