Often, as right now, Jean Perdu sits in the farmhouse’s summer kitchen, eyes closed, plucking rosemary and lavender flowers, breathing in this most profoundly Proven?al fragrance, and writing his Great Encyclopedia of Small Emotions: A Guide for Booksellers, Lovers and Other Literary Pharmacists.
He is making an entry under K: ‘Kitchen solace – the feeling that a delicious meal is simmering on the kitchen stove, misting up the windows, and that at any moment your lover will sit down to dinner with you and, between mouthfuls, gaze happily into your eyes. (Also known as living.)’
RECIPES
The cuisine of Provence is as diverse as its scenery: fish by the coast, vegetables in the countryside, and in the mountains lamb and a variety of staple dishes containing pulses. One region’s cooking is influenced by olive oil, another’s is based on wine, and pasta dishes are common along the Italian border. East kisses West in Marseilles with hints of mint, saffron and cumin, and the Vaucluse is a paradise for truffle and confectionery lovers.
Yet many ingredients unite the culinary traditions of the Rh?ne valley and the C?te d’Azur: thick, flavoursome olive oil; garlic; many varieties of tomato, some sun-dried, for salads, sauces, soups, tarts, pizzas, fillings and so on; goat’s cheese from Banon and fresh herbs. Proven?al cooks never add more than three of these to their roasts and other dishes, but they use sage or lavender, thyme or rosemary, fennel or winter savoury in large quantities.
The following recipes are typical of the region, and their fragrances and colours have marked its history.