Lyon is
renowned as a
gastronomic
centre,
combining
southern and
northern
ingredients. Its
rich and hearty
food is very
meat- and offal-oriented,
with sausages of
every variety
and a fine
selection of
cheeses. A
Lyonnais salad
includes bacon
and a soft-cooked
egg; potatoes
also tend to be
cooked with egg,
cheeses and
cream; and meat,
fish or cheese
are turned into
fat, filling
quenelles ,
or dumplings.
Pâtisseries
specialize in
extremely rich
chocolate
gâteaux.
Olives
were introduced
to Provence by
the ancient
Greeks two and a
half thousand
years ago and
today accompany
the traditional
Provençal
apéritif of
pastis ;
they appear in
sauces and
salads, on tarts
and pizzas, and
mixed with
capers in a
paste called
tapenade to
spread on bread
or biscuits.
They are also
used in
traditional meat
stews, like
daube Provençale
. Olive oil is
the starting
point for most
Provençal dishes;
spiced with
chillis or
Provençal herbs
(wild thyme,
basil, rosemary
and tarragon),
it is also
poured over
pizzas,
sandwiches and,
of course, used
in vinaigrette
and mayonnaise
with all the
varieties of
salad.
The
ingredient most
often mixed with
olive oil is the
other classic of
Provençal
cuisine:
garlic .
Whole markets
are dedicated to
strings of pale
purple garlic.
Two of the most
famous
concoctions of
Provence are
pistou , a
paste of olive
oil, garlic and
basil, and
aïoli , the
name for both a
garlic
mayonnaise and
the dish in
which it's
served with salt
cod and
vegetables.
Vegetables
have double or
triple seasons
in Provence,
often beginning
while northern
France is still
in the depths of
winter.
Ratatouille
ingredients -
tomatoes,
capsicum,
aubergines,
courgettes and
onions - are the
favourites,
along with
asparagus.
Courgette
flowers, or
fleurs de
courgettes
farcies ,
stuffed with
pistou or
tomato sauce,
are one of the
most exquisite
Provençal
delicacies.
Sheep
, taken up to
the mountains in
the summer
months, provide
the staple meat,
of which the
best is
agneau de
Sisteron ,
often roasted
with Provençal
herbs as a
gigot d'agneau
aux herbes .
But it is
fish that
features most on
traditional
menus, with
freshwater
trout, salt cod,
anchovies, sea
bream, monkfish,
sea bass and
whiting all
common, along
with brilliant
seafood :
clams,
periwinkles, sea
urchins,
oysters, spider
crabs and
langoustines
piled into spiky
sculptural
plateaux de
fruits de mer
.
Cheeses
are invariably
made from goat's
or ewe's milk.
Two famous ones
are Banon,
wrapped in
chestnut leaves
and marinated in
brandy, and the
aromatic
Picadon, from
the foothills of
the Alps.
Sweets
of the region
include
chocolates,
notably from
Valrhona in Tain
L'Hermitage and
from Puyricard
near Aix, almond
sweets called
calissons
from Aix,
candied fruit
from Apt and
nougat from
Montélimar. As
for fruits
, the melons,
white peaches,
apricots, figs,
cherries and
Muscat grapes
are unbeatable.
Almond trees
grow on the
plateaux of
central
Provence, along
with lavender,
which gives
Provençal
honey its
distinctive
flavour.
Some of
France's best
wine is
produced in the
Côtes du Rhône
vineyards, of
which the most
celebrated is
the
Crozes-Hermitage
appellation
. Once past the
nougat town of
Montélimar and
into Provence,
the best wines
are to be found
in the villages
around the
Dentelles,
notably
Gigondas, and at
Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
To the west are
the light,
drinkable, but
not particularly
special wines of
the Côtes du
Ventoux and the
Côtes du Lubéron
appellations
. Huge
quantities of
wine are
produced in
Provence, many
of the vineyards
planted during
World War I in
order to supply
every French
soldier with his
ration of a
litre a day.
With the
exception of the
Côteaux des Baux
around Les Baux,
and the Côtes de
Provence in the
Var
département
, the best wines
of southern
Provence come
from along the
coast.
