Artichokes are a harbinger of the warmer months ahead. It’s common to find purple artichoke – les petit violets in Provencal markets. These smaller artichokes are a purple globe variety, with a nuttier flavour than the larger green globe version. Since culinary historians believe that Catherine de Medici introduced the …

In Provence, a sure sign of the changing seasons is the new varieties of produce in the grocery store. While it is not a wholesale change from one week to the next, regionally grown tomatoes are no longer prominent. Instead, apples, pears, green beans, mushrooms, carrots and colourful squash take …

While you have most likely tried polenta before, if you have not visited the South of France you may not have sampled panisse or socca. Golden brown, slightly crispy and topped with a fleur de sel, it’s hard to resist freshly made panisse. Below is my easy recipe for panisse …

This recipe is so easy. It’s hardly a recipe, but I must share it as tomato season in Provence is almost upon us, and these blistered cherry tomatoes are a perfect summer side dish. When you join a cooking class at Laurel in Fontvieille, we will make several dishes, including …

Panisse, like polenta, is easy to make. The difference is chickpea flour instead of cornmeal. However, the culinary debate about whether panisse is a culinary creation of Marseille or Nice continues without resolution. Is the authentic version of panisse found at a snack bar on the beach in l’Estaque, where …

Dishes such as ratatouille, pan bagnat, panisse, soup au pistou, and salade Niçoise appear on menus throughout the South of France. Many cooks have time-tested variations on these recipes, which may be delicious, but don’t quite follow the Cuisine Nissarde traditions. Although ratatouille is known around the globe, the authentic …

The inspiration for my recipe for Chickpea and Spinach Gratin is Richard Olney’s delicious classic cookbook Simple French Food. It is a traditional Provençal vegetarian preparation that is easy to make and will impress your friends. In keeping with the book’s title, this recipe is an easy preparation that does …

Like many traditional recipes considered part of Cuisine Nissarde, gratin de courge is a dish you might find just as easily on a restaurant menu as in a grandmother’s kitchen in Nice. The recipe calls for courage, which is butternut squash. You can use other varieties of pumpkin, but best …

A gratin or gratinée in French is typically a side dish served in an oven-proof casserole pan. The term comes from gratter (to grate); most of the time, these are savoury recipes with a crispy cheese and breadcrumb topping. However, there are recipes for sweet gratins as well. Gratins are …

Let me start by saying this is not eggplant parmesan. Yes, it has eggplant and includes Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it is not the dish you might expect. This side dish is delicious in every season. Serve hot in the fall and winter and at room temperature in other months. The eggplant …