Updating Provençal classics

Et voilà! So happy to launch a new series today: Updating Provençal Classics.

We will be starting with the following favorites of Provençal cooking to ease us through winter and into beautiful springtime:

• Pot-au-feu – French beef stew done up Provençal style
• Pistou soup – vegetable soup with pesto/pistou
• Tapenade – the classic olive paste
• Aioli – literally, “garlic and oil” sauce that usually accompanies simply prepared fish and vegetables

{and, perhaps, a few of my other seasonal personal favorites along the way!}

Bouquet garni 101

A simple foundation of a lot of French cooking is the bouquet garni – a bundle of herbs used to flavor stocks, stews, soups, and sauces.

The classic combination includes parsley stalks, thyme, and bay leaf. You can use fresh stems or dry herbs and tie them up kitchen twine or wrap them in cheese cloth. The size of the bouquet garni tends to be fairly standard, but you can make it larger or smaller depending on the size of your cooking pot.

Provençal variations also often include rosemary, which is abundant in the region, and, sometimes, marjoram as well.

When you’re done cooking, remove the bouquet from the stock/soup after the herbs have imparted their flavor and fragrance.

Read more about my essential herbs here.

I can’t wait to keep exploring Provençal classics with all of you as we gather around a cozy linen-dressed table.