Monthly Archives: May 2012

My Provence: An Interview with Deborah Lawrenson

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My Photo

This post is the first in a new series which seeks to share different visions of this fascinating region.  I hope you will enjoy the distinctive “voices” expressed in My Provence and be transported, if only temporarily, to this lovely corner of the world.

Deborah Lawrenson

An author, sometime journalist, and seasoned traveller, Deborah Lawrenson has been in love with Provence for as long as she can remember. Living the dream of many France-lovers (myself included!), she resides with her husband in a “crumbling” house in the Luberon.  I met Deborah through her beautiful blog, where she shares her evocative images of the region along with equally exquisite descriptions.  She’s been kind enough to give us a bit of a window into her Provence.

 

 

1. What is your connection to Provence, and how long have you been living in or traveling to the region?

I’ve been coming to Provence for nearly thirty years, the first time with the college boyfriend who would become my husband. His family had had a house in the Luberon for some twenty years and before that, a wealthy great-uncle had restored a chateau close to Grasse, which sounds like the background for a novel in itself! We finally bought our own property at the eastern end of the Luberon valley five years ago after Robert finally decided he’d worked long enough in London and he wanted to realize his long-held ambition to compose music.

 

2. Where is your favorite place to visit? (a tough one!)

That is a very tough one and I’m not sure I can choose a single place… Fontaine de Vaucluse for the pure emerald water, though ideally out of season because it does get crowded. The sheer glamour of Eze, dining on a terrace high above Cap Ferrat. Or simply sitting in the breeze on our hillside of an evening, watching the sun set on the rippled mountain and the lights come on all down the valley.

3. Do you have a “best travel memory” for the region?

I have so many, and each is quite different, that again it’s impossible to pick one. My fond memories range from reporting on the Cannes film festival for a British newspaper when

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Carpentras’ Strawberries & Tiramisu aux Fraises

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If you glance at the kiosks around this time of year in France, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a food magazine that isn’t offering dessert recipes for “fruits rouge“.  All berries are put on display this time of year, but only one plump beauty really holds center stage:  the strawberry.

And really, not just any strawberry.  One of the fruity claims to fame of the South, along with melons from Cavaillon, is the strawberry from Carpentras.

 

 

Carpentras is located in the department of the Vaucluse, but as with most products in Provence, you’ll find strawberries from Carpentras at local markets all around the region.

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Savvy St. Tropez

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On what was to be our fourth trip to the most famous of all Provençal villages, I was determined to get our weekend visit to St. Tropez “right”.

Past trips had been memorable for all the wrong reasons… including one ill-timed winter outing where we were whipped-about by Mistral winds & doused by rain. A couple of overpriced cocktails, and a few fleeting glances at Gucci bags later, and we were back on the road.

And then there were our two summer visits, where we finally had a chance to bask in that glorious South of France sunshine…. along with what seemed like every other tourist on “the cote”. As any good resident will tell you, summertime is when St. Tropez comes alive – massive yachts, extravagant parties, and very, very high heels. Besides the spectacular people-watching (I can still see those pink platforms & barely there halter-tops), St. Tropez left me feeling a bit overwhelmed and underfed – with a small(ish) budget & sizable appetites, we had a difficult time finding our foodie niche.

This time, after a bit of research and a more realistic approach (there’s no Gucci’s in this girl’s future), we set out to experience more of the “charm” of this pretty town & less of its supersized glamour. Here are a few ideas for spending a savvy, budget-friendly day in St. Tropez.

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Market Cooking: Poivrons-Mozzarella au Basilic

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It’s been said that one of the best things about living / visiting the South of France is the chance to experience the Provençal markets. Fresh, colorful, and always full of interesting locals, sometimes more colorful than the produce itself, markets serve as the heart / gathering point of many southern towns. Plus, they’re just so very pretty. I try to go to the markets as much as possible. Busy days being what they are, that’s not always easy, but on my lunch breaks I’m usually able to squeeze in a quick stroll among the stands. Even if I’m not “equipped” to make a big purchase, there’s something about seeing all the vivid colors that makes the day just a bit brighter – and gives me quite a lot of inspiration for cooking projects to come.

And then there’s the peppers – bright red, green, and yellow beauties that provide endless ideas for elegant dishes.  We can’t get enough of them… in fact, I found an entire book dedicated to pepper recipes in a discount bookstore here in town.  The French really like their themed-food books. Don’t get me started on macarons…

Although they’re not “officially” in season yet – dangerous territory to venture into in France – we’ve already started knocking out a few recipes. I found this one particularly good, the roasted pine nuts & extra drizzle of olive oil really did the trick. And you can never go wrong with fresh basil, très très bon.       Bon appétit!

Poivrons-mozzarella au basilic

 

Ingredients:

2 red peppers

1 yellow pepper

2 rounds of mozzarella cheese

2 lemons

1/2 bunch of fresh basil

olive oil

1 1/2 oz of pine nuts

fleur de sel (or regular salt)

crushed white pepper

 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 356° F. Wrap each pepper in aluminium foil, then place them on an oven rack and bake for 35 minutes.

Take the peppers out of the oven, then enclose them in a plastic bag (the recipe recommends a “freezer” bag). Let them cool down for 15 minutes. Take the peppers out of the sack and remove the aluminium foil.  Peel them, take out the stem and the seeds.  Cut each pepper into wide strips – about to 6 to 8 strips.

Cut the mozzarella as thin as possible and place the slices on serving plates, overlapping them with the strips of peppers.

Press the lemons and drizzle their juice over the plates.  Place basil leaves on top of the mozzarella/peppers and drizzle with olive oil.

At serving time, grill the pine nuts in a pan (no oil needed) for one minute.  Sprinkle them over the plates and finish by adding a touch of fleur de sel and crushed white pepper.

 

-recipe credit:  J’aime et je cuisine: le Poivron, Rustica editions 2008