Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

Situated only 6 km from the coast as the crow flies, the mythic hilltop village of Saint-Paul de Vence has become increasingly popular. After many years, we visited the medieval village on a beautiful weekday in April. In spite of many visitors, the atmosphere was convivial. There were also many more art galleries and small quality shops than before. You don’t find any tourist trinket here, but small boutiques selling local perfumes, quality jewellery, and handcrafted olive wood works. 

With this short blog post, we just wanted to share some springtime images of the village. For more detailed info, check here  

Café de la Place

St-Paul de Vence entrance

Art shop in St-Paul de Vence

St-Paul de Vence main street

Art displayed in St-Paul de Vence

Eastern wall of St-Paul de Vence

Side street in St-Paul de Vence

View northwest from St-Paul de Vence

Potatoes are much more frequently used in the traditional Mediterranean Diet than we might expect. In that region, potato gratins are made with olive oil, chicken stock, and some vegetables instead of butter, cream, and cheese in the traditional gratin Dauphinois. 

The following recipe is inspired by a lunch that we recently had in a Mediterranean restaurant in the Canary Islands. Black olives and cherry tomatoes in the potato gratin went very well with fresh white fish fillets like seabass, cod or halibut.

2 servings

2- 3 firm potatoes, pref. organic

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. black pitted olives, sliced

About 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

100 ml chicken stock

½ tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180° C, roast. Bring the chicken stock to simmering in a small saucepan.

Wash and thinly slice the potatoes. Place the potatoes, garlic, olives, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil and toss until well coated. Add the black pepper and Provençal herbs and mix.

Coat two individual gratin dishes with some olive oil and divide the vegetable mixture in them. Pour the chicken stock over the vegetables. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Raise the temperature to 200° C roast and remove the foil. Continue roasting for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are nicely browned on top.

The following short semi-urban loop above Beaulieu-sur-Mer offers great views of the town as well as the nearby Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Situated in one of the most temperate regions of France, and protected by northern winds, the south-facing mountain flank above Beaulieu-sur-Mer has a microclimate of its own.

Rue du Marché

Place Charles de Gaulle

Above the old cemetery

Below Bd Eduard VII

Above Beaulieu-sur-Mer

In Petite Afrique

Trail to signpost #666

Signpost #666 at trail crossroads

Descent back to Beaulieu

L'Escourcha stairs Beaulieu

Villas above Beaulieu

Home-made pasta sauces made from scratch will always have more quality vegetables and antioxidants than a jar of ready-made pasta sauce. Of course, it is a question of time. Preparing this pasta sauce will take about 20 minutes, plus the time needed for shopping the vegetables. Opening a jar of ready-made pasta sauce and reheating it only takes a few minutes.

Recently, a Swiss preventive medicine clinic advised 30 different herbs, vegetables, and fruit a week to stay as young as possible for as long as possible. This pasta sauce helps towards that goal.

2 servings

Whole wheat tagliatelle or spaghetti for 2

1 small broccoli head, pref. organic

A handful of peeled and unsalted pistachios

1 clove garlic, minced

A handful of grated parmesan

Olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

For the presentation:

4 tbsp. of ricotta

About 1/3 handful of pistachios, coarsely chopped

Fresh organic herbs

Olive oil

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Cut the broccoli into florets and wash in a colander. Cook the broccoli in boiling water for 1- 2 minutes, drain and place back in the saucepan. Add the pistachios, minced garlic, and parmesan and mix into a paste with a hand-held mixer. Add black pepper and some olive oil and continue mixing into a nice creamy consistence. Set aside.

In a mortar with pestle, coarsely chop about 1/3 handful of pistachios. Set aside.

Wash some fresh organic herbs, dry and chop . Set aside.

Cook the tagliatelle al dente according to the advice on the package. Save a cup of cooking water. Drain the tagliatelle and place back in the casserole. Add the broccoli and pistachio pesto and stir until the pasta is nicely coated with the pesto. Add some pasta cooking water and warm the saucepan for 1- 2 minutes, stirring.

Divide the tagliatelle on the plates or in the bowls. Place the ricotta among the pasta and sprinkle over the pistachios and herbs. Pour over some olive oil and serve. 

The following hike features a pleasant walk in Plan des Noves above Vence along the GR51 trail.

The Plan des Noves parking by the M2 road is a natural starting point for walks near Col de Vence as you can choose many directions and the GR51 trail crosses the road here.

