Provence and its regional dishes

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Anchoiade, artichaux a la Barigoule, bouillabaisse, Caillettes, Daube d'Avignon, Daube de boeuf, Farcis nicois, Gardianne de boeuf, loup au fenouil, pan bagnat, Pissaladiere, tians, Truffles

Ratatouille, bouillabaisse, salad Nicoise, daube de boeuf  are the traditional dishes of Provence, often dubbed ” the cuisine of the sun” has traveled all over the world.

On the menu in Provence.

A meal can start with anchoiade with crudites, baby artichokes, fish soup or caillettes. In winter you can enjoy scrambled eggs with truffles. Even though bouillabaisse is Provence‘s most famous dish you will find wonderful fish dishes in many restaurants by the beach and the real treat is ocean-fresh fish simply charcoal-grilled. Sea bass and bream are often matched with fennel or artichokes. Lamb is one of the main meat dishes that we love, grilled or roasted with fresh herbs, as well as rabbit roasted or baked with wine. Also stews are quite frequent on a Provencal table such as daube de boeuf. Vegetable dishes include creamed Swiss chard and cardoons, and all manner of gratins and tians.

Nicoise Cuisine.

This distinctive cuisine reflects the city’s history as part of Italian Piedmont until 1860. Not surprisingly you will find ravioli, Polenta and pasta dishes on the menu. Sardines and anchovies are the two favorite fish. Nonats are tiny sardines and anchovy fry. Anchovies are also featured in Pissaladiere and Salad Nicoise while sardines may be marinated or stuffed with breadcrumbs and herbs. Nice is also home to the Ratatouille and farcis nicois.

Artichaux a la Barigoule.

Small violet or poivrade artichokes are trimmed , halved and sauteed with onion, bacon, garlic, carrots and maybe mushroom ( a similar mix can be used to stuff them), then simmered in white wine and herbs until tender.

Daube de Boeuf.

This dish gets its name from the Daubiere, the terra cotta casserole in which it is cooked . Marinate large cubes of beef overnight with red wine, onions, garlic and a bouquet garni. Onions, carrots and bacon lardons, then the meat  are browned  in olive oil and then stewed for 3 to 5 hours in the marinade, with tomatoes and orange peel, until the sauce has turned an almost blackish-brown. A very similar dish is made with lamb ( Daube d’Avignon), and in the Camargue, with bull’s meat ( Gardianne de boeuf).

Loup au fenouil.

Fennel aniseed taste goes well with fish. A whole sea bass ( or sea bream) is stuffed with a handful of stalks of fennel and baked with dry white wine and baked with dry white wine. The fish can also be grilled over fennel twigs to impart flavour.

Bouillabaise.

Is no longer fisherman’s stew, using the leftovers of the fish simmered in sea water. These days it is a costly, luxury dish that you may need to order 24 hours in advance. Some recipes use all kinds of different fish but the essential are  rascasse (scorpion fish) , gurnard and conger eel cooked in a saffron – scented fish stock with onion, leek, tomato, olive oil and dried orange peel. Potatoes are added before serving. it is often eaten in two stages : First the golden broth then the fish itself.

Nicois street food.

Nice has wonderful snacks that can be bought from stalls on Cours Saleya or around the old port, including the famous Pissaladiere. Socca is a large chickpea  crepe baked in a circular iron dish and cut into pieces to be eaten with fingers, while panisses are chickpea fritters dusted with icing sugar. Pan Bagnat is sort of  Nicoise served on a bun- A round bread roll moistened with olive oil and stuffed with anchovies, tomato, egg and olives.

Anne Suire

http://www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

Bouillabaisse..

Bouillabaisse usually comes with Rouille…

Artichokes a la Barrigoule

Boeuf daube…

Loup au Fenouil….

12 reasons why you should travel with Luxury Travel Consultant2

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architecture, Art, breakfast, dinner included, Drivers, food & wine, Foraging for mushrooms Provence, history, lunch, private chef, Round trip train ride, shopping the flea markets & brocantes of Provence, tour guides, tour guides knowledgeable, transfers, Travel with Luxury Travel Consultant2, Truffles, villa Accommodation, Villas accommodations

What does Luxury means to us means several things:

The best villas and carefully chosen categories.

Expert local guides with a wealth of knowledge and the ability to tailor touring to traveler’s interests.

Itineraries designed with ideal order and routing.

Relaxation and hassle-free experiences.

How different are we from other tour companies.

