Page 197 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

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Flavors of the South of France

It’s a heady experience just to stand, look, and sniff in a Provençal market. Tables sag
under piles of braided pink garlic, colorful fresh peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini,
and asparagus. In the fall and winter, an earthy scent fills the air, with wild mushrooms,
Swiss chard, walnuts, and quinces crowding the stalls. The waters of coastal Provence
provide a bountiful sea harvest, including plump mussels, oysters, and tellines (tiny
clams). The area is especially famous for its fish dishes, notably bouillabaisse. Lamb is the
most common meat in Provence; the best comes from the Camargue, where lambs graze
on herbs and salt-marsh grass. The South supplies France with the first of the season’s
peaches, cherries, and apricots.

Fish liquor Bouillabaisse, a fish soup originating in Marseille, is a luxury
today. It consists of an assortment of local seafood, including
monkfish, mullet, snapper, scorpion fish, and conger eel,
flavored with tomatoes, saffron, and olive oil. Traditionally,
the fish liquor is served first with croutons
spread with rouille, a spicy mayonnaise.
The fish is eaten afterwards.
Red snapper
Croutons

Rouille (meaning “rust”),
a mayonnaise with chillies
and garlic
Olives and Olive Oil
Most of the olive crop is crushed
Monkfish for oil. Ripe olives are black and
the unripe ones are green; both
can be preserved in brine or oil.
Red mullet At the end of the olive harvest,
Conger eel
tapenade is popular – a paste
of black olives, capers,
anchovies, and olive oil
eaten with bread.

Fougasse is a flattish, lattice-like bread
variously studded with black olives,
anchovies, onions, and spices. The sweet
version is flavored with almonds. Black olives Tapenade Olive oil

Aïoli is a sauce made of egg Ratatouille is a stew of onions, Salade Niçoise comes in many
yolks, garlic, and olive oil. It is eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, versions, but always includes
served with salt cod, boiled and peppers, cooked in olive oil lettuce, green beans, tomatoes,
eggs, snails, or raw vegetables. and garlic. black olives, eggs, and anchovies.

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