Provence & Côte d'Azur

I have mentioned a few times on this blog that I have had a preoccupation with Provence lately. I have been drawn to it in a way I cannot fight against - like some inevitable cosmic force was drawing me to it. I know I am not the first to be romantically swept away by this region, but I certainly never thought I would actually find myself on vacation there any time soon.

And yet that is exactly where I found myself last week. I somehow found myself in hotel room in Nice overlooking the aquamarine water of the Baie des Anglais charting out all the places we had to eat over the next few days. It was...amazing.

It was Olive Tapinade, Rosé Wine (be still my heart), fresh Goat Cheese (that may have actually brought tears to my eyes), and absolutely perfectly cooked Scallops with shaved truffles that there is no pictorial evidence of because I could not wait one second to devour them (nor will I ever forget the way they absolutely melted in my mouth. Melted I tell you).

I always say I am new to this whole "foodie" thing - and so the idea of Provence as food mecca is pretty new to me as well. I knew it was the land of truffles and lavender, but I had no idea it was also the land of fresh seafood, perfectly light and fruity olive oil, and candied fruits.

We ate everywhere from street stands (Socca & Rotisserie Chicken) to Michelin-rated fancy restaurants (Chateau Eza) to hip new joints across the street from the Cannes' Palais des Festivals (Mocca), to cute little bakeries with deliciously simple breakfasts.


I think the highlight of my whole trip was wandering through the market at Cours Saleya in Nice. I have never seen such exquisite fruits and veggies in my life. Next time I visit there, I will have to rent someplace with a kitchen so I can enjoy all those gorgeous fresh fruits and vegetables.

I have been very tired of cooking lately (as you can see by the lack of posts for an entire month)- and this trip gave me just the jolt of inspiration that I needed. It reminded me why food (and cooking it) can be so amazing and what drew me to it in the first place.

I cannot wait to go back and explore more - St.Tropez! Marseilles! - not to mention the beautiful countryside and majestic mountains....sigh...why do I have to return to reality?

Ratatouille

I have been dreaming - obsessing - over Provence lately. I have been researching the price of vacation cottages, looking at plane tickets. I mean, I live in Germany...its not that far right? What was that about a budget again? Oh right. See, summer is ending; Christmas is looming menacingly on the horizon; we just went through a big move (make that 2 big moves in the past year); we have already taken 2 vacations this year and have another coming up in November (Istanbul!!)...um, yeah. I think my wistful holiday picking lavender and drinking wine in Provence is going to have to be put on hold for now (insert eye roll directed at myself here).

But that doesn't mean I can't have a little taste of it right here at home. The markets are full of dirt cheap Zucchini, Eggplant and tomatoes that are sure to disappear in the coming weeks. Eating on a (extremely tight) budget means I like dishes that use those inexpensive in-season veggies, makes a ton, and is delicious to eat as leftovers. Ratatouille is the perfect dish.

This is a dish that requires a bit of prep. I mean, normally when a recipe tells me to do something as silly as peel the eggplant I laugh and say "no thanks". However, this was my first time making this classic so I did (almost) exactly as I was told and I do not regret it at all. It is delicious, rich, smooth and will make lovers out of any vegetable hater you serve it too. Promise. Its really a very simple dish, all the slicing and basting aside, and the flavor of all the vegetables come together in a way that is simply sublime. Oh, and guess how much this cost? Just guess. A whopping 3 euros.

I found this to be a very forgiving and flexible recipe. You can make several hours or a day ahead, and while its fun to get everything just right - if you slice the veggies different, or under cook the zucchini (like I did) - well, it still tastes just as good (no food snobbery around here). Now that I have made it once, I will have fun playing with different ingredients and flavors as I try this again and again (oh, yes, this will be eaten many more times at this house).

We enjoyed plain as a main course with a glass of wine and some nice music on the patio while fantasizing about our vacation in the South of France; but I can imagine cooking this up on a Saturday afternoon with the fam, watching the Pixar classic by the same name, and eating with some roast lamb, or even tossed in couscous, pasta or eaten cold on sandwiches.


