Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

Mont Viroulet (1864 m), as shown in the image above, has a forested northern flank and a quasi-bare and grassy southern face. Located above the Bramafam Valley (Valdeblore), the mountain can be easily reached from several points in the valley. 

We chose to start from La Colmiane (1500 m) but the village of St-Dalmas Valdeblore (1290 m) is another popular option.

Peaks above Millefonts Lakes

St-Dalmas Valdeblore

At Col du Varaire

Argentera seen from trail above Col du Varaire

Pic de la Colmiane and Gélas

Near Col des Deux Caïres

Near Col de la Madeleine

Col de la Madeleine

Caïre Gros seen from Col de la Madeleine

View south from Col des deux Caïres

Mont Viroulet summit

Distance: 14 km

Climb: 680 m

Duration: 5 h

Map: “Moyenne Tinée” 3641 ET

 Here in Nice, we are lucky to be able to buy ready-made polenta in nice slices. You only need to reheat them for about 10 minutes in the oven and they make a nice side to many recipes.

If you cannot find ready-made polenta slices, cook it according to the advice on the package, pour into a tray about 1 cm thick layer and let cool in the fridge. Then slice it and warm as above.

2 servings

4- 6 nice polenta slices

1 organic courgette

1 organic red bell pepper

2 tbsp. black pitted olives, pref. organic Kalamata olives

2 eggs

For the pistou:

A bunch of organic basil 

½ clove garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. salt

Olive oil

First make the pistou by crushing in a mortar with a pestle the basil leaves, garlic, salt, black pepper, and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add more olive oil if needed to a nice consistence. Cover and keep refrigerated until needed.

Preheat the oven to 210° roast.

Cut the courgette into thin slices lengthwise and the bell pepper into nice pieces. Place 1 tbsp. olive oil in a plastic bag, add the bell pepper and shake. Pour in an oven tray and roast for 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook the eggs for 6 minutes. Peel and set aside.

Place the courgette slices in the same plastic bag and shake. Add to the oven tray, as well as the polenta slices. Continue roasting for 10 minutes.

Divide the polenta on the plates and add the courgette, bell pepper, and black olives. Place 1 egg in the middle and slice it. Drizzle with pistou and serve lukewarm.

This simple recipe is a great way to make fresh cod or other firm white fish more interesting.

2 servings

2 pieces of cod fillet, dos de cabillaud

Olive oil

½ medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves, pref. organic

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs

Warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium- low heat in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for about 10 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the baby spinach leaves and continue cooking until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the Dijon mustard and some black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200° C, roast.

Lightly oil an oven- proof dish and place the cod in it. Cover with spinach mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Drizzle 1 tsp. olive oil on top and transfer in the oven. Roast for 15- 20 minutes depending on the thickness of fish fillets.

Serve with new potatoes or blond lentils, roasted cherry tomatoes, and lemon wedges.

Aubergines and tomatoes are a classic combination. This dish has Eastern Mediterranean flavours from sumac, a delicious dark red spice from red berries of a Mediterranean shrub. In the Easter Mediterranean, sumac is sprinkled on warm pitas, grilled meats, and salads. In Nice, you’ll find sumac in well- stocked supermarkets.

Tomatoes concassées are easy to make: simply dip tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes so that they are easy to peel.

Use this dish as a centre piece to your salads or serve as a first course.

2 servings

1 aubergine

2 tomatoes concassées

½ clove garlic, minced

Olive oil

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. sumac

½ tsp. Piment d’Espelette or another mild chili powder

A pinch of salt (if sumac does not have added salt)

Preheat the oven to 180°C, roast.

Wash and dry the aubergine. Peel it and cut into about 1 cm thick slices. Lightly brush with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Roast 20 minutes until soft. 

Meanwhile make the tomato compote. Warm 1 tbsp. olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the tomatoes concassées cut into chunks and the tomato paste. Add the garlic, sumac, and Piment d’Espelette. Cook until you get a nice compote.

Place the compote in a bowl and mix in the aubergine slices. Keep refrigerated until needed.

After the devastating storm named Alex in early October 2020, most of the trails in the Mercantour National Park and elsewhere in the northern part of Alpes Maritimes were closed.

