Nice Specialities
A quick look into a Nicean cookery book reveals the traditional culinary preferences of the inhabitants of the southern French coast. A unique fusion of Provencal cooking with elements of Spanish, Catalonian and northern Italian cuisines has resulted in an impressive list of simple, vegetable-based specialties that invariably delight fans of healthy yet rich and aromatic dishes.
Pissaladiere
This very traditional dish from the region of Nice is a sort of combination of quiche and pizza. It has a much thicker base than a typical French pizza, and doesn't use tomato, so it could be classified as a kind of a French relative of white pizza. The topping usually consists of sautéed onions, anchovies, black olives and sometimes cheese, though each bakery and home along the southern coast of France has its own recipe for this dish. It can be served both as a starter and main course, and it's also a popular picnic dish.
Pistou
In Provencal, pistou literally means 'pounded’. The name for this traditional sauce derives from the method of its preparation, which involves crushing garlic cloves, fresh basil and olive oil in a mortar. Some recipes also add grated parmesan. Many people confuse pistou with pesto, because the two sauces share several ingredients. What makes pistou different is its lack of pine nuts and the addition of garlic. The Provencal delight serves as an excellent topping for pasta dishes and a bread spread. It also constitutes the basis of a popular summer soup, soupe au pistou.
Socca
Socca is a speciality from southeastern France, enjoyed particularly in and around Nice. It's a kind of pancake made from chickpea flour and olive oil, quite similar to farinata from northern Italy. Formed into a very thin, flat cake, it's baked in an oven on a large iron pan. Served hot and sprinkled with a large amount of black pepper, the most traditional way to eat it is just with your fingers, without the use of cutlery. Available in most of Nice's brasseries, socca makes for a very inexpensive snack.
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is a fish stew flavoured with garlic, basil, bay leaf, saffron and a selection of vegetables including leek, celery, onion and tomatoes. Cooked fish is usually served separately and followed by broth-soaked bread slices topped with rouille, a spicy mixture of breadcrumbs, chillis and olive oil. An early version of this dish was popular among the ancient Greeks inhabiting the region around 600 BC. In Roman mythology, bouillabaisse is the soup that Venus served to Vulcan in order to put him to sleep and be able to sneak out for a meeting with Mars.