By Leigh O’Connor.
Uncover a definitive guide to the food, drink and lifestyle of South-eastern France in Rebekah Peppler’s new cookbook, ‘Les Sud – Recipes from Provence-Alpes- Côte d'Azur’.
For centuries, artists, holidaymakers and food writers have fallen hard for the charms of the south of France and like many regions where landscapes and people happily crash into each other, the food is dynamic and exciting.
In ‘Le Sud’, James Beard Book Award finalist Rebekah distils the flavours, techniques and spirit of Provence, the Alps and Côte d'Azur into a collection of recipes, photographs and stories that take a fresh new look at the region.
With insights into the staples of Southern French living, such as how to source the brightest rosé, marché must-haves, tips on hosting and the longstanding tradition of apéro, this book is much more than a collection of recipes. Rebekah reveals the region’s true beauty and dynamism through her fresh perspective and delicious guidance.
Sharing 100 sweet, savoury and cocktail recipes along with more than 100 photographs, ‘Le Sud’ will expand your perception from lavender fields and afternoon pastis to a geographically and culturally diverse region of ocean, rivers, mountains, marshes, plains and the dishes that represent them.
We have three recipes to share with AGFG home cooks:
"One very chilly Fall day, a dear friend invited me to dinner at her beautiful home in Lacoste (a village in the Luberon crowned by an 11th-Century château that was home to the Marquis de Sade in the late 1700s and later owned by the couturier Pierre Cardin).
"Somewhere between invite and arrival, the weeknight dinner turned dinner party, with a long table bedecked with local flowers and the platonic ideal of vintage linens and serving ware running the length of her living room straight into the kitchen. Ruth made gin and tonics, pavlova and a chicken that was not this chicken - but I wrote this chicken recipe for and by channelling her.”
Rebekah says if you’re not a pastis lover, fear not this recipe. The liqueur boosts the sweet, herbal notes of the fennel and shallots without leaving you feeling like you’re sitting down to drink a tall glass of anise. If you are a pastis lover, you’ll likely have some left in your bottle after making this recipe.
If you take away one thing from this book, let it be this:
Ratatouille takes time or rather, good ratatouille takes time. Sure, throw everything in the pan to cook all at once and you will quickly end up with a mediocre approximation. Along the way, the eggplant will have lost a bit of its eggplant-ness, the zucchini some of its zucchini-ness...you get it.
To cook ratatouille’s vegetables separately, each in its own bath of olive oil, before layering them together in a tangled jumble at the end, is time well spent.
"This recipe is inspired by two separate but memorable ratatouille - one ordered in Nice and eaten as a precarious yet functional car snack on the coastal drive to Saint-Tropez; the other ordered at a hotel, also on the coast between Nice and Saint-Tropez, with ridiculous views (and prices to match) - each made slightly sweeter, richer and deeper in flavour with the additions of honey and tomato paste,” Rebekah explains.
"At the country’s most Southeastern edge, Italy spills into France - on one side, the small, brightly hued city of Menton, rightly boastful of its lemons and more than 316 days of sunshine a year. A small sign, a dashed line on the map, and you’re in Liguria. Borders, as we know, are constructs. Regardless, on either side, you’re never far from the sea and pasta abounds.”
This dish is simple but delicious with small clams, saffron threads, fennel and marinated lemons combining with spaghetti, bucatini or linguine for a hearty pasta plate the whole family will enjoy.
Interwoven with the recipes are sidebars and primers that will elevate your knowledge of Southern French staples: the wines of the region, after-dinner drinking, how little you can wear to the beach and healing by the sea.
‘Le Sud’ is more than a cookbook, it is a deep celebration of this historic, diverse, abundant and enchanting region that has captured the imagination of so many of us.
