All through Europe obviously each country has a particular cuisine, but even within each city, each town, each village, there are local specialities which reflect the local produce, whether that be the fruit and vegetables grown, fish caught by the fisherman or meat available on local farms.
In Marseille I was determined to find out what were these traditional dishes, which I had to enlist the help of a local friend of mine. I was told I must try Pistou which is just like the French’s take on pesto; Aioli , which along the Riviera is very very strong in garlic, which must be the reason I loved it; mussels with a shallots, parsley, white wine and lemon juice sauce; and Bouillabaisse, a soup made from the local fish stew which is served in a few parts. A bowl of broth which is made with garlic, tomato, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron is served along side a plate of seafood including mullet, sea bass, cod, crab, muscles and langoustines (although the latter are included only in expensive versions). The final component of this dish is the rouille which is like aioli but chilli and milk is added on top of the garlic, egg yolk and oil to give it some spice and colour. The rouille is put onto little croutons which are then supposed to be submerged in the broth to soak up the flavour and then eaten.
So once I received all these plates, which barely fit on the table, I added the seafood to the broth, then made a few croutons up and soaked them in the soup. The soup soaked croutons were my favourite part dish. The broth’s flavour complimented the garlicky rouille fantastically. The only downfall was that the seafood I was served was really overcooked and rubbery so did not add to the dish at all, but I can imagine how nice it would be if they were cooked well.
The mussels which my friend ordered were actually really really nice, especially with the citrusy and herb filled sauce. Fantastic for dipping bread into.
I think if I went back I would pay a bit more to go to a well known restaurant which is not on the tourist strip, so I can have a proper authentic take on these specialties.
(Sorry about the photography, it was really difficult to take photos in such poor lighting)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Trish
I hope you took culinaria france with you on your trip. I found it invaluable, and it made my trip so easy, a book form itinerary. In Marseille, many of the restaurants serve bouillabaise, but only around 3 restaurants are acknowledged to serve the true bouillabaise. the one I had was near the port, and it cost around 3 times more than what you would find in other places, and that didnt even have langoustine or lobster. Rascasse, rock fish, is an essential ingredient for flavour. Being a fisherman’s food, traditional bouillabaise shouldn’t have expensive fish. Subtle flavours are lost between the broth and the rouille. Best to keep it simple. Where are you now?
Yes the rouille is very strong but as I said, my soup was nothing extraordinary or full of amazing flavours so nothing was really lost.
Now I am in Milan and getting into the Italian cuisine, although have been having small snack like meals moreso than going to restaurants and there are so many little delicacies here that I have to try like Panzarotti, proscuitto, panini, gelato……..to come soon.