Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

Tuna tataki  has become popular in restaurants. The following version of half-cooked tuna, thon mi-cuit, is more Mediterranean. It is served with sauce vierge which in Nice is often served with white fish and salmon, and sometimes with tuna.

Sauce vierge is a classic French recipe which exists in many variants. In Nice, it always has olive oil, lemon juice, a hint of garlic, salt, black pepper, and fresh chopped herbs. It may also have tiny chopped tomato pieces. I like to add Italian capers to make it even more Niçoise as people here love to borrow ingredients from the Italians. Capers are salty so there is no need to add salt to the sauce.

For the half-cooked tuna, choose it very fresh and in sashimi quality. Fresh tuna is light in colour, if it is dark it is a sign that the fish is already old.

2 servings

2 nice very fresh quality tuna steaks

1 tbsp. olive oil

For the sauce vierge:

1 tbsp. tasty extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. lemon juice

A tiny amount of fresh minced garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cherry tomatoes cut into very small pieces

3 tsp. Italian capers

Freshly chopped basil leaves

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl except the basil. Keep the chopped basil separate and add it to the sauce just before serving.

Cook the tuna steaks in olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes on both sides depending on the thickness. Leave them pink, almost raw inside. You can follow the cooking process from the sides of the fish steaks.

When the steaks are done to your liking, divide them on the plates and spoon over the sauce vierge. Serve the steaks with some quality carbs and vegetables. In the photo, the tuna is served with black rice and pan-fried courgette slices.

 This salad bowl is perfect to make when it is just too hot to cook. Serve it with some good whole meal bread for a balanced lunch.

2 servings

A jar of cooked white beans, about 200- 250 g after rinsing

1 tbsp. olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

200 ml classic tomato gazpacho

2 handfuls of mesclun, baby salad leaves

A few leaves of basil

4 slices of parma ham

Vinaigrette

Rinse the beans under running water. With a hand- held mixer, make a purée with olive oil and black pepper. Divide the bean purée in the centre of two bowls and flatten to a bed. 

Pour the gazpacho around the bean purée. Place a handful of mesclun on top of the purée. Roll the parma ham slices and cut into smaller pieces. Place them nicely among the salad leaves. Sprinkle with vinaigrette and add a few basil leaves as a final touch.

A leisurely forest walk was tempting on our last day. It was hot too, and we expected the woods to give us some protection. That worked but the hike turned out to be more strenuous than planned.

From Monêtier-les-Bains (1500 m) to le Bachas (2174 m), the main trail is the GR54 but there’s a parallel steeper trail along the forested ridge (Second image below) which we took.

Bridge over la Guisane River

Shortcutting to GR54 from Monetier

Near Charvet parking and trailhead

Charvet Chapel by the trail

Monetier-les-Bains seen from trail

Easy stretch of GR54

Steep optional trail to le Bachas

Down from Bachas along GR54

This variant of the classic boeuf bourgignon can be cooked in a shorter time because a more tender part of the beef, faux filet, is used. The French faux filet is similar to sirloin steak or rump steak in American butchery. Cut the carrots into smaller strips so that they cook quicker as well.  About 45 minutes of simmering in a heavy enamelled cast- iron pot, such as Le Creuset, is all that’s needed so that the carrots are cooked and the meat is tender.

Instead of the traditional red wine for boeuf bourgignon , white wine is used for this lighter summer variant. The classic boeuf bourgignon is served with potatoes, mashed potatoes, or pasta. This summer stew is served with white bean purée combining ideally vegetable and animal proteins. Using cooked white beans in a glass jar saves you from soaking and cooking them.

2 servings

About 300 g faux filet

Olive oil

100 ml chicken stock

100 ml white wine

2 carrots, cut into strips

1 medium onion, chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

Some balsamic glaze

A jar of cooked white beans

Fresh herbs to decorate

Remove all the fat from faux filet and cut them into strips. Warm 2 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the filet strips until nicely coloured. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic and stir. Pour in the stock and white wine and stir.

Add the herbs, tomato paste, black pepper, and some balsamic glaze. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile rinse the white beans. In a saucepan over low- medium heat warm the beans. Remove from heat, add 1 tbsp. very good olive oil and mash the beans into a purée with a handheld mixer.

Divide the bean purée on the plates and flatten into a base. Divide the beef stew on top and decorate with some fresh herbs.

Here’s an interesting crossing in the Serre Chevalier mountains. It was a hybrid itinerary (bus, chairlift and hiking) as our base was in Le Monêtier-les-Bains.

We took the local bus from Le Monêtier-les-Bains to Villeneuve/Station 1400. We walked a few hundred meters to La Casse du Boeuf chair lift and were on our way to high ground (2270 m) in no time.

