Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

This elegant recipe is at its best in the Mediterranean winter when local citrus fruit are in season. Blood orange will give a delicious red colour to the citrus sauce. Serve the dish as a first course or a light lunch combined with some salad, goat cheese, and bread.

2 servings

6- 8 scallops

1 orange

½ lemon

1 tbsp. olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

A pinch of Piment d’Espelette or other mild chilli powder

Chopped fresh herbs

Press the orange and lemon halve and cook the juices in a saucepan until reduced by half. 

Cook the scallops in 200° C oven for 4 minutes. Slice the scallops and divide on the plates.

Whisk the olive oil in the reduced citrus sauce. Grind in some black pepper. Pour the sauce over the scallops and sprinkle with a little piment d’Espelette. Decorate with some herbs and serve at once.

The most impressive coastal mountains in Alpes-Maritimes are located in the eastern part of the department, notably those bordering Italy.

We have frequently used the perched village of Castellar (350 m) above Menton as the starting point for our hikes. Having climbed up to Roc de l’Ormea (1132 m) some years ago, we now wanted to hike to the neighbouring Cime de Restaud (1148 m) on the Italian border.

Castellar

GR51 above Castellar

Towards Col du Berceau

Trail to Col du Berceau

Menton seen from Trail

Nearing Col du Berceau

Roc de l'Ormea seen from Restaud

Ventimiglia seen from Restaud

View to north Cime de Restaud

This recipe is my twist of the classic eggs in ramekins. I cooked the eggs in bain-marie in the oven which I think is much easier than bain-marie in a saucepan. 

I was inspired by a recipe in a French magazine. But why did they call it à la Parisienne? Maybe because it has mushrooms, champignons de Paris, and cooked ham, jambon de Paris? Anyway, it makes a nice lunch served with some good country bread and a green side salad.

2 servings 

2 large eggs

4 tbsp. crème fraiche 15% fat

4-6 mushrooms, sliced

1 shallot chopped

Olive oil

2 slices of cooked ham, chopped

½ tsp. piment d’Espelette or other mild chilli powder

Chopped parsley or chives

Preheat the oven to 180° C.

In a small frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Fry the mushrooms and shallot for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Coat two individual ramekins with olive oil. Place 1 tbsp. crème fraiche in the bottom of each ramekin. Divide the ham and mushroom-shallot mixture in the ramekins. Crack 1 egg on top and add again 1 tbsp. crème fraiche. Sprinkle with piment d’Espelette.

For the bain-marie, boil water in a saucepan. Place  the ramekins in a small oven- proof dish and pour in boiling water until it reaches about halfway the ramekins. 

Place the bain-marie in oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes until the egg whites are set. Test with a toothpick; the whites are set when the toothpick comes out clean.

Decorate the ramekins with some chopped herbs and place on the plates. Serve with some good bread and a green side salad. 

 There are no marked hiking itineraries up to Colle du Maçon (1417 m) from Col du Clapier (1257m), but several clearly visible paths nevertheless crisscross the long Maçon ridge.

We used Caussols as our starting point as the GR4 long-distance trail runs through the village. We had last year hiked along it to Col du Clapier on the way to Haut Montet. Several shortcuts and loops have been described by others, but inhabitants on the vast Caussols Plateau do not appreciate hikers passing through their private properties. Earlier, the GR4 used a more direct route to the south.

Design signpost

Leaving Caussols

Colle du Maçon northern flank

GR4 to Col du Clapier

Wild orchids

Near Col du Clapier

Colle du Maçon eastern flank

Caussols Plateau

Plateau de la Malle

Colle du Maçon summit

Colle du Maçon hike track

Monkfish tail, queue de lotte, is a French speciality. Monkfish is an ugly-looking deep-sea fish found in the waters along the French coast. It has a large broad head and a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth.

Monkfish has a delicate, firm flesh and has been called “poor man’s lobster”. And you don’t need to worry about fish bones because there is only one: the backbone!

Monkfish tail is sold without the head and the careful fishmonger has already removed the dark skin and most of the second tough membrane. One tail is a suitable amount for two persons.

I prefer to cook the monkfish tail in the oven, 180° C for 40 minutes .It is a good idea to cover the tail with lemon or coppa slices and sprinkle with a little olive oil to prevent the fish from drying. The monkfish fillets are easy to lift along the backbone when the fish is done.

I serve the fillets with some vegetable stew which is easy to prepare while the fish is in the oven.

2 servings

1 monkfish tail

1 organic lemon, sliced

Olive oil 

1 organic bouquet garni poisson, dried herbs for fish

100 ml white wine

1 shallot, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

½ fennel, sliced

A handful of spinach leaves, washed and chopped

2 tsp. capers

Preheat oven to 180° C roast.

Place the fish in an oven-proof dish and cover with lemon slices. Sprinkle with some olive oil. Place the bouquet garni poisson in the dish and pour over 100 ml white wine. Roast for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the vegetables in a heavy saucepan. Sauté the sweet potato, fennel and shallot in olive oil over medium heat. Cover and reduce the heat to simmering. Cook for about 30 minutes adding a little water if needed. In the last 5 minutes add the spinach. 

When the fish is done, remove it from the oven. Cut the lemon slices into small pieces and place into a small bowl. Add the capers and a small amount of olive oil.

Divide the vegetables on the plates. Lift the fillets from the monkfish tail and placeon top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with lemon-capers.

Monkfish ready to oven

The following loop hike is just an extension of the popular Pié Martin circuit above Tourrettes-sur-Loup (400 m).

Tourrettes-sur-Loup

Alley in Tourrettes-sur-Loup

Stonebridge over Vallon du Cassan

Main road through village

Trail after signpost183

Domaine des Courmettes info

Bar sur Loup seen from trail

Trail between #184 and #187

Tourrettes-sur-Loup seen from trail

The following simple but tasty recipe is inspired by a TV show on the French morning TV, Télématin. Their TV journalist visited the Negresco Hotel in Nice where the cheffe Virginie Basselot cooked her recipe. Since 2018, Virginie Basselot has been at the helm of the Negresco’s restaurants. 

My recipe is a twist of Virginie Basselot’s more refined recipe which she said was made for tout le monde, everybody. 

2 servings

Whole wheat pasta such as fusilli, penne, farfalle

½ potimarron

Olive oil

For the mousse:

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil

150 ml white wine

A generous handful of grated pecorino

3  tbsp. crème fraiche, 15 % fat

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh herbs to decorate

Preheat the oven to 200° C roast.

Clean and slice the potimarron half. Place the slices in an oiled oven-proof dish and brush with olive oil. Roast for 25- 35 minutes until soft. Remove  from the oven and cut away the skin. Set aside until needed.

Meanwhile cook the pasta as advised on the package. 

For the mousse, sauté the shallot and garlic for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the white wine and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook until the wine has reduced by about a third. Whisk in the pecorino, crème fraiche, and some black pepper.

Drain the pasta and divide on the plates. Dot with the pecorino mousse and divide the potimarron slices on top. Decorate with some chopped fresh herbs.

We wanted to explore a direct trail from Saint-Jeannet up to Baou de la Gaude (796 m) which is the easternmost baou looming above the village.

We had observed a path on the southwestern flank of Baou de la Gaude which was not marked in any of our maps nor in any guides.

Spring flowers

Village of Saint-Jeannet

Baou de la Gaude

Start of trail

First part of trail

Getting steeper

Scramble needed

Narrow part of trail

On western flank of Baou de la Gaude

View to west from Baou de la Gaude

Famous old oak tree