Ratatouille
based on this recipe by Julia Child

1/2 pound eggplant
1/2 pound zucchini, trimmed
salt/pepper
Olive oil
1 8-ounce onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced into strips
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 pound firm but ripe tomatoes, seeded, cut into thick strips
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 or 2 tablespoons thyme

Peel eggplant; cut lengthwise into slices, then cut into 3-inch-long, 1-inch-wide strips. Cut zucchini into same size strips. Place vegetables in a separate bowl or colander; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 425 F / 204 C. In a small shallow pan, toss eggplant with a bit of olive oil and roast in oven until starting to brown - around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, working in batches, add zucchini to a heated skillet with olive oil; sauté until light golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate; reserve.

Add a bit more oil to skillet; heat over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; sauté until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place tomato strips atop onion-pepper mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover skillet; cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover; baste vegetables in skillet with juices. Boil until juices are almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixture to 2 1/2-quart pot; sprinkle with a bit of the parsley, basil and thyme. Top with half of eggplant and half of zucchini, then remaining onion-pepper-tomato mixture; sprinkle with herbs. Layer remaining eggplant and zucchini over; sprinkle with a bit more of the herbs. Cover; simmer over low heat 10 minutes.

Uncover; tilt pot and baste with accumulated juices. Pour a bit of red wine over the whole pot (not too much - a glug or two). Increase heat to medium; simmer uncovered, basting several times with pan juices until only 2 to 3 tablespoons juices remain in pot, watching closely to avoid scorching, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes longer (I had a lot of juice and this phase took awhile). Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm with baguette.

French Lentil Soup

I go through phases with my cooking - I will be inspired by something and find myself cooking with those flavors or methods over and over (last week it was Cucumbers and Afternoon Tea that had me inspired...as you can tell). Something about late summer, a few cool rainy days, and watching the movie Ratatouille had me wanting to cook warm hearty dishes with rustic French flavors (and hmmm...maybe even some Ratatouille in the coming days?). This soup satisfied that craving perfectly. The balsamic vinegar gave the broth a deep richness and the vegetables and lentils filled us up perfectly. We sopped up the extra broth in the bowl with big crusty whole wheat rolls. The perfect meal for a rainy day.

Like most people, we are always trying to eat on a budget. Eating on a budget can sometimes feel limiting and boring - but it definitely doesn't have to. Really, when you try to eat real food made from scratch - most food doesn't actually cost that much (especially if you try to use meat as a condiment instead of the main event - or hey, maybe even not at all). Some ingredients are a real bargain - and when you dress them up with herbs, spices and in-season vegetables they can offer endless variety and deeply satisfying meals.

Lentils are one of those wonderful ingredients. A little bit goes a really long way and like pasta and rice, they can serve as a backdrop for almost anything while still being an integral part of the dish. I think all total (not including the things already in my pantry like Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar and spices) this soup cost a total of around 3 euros and gave us 4 very large main-course servings.


French Lentil Soup
1 cup French Lentils (or Masoor lentils - in fact I often find Masoor lentils labeled as French lentils here; even though they are different colors they have similar properties when cooked. Here is a good primer on different kinds of lentils - with pictures.)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 gloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tomatoes, chopped (between 1/2 to 1 cup)
1/2 eggplant, diced (about 1 1/2 cups) and drizzled with lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs dried herbs de Provence (thyme, basil, savory, rosemary, lavender, fennel if you have fresh)
salt and pepper
3 tbs olive oil
2 dried bay leaves
4 tbs (roughly - start there and add to taste) balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lemon ( a few tbs)

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a heavy soup pot (4 to 5 qt) over moderately high heat. Add chopped onion, season with salt, and saute until starting to turn golden - around 5 minutes. Add eggplant and carrots and garlic and herbs and toss in oil. Saute another 3 to 4 minutes or until eggplant is starting to soften.

Add tomatoes and lemon juice and saute another minute or so more. Add lentils and stir into the oil and veggies. Add veggie broth, water, bay leaves and balsamic vinegar. Taste the broth and season as needed with salt and fresh ground black pepper (I did around 6 turns on the grinder). Bring to a boil then reduce heat slightly and let simmer, uncovered until soup thickens and lentils have softened - around 30 minutes.

Serve warm with some crusty bread and good wine :)