Regional culinary specialities to enjoy this summer
Must-try specialities to enjoy during your summer holidays in the region © Pixabay
From the colourful markets of Menton and Nice’s Cours Saleya to the shady terraces of the Principality, here are the specialities you must taste during your summer holidays. Whether you’re just passing through or have lived in the region all your life, there’s bound to be something new for you to try in our selection.
- Socca. Socca is a wide, thin patty made from chickpea flour, and baked in the oven. Best enjoyed piping hot! Ideally you should try the emblematic Nice speciality at the Cours Saleya market.
- Niçoise salad is one of the best-known dishes in Niçoise cuisine. The typical version is made with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, red onions, spring onions, broad beans, cucumber, boiled eggs, tuna, olive oil and olives.
- Pissaladière is a culinary speciality from Nice made with onions, olives and anchovies and served on a bread base. Enjoy as a starter or with an aperitif.
- Les petits farcis monégasques. These mini stuffed vegetables include courgettes, tomatoes, peppers or aubergines, stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, rice, breadcrumbs and herbs. It is a typical family dish. Some of the Principality’s restaurants serve them à la carte. There are different variants, with vegetarian options replacing the meat with tofu or pulses.
- Courgette flower fritters : picked from courgette plants, or sold ready-made on Nice’s markets, the courgette flowers are dipped in a fritter batter than fried.
- Barbajuan: If there’s one signature dish in Monaco’s culinary heritage, it’s barbagiuàn (barbajuan is the Riviera spelling). Legend has it that one day a certain Monsieur Jean decided to cook ravioli stuffed with chard for his guests, but as he didn’t have a sauce, he had the idea of frying them. The guests loved the original dish so much that they decided to call it barbagiuàn (Uncle Jean). The little golden rolls stuffed with chard, spinach, ricotta, grated parmesan, onion and leek are fried until they are the perfect colour. You can try them in restaurants like A Roca. Once you’ve tried one, you’ll be back for more!
Your family recipes: traditional Barbagiuàns
- Monaco pearls : these are oysters bred within the Principality. The area’s clear, clean waters give the oysters a unique flavour. You can enjoy the fresh seafood in some of the local oyster bars in Monaco harbour, such as Le Quai des Artistes. Accompanying them with a dry white wine or champagne will bring out their full flavour. This speciality is a must for seafood lovers, but also for those who are curious to discover the best of what Monaco has to offer.
- Estocafic (stockfisch) dried fish, is generally made from cod or cod and air-dried, without salt. The dish is also known as ‘Stockfisch de Nice’. With a very pronounced taste and smell, you either love it or you don’t, there’s no in-between. It came to Nice several centuries ago in the holds of Nordic sailors in search of olive oil and fruit. The English residents of Nice called it “stockfish” and the locals “estocafic”. In Niçois cuisine, it is served with onions, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and olives.
- Les pavés du Rocher : the Pavés du Rocher, a Monegasque speciality, were created to commemorate Prince Rainier III’s silver jubilee. They are made with carefully selected ingredients: cream, milk, honey, sugar, oranges, lemons and almonds.
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Lesser-known specialities
- Craquelin de Vence : a brioche baked in a sugar mould and decorated with a mixture of cream and almonds! That’s what goes into craquelin, and it’s been keeping people with a sweet tooth happy for over 90 years. Created in 1927 by Joseph Palanque, an artisan baker. The unique pastry from Vence is well worth a try: a brioche with a surprising flavour, made from brioche dough, a light touch of honey, sugar, caramelised almonds and puff pastry. You can still find it today at Maison Palanque, where the family tradition lives on.
- Tarte tropézienne : this gourmet brioche filled with a delicious blend of two creams, invented in a family-run bakery in Saint-Tropez, will win over the most discerning palate with its generous sprinkles of sugar. Try it in the best patisseries in Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphaël.
- Tourte aux blettes: called torta de blea in Nice, this chard pie is a 100% speciality of Nice. The vegetable creates a tasty dessert when combined with puff pastry and icing sugar. The recipe dates back to the 15th century. Originally, it was a vegetarian dessert created with several variants by the famous Italian chef Martino Rossi. The pie was called a flower tart and could be made with chickpeas, chestnuts, squash and, of course, chard. Chard is an emblematic vegetable in Nice cuisine. The plant used to grow abundantly in the wild in the region.
Menton specialities
- Pichade : a cross between anchovy pizza and Niçoise pissaladière, its special feature is that tomato is added. For a typical Menton pichade, head to Les Halles market!
- Sugelli : traditional Menton pasta, listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage. This homemade pasta is a must for any table in Menton, and is found throughout the Roya Valley, as far afield as Liguria.
- Menton Fougasse : a sweet version of the traditional Provençal focaccia, the pastry is decorated with sugared almonds and orange blossom essence. A real treat to enjoy early in the morning when it has just come out of the oven.
- Lemon olive oil : Menton lemons have been PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) since 2015. This lemon-flavoured olive oil, unique to the south of France, will give your Mediterranean vegetable dishes a kick.
- Lemon and orange jam : we can’t talk about traditional jams without mentioning the Herbin company, which has been located in downtown Menton since 1974. The fruit is deseeded and cooked just behind the shop window, using 100% local fruit.
- Citrus wine: commonly served as an aperitif, the typical local spirit is made by macerating Menton lemons and spices in wine. The orange wine variant combines the freshness of wine, macerated oranges and spices.
- Limoncello : this Menton lemon liqueur is best drunk over ice as an after-dinner drink. A must when visiting Menton.