Rose Cantine

One of the delights of staying in Provence is the food: freshly made tapenades from good olives, anchoïade (an anchovy and garlic dip for crudités or toast), olive oil, delicious salads and tapas, local cheeses such as Banon cheese, Cavaillon melons, cherries, white aubergines, deep-fried courgette flowers, very sweet tomatoes, more than five varieties of basil (for different types of dishes), fruit confits (candied fruit which is a speciality in Apt), etc. At one of my light lunches in Saignon (see photo), I had an “assiette” of green and black olive tapenades, rillettes de thon, anchoïade, marinated beets, melon, hummous and aioli.

At a local farm called Le Castelas outside Sivergues, the owners serve a lunch that consists of products from their farm: different types of goat cheese, cured ham that tastes like the Spanish pata negra, a salad with a garlicky vinaigrette and excellent bread. Read this long review of Le Castelas, posted on Chocolate and Zucchini.

I will post more food notes and recipes later.