Barba Juan Barbagiuai or fried ‘ravioli’

Barba Juan, or Barbagiuai if you’re over in Liguria, translates as ‘Uncle John’, and the name’s relevance for this delicious, local dish remains a mystery for most. In his book ‘Flavours of the Riviera’, Colman Andrews offers one or two possible explanations, and the one that seems most plausible is that in Nice years ago the term barbajouan meant simpleton. While Barba Juan was indeed a simple dish incorporating locally available produce, this is perhaps not the most satisfying term to describe it. Explore this Post

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Jackie Dyer

Jackie is a freelance Human Resources Consultant, based in the UK, and a regular visitor to France where she has a small home. A resident of Nice during the 1990s, Jackie recently started a blog called Pesto and Pistou to record all the things she loves about the food, wine and atmosphere of the Côte d’Azur and its neighbouring Italian region of Liguria. In her spare time, Jackie runs wine tasting events for small groups, having studied for wine qualifications while working for an independent wine merchant that specialises in importing French wines, including some of Provence’s most iconic gems. With a plethora of Provençal cookbooks in a library that keeps growing, she likes nothing more than to sit down with a glass of Côtes de Provence to ‘investigate all things foodie from Nice to Genoa and beyond’.

Visit Pesto & Pistou here so Jackie can tempt you with a taste of the Côte d'Azur