French Cooking Lessons in Provence France

6 bottles red, white, or rosé wine
2 pounds of sugar
1 bottle marc de Provence (or vodka)

10 bitter oranges, including peel
1 lemon, including peel
1 vanilla bean pod, split open

Cut up the oranges and the lemon into 5 or 6 pieces each. Dissolve the sugar with the marc in a wide-mouthed glass or plastic container. Add the wine, fruit, and the vanilla bean. Seal the top and set aside in a cool, dark place for a minimum of 2 months, stirring the contents every week. In the meantime, save decorative glass bottles to hold the vin d'orange. To bottle, pour the contents through a sieve to remove the larger debris. Then pass it twice through fine muslin. You should have a clear liquid without fruit pulp or sediment. Bottle and cork the wine and leave it untouched for 30 days before drinking. It will keep for 3 years and improve, if given the chance!

Vin d'orange has the strength of a fortified wine. In summer, serve it chilled over ice with a twist of orange or “tall” with soda. Vin d'orange also makes a lovely base for your own apéritif de la maison—a teaspoon of vin d'orange in a glass of champagne or sparkling white wine. Santé!

1-2 lb. ripe figs
1/4 cup lavender honey, to glaze tart
ready-made shortcrust or paté sablé

1 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. pastis or Ricard

Line a 9-1/2 inch, loose bottomed tart pan with the pastry, pressing well into the sides. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, and fill with dried beans or weights. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs and add the almonds, sugar, and pastis. Pour almond mixture into the pie shell. Cut the figs in half, top to bottom. Place in circles, cut side up, in the pie shell, packing them in quite closely and pushing slightly into the almond mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 375°F until almond mixture sets.

6 large eggs yolks
3/4 cup honey (Provençal lavender, if possible)
2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half
4-5 sprigs lavender (fresh or dried)

Put the sprigs of lavender in a pan with the cream and half and half. Heat until just below boiling, remove from heat, and leave lavender to infuse for 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly beat the egg yolks and mix in some of the warm cream. Return to the pan of cream with the lavender sprigs. Stirring constantly, heat until you have a light custard that coats the back of the spoon. Warm the lavender honey, remove the lavender sprigs, and stir into the custard.

Chill the custard well, then process the mixture in an ice cream machine and freeze. Serve garnished with a sprig of lavender.

1 lb. salt cod fillet, desalinated
2-3 cups milk
3/4 lb. boiled potatoes, lightly mashed

4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cream
Pepper to taste

Simmer the milk and poach the cod until the fish flakes easily, about 5 minutes. Do not let the milk boil. Drain the fish and reserve the milk.Remove the skin and any bones from the fish and put the flakes of fish in a food processor. Add the boiled potatoes and smashed garlic cloves and process together, slowly adding the olive oil in a thin stream. Add the cream followed by enough of the poaching milk to create a thick, spreadable mixture. Do not overprocess. Season with the pepper to taste. You do not need to add salt!

To accompany an apéritif, serve the brandade at room temperature spread on garlic baguette toasts topped with a black olive. Alternatively, fill an individual pastry tartlet and bake in the oven at 450°F for 8-10 minutes.

For a gratin, spoon the brandade into a small ovenproof dish, sprinkle with fine breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in a hot oven until bubbling and golden. The classic Christmas Eve dish in Provence is a salt cod gratin topped with sliced black truffles, but a little chopped parsley or black olives will suffice for an everyday treat.

You can stuff small tomatoes with the cold brandade and serve it on a bed of baby greens dressed with olive oil. For a cold weather version, stuff small red peppers with the brandade, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in the oven.

Needless to say, a glass of chilled Provençal rosé wine is the perfect companion!