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French Cuisine

Bringing Home the Flavors of Provence

By Donna Smith

Lavender-covered fields, wild basil and thyme perfume this region in France. Bordered by the Rhone to the west, the Mediterranean and Cote d' Azur (French Riviera) to the south, and vast olive groves to the north, Provence has an abundance of ingredients available from the land and sea. The cuisine is bright, light and above all, fresh.

Classic ingredients found in Provencal cooking include garlic, olive oil, goat cheese, tomatoes, capers, eggplant, figs, apricots, fennel, lemons, fresh seafood and fresh herbs such as thyme, basil and lavender. Mealtime is taken seriously and food is savored in the busy metropolis as well as the rustic villages. Families routinely sit down to steaming bowls of bouillabaisse, a fish soup; vegetables simmered in a tomato base, called ratatouille; salads using local produce and fish straight from the sea; and vegetables topped with aioli, a creamy garlic mayonnaise.

While we would all rather dine on Provencal cuisine while relaxing on a white-sand beach along the French Riviera, you can bring the flavors of France to your own kitchen. Fresh ingredients are key. But wearing a beret while you cook couldn't hurt either. Bon Appetite!

8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 ounces) whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 bottles (8 ounces each) clam juice
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 pound of assorted fish (swordfish, halibut, snapper, sea bass or monkfish works well), cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound mussels, cleaned
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for two to three minutes. Add the tomatoes, clam juice, fennel seeds, half of the saffron threads and salt and pepper to taste. Cover pot and slowly bring to boil. When it begins to boil, reduce the heat and add the fish. Cover and cook six to seven minutes. Add the mussels, cover and cook just until the mussels open up, one to two minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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