Full Circle in France: A Blog Post!
My recent trip to France was my first since fully completing “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France”. What began with a miserable missed connection due to weather ended with a romp through some of the most fascinating places in Europe for a storyteller like me, especially in light of completing the book! My husband and I explored Béziers, Narbonne and Perpignan.
In Béziers we found Rue de la Juiverie, now called Rue de Jerusalem where Eric, a restaurant owner and the son of an Italian-Jewish mother and Spanish father popped his head out to let us know that this was the exact spot where Béziers’ Jews were assassinated during WWII. Though we weren’t totally convinced of his story, we were eerily reminded of the discreetness of France’s Jews when the synagogue was later pointed out to us. Only the initials ACIB marked the building, instead of it’s full name, “Association Communitaire Israelite de Béziers”.
In the ancient port town of Narbonne we feasted at La Table on grilled sea bass and artichokes sautéed with shallots, carrots and a bit of orange juice. Delicious! We then bought pickled garlic and the best black olives I have ever tasted, which we later enjoyed in a picnic setting. At the newly purchased synagogue in Narbonne, we learned of the deep and ancient Jewish past of the place. A letter from a bishop in the 12th Century attested to 2,000 Jews in the town. Today there are 23 Jewish families living there.
In Perpignan we kibitzed with the kosher butcher, a Moroccan Jew who now delivers kosher meat, including house-made mergez and veal lardon, to the surrounding areas.
I was reminded throughout this journey of a recipe I acquired while researching for “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France.” This Soupe au Pistou, or Provencal vegetable soup recipe, was given to me by Bernard Saltiel, an inn-keeper outside of Marseilles whose family has centuries-old roots in the towns I was just visiting. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy. More on Bernard when you see the book!
SOUPE AU PISTOU (PROVENÇAL VEGETABLE SOUP WITH BASIL)
1 cup mixed white and red dry beans
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped or canned
7 cloves of garlic, diced
3 teaspoons salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
1 pound fresh green beans and other fresh beans like fava or wax, kept whole or halved
2 large or 3 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then diced in half moons
1 packed cup fresh basil
½ cup pasta shells
Grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
Put the dry beans in a bowl, cover with water by about 4 inches and let sit overnight.
The next day, drain the water off and place the beans in a pot filled with about 3 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Add the onion, celery, potato, 2 of the tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, and 2 teaspoons of the salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 more minutes. Then add the green beans, the zucchini, and 3 basil leaves, diced and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the pasta shells and cook until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, make the pistou.You can do this either by using a mortar and pestle, the way the Provençals do, or afood processor, equipped with the steel blade. If using a mortar, roughly chop the remaining basil leaves and put in the mortar with the remaining garlic and the last teaspoon of the salt. Grind with the pestle, and then add the remaining tomato, slowly incorporating the olive oil and seasoning, if you like, with a twist of pepper. If using the food processor, put all the ingredients inside pulse until puréed with a slight chunk.
When the soup is ready to be served, adjust the seasonings, spoon the soup into bowls, and swirl in the pistou.Sprinkle each serving with grated Parmesan cheese.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings