A herb heavy savoury cake from France to nibble while sipping wine or serve warm from the oven with a tomato and olive salad as a starter. I first came across this while on a walking holiday in Corsica and determined to find a recipe it was so good!The herbs can be varied, but balance more dominant herbs with plenty of softer ones such as parsley and chives. This is from ” Sophie Grigson’s Country Kitchen”.
I picked the first Globe Artichokes from our allotment this week and that prompted me to prepare this Provencal dish from Ruth Watson’s ” The Really Helpful Cookbook”. The Globe Artichokes were served on a separate plate and dipped in the garlicky aioli along with the other vegetables. You can vary the vegetables but should include a combination of hot and cold. My vegetarian husband simply omitted the prawns.
I made this healthy and delicious soup during my week of cooking recipes from France. Traditionally three types of fresh white beans would be used along with the other vegetables. This recipe from Patricia Lousada uses dried haricot beans, but I substituted a tin of cannellini beans which was fine if not authentic. I also substituted Butternut squash for the broad beans and made the pistou using wild garlic leaves rather than basil. I think it is even better the next day.
Since Lockdown has prevented me from realising most of my travel plans for the summer I have decided to cook my way around the world, a country a week, for the foreseeable future and guided but not led by the alphabet. As a result of existing menu plans I began this week in France . Here is an easy, classic dish from the region that comes from The Hairy Bikers. It’s very moreish comfort food.
A favourite omelette for lunch or supper from ” Forever Summer” by Nigella Lawson. In Corsica they would use brocciu, a soft cheese made from goats whey. As this will probably be quite hard to find elsewhere, use goats cheese from a log. Cut away the skin and crumble the cheese into the pan.
| 3 large organic eggs | 3 heaped tbsps young soft goats cheese |
| 2 tsp caster sugar | 1 tbsp crème fraiche or double cream |
| 15g unsalted butter | Extra sugar and mint leaves to garnish |
| 4 large fresh mint leaves, shredded |
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