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French music legend Serge Gainsbourg may have sung the joys of the Côte d’Azur’s “sea, sex and sun,” but it would be impossible to mention the French Riviera without a nod to its world-famous Niçois cooking. The French embrace the idea that le terroir – which roughly translates as “the land” – is what defines the unique identity of regional cuisine. But on the French Riviera it’s the sea and the sun – rather than the soil – that give Niçois cooking its distinctive character, inspired by its Italian and Provençal neighbours. Fresh fish from the Mediterranean and sunripened vegetables from Italy are infused with herbs from Provence and olive oils produced on the terraced groves covering the Alpine foothills. Visitors, both French and foreign, to Nice’s colourful open-air market are often amazed at the variety of regional produce, seduced by the smells of garlicky patés and sundried tomatoes and lured into tasting the strange local specialities such as Socca and Pan Bagnat. But if you want your enjoyment of Niçois cooking to outlive your Riviera tan, check out one of the cooking classes in and around Nice that will teach you all you’ll need to know to recreate your favourite dishes back home.
7 rue du Jésus, Nice,
tel: +33 (0)6 81 67 41 22,
www.petitsfarcis.com
Rosa Jackson isn’t a native, but that hasn’t dampened her passion for Niçois cuisine one bit. Food critic, cookbook author and Cordon Bleu-trained chef, this long-time resident really knows French food. After several years of running market tours in Paris, she bought and renovated a 17th-century apartment in Old Nice, just off the Quai des Etats-Unis and the Cours Saleya, to create her cooking school, Les Petits Farcis (farcis are stuffed vegetables, a Niçois speciality).
The classes of no more than six participants begin with an early-morning tour of the open-air food market, including local culinary history and tips on how to select the best produce. Then it’s back to her apartment to dive into the day’s lesson, creating a four-course meal of typical Niçois dishes such as monkfish with artichokes, roast lamb with mustard and herbs, a tart made with local lemons, or, of course, petits farcis. Each participant gets hands-on experience under Rosa’s gentle guidance. She adjusts her tips and advice so that everyone – from absolute beginners to amateur chefs – learns something new.
When the meal is ready, everyone sits down together to enjoy a leisurely feast, accompanied by Provençal wines. Guests have the option of walking off their meal afterwards with a tour of Old Nice’s labyrinth streets, visiting a gourmet olive oil specialist, wine boutiques and historic sweet shops. Classes are available all year round, every day of the week, and cost €200-€290 per person. New this year is the intensive, four-day “Taste of the Sun” class (the next is 11-15 September 2006) that covers the basics of Provençal and Niçois cooking while providing students with a full repertoire of recipes to take home for €400.
2 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, Nice,
tel: +33 (0)4 93 80 21 64,
autier.brigitte@wanadoo.fr
Brigitte Autier hails from three generations of female chefs specialising in Niçois cooking. Her family has run l’Estocaficada, a restaurant in the Old Town just off the Cours Saleya, since 1958. A favourite with the locals, this unpretentious establishment also attracts an international clientele looking for authentic bouillabaisse, gnocchi, pissaladière and stockfish (the restaurant’s name is Provençal for this Mediterranean fish). Instead of keeping these traditional Niçois recipes to herself, Brigitte has opened her kitchen to the public, passing along her expertise in weekly cooking classes.
Participants arrive in the morning, and are given an apron, a tall white chef’s cap called a toque and a recipe book outlining the day’s lesson. In a convivial atmosphere, Brigitte gives a demonstration in her open-plan kitchen, along with the history of the dishes, before participants try their own hand at chopping, peeling and mixing. A tasting lesson hones their taste buds to the particularities of local ingredients as the food is simmering, roasting and marinating.
