A rich and delicious cuisine based on
olive oil, aromatic herbs, garlic and seasonings; the odours
waft out to tempt you.
bouillabaisse
At least 12 kinds of fish in a full-flavoured soup. This
was originally a poor man's meal, but has become an expensive
luxury, because the fish needed have become rare, and the
catch is limited
Rouille
This is the indispensable accompaniment to bouillabaisse,
made of fresh red chilli pepper crushed with garlic, and mixed
with olive oil, breadcrumbs and fish stock.
Aïoli
A homemade thick, savoury garlic mayonnaise (with no mustard)
made only with olive oil - but that goes without saying in
Provence
Anchoïade
Cream of anchovy with olive oil and capers - smooth and tasty.
Tapenade
Cream of black olives and capers with olive oil. Wonderful
on toast with the aperitif.
Frogs'legs
à la provençale
Rolled in flour and grilled in oil with garlic.
Rabbit
à la provençale
Cooked very slowly in white wine with garlic, mustard, seasoning
and tomatoes..
Sea bass
with fennel
One of the masterpieces of Provence cooking. Usually grilled
with fennel or stuffed.
Pistou
soup
Another of the high spots of Provence cuisine, a vegetable
soup flavoured with a crushed basil, garlic and olive oil
paste.
Les pieds-paquets
Stuffed trotters cooked gently in white wine with onions,
carrots and bacon.
Les soupions
Small cuttlefish rolled in flour and fried in oil.
Not forgetting the indispensable local aperitif:
Le pastis
An aniseed-based aperitif, the "pastaga" is an
absolute institution before lunch and after work. Try it in
cocktail form with mint syrup ("perroquet"), with
red grenadine syrup ("tomate") or barley syrup ("mauresque").