On the other hand, many communes nearer the coast saw little or no damage. We designed a new variant from Tourrettes-sur-Loup (400 m), using mostly familiar paths from our previous hikes. We wanted do a circuit which includes the “twin peaks”: Puy de Tourrettes (1268 m) and Pic de Courmettes (1248 m). We have hiked up to them many times, but never ascended to both from Tourrettes-sur-Loup. We have instead used the village of Courmes (630 m) as our starting point.

From Tourrettes-sur-Loup, we started to ascend along the paved Route du Caïre. While not the most authentic route, it enables a rapid access to higher ground, and offers nice views.

Here in Nice, sea bass is called loup if it is caught in the Mediterranean Sea and bar when caught in the Atlantic Ocean. It is often sold as a while fish so for this recipe you have to fillet it or ask for your fishmonger to do it.

The fillets are roasted and covered with basil oil and raw vegetables, walnuts, and capers. Roasted sweet potato slices compliment this colourful recipe.

Instead of sea bass you can use any tasty white fish fillets in this recipe.

2 servings

2 nice fillets of seabass

Juice of ½ lemon

Olive oil

A small handful of basil leaves

A pinch of salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ clove of garlic

About 1 tbsp. walnuts, crushed

About 6 radishes, finely sliced

2 small spring onions, chopped

About 10- 12 small baby spinach leaves

About 6 large capers chopped

1 or 2 sweet potatoes

First make the basil oil with just a hint of garlic. Crush the basil leaves in a mortar with a pestle adding enough olive oil to get a green sauce. Mix in some black pepper, salt, minced garlic, chopped spring onions, and chopped capers. Set aside in the fridge until needed. 

Preheat the oven to 200° C, roast.

Peel and slice the sweet potato. Brush the slices with some olive oil and place in a large ovenproof tray so that you can later add the seabass fillets in the same tray. Sweet potato slices need about 20- 30 minutes of roasting and the seabass about 8- 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. 

While the sweet potato is roasting, wash and thinly slice the radishes and coarsely crush the walnuts. Set aside the small baby spinach leaves.

When the sweet potato slices are soft, add the seabass fillets in the tray and continue roasting for 8- 10 minutes until the fish is cooked.

Divide the seabass fillets and sweet potato slices on the plates. Sprinkle the lemon juice on the fish. Divide the basil oil on the fillets and decorate with baby spinach leaves, crushed walnuts, and radish slices.

The landscape between Mont Mounier (2817 m) and Beuil consists of vast alpine meadows, larch woods and steep ravines. There are several easily reachable summits exceeding 2000 m elev. 

The River Cians has its sources below Col des Moulines and Tête de Pierrous (2046 m). We decided to explore the picturesque area, starting from Col de la Couillole (1673 m; excellent parking by the D30 road).

Signpost #51 at Col de la Couillole showed the path to Col des Moulines. We first ascended along a soft trail in larch woods interrupted in places by alpine meadows, passing signposts #102 and 102a. 

Chicken parmesan is a classic American- Italian recipe. Usually, chicken cutlets are beaded and fried first then covered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan and baked until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

I have somewhat simplified this American classic by leaving out the breading and parmesan and at the same time cutting out some calories. As there is no parmesan in my recipe, I prefer to call it chicken marinara.

I have made the tomato sauce from scratch using fresh ripe tomatoes, onions, garlic, dried Provençal herbs and freshly ground black pepper. This makes all the difference compared to even the best canned tomatoes and tomato sauces, and it doesn’t take long to make!

2 servings

2 chicken breasts

Olive oil

3-4 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp. tomato paste

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

4 slices Italian mozzarella

Basil leaves to decorate

Start making the tomato sauce. Warm 1 tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, and black pepper and continue cooking until the tomatoes are soft and you get a nice marinara sauce.

Preheat the oven to 200°C, roast.

In another frying pan, warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the chicken breasts 7 minutes on each side.

Transfer the chicken breasts in an oven- proof dish and generously cover with tomato sauce. Place 2 slices of mozzarella on each breast and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for 10- 12 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Divide the chicken breasts on the plates, decorate with basil leaves and serve with brown rice, quinoa, or whole wheat pasta.