As many times as I have been to France, I have never been to Provence. I have heard great stories from friends who have indulged in a rose filled holiday or frolicked in a lavender field but unfortunately for me, I have only lived it through photographs. Last week, I got a bit closer when I was invited to discover the French cuisine of Provence at the Embassy of France in Washington, DC. Provence Tourism invited a group of DC-based food bloggers to virtually travel to France for a cooking demonstration by Chef Mathias Dandine, the chef of the Michelin-starred Le Saint Esteve restaurant in Provence.
Chef Dandine started his demonstration walking us through the culinary history of Provence: how dishes revolve around fresh vegetables, fish, and of course lots of rosé wine. It was not difficult to imagine myself at a chateau sampling food and wine pairings. He walked us through the presentation in French and was surprised I understood everything said given we don’t speak as much French as we should at the house. I guess it’s like riding a vélo (bicycle).
One of the things that took me to holiday mode were the colors of the ingredients. Chef Dandine transported us to the French cuisine of Provence with the green peas, carrot juice, and fresh red snapper. The aromas started to come together as he fried thick trips of bacon as the base for the peas and onions. The fresh aromas of thyme came together with the carrot juice in the pan as he prepared the sauce. The rosé was being poured freely as we anticipated our dish. There is something about the crisp taste of a cold rosé that can transport you to sunnier destinations from just a sip.
The dish was surprisingly easy to make. We did not get recipe cards but I did get inspired by our cooking demonstration to make something similar at home. I fried thick cut bacon, added peas, baby onions and served it over pan seared cod. Not exactly Michelin star cuisine, but I was definitely inspired to get back into my kitchen after the class. I was not only inspired to cook the French cuisine of Provence but to one day soon frolic in the lavender fields with rosé in hand.
What a great experience! Sometimes all it takes are a few ingredients to transport you. I’ve been learning to cook with a french influence via Mimi Thorisson… my first dish was a winter soup that had bacon and leeks in it and it tasted amazing… I think you would have liked it 🙂
Agreed! Love Mimi’s blog, everything looks beautifully delicious! Did you get the cookbook? I’m not a big cookbook fan (Martin loves them though) but may just get this one for the photos!
Alla gifted me the book for my birthday 🙂 And the photography is stunning. I think it makes the book actually.
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