Hiking and Cooking in the South of France

This tasty pasta recipe is full of healthy ingredients: olive oil, cherry tomatoes, whole wheat pasta, shallots, garlic, black olives, pine nuts, and fresh herbs. The not so healthy pancetta is used in a small quantity, like a flavouring, which was typical of the classic Mediterranean diet. This type of cuisine is shown to be the healthiest way of eating.

2 servings

Whole wheat fettucine for 2 servings

Olive oil

100 g pancetta, chopped

2 tbsp. pine nuts

1-2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp. organic black olives

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

Some parmesan shavings

Freshly ground black pepper

100 ml white wine

Basil leaves for decoration

Warm 2 tbsp. olive oil in a sauté pan over medium- high heat. Fry the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts until the tomatoes start collapsing and the pine nuts are getting a bit of colour. Stir frequently.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add  the chopped pancetta, garlic, shallot, and black olives to the pan. Continue cooking for 10 minutes. Deglaze with white wine.

Meanwhile cook the fettucine al dente. Drain and add to the pan. Grind over some back pepper and mix.

Divide the pasta into 2 bowls and the pancetta- vegetable mixture around it. Sprinkle with parmesan shavings and decorate with basil.

Serve with a green side salad for a balanced meal.

 Located in the southern part of the city of Hyères, the western part of the  Giens Peninsula is much less inhabited, with rugged terrain, beautiful Mediterranean woods and several impressive cliffs. Here, the popular coastal hiking trail (le sentier littoral) circles along its shores with stunning views from many parts of the path. While admiring the scenery, it is advisable to stop as some stretches are narrow, exposed and steep.

Pines near Madgague Beach

Heading to beach from Madrague

View to north from Pointe des  Chevaliers

Western part of Giens Peninsula

Above a cliff in Giens

Giens Sugar Loaf

Point du Rabat Giens

Steep stretch of trail Giens

Like a scenery from Count of Monte Cristo Movie

Tagine is a cone-shaped cooking vessel from North Africa as well as the name of the stew that is cooked inside. Lamb is often cooked in tagine together with spices and vegetables. If you don’t have a tagine, you can cook this stew in a heavy pot such as Le Creuset.

Ras el hanout is the spice mix for lamb tagine. The organic French rase el hanout I am using is made of ground cumin, ginger, black pepper, fenugreek, mild red pepper, stare, clove, and cardamom. The spices can vary from one mix to another so if you cannot find rase el hanout in your shops you can make your own mix from scratch.

Lamb tagine is usually served over couscous but I have replaced it with chick peas and more vegetables. I have even included avocado strips for the presentation as inspired by a photo in a French magazine presenting new Parisian restaurants. This makes the stew healthier and more modern. The tagine is also cooked more quickly by using lamb leg instead the traditional lamb shoulder.

2 servings

2 slices of lamb leg, tranches de gigot, cut into chunks

2 tbsp. olive oil

1- 2 shallots, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced 

2 carrots

1 parsnip

1 avocado 

1 jar of chick peas, about 200 g net

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. ras el hanout

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

2 tbsp. raisins

2 tbsp. black olives

About 200- 250 ml chicken stock

Peel the parsnip and wash the carrots. Cut them lengthwise into thick strips and cook in water in a saucepan until soft. Drain, cover and keep warm until needed.

Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy pot and brown the lamb chunks on all sides. Reduce the heat, add the shallots and garlic and continue sautéing for about 5 minutes. Add the spices, raisins, and chicken stock and stir. Add the drained chick peas and tomato paste. Stir and cover. Simmer for about 45 minutes. Just before serving, add the black olives.

Wash and peel the avocado. Cut into thick strips. For the presentation, divide the tagine on the middle of the plates into a kind of cone-shaped heap. Divide the carrot, parsnip, and avocado strips on the heap.

The Bergians Plateau south of the Village of Beuil offers a variety of landscapes: Alpine meadows, woods, ancient hamlets, pasture areas. Some of the old houses seemed to be secondary residences while others were permanently occupied. There’s a marked trail circling Bergians which can be reached by itineraries from Beuil, Les Launes or along an ascending trail from the D28 road.

We chose the latter option and parked next to signpost #68, our starting point. There’s a vast parking  between the road and the Cians River (huge terracotta-coloured boulders near the riverbed).

2.Above D68 road

2. To Bergians from #68

3.Verdant forest trail to #56a

4.Bergians Soutran

5.Soon after Bergians Soutran

6.Hamlets in Bergians

7.Cattle in Bergians

8.Western side of Bergians

9.Return trail forking left

10.Cians River Valley

This carefree one-dish recipe is tasty, colourful, and full of antioxidants. It is perfect for a summer dinner!

2 servings

1 sweet potato

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes

Olive oil

About 250 g sardine fillets

2 tbsp. pitted black olives

Chopped mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 180° C roast.

Spread 1 tbsp. olive oil in the bottom of a medium-sized oven-proof dish.

Peel the sweet potato and cut into thin slices. Place the slice in a large bowl. Add the peeled and thinly sliced onion, minced garlic, black pepper, and 2 tbsp. olive oil. Mix and pour into the oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with 4 tbsp. water and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Clean and check the sardine fillets; your fishmonger may not have been thorough enough with his cleaning! Wash the cherry tomatoes. Place the sardine fillets and cherry tomatoes on top of the vegetables in the oven-dish and continue cooking for 15 minutes until the fish is done.

Decorate with chopped mint leaves and back olives and divide on the plates. Serve with a green side salad and some good country bread for a balanced meal.

Our initial plan was to do a loop hike from Col de l’Espaul (1749 m) to Mont Démant then to Col des Moulines (previously visited), and return  mostly along dirt tracks.

Col de l’Espaul can be reached by a narrow road passing the Valberg golf court. Just before the col, the road is potholed but still OK for normal cars.

Leaving Col de l'Espaul

Forking to trail signpost#8

Mont Démant and escarpment

Nearing signpost#44

Signpost#44 above Valberg

Above signpost#44

Valberg and Col de l'Espaul

Precipice southwest of M Démant

Mont Mounier in sight

View to southwest from M Démant

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