Provençal Cuisine

Low-Carb Lunch

Menu
Baby Artichokes with Vinaigrette
Provençal-Style Love Potatoes
Vaucluse-Style Cod Fritters
Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus Tips
Châtelaine Sole Fillets
Spit-Roasted Teal
Orange Salad
Endives with Brown Butter
Bananas with Rice
Coffee
Served with Fine Liqueurs

Provençal-Style Love Potatoes

Select small tomatoes of equal size, remove a slice from the stem end, cut horizontally, and squeeze them lightly without deforming them to extract the water and seeds; season the insides with salt and pepper. Place them, cut side down, in a pan lightly rubbed with garlic and containing a few spoonfuls of very hot olive oil. After 5 to 6 minutes of cooking, turn the tomatoes over, continue cooking for a few more moments, then arrange them in an earthenware dish, drizzle with their cooking oil, and let cool.
When ready to serve, arrange the tomatoes symmetrically on a serving platter. Fill the insides with tuna, anchovy fillets, and roasted red peppers, peeled, cut into very small squares, and season lightly with a few spoonfuls of slightly spicy mayonnaise. Sprinkle the surface with hard-cooked egg yolks, sieved through a sieve, and sprinkle with a small pinch of chopped parsley in the center.

Vaucluse-Style Cod Fritters
Mix 600 grams of truffled cod brandade, 300 grams of baked potato pulp, sieved through a sieve, and 3 eggs, beaten as for an omelet. Divide into egg-sized balls, dust them lightly with flour, and flatten them into a puck shape.
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Place the fritters in the pan and brown them on both sides, turning them over occasionally. Serve immediately.

Châtelaine Sole Fillet
Serves six: Choose two very fresh soles, each weighing about 300 grams. Remove both skins, lift the fillets, fold them in half, flatten them slightly, and place them in a generously buttered sauté pan. Season with salt and pepper, cover with 5 to 6 tablespoons of hot water, add the juice of half a lemon, and a small bunch of parsley. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 12 minutes over very moderate heat. On the other hand, prepare a béchamel sauce in advance with 4 deciliters of milk, and on the other hand, cook 250 grams of macaroni in salted water. Drain it immediately after cooking, then thoroughly mix in 2 tablespoons of fine butter, 4 tablespoons of grated cheese (Gruyère and Parmesan), a beautiful truffle from the Vaucluse garrigues, carefully peeled and julienned, a small pinch of freshly ground pepper, and 3 to 4 tablespoons of béchamel sauce. Pour everything into a long, slightly hollow earthenware dish. Arrange the sole fillets on top of the macaroni, covering them with the béchamel sauce, which you will have incorporated while cooking the sole fillets. Sprinkle the surface with grated cheese, drizzle with melted butter, and lightly brown.
NOTE: The same is true for brill fillets, turbot fillets, cod fillets, salmon fillets, etc., cut into escalopes.

Bananas with Rice
Serves 5 to 6: Select 6 large, ripe bananas, remove their skins, cut them into thin slices, and place them in a saucepan with 5 to 6 tablespoons of hot water, a tablespoon of powdered sugar, and a knob of fresh butter. Cover the saucepan, place it on the stove, cook for 7 to 8 minutes, and then stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of apricot marmalade. Cook 250 to 300 grams of Carolina rice in a liter of water for 4 minutes, then drain and return it to the saucepan. Moisten it with three-quarters of a liter of boiling milk, add a small pinch of salt, a knob-sized amount of fresh butter, and a quarter of a vanilla pod. Cover the pan and cook over moderate heat. Do not stir the rice during cooking. After 10 minutes, add 150 grams of sugar and continue cooking for another 15 to 18 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and mix 3 egg yolks into the rice. You can also add 2 tablespoons of kirsch and 2 tablespoons of maraschino. Arrange two-thirds of the rice in a timbale, cover it with the bananas, and place the remaining rice on top. Cover the rice with a light layer of apricot jam and sprinkle with 2 or 3 crushed macaroons. Place the timbale in the oven for a few minutes before serving.

A. Escoffier.