Cuisine of Provence

The cooking of Provence is based around fresh, local produce including garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, fish, vegetables, fruit, and goat's cheeses. Meat and poultry also feature, but are generally of secondary importance.

The cuisine of Provence is long established but has changed considerably over the centuries. Traditional rural life depended on three major crops – wheat, grapes and olives – which, with sheep farming, together with a variety of other local products such as almonds and herbs, sustained an agricultural economy of small farms. Although this traditional polyculture has largely disappeared, replaced by modern, large-scale agriculture, Provence remains, in the words of the Michelin Guide, "the garden of France".

With a sunny climate and suitable soil, Provence produces a wide diversity of vegetables and fruits throughout the year, providing the basis for a varied and seasonal cuisine. The Michelin Guide lists as Provençal specialities strawberries from Carpentras, cherries from Venasque, melons from Cavaillon; figs from Caromb, potatoes from Pertuis, garlic from Piolenc and asparagus, tomatoes, peaches and apricots from all over Provence. Other prominent ingredients in Provençal cooking include aubergines, courgettes, grapes, mushrooms, olives, parsley peppers, and saffron. Along the Mediterranean coast of Provence there is plentiful fish and other seafood, including anchovies, bass, crayfish, dab, eel, grey mullet, octopus, red mullet, sardines, sea bream, skate, sole, spider crab, squid and tuna.

In The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson comments, "it is fairly safe to assume that à la provençale portends the presence of tomato and garlic". Provence's eponymous sauce provençale consists of tomatoes concassées (skinned and deseeded), tossed in boiling oil with chopped parsley and garlic, mixed with sliced fried mushrooms and tomato sauce.

Other dishes described as à la provençale include:

Dish	Contents	Ref
Alouette à la provençale	Larks lightly roasted, then quartered and sautéed with mushrooms, blanched pitted olives, tomatoes concassées with garlic, a little white wine poured on top, and finished in oven.
Anguille à la provençale	Eel, sliced and sautéed with onions, with sauce made from tomato concasse, herbs, garlic and white wine.
Aubergine à la provençale	Aubergines split in halves and fried; flesh scooped out, chopped, mixed with chopped tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, replaced in skins, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and baked in the oven.
Brochets à la provençale	Fillets of pike, poached, with a reduction of tomatoes, parsley, garlic, shallots, mushrooms and cooking liquor.
Cèpes à la provençale	Cèpes sliced, sautéed in hot oil with chopped shallots, parsley and garlic.
Cervelles de veau à la provençale	Calf's brains, blanched and marinated in seasoned olive oil, cooked in slices in white wine, garnished with pitted olives and served with mayonnaise.
Coquilles Saint-Jacques à la provençale	Scallops with garlic, cooked in a sauce of white wine, onions, tomatoes and parsley.
Côtelette de mouton à la provençale	Mutton chop: one side sautéed in oil, and coated with thick béchamel mixed with garlic purée and egg yolk, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and finished in oven, a grilled mushroom cap filled with a stuffed olive on each cutlet, bordered with Provençal sauce.
Côtelette de veau à la provençale	Veal chop: one side sautéed in oil and coated with béchamel mixed with egg yolks and pounded garlic, sprinkled with grated Parmesan, melted butter dropped on top, cooked and glazed in oven, Provençal sauce poured around.
Culotte de bœuf à la provençale	Beef rump braised in white wine and brown stock with tomatoes and garlic; garnished with mushroom caps stuffed with duxelless flavoured with garlic and small fried tomatoes; Provençal sauce blended with the strained reduced braising stock served separately.
Daube à la provençale	Small pieces of beef marinated in oil, white wine, brandy, herbs and chopped onions; browned in oil, diced bacon, diced tomatoes, pitted olives, mushrooms and garlic added. Braised in oven.
Foie de veau sautés à la Provençale	Calf's liver, sautéed in oil and butter, served with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic and parsley.
Haricots verts sautés à la Provençale	French beans cooked in water and then browned in a frying pan in olive oil. Garlic and parsley are added at the last moment.
Lapin à la provençale	Rabbit fried, in oil, taken out of pan, pan deglazed with white wine, chopped peeled tomatoes, garlic, chopped anchovies, sweet basil and pitted olives. Cooked and poured over the fillet.
Lotte à la provençale	Monkfish with chopped onions and tomatoes with parsley, garlic and saffron, cooked in white wine and water.
Morue salée à la provençale	Salt cod simmered with chopped onions and diced tomatoes, capers, black olives, garlic and chopped parsley.
Œufs au plat à la provençale	Fried eggs served on halved tomatoes, sprinkled with chopped parsley and garlic.
Œufs brouilles à la provençale	Scrambled eggs mixed with diced tomatoes, garlic and chopped parsley.
Ombre écailles à la provençale	Grayling scored on both sides, fried in oil with diced tomatoes and garlic.
Omelette à la provençale	Omelette stuffed with large cubes of tomatoes, simmered in oil, mixed with crushed garlic and chopped parsley.
Perdrix à la provençale	Partridge cut in pieces, browned in oil, simmered with diced tomatoes, crushed garlic, diced artichoke bottoms and eggplants, sautéed beforehand, and blanched black olives.
Poulet à la provençale	Chicken pieces sautéed in oil and then covered with white wine and Provençale sauce flavoured with chopped balsamic vinegar, and pitted olives.
Poulpe à la provençale	Octopus with chopped onions, seasoned with chopped onions, crushed garlic herbs and slowly simmered in white wine and water. Served with chopped parsley on top.
Potiron à la provençale	Gratin of diced pumpkin with fried onions, sprinkled with grated cheese and baked.
Purée d’olives à la provençale	Also known as tapenade. Olives with anchovies, capers thyme, bay leaves, garlic and mustard are strained, diluted with brandy and oil, seasoned with pepper and kept in stone jar for future use covered with oil. Spread for canapes or stuffing for leeks, tomatoes or olives.
Raie à la provençale	Skate cut in pieces, pan-fried, covered with Provençal sauce, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Rouget à la provençale	Red mullet grilled, covered with browned butter, garnished with tomatoes concassées flavoured with garlic, anchovy fillets. Served topped with green olives.
Sardines à la provençale	Sardines shallow fried in oil with crushed garlic, bay leaf and thyme; browned butter with a little vinegar and chopped herbs.
Sole à la provençale	Dover sole poached in white wine and fish stock, covered with Provençal sauce, sprinkled with chopped parsley, garnished with tomatoes.
Thon à la provençale	Tuna marinaded and tossed in oil with chopped tomatoes, garlic and onion, moistened with white wine and consommé, braised in oven, coated with reduced stock, mixed with capers and chopped parsley.	-
Thon en daube à la provençale	Marinated tuna slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes and garlic in white wine.
Tomate à la provençale	Diced tomatoes sautéed in hot oil, served with chopped parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
Tomates à la provençale	Tomatoes cut in halves, sprinkled with breadcrumbs mixed with chopped parsley and garlic, oil dropped on top, baked in oven.
Tripe à la provençale	Tripe with sliced onions and chopped salt pork sweated in oil, dredged with flour, lightly browned, moistened with stock and boiled; tripe cut in strips, the sauce poured over and cooked until done; sauce bound with egg yolks and finished off with lemon juice, chopped parsley and sweet basil.