Here are a few random photos that I took in the Luberon area of Provence nearly 20 years ago. I still have a few more — including some from Avignon that I took a day or two later, as I was leaving Provence by TGV (the high-speed train) for points north — Rouen in Normandy, and Paris.
Today's lunch will be what is called un tian provençal — a kind of soufflé or egg custard. This one will be made mostly of pureed pumpkin pulp with onions, Parmesan cheese, eggs, nutmeg, and cream. You can get the recipe here. It got it from a book by Richard Olney, an American cook, author, and painter who died in 1999. He lived in a village in Provence for 30 years and inspired people like Alice Waters and Julia Child with his recipes and his approach to cooking. You can read a long 2010 article about his life and influence in the British paper The Guardian here.
I love that door in the middle of the slideshow! You take pictures of the kinds of things that I like :)
ReplyDeleteJudy
I'm such a fan of your slide shows. Didn't want this one to end.
ReplyDeleteI'm a richard olney fan
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. I definitely agree with Judy.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite photo was the lion one. It looks like it will be a special TGIF day here in the states.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure how "tian" translates into English (if it even does). For years I've been making a vegetable tian from a Provencal cookbook, which is very different from yours. There's a layer of sauteed chard (with some pine nuts), a layer of briefly cooked tomato sauce, and a layer of baked or grilled eggplant slices, all topped by grated parmesan and pats of butter. Then it's baked in the oven.
ReplyDeleteThe tian is the baking dish, so as with terrines the ingredients can vary widely. Your recipe sound really good.
Delete