source of things organic in Provence

recipes de la Provence

In our time in the Provence we have eaten some very delicious dishes, all with the flavor of the south of France and according to season. Here are some recipes which are also sometimes served at our table d’hotes.

appetizer

blanched courgette braised with vinaigrette
This light and delicious starter is made with a twist: the thinly sliced courgette strips are blanched by dipping them briefly in ice-cold water. Serve cold with a light vinaigrette dressing.

~ 1 medium-sized courgette

~ 1 teaspoon mild mustard or medium Dijon mustard
~ 2 tablespoons olive oil
~ 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
~ 2 tablespoons tepid water
~ freshly cracked sea salt
~ freshly cracked black pepper

good-sized pot with ice cold water
sharp potato peeler

Slice courgette with the potato peeler into thin long slices. Cook for 5 minutes in slightly boiling water, then remove with a sieve and quickly drop into ice-cold water, for about 15 seconds.

For the dressing mix all ingredients into a bowl. Arrange courgettes on plate and drizzle lightly with dressing

~

main course

Provencal ratatouille

Ratatouille is as provençal as lavender and its blue sky above.
It simply combines all the delicious vegetables which are ripe in the summer, allowing for the full flavor to develop by letting it simmer for almost two hours. Best served in the pot, along with some fresh country bread: in the Provence bread is eaten along the main course and to soak up the sauce on the plate

~ 500 g potatoes
~ 5 medium-sized carrots
~ 1 red or yellow large onion
~ 1 large courgettes
~ 200 g string beans
~ 3 medium-sized or 5 small tomatoes, ripe and juicy
~ 4 cloves of garlic
~ 5 sprigs of thyme or 1 full teaspoon dried
~ 1 cube of biological vegetable broth, dissolved in 500 ml of water

fresh bread (about 2 slices per person) or lightly toasted in a pan

heavy pot like Le Creusset, with fitting lid to trap the vapor during cooking

Cut up all vegetables in bite-sized pieces and layer them according to the list of ingredients above, with the hardest vegetable on the bottom. Add hot broth at the end and let cook on gas mark 2 for 1 hour, then reduce to gas mark 1 for another 45 minutes. Stir only occasionally and very gently.

Serve with fresh bread and enjoy the flavor of this delicious dish.

~

dessert

goat's cheese with honey and lavender

Here in the Provence it is possible to obtain the freshest goats cheese imaginable, fresh from the farm. One day old it has a fairly neutral taste and simply melts in your mouth.

~ 1 very young goats cheese, one or maximum 2 days old, straight from the fridge
~ 1 teaspoon acacia honey, runny or slightly warmed up to liquify
~ 2 drops of lavender essential oil

Place the fresh cheese into a bowl and gently break into smaller pieces. Blend honey with lavender essential oil and slowly trickle mixture over the cheese.

Enjoy the delicious and divine flavors of the Provence! 

Here are some seasonal suggestions

November
~ soupe aux pommes de terre et poireaux
~ risotto de potimaron
~ sorbet aux pommes
~ vin chaud
~ soupe aux celerie et epinard
~ tarte flambée d'Alsace
~ apple cobbler/crumble aux pommes
~ soupe au potimaron et mais
~ pâté aux lentilles et riz avec purée de patate douce
~ tarte aux pommes

December
~ turnip and apple salad
~ roasted sweet potato and corn chowder
~ baked apples with raisins, ginger & almonds

~ salade aux noix et vinaigrette d'orange
~ cassoulet de legumes saisonales
~ sorbet d'orange aux epices
~ soup des marrons et vin rouge
~ risotto de courgette et chevre
~ poire pochée au sauce d'orange

January
~ erwtensoep / soupe aux pois verts
~ cauliflower gratin /gratin de choux fleur
~ yoghurt met slagroom / yaourt avec créme florette

~ avacado with garlic-cumin vinagrette / avocado avec vinaigrette d'ail et cumin
~ tomaat en aardappel ovenschotel / gratin de tomate et pomme de terre
~ yoghurt met slagroom / yaourt avec créme florette
~ gegrild artisjok artichaut grillée
~ aardappel en prei gratin/ gratin au pomme de terre et poireaux

~ appeltaart / tarte aux pommes

February
~ Badische Flädlesuppe / potage avec ficelle
~ Bavarian Semmelknödel with winter vegetables / quenelle avec des legumes saisonniére
~ Kaiserschmarrn / omelette rissolée brisée à la viennoise
~ Handkäs' mit Musik / romadur fromage
~ Kartoffelauflauf mit Sauerkraut / gratin aux pommes de terre avec choucroute
~ Kartoffelpuffer with apple sauce / beignets de pomme de terre
~ Feldsalat with walnuts / bourse avec noix
~ O'batzder with Bretz'n / fromage avec bretzel
~ Apfelkuchen / gateau de pommes
~ Mangold with Vinaigrette / blette avec vinaigrette
~ G'schmolz'ne Knödel with chanterelle sauce / quenelle fondre avec sauce de chanterelle
~ Bay'risch Creme / creme bavarois


