Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

Vitello tonnato is a classic Italian dish in traditional trattorias. It has lately become chic in upscale Italian and Parisian restaurants.

The dish was created in Piedmont and was usually served as a first course. Combined with some good country bread and a green side salad it can be served as lunch or dinner in hot summer, preferably with a glass of chilled Italian white wine.

For the veal, they recommend quasi de veau, fillet of veal, which is the most tender. Some Italian recipes use also rond de veau, round steak of veal, piccata.

2 servings

About 300- 400 g fillet of veal

For the sauce:

1 organic egg yolk

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. lemon juice

30 g tinned tuna

2 minced anchovy fillets

2 tsp. capers

Freshly ground black pepper

For the decoration:

Chopped fresh herbs

Lightly colour the veal in a heavy casserole such as Le Creuset. Cover, reduce the heat to medium- low and cook for about 15- 20 minutes. The meat should still be a bit pink inside.  Let the meat get thoroughly cold by placing it for several hours in the refrigerator. Then cut into thin slices. 

Place the egg yolk in a dish. Slowly pour in the olive oil whisking all the time to make the mayonnaise. Place all the other ingredients and the maynnaise in a mixing dish and with a hand- held mixer obtain a smooth sauce.

Divide the veal slices on the plates and dot with the sauce. Decorate with fresh herbs.

Nesting high above and south of the Village of Ristolas (1600 m) in the Queyras Regional Park, the Lake Ségure (or Lacroix) at 2383 m can be reached along a good trail from Ristolas.

Ristolas leaving the hotel

Trailhead to Lake Ségure

Above Ristolas

Track in Ségure Valley

Ségure Valley and Torrent

Path to Ségure Lake

Ségure Valley seen from lake

Lake Ségure hike track

Closeup of Lake Ségure

Ristolas

Spring lamb, agneau de lait, is 3- 5 months up to 12 months old. It is very tender and pink in colour but not as flavourful as older not so tender lamb. I have never seen lamb sold as spring lamb in our supermarket in Nice, although some meat is lighter in colour in springtime. 

The following recipe gives flavour to any lamb and a splash of red wine tenderises the meat.

If you can, pick wild rosemary from the mountains for this recipe. Serve the lamb with sweet potato purée and fried white asparagus.

2 servings

About 300 g boneless spring lamb or 2 slices of lamb leg

5 tbsp olive oil

A bouquet of fresh rosemary and 2 rosemary sprigs for decoration

2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

100 ml red wine

1 medium sweet potato

10 sprigs of white asparagus

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 210° C roast.

Peel the sweet potato, chop it coarsely and cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes until soft. Drain keeping just 1 tbsp. of cooking water in the saucepan. Add 1 tbsp. very tasty olive, purée and cover with a lid to keep warm.

Wash and peel 8 sprigs of white asparagus. Warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan and cook the asparagus for about 10 minutes until soft.

Cut the lamb into large pieces discarding the fat and bone. Place 3 tbsp. olive oil in a smallish oven-proof dish and turn the  lamb and garlic in it until well coated with oil.  Roast in the oven for 10 minutes in 210° C.

Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180° C. Pour the red wine over the lamb and add the rosemary bouquet between the lamb pieces. Roast for 15 minutes in 180° C.

Remove the lamb from the oven and grind over some black pepper. Serve the lamb over sweet potato purée with the white asparagus. Decorate with a sprig of rosemary.

We had earlier hiked on the Bergians Plateau south of Beuil. We now wanted to explore another variant passing through the Plateau of St-Jean Baptiste.

The drive to Beuil in the Cians River Valley is always an adventure even when you remember all the bends by heart. This time, in late spring, we stopped to admire the terracotta coloured vertical rocks covered with beautiful hanging white flowers (Image below).

We drove through Beuil to Les Launes and forked sharply left to the vast parking next to the Eguilles ski lift.

Gorges du Cians hanging flowers

Leaving les Launes parking

Forest under les Claus

View across Cians Valley

Path near Eguilles

Steep path to Plateau St-Jean

Giarons across the Cians Valley

Mont Mounier seen from les Claus

Chapelle St-Jean Baptiste

Lentil soup was already mentioned in the Bible, and lentils were widely used in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. On the Riviera and in the Niçois backcountry, favas and chickpeas were the most important cultivated vegetables. Lentils and white beans are relative newcomers. Nowadays, several types of organic lentils are cultivated in France.

Lentils are a good source of vegetable protein, fibre, and antioxidants. They help to reduce LDL-cholesterol and blood sugar.

In my pantry, I always have dried organic red lentils, lentilles corail, dried Provençal herbs, olive oil, black pepper, and tomato paste. And in my refrigerator, organic chicken stock, a piece of parmesan, shallots, onions, and garlic. The secret for the great taste of this simple, quick to make soup lies in using good quality organic ingredients. Lentils do not need any soaking before cooking.

2 servings

120 ml dried red lentils

About 600 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 shallots or ½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

A generous amount, about 2- 3 tbsp. tomato paste

About 6 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat and sauté the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, lentils, herbs, and black pepper and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Stir in the tomato paste and let warm thoroughly. Add some water if the soup feels too thick. 

Divide the soup into two bowls and sprinkle over the parmesan. Serve with a green side salad and some god country bread for a balanced meal.

On this clear but hazy day in early June we headed to Beuil. It was said that the odd colour of the skies was attributed to Canada wildfires smoke which had crossed the Atlantic.

Our goal was Tête de Giarons (2027 m), one of the verdant peaks south of Beuil. In this region, we had previously hiked to Tête de Perail, Tête de Pommier and Pin Pourri.

The scenic mountain massif  is located east of the Cians River. The summit of Tête de Giarons  is on the border of the communes of Beuil and Pierlas.

Crossing Cians River

Path above Cians Valley

Cians Valley

Path to Giarons

Giarons near signpost#74

Above Giarons

Beuil seen from trail

Nearing signpost#76

Tête de Giarons

Wild hawthorn in bloom