The thing is, all the clichés you’ve heard about the south of France are true. The light takes on new forms by the hour, casting beauty on the simplest pleasures. There are open-air markets bursting with sun-ripened produce; the surprisingly loud, surprisingly comforting surround-sound of cicadas in late summer; acres of olive trees, lavender, and sunflowers; cliffs that drop into salt-heavy turquoise coves.
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And the food? It’s not overrated. The figs, the ratatouille, the aïoli, the crispy panisse, pissaladière, braids of garlic, Provencal melons, an overwhelming variety of local cheeses, stunningly good tapenades, and all the rest.
This is the part of France where the French themselves holiday. It is where throngs of Europeans descend for summer vacances – doing their best French cosplay while lounging, flirting, apéro-ing in the sun. American in Paris, yes yes sure, but the south is no stranger to American expats, of which I am just one in a steady line.
The southeastern region of France known as Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur isn’t solely a fantasyland of wine and lavender and endless vacation. It’s a real place, with real people and four seasons.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur cooking is country cooking and city cooking and seaside cooking and mountain cooking and river cooking. And like so many regions where landscapes happily crash into each other in this way, the food is dynamic, it’s exciting, it’s new and it’s old, and maybe needless to say at this point, all things considered – it’s very worth writing a book about.
Taste of the sunny south: Cherry tomatoes with pistou
This recipe serves six people.
Ingredients
4 red bell peppers
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
960g cherry tomatoes
Flaky sea salt
120ml A Very Classic Pistou (see below)
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A Very Classic Pistou
2 garlic cloves
half teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more to taste
75g basil leaves
80ml extra-virgin olive oil
Method
1. To roast the red peppers, preheat the oven to 200°C and arrange one oven rack near the top of the oven and the other in the middle of the oven. Place the bell peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Use your hands to rub the oil over the peppers.
2. Place the peppers on the top rack and roast for 25 minutes then flip the peppers over with tongs and continue roasting until the peppers are charred all over and very soft, about 15 minutes more.
3. While the peppers are roasting, combine the cherry tomatoes and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a second baking sheet. Season with salt and roast until the tomatoes are very soft and beginning to burst, 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Transfer the peppers to a heatproof bowl, cover with a plate, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the peppers are cooled, remove the skins and discard the stems and seeds. Quarter the peppers and transfer to a serving platter along with the tomatoes. Drizzle with the pistou, season with salt, and serve.
Leftovers will keep, tightly covered and refrigerated, for up to three days.
1. If you are making the pistou with a mortar and pestle: Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and grind until a paste forms. Add the basil leaves by the handful and pound them, scraping the sides of the mortar often, until they are almost smooth and all the basil is incorporated. Slowly add the oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, smashing until it’s all combined. Season with salt to taste.
2. If you are making the pistou with a blender: Place the garlic cloves in the blender and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the salt and basil and pulse, scraping the sides of the blender often, until nearly smooth. With the blender running, slowly pour in the oil until it’s all combined. Season with salt.
The pistou can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days in advance.
Le Sud: Recipes + Stories from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur by Rebekah Peppler, photographs by Joann Pai. Published by Chronicle Books, price £26.00