We provide well planned tours with great attention to service, with each trip carefully designed according to our clients’ interests.

We offer small group tours with set departures ( for friends and extended families as well as a group of singles or couples).

We specialize in Luxury Travel made affordable to our clientele, so our tours include five stars villas,( often deluxe rooms or suites). The guides and drivers that we arrange are true experts and our tours emphasize  the local lifestyle and culture through cuisine, arts and architecture, landscapes and local traditions. Our villas are selected based on style , location and facilities.

Luxury Travel Consultant2 offers tours to France and Italy where our expertise and services will be of tremendous value to luxury travelers.

The owner of Luxury Travel Consultant2 is very passionate about travel and has extensive experience living and traveling in the countries that she handles.

We work with tour guides and drivers and make sure that they are bilingual and very knowledgeable about the region. Our customized tours can be sent to clients  and we are happy to modify any of the tours on our website.

Is air fare included in the price of your tours?

No air fare is not included in our tour prices. Trans-Atlantic air fare is additional. Many of our clients prefer to book their own international flights using miles or two-for-one offers. As a tour planner, our services begin when you arrive at your international destination. We offer a complimentary TGV train ride from the airport to your final destination.

Are meals included in your tours?

Yes, continental breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as wine for dinner. We usually have our personal chefs who are also very knowledgeable about the food of the chosen region.

After we book a trip, what sort of materials do you send us?

We will send you a detailed confirmed itinerary as well as including tips on how to travel safely.

How far in advance should we book our trip?

It is best to book a tour with us a few months in advance ( 2 to 4 months in advance ) is best.

What type of vehicles do you use?

We always provide the best of vehicles in each region : safe, comfortable, spacious and air conditioned. For groups traveling together or friends , we provide mini- vans or SUVs.

We will have lots of luggage, is it a problem?

This not a problem as long as you let us know in advance so that we can arrange the appropriate vehicles. Please bear in mind that International and domestic airlines charge extra fees for luggage that exceeds their maximum per person weight allowance. These fees are the responsibility of each traveler and must be paid directly to the airline (s).

Do you design tours that focuses on certain interests.

Yes we do! whether you are interested in architecture, art, history, food wines, truffles, group friendly activities or shopping we will design them with your interests in mind.

What is there to do during leisure time?

We have arranged spa treatments at the property or elsewhere, wine tasting at the property or in a vineyard with  lunch included. You would love to play golf but not get a massage we will arrange these activities (at extra cost) if not included in the tour. Leisure time is always a matter of preference, but in general we like to incorporate  quiet time.

One client asked us a couple of years ago for a gourmet experience in Provence.

Many of our clients really love great food and so do we. We know some fantastic experiences that will make your tour extra special. In Provence for example we can take you truffle hunting on an organic farm or foraging for mushrooms or fishing, these activities are very interesting and always come with a complimentary lunch. We can also meet a chef at the market and cook at the property and enjoy our own creations. We have many more delicious suggestions in other parts of France and in Italy as well.

Wanting to make sure that you have opportunities to shop during the tour and great recommendations for unique local products.

All luxury Travel Consultant2 tours are designed to include some shopping as part of the private cultural touring in each location. We are offering a special shopping tour in May & September 2015 ” Shopping the flea markets and Brocantes of Provence“. Contact us for more information.

Luxury Travel Consultant2 offers a different approach to upscale Travel.

Villa Accommodation.

TGV round trip to your destination.

Drivers / Tour guides are local and bilingual.

Transfers to and from property.

Breakfast, lunch & dinner ( 4 bottles of wine per dinner)

Touring the region and special activities.

( Air Fare is not included).

” The entire group really enjoyed themselves; it was peaceful,beautiful and well orchestrated. If we wanted to change a plan, she was flexible with the group.

All checklists you can think of on a trip like this,with a large group, were all met and surpasses and helped us have the trip of a lifetime.”

Thank you,

Kate & Ted Smiths. San Francisco.

http://www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

Carpentras and the truffle market

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Avignon, Carpentras, Foraging for mushrooms Provence, Luxury Travel Consultant2, Richeranches, Romans, Truffles, Vaucluse Luberon

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Each year on November 27, an annual market is held in Carpentras. The visit is well worth the effort, even if the weather is cold at this time of year. The meaning behind the cold weather an indication that that the truffles are ready for harvest. The Vaucluse is France’s main truffle producing region – Two thirds of domestic production hails from this area. On the plains of Carpentras , which provide very good growing productions for this “black Gold”. The first truffle market of the year used to be held  on Saint Siffrein’s day and for the last few years , however , the Carpentras truffle season has got underway a week earlier. Truffle markets are held at nine o’clock  every Friday morning right up until the end of March. Unlike the market in Richerenches, during the half hour before the market opens its doors, smaller truffle producers have the opportunity to sell their modest pickings to private buyers.

