How to create the tastes of Provence at home
You don’t have to spend loads on expensive ingredients, it’s about changing the way you buy, store, prep and cook your food says Marcus Wareing… On iPlayer you can watch Marcus Wareing Simply Provence. In the series, the chef spends time learning about the region’s food culture and produce. However, when it came to creating recipes for viewers watching back home, he had to think about what ingredients, we, in the UK, have access to. “Here, good quality ingredients are often expensive. But as you’ll see in the programme, in Provence high-quality produce is affordable because it is grown locally. “Provence’s fresh produce sits head and shoulders above anything else and what the region provides is spectacular. But I needed to take into consideration the flavours we have in the UK.” Here are Wareing’s top tips for recreating those French-Mediterranean flavours at home… Fresh is best “Buy fresh produce as much as you possibly can, on a regular basis, every couple of days rather than buying bulk over a week,” says Wareing. Not only does this mean you can be in control of how the ingredients are stored (more on that later) but you will also be getting some ingredients – such as fish and meat – at their best. This doesn’t have to mean spending loads more than you usually do. You could pop to your local fruit and veg shop and buy seasonal ingredients, which are often cheaper, or you could see what your local butcher – or supermarket meat counter – has on offer at the time. Choose key Provence-inspired ingredients Importing many specialist ingredients from France would quickly increase your shopping spend, but there are a few key ingredients associated with Provence that could give your dishes a feel for the region. “Olives, almonds and lavender are really standout Provence ingredients, and they are all really versatile,” explains the chef. You can add ingredients like these to regular supermarket ingredients and create something really special, says Wareing. As an example, in one episode of Marcus Wareing Simply Provence he takes the budget ingredient cauliflower and adds flavour by pickling it. He serves it with hummus, but to give it the Provence wow factor, he blends almonds into his hummus mix. Moving onto lavender, Wareing explains “It’s the floral herb I personally adore. It's got a distinctive flavour and is incredibly versatile. You can use it in both ice cream or in a marinade or just sprinkling it in your salad. It brings so much more to the table more than conventional floral herbs, such as rosemary or thyme.” It’s also grown in the UK so doesn’t require importing. In the series we see Wareing use the herb in two ways in his tempura battered courgettes with goats’ cheese dip recipe. He uses a sprig to top the dish and then drizzles lavender honey over it to finish. When it comes to olives, Wareing says you don’t need to buy the most expensive options out there, instead be led by your own preference. “The choice of olives in supermarkets now is phenomenal. So, it's purely a matter of taste and budget, nothing more. An olive is an olive regardless of what region and tree they’re from, whether they’re in brine, fresh, or in oil. So, I think it's down to you and your personal favourites.” Ripen fresh produce at home Because the fruit and veg in Provence is sourced from local farms, the ingredients are ripened on the fields, with the warm sun helping to add flavour before it’s picked and on plates within a few days. Unless you have a big garden or allotment, it’s unlikely this is something we’ll be able to replicate back home, says Wareing. However, there are tricks we can use to give them the Provence treatment. “If it's under ripe, ripen it, don't put things in the fridge straight away. It’s important you allow food, especially fresh produce to just sit and develop a bit more flavour – those core ingredients like tomatoes or aubergines, that develop flavour when they’re sitting, growing in the sun.” Marinate or slow cook to add flavour To give ingredients a taste of the Mediterranean using everyday supermarket items, there are two cooking techniques to focus on says Wareing: “Marinating and/or slow cooking,” he says. “It’s about trying to intensify flavour. In the show you’ll see me make a tomato tart – and as part of that I went to a garden where they were growing 50 varieties. It was incredible, but we don’t have access to that variety here. So, I needed to find ways to bring out the flavour of our everyday tomatoes and reduce the water content of them. I cooked them down slowly, first I roasted them, then added them to the hob until they were like a fresh tomato puree, alongside lots of other seasonal fresh ingredients including herbs. The same applies to meat and fish, if you spend time marinating them with a little oil and herbs, it will make all the difference to the taste – and even texture – of the final dish.” By following these tips, you’ll soon dish up a Provence-style dish, and in addition to eating delicious food, Wareing hopes you’ll enjoy cooking it, too. “I wanted viewers to feel that they can try the dishes I made in Provence,” he finishes, before adding: “And that means, buying the food at your local supermarket, taking it home and cooking it. I want to take away the stigma of cooking and try to give people the ability to not fear it. So, even though some of the core ingredients taste different in Provence, I have hopefully found a happy balance.” Watch Marcus Wareing Simply Provence on BBC Two’s iplayer. Originally published May 2024