By noon everyone sits down together to enjoy the meal with a chilled bottle of Provençal rosé wine. Depending on the season, their new repertoire might include zucchini flowers stuffed with foie gras, pesto soup, ratatouille with Niçois vegetables or lavender-infused crème caramel. Classes are €55 per person, lunch included, or €70 for those early risers who would like to join Brigitte going to the market before class.
info@cookingwithfriends.com,
www.cookingwithfriends.com
For those who long to be immersed in the Provençal joie de vivre of the Côte d’Azur, head for the hills of Chateauneuf-de-Grasse, where Cooking with Friends welcomes guests for a week-long program of cooking classes, cultural excursions and accommodation in their typical Provençal farmhouse, La Pitchoune, once owned by the famous television chef Julia Child. Less than 40 minutes from Cannes and Nice, La Pitchoune overlooks Grasse in a stunning hillside setting surrounded by olive trees, cypresses and vineyards. Cooking with Friends in France was created seven years ago by Kathie Alex, an American who began training as a chef in 1979 with renowned culinary mentors such as Julia Child, Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters and Simca Beck, who ran the original cooking school at La Pitchoune.
Guests arrive on Sunday and get acquainted over a relaxed supper. Then each morning begins with a practical cooking lesson in the farmhouse kitchen of a four- or five-course lunch menu. The recipes are specifically chosen according to the cooking abilities of the participants. Afternoons are reserved for excursions to local butchers, cheese shops and shopping at the Marché Forville in Cannes. They also get behind-the-scenes access to the kitchens of La Palme d’Or, a Michelin two-star restaurant in the Hotel Martinez, to see professional French chefs in action.
Guests have free time to explore the Riviera on their own, or to simply relax in the farmhouse gardens. Limited to just six participants at a time, classes take place weekly from April to June and September to November, with a special truffle course in the winter. Classes can be in French as well as English. The €3,000 cost for Cooking With Friends includes six nights accommodation, all classes and excursions, breakfast each morning, dinner on Sunday evening and all lunches.
Les Petits Farcis Niçois
Serves 6 as a main course
Every Niçois has a family recipe for les petits farcis, the little stuffed vegetables that are also sold at delis and butchers in the Old Town. If you visit the market on a weekend, you’ll hear the locals discussing their personal versions – with or without rice, with sausage meat or veal, cheese instead of meat. This recipe comes from Dominic Le Stanc, the former Negresco chef who now runs a tiny bistro, La Merenda, off the Cours Saleya market. According to him (and he is a Niçois cooking expert), les petits farcis should contain neither pork nor rice, and aubergine is not traditional. These stuffed vegetables should be served warm, or at room temperature to best appreciate their individual flavours.
Vegetables to stuff:
6 small onions
2 small zucchini (or 4 small round ones)
2 small red peppers
6 small potatoes
6 small tomatoes
Stuffing:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 medium zucchini
2 medium onions
12 oz white mushrooms
3 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
12 oz ground beef or veal
2 eggs 4 oz grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh basil
2 oz breadcrumbs
4 tbsp olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Cut the tops off the onions and hollow them out, leaving two outside layers. Hollow out the zucchini and place the trimmings in the same bowl. Cut the peppers into quarters and discard the seeds and white pith.
Parboil these vegetables for about five minutes in boiling salted water, until they’re soft but not mushy.
Hollow out the tomatoes, discarding the pulp. Bake the tomatoes for 15 minutes in the oven at 220°C with a little olive oil, until they soften.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in water for 20 minutes, until cooked. Let the potatoes cool, then peel, cut in half and hollow out the insides.
Cut the tops off the tomatoes (saving the tops) and hollow out the insides, discarding the pulp.
To make the stuffing, place each vegetable one at a time in the food processor and mince using the pulse button. Transfer to a large bowl. Continue until all vegetables are minced. Don’t worry if they give off some liquid in the food processor but try to avoid puréeing them completely.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat in a sauté pan. Add all vegetables and cook until they soften, then add the ground meat. Once the meat is cooked, add the breadcrumbs, parmesan, eggs, chopped basil and 1 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Stuff the vegetables with this mixture. Bake in the oven at 220°C for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the stuffing browned. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Serve warm or at room temperature with mesclun (mixed greens salad).
Tomatoes Provençale
Serves 6
Ingredients:
6 large, ripe red tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut off the stem end of the tomatoes and gently squeeze out some of the juice and seeds, and place cut side up in a roasting pan large enough to hold tomatoes in one layer. Mix the garlic and parsley together in a small bowl. Cover the tops of the tomatoes with the parsley mixture, then bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over some olive oil to moisten. Bake for 45 minutes.
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