La Provence is one of the regions I love the most in France...after spending a year studying there, I had the opportunity to discover many of its secrets: the tranquility of its villages, the romanticism of its lavender fields, the wild beauty of its Calanques, the charming picture of old men playing pétanque...and of course its CUISINE!
Quite similar to the Greek one, the Provencal cuisine is amazing-especially in the summer. Using fresh, local ingredients, lots of seasonal vegetables and fresh herbs, it would probably be very easy for someone to become a vegetarian there!!
One of the products we come across in many recipes, and which we also use in Greece, is courgettes. You can cook all kinds of things with a courgette but one of my favorite recipes is "beignets de fleurs de courgette"; in Greek "kolokithoanthi". It's ideal as a summer hors d'oeuvre and oh-so-easy to make (ok, not necessarily healthy because it's fried and a tad messy to make, but believe me, it's worth it!).
In order to serve about 6 of your friends you will simply need:
Courgette flowers, about 500 gr
All-purpose flour, 130 gr
Dried yeast, 1 tsp
Water, 2 dl
Olive oil
Ice cubes
Mix these ingredients in a deep large bowl, using a big spoon, to make a batter. Add 4 ice cubes and mix again (it's not imperative that you add the ice cubes, it's just that the dish comes out much better if the batter is ice cold!). Heat 25 cl of olive oil in your frying pan. Dip your courgette flowers in the batter, one by one, and then fry them in the hot oil. After a few minutes they will have turned golden, so remove them from the frying pan and place them on a plate covered with kitchen paper (at least 4-5 sheets of paper so it can soak all the excess oil).
Leave to soak for a few minutes, remove the paper and serve while still hot!
Tip: for a special aroma, just put a dozen sage leaves in the pan while frying and remove them at the same time as the courgettes!
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