A day in Provence : cooking class in Gordes

I work as personal chef in the Luberon and there's a house where I'm oftenly called . It's name is Fontblanche , just near the village of Gordes Last week I went there for a cooking class and even more : I organized a full day experience in Provence beginning with a café & croissant at the Café de la Poste in Goult the village where I live.

We met at 8:30 am and took the time for coffee.....then we left towards Isle sur la Sorgue
for shopping at the market ( on thurdays the market is smaller than on sundays when you  have also antiques but easier if you want to buy food )

We had not a fixed menu : everybody said that we'll improvise with what we'll find on the market ,so we bought :Zucchini ,salads, radishes,beans, potatoes,garlic, onions, fish,cheese,rhubarb and strawberries.

 Shooting at the market is not so easy : Veronique didn't want ,then I talked with her  and she explained me that so much people just takes pics and go , without buying nor caring of what she does . And she does magnificent pulp of fruits slowly cooked with raw cane sugar and much love .Then she  agreed to be photographed....if you go to the market look for her and try her products : they are absolutely marvellous . I bought some caramel au beurre salé that I used to make the icing for a chocolate cake .

Walking in Isle sur la sorgue

It was funny to see how they propose a typical venitian aperitif ! ( I come from Venice)

Then we went to the restaurant : I choose "Le vieux bistrot"  in Cabriéres d'Avignon , a charming village on the road to home . The owner , Vincent , is very agreeable and the rapport quality-price one of the best of Luberon . We had lunch under the pergola ,the light was amazing !

They brought us some delicatessen while waiting for the main course.

The presentation doesn't need to be commented , the flan of carrotes was very very good  (normally I don't eat flans as they have not much  taste and mostly too salted )

And then came dessert , a Café gourmand composed of various types but I succeed to shot only one ; they've been eaten in one bite . 

Happy moments.....

We left the reasturant at 3pm then I came home to prepare everything I needed for the cooking-class .We started at 5pm , the menu was :

Entrée : La tourte de courgettes ( an ancient recipe of Nice) and a green salad with radishes and fresh garlic

Plat : Poisson à la marseillase ( another typical recipe not very well known ) and a green beans , white beans and small potatoes salad

Dessert : Rhubarb and Strawberries crumble

Making the tourte

We cooked all together like a family , it was so funny!

 And finally everything was ready for dinner .

The night was sweet and warm....we had a wonderful dinner.

Sweet life in Provence III & a Rhubarb & Cherries crumble

What I do really like here in Provence is that people take the time for living . So , you don't need to wait for the Weekend to be invited somewhere or to invite someone .It was just a thursday like any other and our neighbours invited us for lunch : a magnificent steak was cooking on the barbeque when we arrived ,about 4lb of meat for three .

It was a wonderful day and the view from their terrace looking towards the Luberon  and onto the village is great.

So we had tomatoes  and peppers with the steak , then came cheese. Time flewed sweetly ,eating & chatting .

I brought the dessert , a simple crumble with rhubarb and cherries . I made it very light , less butter and a small amount of sugar . Using rice and spelt flour instead of wheat ( I don't know why but wheat flour makes crumble rather heavy to digest for me ) and I used a special pepper to give a spicy touch .

Rhubarb & Cherries Crumble

For 6 servings

100 gr of rhubarb

350 gr of cherries

100 gr of spelt flour

50 gr of rice flour

a pinch of salt

75 gr of cane sugar

70 gr of butter diced

a pinch of black pepper freshly grounded ( I used a wild pepper from Madagascar called Voatsiperifery )

20 gr of flaked almonds

Preheat the oven at 180° or 375 F , butter a 20/22 cm baking dish ,or six single ones as I did and set aside. Wash the rhubarb and the cherries ,trim the top and the ends of the rhubarb and cut diagonally into 2 cm lenghts. Remove the stems and kernels from cherries . Sprinkle 1and 1/2  teaspoon of sugar on the dish ( or 1/4 on each if making individual portions) , spread the fruits evenly .

To make the crumble topping put the flours ,the salt and the butter in a bowl , rub the butter till the mixture seems like breadcrunch , stir in sugar , pepper and almonds . Sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb and cherries , bake for about 25/30 minutes until the topping is golden brown .

You can eat it warm but I like it even cold . 

Supernatural market

We are having a gorgeus springtime here in Provence and I do love go onto my very secret garden looking for wild vegetables . It's the season for detoxing and what's better than walking under the sun and picking up something that Mother Nature so generously gives us ?
One basket for that we'll be eating raw and the other one for herbs that will be cooked...I like to come home with my herbs cleaned & arranged ,ready to use .

Gordes

Can you imagine that it's amongst the ruins of some village that you can find the biggest variety ? I speak of Luberon , obviously : in the countryside we can't find so much , because of all the chemicals products that have been used along the years. Things are changing now , and a new generation of young farmers is coming .I'll tell you in a next post about them.



