This guest post comes to us from Berlin (and Madrid)! Vlada Migas is a pastry chef and the voice behind the tempting recipes on her blog Cook for Soul. “I enjoy feeding people with tasty desserts and sharing my cooking stories with them. Recently upgraded my skills with alternative dieting …

A  traditional soft bread found in Provence – fougasse – is the inspiration for the walnut and blue cheese tarte soleil (a puff-pastry tart) recipe. The tart is best served hot or at room temperature. Petra Carter, the founder of le Pistou Cookery School in Uzès, made this version with cheese and walnuts. However, you can adjust the fillings to suit your taste, or what you have on hand.

The following recipe for a clafoutis aux courgettes (zucchini casserole),  turns a traditional Provencal dessert into a savoury dish that is suitable for vegetarians. You can experiment with the fillings, depending on what is available, or in Jackie’s case growing in your garden.

This recipe for a baked ratatouille tian combines layers of summer (estival) vegetables in an earthenware dish. You can vary the ingredients depending on what is available. This version of a traditional, Provencal side-dish comes from the kitchen at le Pistou Cookery School in Uzès.

This quince almond tarte tatin (tatin aux coings et aux amandes) is a fall dessert that celebrates the slow-ripening fruit. It’s a bit of work to peel quince, but you will be pleased with the sweet end result.

This recipe from the kitchen of Anne Challier is really a French cuisine classic. Pâté fois de volaille is easy to make in advance and perfect for an appetizer or a picnic.

Make this recipe for seared salmon one time, and it will become a “go-to” quick dinnertime meal for two (or more). The tomato, shallot, caper and olive ragoût is a savoury combination that is similar to a puttanesca pasta sauce.

This easy dish of Provencal baked potatoes is a perfect companion to eat with roasted lamb shanks, rabbit in a mustard sauce, a lemon thyme trout, or a pork tenderloin.

In Portugal, the culinary rumour is that there are 365 (or more) ways to cook salt-cod (bacalhau) – one for every day of the year. Cod is called morue in French. It is quite common to find this fish on menus, and it is often the “centre” of attention in the traditional Provencal aioli (recipe here). Gilles recipe for brandade a purée of salt cod, olive oil and other ingredients is below.

This seafood dish so bright and flavourful that I call it sunshine on a plate (see post for step-by-step photos). Seared scallops are coquilles Saint-Jacques in French. They are not hard to cook, but there are a few culinary keys to achieving a crispy result. Try to find fresh scallops …