Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

A few years ago it was easy to find tender pre-packed entrecôte or sirloin steaks in our local supermarket in Nice. But nowadays you have to go to a butcher for tender steaks. Luckily the pre-packed beef fillet, tenderloin, filet de boeuf, is just as tender and tasty as it used to be. Yes, this is luxury, but sometimes it is better to have something really good, but seldom and in smaller portions.

The following recipe is easy and carefree to make on a hot summer evening. It is adapted from a French magazine and results in a rare to medium rare fillet, which reminded me of the classic Carpaccio. If you prefer your fillet medium or well done just extend the cooking time in the oven. The amount of fillet is for four persons or for two with generous fillet leftovers for a beef salad the next day. It is easy to double or treble the courgette cakes for a larger party.

2 servings

For the fillet: 4 servings or 2 with leftovers
About 500 g beef fillet, filet de bœuf
1 clove garlic, minced
About 3 sprigs parsley, minced
1 tbsp dry bread crumbs, chapelure
Freshly ground black pepper
About 2 tbsp olive oil

For the courgette cakes:, ingredients for 2 cakes:
1 medium green courgette, grated
1 egg
A small handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 sprigs of parsley, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil for the frying

For the mayonnaise:
2 tbsp good mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Plus you need two small handfuls of baby salad leaves.

Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C.

Mince the parsley and garlic; add the breadcrumbs and black pepper and mix in a bowl. Spread this mixture on a plate. French fillet often comes covered with a slice of lard, remove this. Oil the fillet on all sides with olive oil and roll it in the parsley-garlic-bread crumb mixture. Place the fillet in an ovenproof dish and cook in the oven for 20 minutes for rare to medium-rare. Take the fillet out of the oven, place on a cutting board and cover with tin foil for 10- 20 minutes.

While the fillet is in the oven make the “batter” for courgette cakes. Wash and dry the courgette. Then coarsely grate it. Mince the parsley and finely grate the parmesan. In a bowl whisk the egg, add the parsley, courgette, parmesan, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Add enough of grated courgette to get a thick “batter”. Mix well. You may not need to use the entire grated courgette, if you have leftover courgette you can use it the next day in an omelette.

While the fillet is resting on the cutting board cook the courgette cakes. In a frying pan warm 1 tbsp rapeseed oil over medium- high heat. Place two heaps of courgette “batter” in the frying pan and flatten a little with a spatula to make two cakes. Cook for 4 minutes, then turn and continue cooking for 3- 4 minutes. Transfer on a plate and keep warm by covering with tin foil. If you cook several courgette cakes, you need to do this in batches.

Mix the mayonnaise with mustard in a small bowl. Slice the fillet into thin slices.

Place the courgette cakes on the plates. Place a few fillet slices on top of the cakes and the rest on the side. Add the salad and mayonnaise on the plates and serve.

Entrance to the restaurant of Auberge de la Madone

This hike from the perched village of Peillon (372 m), about 20 km north of Nice by road must have been one of the first hikes in the region that our family discovered almost 10 years ago. That is why we call it “Peillon classic”. In the Randoxygéne guide it is called Circuit de Lourquière.

First intersection on the trail just after Peillon

Today we didn’t start the hike from La Grave-de-Peille, but made a shortened walk from Peillon around the hill called Pointe de Lourquière (678 m), because we first wanted to have lunch on the terrace of hotel-restaurant Auberge de la Madone. This family restaurant has long been known for its great cooking following local traditions, and seems to get favourable reviews on Trip Advisor. We chose formule bistro, three courses for 25 €, and were not disappointed.

The trail after the bridge continues to Peille

The walk starts from the centre of Peillon, from the parking in front of Auberge de la Madone. Turn left after the fountain at the village entrance; ascend first along a narrow street passing the cemetery. You will soon find the signpost “
La Grave de Peille and Peille Village . The trail ascends gently in a beautiful valley. After about 30
min, a crossroads is reached. The trail north goes over a stone bridge to Peille. However our itinerary turns right ascending to a paved road and a nice residential area called plateau des Lacs (about 600 m alt.). Follow this road about 2 km south. The point where the trail forks right and leaves the road is clearly signposted. The whole trail is marked with yellow. It descends slowly to Vallon St-Martin before a final short ascent back to Peillon.