On the first day of the 1999 Carpentras market, 682 pounds of truffles were sold!. The amount is equivalent of an entire harvest for a rainy year. No matter how wonderful it is in an omelet or wrapped in a pastry, the best way to savor is to eat on a piece of rustic bread , sprinkled with sea salt , truffles can be bought more cheaply as a preserve. During the preserving process the truffle is cleaned and sterilized for 3 hours, the truffle loses 25 percent of its original weight. The juice can be saved for cooking purposes. Comtat has , for the past few years, held the record for producing the largest truffles, weighing as much as 14- 30 ounces . Comtat is home to numerous restaurants, famed for their truffles dishes.

Truffles in history.

They were described as a ” miracle of nature” , the Romans ate them like candies during performances at the theater. The popes at Avignon gave them pride of place at their banquets. Francis I ate them as comfort food as he was prisoner of Charles V , the duchess of Berry, who was plagued by scandal, is said to have fed her husband truffles, she was convinced of their aphrodisiac properties. During the 18th century, fashionable society would eat them during the interval at the opera and by the 19th century, elegant meal was considered incomplete without them.

Join us in the Fall 2015 when we will go foraging and hunting for mushrooms in Luberon, Provence.

http://www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

Provence and the food.

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Bandol, bouillabaisse, cachado, Cassis, dorade, Marseillais, olives, provencal markets, Soupe au pistou, Toulonais, Truffles, Valreas, Vaucluse

The tapestry of Provencal colors and textures is very varied ; in a cultivated landscape in the Vaucluse, preceding overleaf fruit trees , lavender, grapevines, and olive trees thrive in the sunny fields. The produce of Provence includes herbs and spices rosemary, wild mint, thyme, marjoram, juniper berries, sage , cherry tomatoes, green or black olives, called cachado in Provence , almonds, bitter aperitif made essentially from gentian root, olive oil , and herb- flavored vinegar.

The sizes and shapes and colors of olives in Provencal markets are truly astonishing. Dorade , a Mediterranean sea Bass with a very delicate flavor and exceptionally tender flesh is on sale at the markets. You will also find sacks of chickpea flour, kidney beans, lentils and split peas in the Provencal markets.

Provencal eating habits loyally respect the seasons; people shop daily and the freezer is held in suspicion. In mid-summer , when the abundant tomatoes are at their sweetest and have their greatest depth of flavor, when fresh basil abound and the market is flooded with tiny , freshly picked green beans , a sort of truly abandon takes over. The taste of all fresh things is so pure and so intense that the less one does to them , the better they are. With a bouillabaisse the Marseillais  opts for a glass of white wine from Cassis  and the Toulonnais (  who god forbids adds potatoes and mussels to their Bouillabaisse), The Marseillais  are totally horrified. The Toulonnais will accompany their Bouillabaisse with a Rose or a cool young red from neighboring Bandol.

In the fall during the grape harvest, everyone who makes wine draws off a portion of unfermented juice and boils it down  to concentrate the natural grape sugars before seeding  it with yeasts by adding some of the fermented wine. The result is a sweet desert wine called vin cuit. ( cooked wine), which is kept by all Provencal families for special traditional meals – It always accompanies the thirteen desserts of the Christmas eve supper.

Provence is less celebrated than the Perigord for its truffles, but Valreas, a small village in the north of Vaucluse, is an important truffles center so are other small towns all over Provence. These very magical parasites growing beneath the earth near oak trees and hazelnut trees  begin to appear in mid- November and find their greatest  use in the region at Christmas time but they are the ripest , richest at least in January and February. They are thrown into omelettes and fresh pasta, sauteed with potatoes or savored by themselves. People eat them in season only and often cook up a pound of them in a bottle of Chateauneuf for their Sunday meal.

The Famous Soupe au pistou is a minestrone invigorated  with a heady paste made of garlic, fresh basil and parmesan cheese and olive oil stirred into it at the moment of serving. The chef and owner of Les Bories prepares it with fresh vegetables.  Pistou is the Provencal word for “Pestle”. The result will be much better if newly shelled white beans are used. Onions are often added and , and in some parts of Provence, a large chunk of diced pumpkin is considered essential for the smooth, voluptuous texture it lends to the soup as it cooks into a puree.

