Specialities of Nice

We have had many visitors over the last three months here in Cassis. And last week, a family member flew in to Nice airport for a brief stay. We thought we would combine the airport pick- up with a short city break in Nice, as it is a city I haven't visited before.

Well, reader, we loved it. Think California meets Rome-  all wrapped up in a French package. Nice had it all.




 Joggers and skaters thronged the Promenade des Anglais, whilst the beach bars played 'California Dreaming'  and 'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay' and then, as you reach Vieux Nice, suddenly the street signs are in Italian and French, huge marble piazzas open out and fountains sparkle.
The tiny winding streets of the old quarter host hundreds of restaurants- and we made it our mission to seek out some specialites Nicoise to share with you- pan bagnat, salade nicoise, pissaladiere, socca, petits farcis, and panisse.

I ordered an assiettte du coin which had all or most of these delights on one plate:

Clockwise from the top- socca, pissaladiere, petits farcis, panisse, beignets d'aubergine

Socca was new to me- but, if you like savoury pancakes and especially if you are looking for gluten-free, then this is a good recipe for you as these hearty galettes are made from chickpea flour:

Ingredients:

100g chick pea flour
100g corn flour (maizena)
2 eggs
400 ml milk
generous pinch of salt

Mix all together and beat well with a balloon whisk.
Heat an ovenproof frying pan until smoking with a very small amount of flavourless oil and fry your pancake on one side only.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Finish the second side under a hot grill.

Serve with more olive oil and a good grinding of black pepper.

Salade nicoise and pan bagnat go hand in hand as the latter is pretty much a sandwich made from the former- so a good leftover idea.

For the salad you need: tuna, black olives, hard boiled eggs, anchovies, salad leaves, sweet white onion (or spring onion) and tomatoes plus a dressing made from olive oil, mustard and white wine vinegar.

Salade nicoise

For the pan bagnat, you need individual crusty rolls or a pain de campagne for a large version.

Cut off the lids, and hollow out the bread inside (blitz this for breadcrumbs to keep in the freezer).

Drizzle in olive oil and then pack the cavities with tuna, olives, tomatoes, salad leaves, anchovies, radishes, peppers, eggs etc

Replace the lids and wrap tightly in cling film and then refrigerate (preferably for several hours) so the filling soaks into the bread and compacts down-  becoming easy to slice and serve.

individual Pan bagnat 

Pan Bagnat goes large!

Everybody knows my penchant for stuffing vegetables and I've featured petits farcis before:

Petits Farcis

Likewise- I've featured panisse on my gluten-free blog: 'Finger on the Pulse'

Last but my no means least- pissaladiere. Probably my favourite Nicoise speciality.

This is a bread or pastry based onion tart. You can use pizza base, or a pastry case or a roll of puff pastry- whatever you want to use up. The real Pissaladiere uses a bread dough base.

First, chop 500g of onions finely and put them in a heavy based saucepan with a glug of olive oil, a couple of cloves of garlic (crushed) and a knob of butter. Gently fry the onions until they are softand caramelized. They should be golden brown and spreadable like a paste.

Spread them over your base, and lattice the top with anchovies. I like to add black olives too, but I don't think this is traditional.

Soft and spreadable onions

Bake in hot oven (200 degrees) until the base is crisp and serve warm, cut into squares.

Pissaladiere

Next time you hear from me, I'll be back in Blighty- but the influence of the Cote d'Azur will be staying with me for quite some time, I feel.

Let's hope for some Sussex spring sunshine to go with the food!

Finger on the pulse

We've just returned from a fab fortnight in the Auvergne (Central France). Despite the snobbery with which the food here is viewed in other parts of France ('peasant food' they say) well- call me a peasant but, reader, we ate really well.



The charcuterie served in the auberge on the plateau d'Ally was superb, their cheeses went down well with our group www.auberge-ally.com

and the vegetables everywhere were always prepared in the most delicious ways.