The trail of Circuit de Lourquière is good

Image of the itinerary:
(Courtesy of Google Maps)

Total walking time when starting from Peillon: 2h 15 (Circuit de Lourquière about 4 h)

Ascent: 270 m (Circuit de Lourquière 460 m)

Cabane de Tueis seen from the GR52 trail

Redoute fortress at Point des Trois Communes

Authion comprises several about 2000 meter high mountain tops in the southernmost part of the Alps. The Mediterranean coastline is about 25 km away. The region is now part of the Mercantour National Park. Situated just above Col de Turini, Authion is easily reached by car. There’s a loop road permitting one-way counterclockwise traffic during the summer season. The most rewarding way to explore Authion is by foot. Most of the trails are easy and as you can start from a higher altitude not that much climbing is needed.

View towards Moulinet from the road to Cabanes Vieilles

Authion has been of great strategic importance for hundreds of years, and was part of the Maginot Line. Several ruined forts and casernes remind the visitor of the turbulent past. At the very end of WWII, Authion remained one of the last German strongholds. In April 1945, General De Gaulle ordered the French troops to attack these positions. A sole American-made Stuart tank was deployed and it can still be seen at Cabanes Vieilles. The battle raged for two weeks. The French lost 280 men and about 1000 were wounded whereas Germans lost about 100 men before withdrawing. The armistice was just a few weeks away.

The American built Stuart tank at Cabanes Vieilles

The walk starts at Cabane de Tueis (also called chalet Charles Alési, 1889 m), at signpost 244. The trail marked as GR 52 ascends along a ridge to 2065 m. The Redoute fortress (2080 m) at Point des Trois Communes is clearly visible from here. Signpost 410 which is just below the fortress is reached rapidly.

Our trail then leaves the GR 52, and descends in an alpine meadow to Plan Caval that is already visible.

Descending from Fort des Mille Fourches to the road of Authion

From here, you continue along the paved loop road as far as to Cabanes Vieilles (1780 m). The road has very little traffic. At Cabane Vieilles, you can see the tank used in the final battle in April 1945. From this point, the itinerary goes almost straight north passing some caserne ruins, then ascending quite steeply in a larch wood followed by an alpine meadow (The direction is evident but there isn’t really a path to speak of ) as far as Fort des Milles Fourches (2042 m). A small descent then takes you to the loop road again.

The route then climbs a little bit to Fort de la Forca (2078 m,) before continuing to the GR 52 trail used in the beginning of the hike. From the last intersection, the starting point can be reached in 15 minutes.
However, on the day of our hike, dense clouds descended from north when we were nearing Fort de la Forca making the visibility poor. We therefore decided to take the road directly back to Cabane de Tueis. The shortcut made the walk 30 min or so shorter, and we also climbed 100 m less.

Map: IGN 3741 ET Vallées de La Bévéra et des Paillons

Duration 3h 30

Climb: 450 m

Image of hike itinerary:

(Courtesy of Google Maps)

This is a modern, healthy twist of Peach Melba. The classic Peach Melba is made from peaches, raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. The dessert was invented by the French chef Auguste Escoffier in the 1890s' in London to honour the Australian soprano Nellie Melba.

This version is less sweet and contains very little fat and is served in a glass, en verrine. This dessert is especially tasty when peaches are at their best. If you cannot find frozen raspberry sauce or grilled sliced almonds in your area, you have to start making these yourself. Otherwise this dessert can be put together in a few minutes.

2 servings

2 fresh and ripe peaches
2 tbsp raspberry sauce, coulis de framboises
4 tbsp low-fat fromage blanc or thick plain yoghurt
1 vanilla pod
Grilled almond slices

Defrost the frozen raspberry sauce and keep it in the fridge.

Half the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the fromage blanc or yoghurt. Mix well and keep it in the fridge.

Wash and dry the peaches. Cut them into very small pieces.

