BLANC’S SLATE
Raymond Blanc guides Andrew Purvis through the culinary joys of his childhood haunt, ‘heaven on Earth for ingredients’
RAYMOND Blanc associates slow cooking with his time spent in Provence, where bouillabaisse (fish soup), tomato-based stews and one-pot dishes infused with rosemary are always on the menu.
Born in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, the two-Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur first visited Provence at the age of 13. He was taken immediately with the Mediterranean exoticism of the south, from the markets of Le Lavandou, Nice and St Raphaël, with their colourful displays of artichokes, fennel and tomatoes, to the lavender fields of the high plateaux around Sault and the ethnic melting pot of Marseille, with its Corsican, Armenian and north African populations.
Over the years, Blanc has returned many times to this bustling port city and the sandy, sun-baked, pine-forested stretch of coast running east to St Tropez. Here, he presents his guide to the region, its flavours and its restaurants.
WHAT MAKES PROVENÇAL CUISINE SPECIAL?
Gastronomy in France is determined by microclimate, and Provence is blessed most of all because it is so mild. Spring starts in January and you get the first gariguette strawberries by February — small, butter-soft and aromatic, more like a wild strawberry. The apricots come in March or April, then you get all the herbs, basil growing everywhere, fantastic lamb from the Alps and the Pyrenees and wonderful fish from small boats. Provence also has the best goat’s cheese in France: Brousse du Rove, from the garrigue (coastal scrubland).
What struck me most when I first visited as a boy were the Arabic and Mediterranean influences. At the market in Marseille, with the saffron, the cardamom, all the different spices, I saw the significance of having a big port. There were olives from Greece and Italy, chillies from Turkey, produce from every corner of Europe. Provence is heaven on Earth in terms of ingredients.
WHICH DISH SUMS IT ALL UP?
A whole hare from the garrigue, where you have lots of wild herbs growing. I would have it marinated in red wine, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, crushed coriander, black olives, carrots, onions and lots of garlic — about 40 cloves, left inside until they turn sweet — then slow-cooked for two-and-ahalf hours.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE LOOK FOR?
Tomatoes are everywhere in Provence, whether in a simple tomato salad or on a pizza, which they do well there. The classic Provençal stew is tomatoes, olives, rosemary, sage, some nice white wine to give sharpness and a couple of anchovies thrown into the pot to give it that je ne sais
quoi saltiness. You also have the big artichauts violets (purple artichokes). As a boy, I’d buy a dozen from the market, open them up and eat the “tongues” raw. You can also simmer them for 40 minutes and dip them in a lovely mustard dressing.
One of my favourite soups is pistou, a simple vegetable soup flavoured with the Provençal version of pesto — garlic, basil leaves, olive oil, parmesan and an anchovy pounded into a paste, which you add to the soup at the last moment. Unusually for a chef, I’m also a big fan of Provence wines. I love Domaine Tempier, Château Simone and Château de Pibarnon.
WHERE BLANC WOULD ENJOY…
A typical brunch
My favourite food market is at Sanary-surMer, where stalls sell slow-cooked squid, bouillabaisse, bourride (a simpler version with aioli, a garlic mayonnaise), country bread, olives, tapenade (olive paste),
anchoïade (anchovy purée) and other picnic foods. You can buy these as a takeaway or eat similar dishes in cafés and bistros surrounding the square. There is also an excellent fish market.
Lunch
In Sanary-sur-Mer, I would recommend La p’tite Cour ( laptitecour.com), which has a lovely shaded patio that’s perfect for a long lunch. It does marvellous things such as locally caught rouget (red mullet) and
supion (baby cuttlefish) with saffron risotto, or catch of the day with a flan of seasonal vegetables.
There’s a fantastic place in St Tropez where I had my best bouillabaisse. It is called La Bouillabaisse, actually, and it’s right on the beach, a beautiful spot ( alpazurhotels.com/en/restaurantplage-bouillabaisse).
If you want to escape St Tropez, head to Grimaud, where Les Santons ( restaurant-les-santons.fr) does a good set menu at lunch times only. It’s authentic but sophisticated. Just down the road, in Gassin, is La Verdoyante ( la-verdoyante.fr), set among vineyards, with views of the Bay of St Tropez. I’d order the slow-cooked vegetable tart with warm goat’s cheese, followed by fish of the day with ratatouille, pistou and an orange vinaigrette.
An aperitif
Gérald Passédat, a truly great chef, has opened Le Café ( passedat.fr/en) in the gardens of the Fort St Jean in Marseille. On Fridays, it’s open until 10pm but it closes at 7pm on other days. It’s part of MuCEM (the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée), at the entrance to the Old Port, so you can visit the museum then come here for a glass of rosé.
Dinner
I love sailing, which has allowed me to stay on the little islands off Hyères. They have some charming hotels, including Le Manoir ( hotel-lemanoirportcros.com), on the Île de Port-Cros, and Le Mas du Langoustier ( langoustier.com), on the Île de Porquerolles, which both have good restaurants. At Le Manoir, I’d have fish soup, bourride of John Dory or cuttlefish salad with pistou macaroni. L’Olivier, at Le Mas du Langoustier, has a Michelin star and does a lovely paella with monkfish sushi and chorizo, and a chèvre paysan (country goat’s cheese) with green olive tapenade.
Fine dining
At La Bastide St Antoine ( jacqueschibois.com/uk), near Grasse, Jaques Chibois makes some great food. It has two Michelin stars and does a wonderful starter of oysters, caviar and smoked scallops, and a superb lobster bouillabaisse with olives.
In Marseille, Gérald Passédat’s Le Petit Nice ( passedat.fr/en) is amazing. Some of his fish dishes are outstanding, such as his “Bouille-Abaisse” — three tiers of bouillabaisses made with raw shellfish, shallow-water fish and deep-water species respectively. There’s a terrace over the sea and you can swim if you want, from the rocks.
It has three Michelin stars, but Passédat now has some casual brasserie-style places at his Le Môle complex at MuCEM (including Le Café, which I mentioned). I think that’s where the future of Provençal cuisine lies: a great chef, propagating better-quality food at a price people can afford. — © The Daily Telegraph