March
~ curried carrot soup / soupe de carotte au curry
~ tarte with seasonal vegetables / tarte aux legumes saisonales
~ pear flambe / poire flambée
~ salad of warm chard / salade de blette chaud
~ risotto with mushrooms / risotto aux cepes
~ apple tarte / tarte aux pommes
~ crudités with dip / crudités avec dip
~ bean and olive stew / pot-au-feu avec haricots blancs et olives
~ apple crepes with Calvados / crepes avec pommes et Calvados
~ baked artichoke dip / artichaut au four
~ gnocchi from squash / gnocchi au squash
~ velvety hot chocolate / chocolat chaud deluxe

April
~ sweet potato & carrot soup with ginger / soupe au patate doux et carrote
~ potato & cheese fritata on seasonal vegetables / frittata avec pomme de terre et fromage sur legumes
~ Easter cake / brioche de Paque
~ spinach salad / salade de epinard
~ aigo boulido Provencal garlic soup /
aigo boulido soupe de ail
~ moeulleux de chocolate / moeulleux de chocolate

~ asparagus muffins / muffins de asperge
~ aigo boulido Provencal garlic soup /
aigo boulido soupe de ail
~ carrot cake / gateau à la carotte
~ onion soup / soupe de ognion
~ onion and mushroom fricassée  /fricassée d'oignon et de champignons

~ fresh seasonal fruit salad / salade de fruits

May
focus on asparagus, now in season
~ mesclun salad with poached egg and green asparagus / salade de mesclun avec oeuf poché et asperge verte
~ risotto with steamed green asparagus / risotto d'asperge verte
~ faisselle cheese with homemade citrus compote / faisselle et compote des agrumes

~ asparagus timable on lettuce / timbale d'asperge verte et salade
~ steamed and grilled green asparagus with new potatoes /risotto d'asperge verte
~ faisselle cheese with lavender honey /faisselle et miel de lavande
~ grilled asparagus with vinaigrette / asperge grillée avec vinaigrette
~ asparagus quiche /quiche aux asperges
~ faisselle cheese with compote /faisselle et compote
~ seasonal salad / salade aux saison
~ pasta with asparagus pesto / pate aux pistou d'asperge
~ faisselle cheese /fromage de faisselle

June
focus on cherries from our garden
~ salad with fresh fava beans, cucumber and green beans / salade de fève, cocombre et haricots verts
~ aspargus pesto with tagliatelle / pesto d'asperge sur tagliatelle
~ cherry clafouti / clafouti aux cerises

~ tomato salad / salade de tomate
~ couscous with mixed vegetables /couscous avec ratatouille
cherry sorbet /sorbet de cerise
~ chilled cucumber soup / gazpacho de cocombre
~ courgette & string bean risotto / risotto aux courgettes et haricots verts
~ cherry compote with faiselle / faiselle avec compote de cerise

July
focus on vegetables from our own garden
~ eggplant dip / caviar d'aubergine
~ homemade ravioli filled with fresh courgette / raviole au courgette, fait maison
~ cherry sorbet with Pastis / sorbet aux cerises avec Pastis
~ eggplant dip / caviar d'aubergine
~ Provencal ratatouille / ratatouille provencal
~ apricot crumble /crumble aux apricots
~ chilled zucchini soup / gaspacho aux courgettes
~ homemade ravioli filled courgette / raviole au courgette, fait maison
~ cantaloupe compote with cherry sorbet / compote de melon avec sorbet de cerise
~ chilled zucchini soup / gaspacho aux courgettes
~ tomato pesto pasta with zucchini coulis / pistou aux tomates avec pate et coulis de courgette
~ faisselle with white currants and bramble / faisselle de chèvre avec airelle et murier
~ blanched zucchin in a vinaigrette / courgettes blanchés avec vinaigrette
~ zucchini couscous with seasonal vegetables / couscous aux courgette et legumes
~ apricot & cherry mint smoothie / smoothie au abricot et menthe chocolat

ideas for the lavender season
mid-June until mid-July
lavender pesto with fresh pasta / pesto de lavande avec pate fraiche
lavender creme / creme à la lavande
herbed goat's cheese with lavender crostini / fromage de chevre aux herbes de Provence et crostini de lavande
 
lavender scones / biscuit de lavande
lavender mocha coffee / café mocha à lavande
lavender iced tea / thé froid à lavande
lavender & pea risotto / risotto avec petit-pois et lavande
lavender roasted potatoes and vegetables / pommes de terre grillés avec legumes
salad with lavender dressing/ salade avec dressing à la lavande
paté with lavender /  paté avec lavande

September
focus on figs and plums from our garden
~ bell pepper soup / soupe de poivron
~ tomato and goat's cheese tart / tarte aux tomates et chevre
~ fig sorbet / sorbet de figue
~ eggplant dip /caviar d'aubergine
~ Provencal bean & olive soup/ soupe avec fevre et olive
~ fresh figs with yogurt / figues avec yaourt
~ Provencal tomatoes / tomates Provencales
~ gnocchi with savory plum sauce / gnocchi avec sauce aux prunes
~ fresh goat's cheese with figs / bouchées de chèvre aux figues
~ goat's cheese salad /salade de fromage de chevre
~ risotto with mushrooms and plums /risotto avec sauce de champignon et prune
~ fig smoothie / smoothie aux figues

October
focus on early fall vegetables

~ autumn pumpkin soup
~ autumn salad with apples and raisins
~ baked mushroom and rice pilaf
~ fresh mushroom lasagna
~ yogurt with homemade apricot jam
~ sumptious
apple tarte tartin

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