French Flavor of the Month: Provence Garlic in Bloom

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Summer is the season for everything in Provence – fruits, vegetables, flowers explode in a riot of colors, smells and tastes. It’s also garlic season, and I am in heaven when it arrives. Putting aside garlic’s dining pleasures for a moment, the huge purple blooms make incredible floral bouquets. At the Friday market in Eygalières a couple of weeks ago, I was mesmerized by the largest garlic flowers I had ever seen.

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One of the flower vendors was selling urns full of the gorgeous purple blooms. The violet globes were so big as to fit into two hands. They married well with the hydrangeas also for sale. Both looked lovely in the early morning light.

Just steps away, piles of fresh garlic bunches were on display just waiting to go into some great Provençal recipe such as pistou, aioli and ratatouille to name a few. Every summer, I can’t wait to get my hands on the purple and white bulbs from Cavaillon. They are sold by la tresse or la grappe or by the single head.

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If one is in any doubt about the quantity of garlic that infuses southern French cooking, market vendors sell out tables full of the stuff in the space of a few hours. And at the market in Maussane last summer, I spied this vendor’s stash in an enormous crate that was literally half the size of his truck.

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Now, on to the eating. When first picked, the purple garlic is so fresh as to be fragrant but not overpowering. I like to cook with it of course. But one of my favorite things is to chop up a clove or two and spread it as is on fresh bread that’s been drizzled with French extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of salt. Add a nice summer salad and a glass of rosé wine and you have the perfect Provence lunch!

At the recent Eygalières market, one of the ready-made food vendors was busy preparing the day’s offering of roasted chicken with garlic, onions and peppers. Here he is peeling the pungent cloves. He tossed handful after handful of garlic into the popping skillet. The smell of it cooking in the massive iron pan was incredible – even at 8:30 in the morning.

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Just across the way from the chicken and peppers guy, another vendor was selling a different sort of garlic – what could be called the ‘garlic of chefs.’ The ail rose du Tarn, or the pink garlic from the Tarn region near Toulouse is celebrated for its subtle and delicate flavor. Chefs in the best kitchens of France prefer to use this garlic as it doesn’t overwhelm the palate and can enhance a variety of dishes and sauces. It also stores extremely well in a cool, dry place and will last until next summer’s harvest. I couldn’t resist buying one of the super-sized grappes which weighed over a kilo!

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Those into the French language might be wondering what the word ‘Aulx’ on the sign above refers to. It is in fact the old French spelling of ail in the plural. Aulx is pronounced roughly "oh." And just to clear up any confusion about the colors of garlic in France, "purple" and "pink" refer to the color of the papery skins covering the cloves. Once you peel the garlic, it’s all white. 

It might sound funny to look forward to something like garlic on the seasonal food calendar. After all, there are bigger stars in the culinary firmament. But once you’ve used and tasted fresh French garlic, it might become a summer favorite of yours too.

French Take-Out ~ La France à emporter

This month, I’ve been reading the thick biograpahy of Julia Child called Dearie (a great read despite the jarringly ‘colloquial’ prose). Tales about her TV series The French Chef and  her stays in Provence made me think of including in this week’s "French Take-Out" her recipe for aioli, the quintessential Provence dish with a garlic mayonnaise. She demonstrated how to make this great dish in The French Chef season 6, episode 11. If you don’t already have a copy of the series, you can order a video of this episode on Amazon by clicking here. Or you can see everything about The French Chef online at PBS. And below is an authentic aioli from the restaurant Alain Assaud located in St. Rémy de Provence. Bon appétit!

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