Start filling the glasses with about half of the peaches followed by a layer of about half of the fromage blanc or yoghurt. Then again a layer of the rest of the peaches followed by a layer of fromage blanc or yoghurt. Top with raspberry sauce and grilled almonds. Serve at once.

Grasse has been the capital of the perfume industry for more than two hundred years. In the centre of Grasse you can visit theVilla-Musée Fragonard. The villa has recently been beautifully restored, and was reopened this April. The International Perfume Museum gives you a chance to discover perfume’s history.

Information along MIP gardens olfactory route

Unfortunately not much perfume flowers are grown in these days in and around Grasse. Some rosa centifolia, May rose, is still grown in Grasse. Also some jasmine, tuberose, violet and mimosa are grown in the region. Grasse grows roses only for Chanel, Dior and Jean Patou.

The International Perfume Museum’s Gardens (The MIP’s Gardens) were created in Mouans- Sartoux to preserve the heritage of perfume flower growing. You can stroll through the gardens at your own pace.

“The Olfactory route” let’s you discover the fragrances and notes used in the perfume industry.You can place you hands on the fragrant foliage and smell the flowers that are near the path.

The May rose with its deep pink colour turned out to be my favourite flower in the garden. It was now early June, and the May rose was at the end of its flowering season. The scent of May rose was rich and sweet. It is harvested in May and early June.

Also some jasmine was still flowering and lavender was just starting to flower, but on the whole the garden looked tired and showed signs of the dry period. It seems that May is the best time for a visit when the May rose is in full flower. Its peak flowering season of course varies from year to year.

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The picnic in the shade of the cypress trees was the highlight of the visit. We had prepared a picnic basket at home before leaving. On the menu we had salmon and scallop paté, duck paté, baby salad leaves, goat’s cheese, freshly baked baguette, chilled Kriter crémat (French sparkling wine) and chocolate mousse. All the tasty products were bought from our local supermarket. It turned out to be a perfect early summer picnic.

Opening hours of the MIP’s Gardens: Spring-summer from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Regular price: 3€, during exhibitions 4€. Free parking.

Address: 979 Chemin des Gourettes, Mouans- Sartoux.

NB! If you cannot prepare your own picnic basket, ELLE Magazine recently recommended the restaurant Le Dit- Vin in Grasse
(lunch menu at 15 and 19€). We can also recommend L’Amandier in Mougins (lunch menu 19€).

The most magnificent forests in Alpes-Maritimes are situated around Col de Turini (1604 m), although the mythic mountain pass is better known from the Monte Carlo Rally. The special stage from la Bollène-Vésubie up to Turini is one of the most famous rally stages in the world. Drive the road yourself and you’ll get the feeling.

Easy descent from Col de Turini along GR52A

Today, however, we came here to explore the nature. The hike starts from the parking of col de Turini next to the Hôtel des Trois Vallées.

Start descending from signpost 195 along GR52A along a wide forest road. After 45 minutes, the trail leaves GR52A, forks left in the forest and starts ascending. The trail here is good, but was obstructed by several fallen trees. The mountaintop of Cime de Suorcas (1516 m) is reached in about 50 min. In spite of the “modest” altitude the views were great even though the coastline was not visible because of the haze. After having visited this little summit the trail continues east along a forested ridge passing two mountaintops called Tête de Gaglio (1568 m) and Tête de Francha (1608 m). Near the latter peak, there was a short steep section where metal ladders and a rope had been attached to facilitate the climbing.

Hazy view to northwest from Cime de Suorcas

The trail continues east, passes a hut and crosses the D2566 road. The last ascent goes to Cime de la Calmette (1786 m) before descending back to the starting point along a good trail. Follow the path east (yellow marks) after passing an abandoned ski lift, then turn northwest to signpost 32 from where the starting point is reached in a few minutes. Our descent seemed to coincide with the cows’ descent back to col de Turini. They were on their own, and seemed to follow their internal clock!

After the hike we enjoyed coffee and blueberry tart at the terrace of the Hôtel des Trois Vallées. Inside, you can find lots of pictures from the famous moments of the Monte Carlo Rally.