However, it was the Puy lentil which was the star of the show and this healthy little pulse is going to get a blogpost pretty much all of its own today.

A colleague at work asked me if I could feature some gluten-free recipes for her daughter who was recently diagnosed coeliac, and so, step into the spotlight please Mr Little Green Lentil.

Not only do these versatile little things make a lovely vegetable accompaniment or salad, they also grind down to make a gluten-free flour (similar to buckwheat in taste) so great for savoury pancakes and blinis.

Let's start with those crepes.
I got this recipe from the farmer at the local market in the village where we stayed. When I bought the flour from his stall he gave me a handmade recipe book, with his flour featured on each page. 

You can see more on his website: http://visite.ferme.blot.free.fr
Ingredients:
100g lentil flour
100g corn flour (maizena)
2 eggs
400 ml milk
generous pinch of salt

Mix all together and beat well with a balloon whisk.
Heat a frying pan until smoking with a very small amount of flavourless oil and fry thin crepes, turning once with a palette knife. Stack on a plate until ready to use.

Lentil flour crepes

These pancakes are good with savoury fillings like ham and cheese, or mixed with cooked lentils, chopped spring onion or sweetcorn to make savoury drop scones. As blinis they go well with salmon or with a poached quail's egg on top (same farmer at the market was selling these.)

They are also lovely served galette-style as here in the picture, spread with pesto, pine nuts, ham and tomato.

Cooked Puy lentils make a delicious salad. To add a bit of interest, and texture, try serving them in a basket (as in this pic).

The basket here is made from filo pastry (not gluten free)- but you can achieve the same effect using one of the crepes above moulded over a tin or bowl and baked in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 160 degrees.

Once cool, fill with cooked lentils chopped spring onion and some lemon creme fraiche mixed together.

And now for the leftover lentils.

I love them as an accompaniment to sausages- meaty Toulouse ones are good- or topped with a salmon fillet.

Lentils with sausages

Salmon with lentils

Soften some onion and garlic, stir in the cooked lentils, add a chopped and peeled tomato, plenty of salt and pepper and a cupful of stock (a dash of mustard or Worcester sauce is good too) and simmer until all the stock has been absorbed.


Incidentally, you could achieve the crepe recipe with chick pea (gram) flour if that is easier for you to get.
If using this, you might like to try a Southern french delicacy- panisse.

These are particularly good if you crave something a bit indulgent and fattening. (If, like my colleague's daughter, you have only recently converted to a gluten-free diet- the lack of doughnuts, cakes and biscuits may seem particularly harsh.)

This is basically a chickpea dough, cooled and rolled into a log then deep fried and seasoned with loads of salt and pepper. It doesn't have to be log shaped however- you can cool it in a loaf tin and slice it into fingers or slices.

• 1 litre water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 1/4 cups (285g) chickpea flour
• olive oil, for frying
• coarse salt and freshly-cracked pepper, for serving

1. Lightly oil a 9-inch (23 cm) square cake pan, or similar sized vessel.

2. Heat the water with the oil and salt in a saucepan. Once hot, but not boiling, whisk in the chickpea flour.

3. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture thickens, about three minutes.

4. Switch to a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes until very thick and the batter holds its shape.

5. Scrape into the oiled pan and let cool.

6. To fry the panisses, unmould the solidified mixture on a cutting board and slice into batons about as wide as your fourth finger and as long as your middle one.

7. In a heavy-duty frying pan, heat 1/4-1/2 inch (1-2 cm) of olive oil. When shimmering hot, fry the panisses in batches, not crowding them in the pan. Once the bottom is nicely browned and crisp, turn with tongs, frying the panisses until they are deep-golden brown on each side.

8. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels, sprinkling them very generously with salt and pepper. Don’t be stingy with either. Continue frying the rest, heating more oil in the pan as needed.

Thanks to David Lebovitz for this summary of the recipe.


Loads of other gluten-free ideas by the way on https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/53d903dde4b0562e873aa1bf

In the meantime- let's hear it for the lentil!