Departing Plan des Noves parking

GR51 Crossroads Plan des Noves

Heading north on GR51

Evergreen woods by the GR51

Mouton d'Anou

Cagnes River Valley

Vescagne footbridge

La Cagne riverbed almost dry

More than 40 years ago when we visited the US Virgin Islands, chef’s salad was very popular over there. It was served in a bowl and made from iceberg salad, yellow cheese, ham, and hard-boiled eggs, and topped with a generous amount of blue cheese dressing.

The choice of ingredients for the following Mediterranean twist is totally different and reflects our increased knowledge of antioxidant and fibre-rich foods and heart healthy fats.

Make this salad in winter when the Mediterranean oranges and avocados are at their best.

2 servings

2 handfuls of organic mesclun, baby salad leaves

2 handfuls of cooked white beans

1 Mediterranean avocado

1 organic Mediterranean orange

12 organic local cherry tomatoes

8 black olives, pitted and sliced

2 soft-cooked eggs

2 tbsp. almond flakes

A few organic basil leaves

Vinaigrette from olive oil and red wine vinegar

Divide the mesclun on two large plates. Peel and slice the orange and avocado and divide on the plates. Add the white beans, halved cherry tomatoes, and black olives and place an egg in the middle of the plates.

Drizzle with a little of vinaigrette and top with almond flakes and chopped basil leaves. Serve with some rye bread.

Today’s hike features an alternative itinerary to Haut Montet (1335 m) above Grasse. We have hiked there many times from the parking at about 1100 asl (Chemin des Claps) west of Gourdon. It is the shortest option, and very popular because of easy access. 

Caussols Village

GR4 from Caussols

GR4 south of Caussols

Ascent to Col du Clapier

Near Col du Clapier

Trail to Haut Montet from west

Smog above the Riviera

View to west from Haut Montet

Trail Caussols Haut Montet

Tocco Genovese

The traditional cooking in Nice has close ties with the cuisine in neighbouring Liguria and Piedmont on the Italian side. This explains the similarities between daube de boeuf, the meat stew on the French Riviera, and Tocco, the Genovese meat dish. Both are cooked for ages in large quantities and are appropriate for large informal dinner parties.

In the Italian style, the meat- flavoured tomato sauce of Tocco is served with pasta, traditionally ravioli. The tender meat is served as a second course with the vegetables.

Like all traditional recipes, Tocco exists in many variations. In the interesting cookery book, Flavours of the Riviera by Colman Andrews, Tocco is made from boneless veal.

I have modernized the Tocco recipes by choosing a lean and tender pork fillet, filet mignon de porc. This will considerably reduce the cooking time needed.

Ravioli with tocco sauce

2 servings

300 g piece of pork fillet, filet mignon de porc

3 chopped tomatoes or 200 ml Italian passata

200 ml chicken stock

A handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped

1-2 carrots, thinly sliced

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

2 tbsp. olive oil

½ glass red wine

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy casserole, cocotte. Brown the meat on both sides until golden. Add the carrot, mushrooms, celery, onion, and garlic and sauté for 5- 10 minutes. Pour in the wine. When it has evaporated, add the tomatoes /passata and chicken stock.

Cover and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour until the meat is cooked and the vegetables are tender.

Cook the ravioli which takes about 3 minutes. Place the pork fillet on a cutting board and cover with tin foil. Take the tomato sauce from the cocotte and sprinkle over the drained ravioli which are first sprinkled with some parmesan. This is served as the first course. Leave the vegetables in the casserole and cover to keep them warm.

For the second course, slice the pork fillet and serve it with the vegetables from the casserole.

Sommet de Calern

Sommet de Calern (1458 m) overlooks the small village Caussols (1100 m). Only 10 km north of Grasse as the crow flies, the summit is located in the westernmost part of the Plateau de Calern. The CERGA observatory established in 1974 is about 3 km to the east of the summit.

Sommet de Calern southern flank

Starting from Caussols

GR4 near Caussols

Sinkhole by the trail

GR4 near signpost50

Rock formations Calern

Trail to Sommet de Calern

Vast Plateau de Calern

Plateau de Caussols

The summit (highest in Calern) was marked with a large cairn. We could see parts of Nice, the airport as well as the coast to the west, well beyond the St Tropez peninsula.

We took the same trail back to Caussols. It is possible to make a detour to the observatory or even to Colle de Rougiès. 

Climb: 390 m

Distance: 8.8 km

Duration: 3 h

Map: 3543 ET Haute Siagne

Sommet de Calern hike track

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