This is a super hike in variable surroundings. In the excellent guidebook published by Rother: “Alpes Maritimes Les 50 plus belles randonnées”(In French) the hike is graded as easy. In fact, most of the trail does not pose any difficulties. Even so, some parts were a bit steep and some scrambling was needed (pictured). We would classify the hike medium/red because of this. You also have the feeling of having climbed more than the 450 m

Coffee and blueberry tart at Hôtel des trois Vallées

as the trail had several ascents and descents!

Duration: 4 h

Vertical climb: 450 m

Map: IGN TOP 25 Vallée de la Bévéra 3741 ET

Map image courtesy of : Rother Guide de randonnées: “Alpes Maritimes Les 50 plus belles randonnées”

Montagne Sainte-Victoire seen from Relais de Saint-Ser

The massif of Sainte-Victoire comprises different plateaus between 400 and 1000m. It is about 8 km east

Relais de Saint-Ser seen from the southern face of Montagne Ste-Victoire

of Aix-en-Provence and dominates le pays d-Aix. It is famously known as Paul Cézanne’s favourite local subject and he must have painted it over fifty times.

The steep southern face of Mont Sainte-Victoire changes colour from grey to pink according to light and time of day. When driving from Aix-en-Provence east, take the D17 road (also Route Cézanne) which winds in the traditional Mediterranean countryside. We took this route in late March admiring the view of the mythic Sainte-Victoire immortalized in Cézanne’s paintings.

We drove as far as to Le Relais de Saint-Ser, where we had booked two nights. The hiking trail to chapel Saint-Ser (624 m) and Pic de Mouches (1011 m) goes right behind the parking of the hotel (400 m). This was one of the reasons why we booked here, the other being that this small auberge is known for its excellent restaurant. It was situated in the middle of the beautiful and quiet nature, the rooms were newly renovated and we were happy with the dinners.

The first day turned out to be rainy and cool, in spite of the favourable forecast a week or so earlier. We therefore explored the surroundings by car. Our first stop was the nearby vineyard Domaine de Saint-Ser. This is the highest situated vineyard of the almost thirty vineyards that have obtained the AOC Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire. After tasting, we opted for Cuvée Prestige Rouge 2010 (a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon) and purchased six bottles at 12,50 € each.

Montagne Sainte-Victoire Cezanne's favorite object

After the vineyard, we drove to Puyloubier, then along D10 past Vauvenargues to Aix-en-Provence. The northern face of Montagne Sainte-Victoire is less steep and the D10 road winds in a woody landscape.

The next day we woke to blue sky and warm sunshine. From the parking of our hotel at 400 m, we started following a good path marked with red signs. After just about 40 minutes we reached the chapel of Saint-Ser restored in 2001. Every May the pilgrimage of Saint-Ser honours the memory of the hermit Servius who was said to be living in the small cave nearby. From the chapel, you already have a superb view down to the valley.

A steep ascent in a couloir above the chapel St-Ser

It had been an easy walk up to the chapel, but after this the ascent became steep. After some scrambling we arrived at a truly steep part. As we did not have any climbing experience, we did not wish to take any further risks in spite of a chain that was permanently attached to the rocky wall. So we descended back.

At the crossroads of the trails well below the chapel,

we decided to explore the other ascending trail marked with blue and green signs. We ascended to a steep couloir which continued as a steep and narrow ridge. Again, we did not feel comfortable continuing any further. From the map it seemed that we were not far from the summit Pic des Mouches when turning around. Now we understand why ascending along one of the trails from north is much more popular!

In spite of this, we enjoyed the great views and the sunny spring day!

Risotto with scallops recipe

Last September at the Mougins Festival of Gastronomy I had the pleasure of following Emmanuel Lehrer demonstrating his risotto with scampi. During the demonstration he mentioned that the recipe works also with scallops, coquilles St. Jacques.

The following recipe is my twist of Lehrer’s risotto. Mine was less colourful than his risotto because I don’t know anything yet about edible flowers. But it was nevertheless delicious even without the flowers and the Castelmagno cheese.

I coated he scallops with whole almond powder, Vahiné Amandes complètes en poudre, which gives a nice colour and can be bought in our local supermarket in Nice. This powder can easily be made from brown almonds or hazelnuts. A few drops of olive oil sprinkled over the scallops give extra nice appearance because the short baking time does not add any colour to the almond or hazelnut powder.

