Try this Fall Dinner Party Menu with Provençal Flavours
Autumn in Provence
Fall is a beautiful season in the South of France, but regardless of where you live, the season’s arrival signals shorter days. The lingering summer light becomes more radiant, casting an ethereal golden hue across our dinner table. You can enjoy the residual effects of Provençal summer without the oppressive heat of summer. My days are spent basking in the golden sunshine, hoping winter will forget where I live. But the coolness returning to the evening air crushes that dream. For this reason, I find comfort in a bowl of Fourmade, a Provençal chickpea soup that I often cook as a starter.
Fall Dinner Party Menu
The palate of colours changes at my nearby farmers market, bringing out old favourites and a host of new dishes to explore; for this very reason, a fall dinner party menu. The menu includes a soup, stuffed chicken, a zucchini side dish and a hard-to-resist blueberry galette. The recipes follow below, and enjoy the results with your favourite Provençal wine.
Soup:
Provencal Chickpea Soup (Soupo de Cece)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 2 quarts cool water
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or Espelette or nothing
- 2 tsp flaked sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Optional:
- 2 leeks washed well and diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 15 oz chickpeas canned
Instructions
- Put chickpea flour, water, herbes, cumin, Aleppo, salt, pepper, and oil into a blender and blend until smooth, about 15 seconds. Pour the contents into a Dutch oven and heat slowly over low to medium heat until hot, about 30 minutes, stirring often. Adjust seasoning to your taste.
Optional:
- For the leeks, slowly cook the washed leeks in olive oil over a low flame at a grandmotherly pace until they almost melt, about 30 minutes. Add to soup. For the chickpeas, open the can and add both the liquid and the chickpeas.
Serving:
- This lovely soup lends itself to creative garnishing. Everything from croutons fried in olive oil to small juliennes of Bayonne ham works well — experiment with what you like.
Notes
Main Course:
What most of us adore most about Provence is the simplicity of life there. It is almost as if time stops, and we are transported back to a gentler time – a time when the joys of life center around the natural beauty of the small village, sunflowers growing in a field, and the table. It is a quieter, more contemplative time.
Gigotine of Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs and thighs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 leek washed well and diced fine
- 1 sweet onion peeled and diced fine
- 2 carrots peeled and diced fine
- 1 fennel bulb diced fine
- 1 rib celery diced fine
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh mixed herbs chopped, summer savory, thyme, basil, parsley, tarragon
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Remove the thigh bone and set the chicken legs aside while you prepare the filling. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil with the garlic and cook until the garlic starts turning amber-coloured, about 2 minutes. Add the leeks, onion, carrots, fennel, and celery.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss with the herbs, breadcrumbs, and egg.
- Lay the chicken thighs out on a counter with the skin side facing downwards. Put about a pinky-sized filling where the thigh bone used to be and roll it up. Use a toothpick or skewer to help keep the stuffing inside.
- Butter a skillet and lay the chicken on top. Pour chicken stock around and roast for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- To serve, slice the chicken thigh into 4 pieces and leave the leg intact. Arrange on warmed plates with a spoonful of zucchini gratin.
Side Dish:
The truth be told, I made this zucchini gratin in the heat of summer, which goes completely against everything I believe in for the hot days of the year. However, I ended up serving it with the herb-stuffed gigotine of chicken (above), which married wonderfully. Zucchini gratin will go with any grilled meat or seafood dish you can throw at it. Give this a gratin a try for helping to cull your herd of zucchini.
Zucchini Gratin
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Gratin:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet onion sliced paper thin
- 6 zucchini (courgette) sliced super thin
- ¼ cup Gruyère cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the Béchamel Sauce:
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk, whole
- ½ tsp nutmeg ground
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes. Put aside until assembling.
To make the béchamel:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is foamy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
To make the gratin:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Butter a gratin dish. Put a ½ inch layer of sliced zucchini, followed by the béchamel and caramelized onions. Top with another ½ inch layer of zucchini slices. Sprinkle the cheese and dot with the butter.
- Bake the gratin for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
Dessert:
For dessert, I always crave something fruity and rustic, like a perfect fruit galette. Though I made this recipe with blueberries and lime, any other fruit can be substituted with great success.
Rustic Blueberry and Lime Galette
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 ¼ cup All-purpose Flour
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter
- ¼ to ½ cup Ice Water
For the Blueberry Filling:
- 2 cups Blueberries
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
To make the Dough:
- In a food processor, pulse the almond flour, flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. With the motor running, add just enough ice water through the feed tube so that the dough forms into a loose ball. Gather the dough into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 1 full hour or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Prepare the Blueberries:
- In a large bowl mix the blueberries, cornstarch, lime, and sugar until thoroughly combined.
Assemble the Galette:
- On a floured work surface with a floured pin, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Pile the blueberry mixture into the center 8 inches. Fold the edges of the dough over towards the center. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let it cool for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Fall Dinner Menu à la Provencal for Pinterest Fans:
Other Fall Menus Inspired by Provence:
Two variations on a fall menu: One celebrates Indian summer with grilled calamari and radicchio salad and lavender honey-brushed lamb chops served with Moroccan couscous and chickpea salad. The other, a soupe au pistou and daube of pork cheek, gently reminds us of the heartier fare that will soon provide comfort and solace during the darker nights.
Depending on where you live, “Fall might be in the air.” Indeed, in most places in the northern hemisphere, the days are markedly shorter, and the leaves are changing colours to rich, warm tones (reds, oranges and yellows). The harvest is done for most kitchen gardens – ahead of the frosty days. In Provence, the grapes are harvested and starting to become the next vintage. Bright root vegetables are on display in local markets. Foragers search for mushrooms in their “secret” spots. This delicious menu reflects the colours of Provence for a cozy evening with friends.
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