Provencal Provisions: Direct and Uncomplicated

The cuisines of Provence and Italy find a philosophical common ground in their treatment of vegetables and grains. Nowhere else are these dietary staples treated with greater respect, variety or wit, and always with a direct and uncomplicated clarity of flavor, often in similar styles.

Not surprisingly, the similarities are most marked in the cooking of Nice, which has been part of France only since 1860. Except for brief occupations by France under Louis XIV and in the Napoleonic era, Nice belonged to the house of Savoy for five centuries and was part of the kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia. Its history is reflected in its treatment of vegetables and in its affection for pastas, gnocchi, polenta and rice. Only in Nice does a rizotto resemble the risotto of Piedmont; elsewhere in Provence, a rizotto is a pilaf. Pilaf is dry; rizotto is wet.

Many of the preparations are equally at home as starters and as garnishes to roasts. In Provence, people like to savor single flavors or well-considered combinations of two flavors. Cluttered plates do not exist; a roast takes one garnish.

A typical Provencal menu reserves a place apart for a vegetable service, between the first course and the main course. Admirable vegetable entrees include mixed vegetable stew; any artichoke, eggplant, zucchini, or mushroom preparation; stuffed vegetables, and most gratins. In April, a dish of tender broad (fava) beans in sauce poulette (white sauce bound with egg yolks and flavored with mushrooms) with a sprinkle of finely chopped spring shoots of savory is exquisite savored alone. In May, little peas braised with lettuce and onions are de rigueur .

Vegetables never take a back seat. Even as a garnish to a roast, the signature depends on the way the vegetables are treated. Roast beef is no different in Provence from that in any other part of the world until it is escorted by an eggplant gratin, Provencal baked tomatoes or garlicky potatoes. Then, it is Provencal roast beef.

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A memory of Nice’s attachment to the kingdom of Piedmont. Serve it as a first course, in place of a vegetable course, or as a main course.

POLENTE A LA NICOISE

(Polenta Baked With Tomato Sauce)

4 cups water Salt 1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal Olive oil 3 cups tomato sauce, heated 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to boil in saucepan and add salt to taste. Holding cornmeal well above saucepan, sprinkle into water in slow stream while stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Lower heat to maintain gentle boil and stir constantly until cornmeal is thick and pulls away from sides of pan, at least 30 minutes. Add small amounts of boiling water, if cornmeal becomes too thick to stir before that time. (If you have helpers, keep stirring another 20 minutes.)

Lightly brush marble slab or large tray with olive oil and turn polenta onto it. Using spatula moistened in cold water, quickly spread out to thickness of 1/2 inch or less. Let cool completely, then cut into 2-inch squares.

Pour little hot tomato sauce into bottom of 8-cup gratin dish to form thin layer. Place half of polenta squares on top, slightly overlapping. Cover with half of remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with half of cheese. Arrange remaining polenta squares on top. Pour on remaining sauce and sprinkle with rest of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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This dish may be served as a separate course.

Persillade--flat-leaf (Italian) parsley and garlic, first chopped separately and then together--is a recurrent theme in Provencal cooking. Practically anything “saute a la provencale” is first sauteed in olive oil, then sauteed about 1 minute with persillade and, usually, finished with several drops of lemon juice.

Garlic for persillade should be very finely chopped. First slice 1 clove garlic paper-thin, then chop repeatedly, gathering together in mound with knife blade and chopping through again before assembling with parsley and re-chopping. Normal portion of persillade is 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley chopped with 1 clove finely chopped garlic.

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COURGETTES AU GRATIN

(Zucchini Gratin)

Olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 anchovies, rinsed, filleted and chopped 1 1/2 pounds small, firm zucchini, diced Salt Freshly ground pepper Persillade (2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley chopped with 1 clove finely chopped garlic) 2/3 cup pitted black olives 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped Dry bread crumbs

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over low heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add anchovies. As they begin to dissolve, add zucchini. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly with wooden spoon until zucchini is very tender, about 15 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in persillade, olives and eggs. Spread mixture in 6-cup gratin dish that has been brushed with olive oil. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top and dribble with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

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Potato gnocchi are often served with the braising juices from a daube or estouffade (types of stews) or with tomato sauce. They are also delicious served with the condiment pistou, a mash of basil, garlic and olive oil.

GNOCCHI AUX POMMES DE TERRE

(Potato Gnocchi)

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces Salt Freshly grated nutmeg 1 egg 2 cups flour 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and kept warm 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Fill saucepan with water and add potatoes and salt. Bring to boil and boil just until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Press potatoes through sieve, food mill or ricer into mixing bowl.

Season potatoes to taste with salt and nutmeg. Add egg and work in flour, progressively, to make firm--but still supple--workable dough. Using knuckles, knead dough in mixing bowl until smooth, then transfer dough to floured work surface.

Flour hands well and, using palms, roll out orange-sized sections of dough into logs about 1/2-inch thick. Cut logs into 1-inch lengths. Press center of each piece with floured thumb or forefinger to form hollow. Alternatively, place each piece on fork, press and give dough quarter roll, leaving 1 side indented and other decoratively striated by tines of fork.

Bring large pan filled with water to boil. Working in batches to prevent gnocchi from sticking together, drop batch into boiling water. As soon as gnocchi rise to surface, about 3 minutes, remove with large, flat, perforated skimming spoon. Let drain few seconds. Then place in warmed deep serving dish. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. Pour melted butter over top and sprinkle with cheese. Makes 6 servings.