Wild blettes



Wild leek

Wild rocket 

When we came back we had an amazing wild rocket ( not be confounded with  arugula ) and Dandelion  salad with fresh eggs from the farm nearby : this is one of my favorites , a real luxe to me. The combination between the bitterness of dandelion and the spicy taste of wild rocket is so good that you  don't need to add anythyng else , just a normal seasoning.Accompanied with eggs is an healthy and light lunch or dinner . Your liver will thank you !

Dandelion & Wild Rocket Salad

Wash the herbs almost three times , till the water is clear , then put them in a bowl. Prepare a vinaigrette : in a cup put some fleur de sel ( how much as you like ) a drizzle of apple's winegar t dissolve the salt , extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grounded black pepper , mix well and add to the salad . Cook the eggs : raise the water to boil , put gently the eggs inside and let cook for five minutes , drain and cool with cold water . Serve with the salad and enjoy !
You can find here a traditional provençal recipe with wild blettes .

Bon appetit !

Broderick's family in Provence & the tian

I live in a charming village in the very heart of Provence , a beatiful place called Parc Naturel regional du Luberon , a valley betwteen the " Mont Ventoux " and the Luberon mountain. If you read Peter Mayle's novels or you have seen the movie " A good year" with Russel Crowe well.... is there where I live !

1. I work as a personal chef mostly for people coming here on holidays and last summer I 've been cooking for some families coming from all over the world , in some case these were " reunions"  just to stay together  one or  two weeks , for me it was important to do my best for them so that they can have good memories ' at least...about food ) Everyone dreams to come to Provence and taste his sunny , Mediterranean cooking under a " pergola" with an earth breaking view ....so : I feel responsible for their dreams come true . Broderick Family is one of these , mostly very young , very nice and real "gourmets" , happy people with"good energy" . I asked them the right to post some photos of the last night I cooked for them and the recipes also , bien sûre ....

The menu of the dinner was " deep fried  zucchini flowers ( no photos , I hadn't time ....they where eaten in an instant )  a "Marinated roasted beef " with a tian provençal as side dish  and a gorgeous pavlova .with red summer fruits

The Tian  of  Provence  and  the marinated  beef  

Recipe for 8 people

The tian

Ingredients : 4 eggplants , 4 round zucchini, 4 tomatoes , 4 onions , 4

 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

 1 csp of fleur de sel , black pepper freshly grounded ,  thyme , a clove of  garlic

Me ....at the market ( the one on the left)



Vegetables at Petit Palais  Market

Wash the vegetables , peel the onions (choose vegetables with the same caliber  , it will be

 easier to fill the pan ) then cut all vegetables  into very thin slices . The best way to cook tian

is in a earthenware baking  pan  about 8 cm sizes height . Range the slices  in rows , you can

begin with eggplants , then zucchini , tomatoes and onions  at last , as you can  see in the

photo . This is a work of patience , the purpose is to have very thick rows of vegetables ,

don’t be afraid to compress them as they will restrain while cooking . When all slices put

together  spread onto them the oil , the salt , the thyme , put the clove of garlic into the

middle  , let cook in the oven at 180°  /350 f   for about 1 hour  or till well baked ( it depends

on your oven )  While tian is cooking  have a look on it , if it is drying  sprinkle it with the

sauce  that’s at the bottom of the pan  , taste also for salt  , you may need some more . When

 it’s ready spread the pepper on it and some more olive oil . Wait  at least 15 minutes before serving . It’s an amazing

 side for lamb or beef  , though quite delicious as  main course  with a  green salad  on hot

summer’s days .

Broderick Family ... so lovely people !

The marinated beef

Ingredients  : 1 ½ kg of beef to roast  , salt , extra-virgin olive oil , fresh herbs 

like Basil , parsley , coriander , estragon etc … freshly ground black pepper

Even if the quantity of meat could seems  big  don’t be afraid  : this is a way to prepare  a

roasted beef you can enjoy even  the days after  ( on summer days it’s great to have

something fresh into the Frigidaire  for an easy dinner )

Preheat the oven at 200° , seal the meat in a large saucepan , each sides  ; spread some salt

on it ( just  one pinch )  , put  in  a baking pan and let cook in the oven for  30 mn for rare ,

45 mn   if  you want it well done . Switch off  the oven and let the roast  to rest  inside  for  15

mn  . Then  , take it off  , let cool  till you can  cover it with a film and  store in the

refrigerator  at least 2 hours  , it will be much easier to cut it into slices  . So …now that your

roasted beef is  very cold , cut it into slices that you’ll  range in a  serving platter  . Sprinkle

every  layer  with  herbs  (choose the ones  you prefer )  a little bit of salt , if needed , some

oil and pepper .  Cover with a film and let marinate for  at least 2 hours  , but you can keep

  the roast 2/3 days  .  Enjoy it !