Monêtier-les-Bains bus stop

Casse du Boeuf upper station

Under Serre Chevalier

Blossoming alpine meadow

Col de Serre Chevalier

Leaving Col de la Pisse

More blossoming meadows

Rugged trail from Col de la Pisse

Trail cut by landslide

GR54 reached

In the hot high-summer, cooking has to be simple. Long oven-roasting is better suited in the cooler months and can be replaced by a Dutch oven: Cooking in a heavy enamelled cast iron pot under a lid, such as Le Creuset. 

Ratatouille, the famous South of France summer vegetable stew, is ideal to make in a Dutch oven. I especially like the variant with fresh tomatoes. Make it in a larger amount so that the next day chopped fresh tomatoes and black olives can be added to the reheated stew. When the weather is very hot carbs on the plate can be omitted and the vegetables served with a piece of meat or chicken.

In the first photo, ratatouille is served with rolled turkey escalopes. Flatten the escalopes, coat with Dijon mustard, roll and fasten with cocktail pick. Fry on both sides in olive oil until golden brown. Add chopped shallot and garlic in the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Pour in some white wine, add a bit of chicken stock and balsamic glaze. Partly cover and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced and the turkey is done. Stir in some crème fraiche for a nice sauce, grind over black pepper and serve.

The next day ratatouille is served with organic fried chicken breast. Fry the chicken breasts in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Sauté some chopped shallot and garlic in the pan and pour in  the white wine. Add some chicken stock and Dijon mustard and continue cooking until the chicken is done and the sauce is reduced. Again just before serving stir in some crème fraiche and grind over black pepper.

Ratatouille with fresh tomatoes goes also nicely with a steak, duck breast or lamb. In the second photo, ratatouille with fresh tomatoes is served with a fillet steak. 

During the hot summer weeks one does not wish to spend a lot of time in cooking. Luckily local tomatoes are at their best and don’t need much preparing.

The following recipe is my twist of a recipe that I happened to see in a French magazine. The marinade in that recipe was influenced by Japanese cuisine and used soy sauce, sauce ponzu, and sesame oil.

I have used Provençal ingredients for my marinade: the very best olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And topped the tomatoes with sliced and pitted black olives and chopped basil leaves.

Serve the tomatoes as a first course or in the centre of a lunch salad combined with some protein such as ham, smoked duck slices, cheese, and so on.

2 servings

2 beef heart tomatoes

Sliced and pitted black olives

Chopped basil leaves

For the marinade:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Plonge the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, then in cold water. Peel the tomatoes and cut into sections into a bowl.

Mix the marinade and pour over the tomatoes. Let marinate for 5- 10 minutes. Sprinkle with sliced black olives and chopped basil leaves.

If serving the tomatoes for a lunch salad, divide them in the centre of two  plates. Place some baby salad leaves and your choice of protein around the tomatoes. Decorate with chopped basil and serve with some good country bread. 

Here’s a short walk from Casse du Boeuf chair lift south to Lac des Partias. Located inside the Des Partias Natural Reserve, the small lake lies in a valley at about 2100 m elevation (East of Ravin de Jafaret on the map).

On another heatwave day in the Southern Alps, it was great to use the familiar chairlift to reach the high ground, 2270 m in this instance. 

Serre Chevalier western flank

Col de Serre Chevalier

Descent from Col Serre Chev

Trail to Partias

Stream halfway to Partias

Lac des Partias

This salad is perfect on a hot summer day when the figs are in season. But you can just as well continue serving it well into autumn; the fig season is long in the South of France because of several fig varieties.

Serve the salad with some protein such as burrata, goat cheese, or smoke duck slices. They all go nicely with figs. Add some good country bread for a balanced meal.

2 servings

6 figs

1 green salad pepper

2 handfuls of baby salad leaves

2 mini burratas or goat cheese or smoked duck.

Vinaigrette of olive oil and red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Wash and dry the figs and green pepper.

Divide the salad leaves on two plates. Cut the green salad pepper into two halves lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice  and divide on the plates.

Remove the stems from the figs and cut them into quarters. Divide on top of the salad leaves.

Divide the mini burratas or goat cheese or duck on the plates. Sprinkle with vinaigrette and grind over some black pepper.

Le Grand Lac (2282) certainly is one of the most impressive alpine lakes in the Briancon/Serre Chevalier Region.

The starting point is from Le Pont de l’Alpe (1710 m) by the D1091. Due to the popularity of the trails, even the spacious parking can be quite full during the high season.

We have previously hiked around Aguillette du Lauzet, starting from Le Pont de l’Alpe.

This time we wanted to admire the picturesque lake.

Trail to Alpe du Lauzet

Pics de Combeynot

Towards Clot des Vaches

Clot des Vaches crossroads

Ascent in Rif Valley

Col above Grand Lac

GR57 above Grand Lac

Returning trail along GR57