2 servings
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min

8- 10 scallops, coquilles St. Jacques
About 10 tsp whole almond or hazelnut powder
Olive oil to sprinkle over the scallops

For the risotto:

120 ml risotto rice
700 ml vegetable stock (you may not need to use it all)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
150 ml white wine
100 ml freshly grated parmesan
Freshly grated black pepper
A generous amount of minced dill and a few sprigs for decoration
½ organic lemon, cut into small pieces and zest for decoration

First make the vegetable stock. Set aside and keep warm. In a heavy casserole warm the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the shallot and garlic for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice until well coated with oil.

Then start adding the wine in batches and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed most of it. Then start adding the vegetable stock, ladle by ladle, stirring constantly and not adding more until the previous addition has been almost absorbed. There should always be a little stock in the casserole. Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C.

Continue cooking and stirring continuously the rice for about 25 minutes. The rice should be now creamy but still a bit al dente. Stir in the pepper, dill, parmesan and lemon pieces, and adjust the consistence. Keep warm.

Place the scallops on an oven tray covered with baking paper. Cover each scallop with 1 tsp almond powder and sprinkle a couple of drops of olive oil over each scallop. Bake in 180⁰ C for 4 minutes.

Divide the risotto in bowls or risotto plates and place the scallops on top. Decorate with sprigs of dill and lemon zests.

NB! It helps if you have someone to help by stirring the risotto in the final phases while you cook the scallops.

The coastal trail called the Sentier des Douaniers (customs officers’ path) in the northernmost tip of Cap Corse runs from Macinaggio to Centuri. The trail is quite long and many prefer to walk just one part of it. The section between Barcaggio to Tollare at the very tip of the peninsula is considered the most picturesque by many. It is possible to walk from Macinaggio to Barcaggio and take the boat back.

Cows roaming free on Sentier des Douaniers in Cap Corse

We drove to Bargaccio and explored the trail to Tollare. The walk takes just 45 min one way. It is an easy coastal footpath with minimal ascent. In April, the sea was still too cold for a dip. The D253 road down to Barcaggio is pretty narrow and winding. The other option, D153 is a bit wider. Both connect with the main road (D80) at Ersa. Animals are omnipresent on small Corsican roads and footpaths, take care!

On our recent trip to Corsica we had several times fiadone as dessert. It was delightful, light with a distinct lemon taste and never too sweet. Fiadone could be described as a kind of flan without pastry case. The Americans would call it cheesecake without pastry bottom.

At home I found several Corsican fiadone recipes. Some were made with vanilla, some with Corsican eau de vie. In those versions we had in Corsica I only tasted the lemon. But all recipes stressed that authentic fiadone can only be made of Corsican fresh brocciu, although some mentioned that you can use ricotta if you cannot find brocciu in your region.

Here in Nice we can easily find brocciu in supermarkets. The following recipe is my twist of fiadone. I serve it straight from individual ramekins, which makes this simple dessert even easier to make.

4 servings

200 g fresh brocciu
2 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
½ organic lemon, zest and a little juice
Butter for the ramekins

Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C.

Place the brocciu in a bowl and crush with a fork. Wash the organic lemon and zest half of it. Mince the zests and mix with the brocciu.

In another bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and a little lemon juice until foamy. Add the brocciu and mix everything until well blended. Generously butter the ramekins and divide the egg-brocciu mixture into them.

Bake for 25- 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Fiadone can be made a day before serving.

Fiadone tastes especially good covered with fresh sliced strawberries.

Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

Beef fillet recipe with courgette cake

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Lunch at Auberge de la Madone and our Peillon classic walk

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Authion today and 70 years ago

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Peach Melba recipe

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Picnic in the perfume garden of Grasse

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Col de Turini

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Saint-Ser Vineyard and Montagne Sainte-Victoire

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Seafood risotto with a twist

Risotto with scallops recipe

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Corsica: The coastal trail between Barcaggio and Tollare in Cap Corse

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Fiadone, Corsican cheesecake

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