The following recipe is a Nicoise version. The French beans and diced courgettes ( zucchini) should be added at the same time as the pasta to retain their flavor.

2 pounds fresh white beans

1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced

1 pound very ripe tomatoes, peeled , seeded and diced.

1/2 pound leeks ( white and tender green parts cut into rounds

Salt

1 pound zucchini diced

3/4 pound very thin small green beans, trimmed

1/4 pound short macaroni or spaghetti, broken up

For the pistou.

Coarse salt, fresh ground pepper

6 cloves garlic

25 or more basil leaves

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

 

Start the fresh white beans cooking in a pan with 4 quarts of water. bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and leeks to the haricots beans and simmer for about 45 minutes or more, until all veggies are melting. Add zucchini, green beans and pasta and cook for 20 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the pistou . In a mortar or a cuisinart, grind together a good pinch of coarse salt, pepper, garlic and basil. Pound carefully at first but then more roughly, until the basil and the garlic are reduced to a coarse puree. Add some of the cheese and pound to a paste, loosen with a bit of olive oil, stirring and pounding.

Serve the hot soup from its pot and present the mortar of pistou or a bowl at the same time so each guest may season the soup to taste.

Anne Suire

http://www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

Join us in May 2015.

Departure dates:

May 2, 2015 – May 9, 2015.

10 guests are invited , $ 3,990 pp.

Villa Accommodation ( double occupancy)

Drivers / Tour guides

Transfers & touring the region.

Private chef ( Breakfast, lunch & dinner included as well as 3 bottles of wine per dinner only)

TGV train ride ( Round trip)

Activities include : Truffle farm, cooking class at the villa, wine tasting, a Bouillabaisse lunch in Marseille and more…

* Book your trip today*

If you have any questions, please email us at anne@luxurytravelconsultant2.com

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Trip to Provence

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Apt, Bastide de Capelongue, Bonnieux, candied fruits, market, Provencal cooking, Truffles

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Hiking, the best way to discover the Vaucluse and the Luberon/ Part 2

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Apt, auberge du Luberon, candied fruits, Christian, hiking, Roman, Saignon, Truffles

Hike from Apt to Saignon

Apt‘s history goes back to Roman times when it was a prosperous ancient city. Remnants of its days as a Christian bishopric are also visible  in its gorgeous 11th-century Saint-Anne Cathedral. Today  the town is loved for its candied fruits, jams, lavender essence and truffles and a very colorful market that teems with Provencal produce on Saturday mornings. When you arrive in Apt park your car in the cours Lauze-de-Perret car park in the east of town,and then you are ready to set out on your hike. On foot your will have to take D48 and walk along until you see the Auriane track on the left, you will then head left and cross the bridge over the Rimayon river. As the road sweeps left you will have to keep walking straight along the path that climbs the hill, then bear left and and follow a tarmac path for ( 164ft) until you eventually get to the Ginestiere crossroads. Once you get there stay to your right and follow the D174 to get to the village entrance, which leads to the pretty place de la Fontaine.

Saignon is not very well known by tourists. If you go there visit the Prieure and Farm built in the middle ages on a Gallo- Roman site and continued to expand until the 19th-century. The church contains Medieval frescoes , and the excavations of a first-century villa are seen through a grill in the floor. Exhibitions are staged in the farm while the gardens are devoted to historic and scented plants. To get to Saignon, make a turn left on Rue du Bourget and walk about ( 330 ft) until you reach a cobbled path, on your left that leads to kind of a square in the parking lot. At the bottom of the car park, you will find a path winding around the village’s ramparts. After the last house take a deep breath and climb the steps to the main castle ruins and marvel at the vistas from the lookout point. Then go back down the ramparts before going left and joining the D174. From place de la Fontaine backtrack to the Ginistere crossroads, and turn right. After the bend, keeping Tourel (a settlement) on your left, take the short cut at the next bend and continue straight for (650 ft). At the next bend turn left along a dirt track and head straight through an oak forest and then a residential area. Continue straight , and then cross the old N100, using the steps to join the cycle path. You will have to keep going over the Cavalon River and then head up a ramp on the right to follow the D22 back to Apt. Finish your hike with a hearty French meal at Auberge du Luberon http://francemarket.com/auberge-luberon, located in a century- old  building in the city’s historic center.

Luberon, Provence.