This beautifully tart and refreshing limeade was one of the highlights of my summer drinks menu at the restaurant. Freshly made every morning from organic limes and unrefined cane sugar, it’s the perfect accompaniment to all my summer recipes. Ingredients 100g unrefined cane sugarSix plump limes, juicedSlice of lime, to garnishSprig of mint, to garnish…
Category: France
A Vibrant Mediterranean Tart with a Wild Garlic Salsa Verde
Yesterday’s rainy afternoon came over all productive with some contemplative baking alongside a backdrop of traditional Greek music. The result was this caramelised onion, roasted plum tomato and mozzarella tart garnished with rocket leaves, fresh basil and toasted pine kernels. When it came to supper time, we turned down the lights, turned up the music…
Picasso’s Omelette Niçoise with a Classic Salade Verte à la Française
For Pablo Picasso, food was a central part of life. From the age of 17, he auctioned his sketches for around one peseta (about the same price as a bottle of house wine) to raise money for his supper at Barcelona’s El Quatre Gats (The Four Cats) restaurant – for whom he designed their classic menu and…
Provençal Lemon-baked Ricotta and Gruyère Omelette with English Asparagus and French Tarragon
As I write this, the sun is shining softly through my open kitchen windows, I can hear birdsong and, in the far distance, the hum of the first grass cutting, the blossom is lightly scented as the petals fall at my feet. This time of year always reminds me of long lazy afternoons in Provence,…
Cadouin Tarte Paysanne
Throughout our lifetimes, we occasionally stumble upon experiences that change the way that we think about food. It could be beachside shack serving up the freshest of grilled fish, or a market stall in an exotic bazaar that fills our eyes with wonder and awe; it could be fine dining by an open fire in…
Provençal Tomato Soup with Fennel and Vermouth
At last May is here, it’s my favourite time of the year. All the promises of summer – new opportunities, travel and the chance to spend quality time with far-flung friends – are tantalisingly close yet still delicious in their anticipation. Meanwhile, nature is popping up all over the place bringing new life and hope…
Provençal Haricots Blancs en Salade, a White Bean and Tomato Salad
This salad is perfect. It’s so simple to make and yet it’s capable of delivering a zing-fresh, punchy hit that is hard to resist, especially on a hot summer day served alongside a plate of light, creamy cheese, a freshly baked baguette smothered with tapenade and a glass of chilled rosé or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc….
Ratatouille Niçoise with Saffron and Lemon
In respect of creating the classic Provençal dish of ratatouille, the monumental culinary reference book, Larousse Gastronomique states that ‘according to the purists, the differenut vegetables should be cooked separately, then combined and cooked slowly together until they attain a smooth, creamy consistency’. I couldn’t agree more. For so many years, I had to endure so…
Camargue Red Rice Salad with Goats’ Cheese and a Wholegrain Mustard Dressing
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I lived with a very rich man whose life was a heady mix of high-powered business and the procurement of the trappings of wealth. All of this was lost on me of course because I would happily live in a shack on a beach so long as it…
Provençal Endive and Walnut Salad with an Orange and Oregano dressing
Weirdly, I am beginning to think about Autumn. I blame the jet stream which is currently acting as a shield preventing the warm air of the south from entering our northern climes. But the nights are drawing in too; gone already are the gorgeous long days of endless light and, come sundown, the candles are…
