One early summer, I traveled with our Provençal culinary group to the ancient city of Arles, France where we were instructed by Erick Vedel in cuisine paysanne—peasant cooking. As I stood in the extension to the Vedel’s Arlesienne kitchen, purported to once have been a first century, A.D., Roman stable, my eyes wandered about to see if there were traces of earlier times, but no. Twenty centuries had come and gone with no recognizable stalls to be seen. Instead, long tables stretched the length of the room with an array of garden-fresh vegetables: deep purple aubergine, sleek green zucchini, brightly-colored peppers and voluptuous tomatoes. Fat round onions lay side by side along with rows of garlic cloves. Local bottles of luminous green olive oil stood like soldiers awaiting duty while glasses of wine had been poured for those of us awaiting instruction.

Madeleine Vedel stood close to her husband, as she translated his every word, his every move. “We are about to begin the serious business of ancient and medieval cuisine,” she announced. “Prepare yourselves.” Erick set out numerous sizes of ‘tians,’ rust-red terra cotta baking dishes, as we pulled on our virginal aprons, unscathed by spot or stain. We picked up our wine glasses, pens and stood at the ready.

“Because our fine city is situated on the Rhône River, Arles has, over the past two thousand years, been the benefactor and repository of fine international culinary history. You see, this city was one of the first ports-of-call on the inland ‘highway’ into France. Foods and recipes have always transcended the need for a common language, and as mariners stopped at our port, they would share their recipes, spices, and stories from their homelands. Our present Provençal cuisine reflects this so-called international ‘fusion’ of flavors.” Erick nodded his head in acknowledgement, smiled and grabbed a large knife and one of the glistening purple aubergine.
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Set oven temperature at 375 degrees, Fahrenheit

Ingredients:
2 Aubergine (Eggplant)
3 Zucchini
4 Fresh tomatoes—the freshest, please
1 Red/Yellow Bell Pepper (your choice)
1 Onion
2 Garlic cloves
3 Bay leaves
1 Sprinkling of thyme
½ Cup of olive oil
6 Tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese
Sea salt from the Camargue (or kosher salt)

First, cut the eggplant into rounds and salt liberally. Layer into a colander to ‘sweat’ for one hour. In the meantime, cut zucchini into rounds, as well as the tomatoes. Set aside. Mince the onion and chop the bell pepper into small pieces; set aside.

Take out a frying pan and lightly sauté the minced onions and peppers in olive oil until they caramelize. Remove with a slotted spoon and layer mixture into bottom of a tian or baking dish. Fry the zucchini rounds a minute per side. Set aside. Rinse eggplant from salt and pat dry on paper toweling. Fry them a minute on each side. Set aside. Crush and chop the garlic.
Then begin to layer the vegetables. Place the eggplant in one layer on top of minced onions, followed by raw tomatoes, a bit of chopped garlic, crumbled bay leaf, a little salt, and then a layer of zucchini rounds. Repeat until all vegetables have been used. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. (Author’s note: I use more cheese, some pitted black olives, plus a sprinkling of Herbes de Provençe or ground culinary lavender.)

Hot steamy hours passed as we completed instruction for this recipe, and two more that followed— Pacquets d’Aubergine and one medieval recipe for quail. Succulent aromas of olive-oil laced vegetables and garlic filled the air. Finally golden cheese-encrusted tians along with platters of crispy quail were placed on the table for all to enjoy. Quickly, we sat down, totally exhausted but completely ravenous. Ah, but would you pour just a touch more Provençal rosé, s’il vous plait?

Tour conducted by: Erick and Madeleine Vedel, Association et Cuisine et Tradition, Arles, France

Culinary Lavender source: http://shop.prairielavenderfarm.com/main.sc