Basque-ing in Glory & Outstanding Uzès
/Having recently completed a Basque and an Uzès tour a week apart, I can report that lying on the floor in my house for a week does wonders for recouperation. Firstly it straightens your back out, secondly it allows you to spot the cobwebs and thirdly it gets rid of the alcohol in your system because you can't sip gin while supine.
The Basque tour is half in Spain and half in France which means we get to eat and cook very well and drink very good wine, especially in Spain. I know. My French friends might disagree but I now think Spanish food is the best in Europe. The intense, sexy, salty, spicy flavours are addictive. I drove home from San Sebastian to Uzès in my car loaded with jamon, tinned tuna belly, bocorones (white sardines) and piquillo peppers and every day just woke up longing for those tastes. I squashed some ripe tomatoes onto crunchy slices of baguette and loaded them with above ingredients till it all ran out. My lovely gastronomads liked the flavours too because they burst into song on the last night having said over and over they were not going to sing. They broke down fish and seafood from scratch in our Spanish cooking class, bought acres of stripy fabric in St-Jean-de-Luz and diligently tasted all the gorgeous raw sheep's milk cheeses. The Basque Country is one of the oldest cheese making regions on earth and the people speak one of the oldest and most incomprehensible languages in the world. The dates for my 2025 tour are 14 – 20 June... which gives you plenty of time to learn the lingo. Full details on the website HERE.
Hosting a food tour in your home town almost feels like it's too good to be true because you speak the language, you know everyone after twenty years of living there and the last night bash is in your very own home. This year's guests were so exhausted from partying for a week (they all fell in love with each other) that they asked if they could get a taxi from their hotel to my place for the last excess of paella, singing, dancing & trying not to fall off my third floor terrace. Fortunately no taxi would take them across the square so they arrived with their dancing shoes in their bags. Uzès is in the South of France so close to all sorts of romantic places like Nimes, St Remy, Aix, the Pont du Gard. We only have two main crops in this area – olives and grapes and we more or less live off the products of both. Nobody drinks water and we not only chuck olive oil over everything we eat but we also rub it into our skin which is why we are all so good looking. We enjoyed no less than three sun drenched cooking classes conquering the complexities of soupe pistou, home cured duck breast and sweet tarts made from fresh goat's cheese and lemon. The Southern French are extremely sociable and there are festivals, art exhibitions and concerts practically falling out of the trees. If you want one to fall on your head the 2025 tour dates are 30 May – 5 June. Full details are HERE.
Gastronomic Tours in 2025
If it's feeling wintery where you are then how about escaping to warmer climes next year... have you noticed how most of my tours take place during the NZ winter...it's not by accident I can assure you. Going from Summer to Summer is good for the soul! Why not try it next year.
India – 3 – 12 March 2025 – last 2 spots up for grabs!
Marrakech – 12 – 18 May 2025 – half full
Uzès – 30 May – 5 June 2025
Basque Country – 14 – 20 June 2025
Puglia – 31 August – 6 September 2025
Portugal – 14 – 20 September 2025
Roasted White Beans
I made this the other day in Uzès, but it's actually a perfect winter warmer dish.
600g dried white beans
150ml lemon infused olive oil
250ml vegetable or chicken stock
150ml white wine
4 sprigs each fresh oregano & thyme
6 cloves garlic, smashed
12 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepperextra sprigs of thyme for garnish
Soak the beans for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, drain then cook in boiling water for half an hour. Drain. The beans will be undercooked.
Preheat oven to 180oC. In an oven proof dish put the beans, oil, stock, wine, herbs, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Add salt and pepper and mix well.
Braise in the oven, covered loosely with baking paper, for half an hour. Keep checking after that every so often - they might need as much as an hour. The liquids will have absorbed into the beans, leaving a moist, intensely flavoured stew.
I am now on holiday at home in Uzès until September when I head off to my tours in Puglia and Portugal. But every Wednesday and Saturday I teach a market cooking class in Uzès where we shop for our ingredients at the market, taste local wines, give a bit of cheek to the fishmonger and taste sweet fougasse bread made with orange blossom water. In my cool kitchen (it's 30 degrees outside) we chop, stir and cook traditional provencal recipes like tapenade with cognac, roasted fresh coco beans, sunshine tart and cherry clafoutis. Then we throw our pinnies off, rip open the rosé and sit down to eat and tell stories. My perfect Summer holiday.
A bientot, Peta 💋