Must-try Provençal dishes to discover

When thinking of Provence, certain flavors immediately come to mind: olive, tomato, eggplant, olive oil, basil, thyme… Simple and generous ingredients that make up a colorful, fragrant, and convivial cuisine.

But if you wish to discover or rediscover Provençal cuisine, which products should you start with? From appetizers to main courses, here are some must-haves to keep in your kitchen to easily recapture the flavors of the South.

Tapenade, a Provençal appetizer essential

It’s hard to imagine a Provençal appetizer without tapenade. Prepared from olives, it is simply enjoyed on a slice of toasted bread, crackers, or toast points.

The black tapenade offers intense and generous flavors, while the green tapenade provides a fresher, more vegetal profile.

But tapenade isn't limited to appetizers. It can also accompany fish or meat, brighten up a salad, enhance vegetables, or serve as a base for a gourmet tartine.

To vary the pleasures, also discover our tapenade recipes: enough to easily transform a simple jar of tapenade into an appetizer idea or a full-fledged dish.

Ratatouille, symbol of sun-drenched vegetables

Among the emblematic recipes of Provence, ratatouille holds a special place. It brings together several essential vegetables of the South: tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, and bell peppers, to which herbs and olive oil are added.

Its secret? Cooking that gives the vegetables time to stew and fully reveal their flavors.

At Jean Martin, our Provençal Ratatouille is cooked with vegetables selected at peak ripeness and seasoned with PGI Provence thyme. It can be enjoyed hot as a side dish, lukewarm with grilled food, or cold, especially during summer meals.

And because ratatouille is not limited to being a traditional side dish, check out our ratatouille recipe ideas to incorporate it into your daily meals.

Eggplant, an essential vegetable of Mediterranean cuisine

Eggplant holds a prime spot in Mediterranean cuisine. In Provence, it comes in many forms: grilled, stewed, confit, stuffed, or transformed into a spread.

Among the iconic recipes, the eggplant riste deserves a special mention. This specialty from the Arles region combines eggplants with a generous preparation made from tomatoes, onions, and herbs.

The Jean Martin Eggplant Riste can be enjoyed simply with bread, but can also be used to cook lasagna, pasta, pizza, gratins, or savory tarts.

Another must-have: eggplant caviar, perfect for an appetizer or to add a Mediterranean touch to a starter or tartine.

Tomato, the star of Mediterranean cuisine

It is impossible to talk about Provençal cuisine without mentioning the tomato. Fresh, confit, dried, or cooked in a sauce, it brings color, freshness, and deliciousness to a multitude of recipes.

The sun-dried tomato cream is particularly easy to use in daily cooking. It allows you to quickly prepare tartines, spice up pasta, or bring a Mediterranean note to meat, fish, or vegetables.

You can also discover our confit tomatoes, ideal for garnishing a salad, focaccia, pasta, or simply as an appetizer accompaniment.

To find new ideas, our selection of Mediterranean recipes is full of combinations that are easy to recreate at home.

Olive oil, the essential of Provençal cuisine

Olive oil is one of the pillars of Mediterranean cuisine. It is used just as much for cooking vegetables as it is for dressing a salad or preparing a marinade.

But it can also be used simply to finish a plate, add fruitiness to a tartine, or enhance grilled vegetables.

In Provence, olive oils can have very different profiles depending on the olive varieties, their terroir, and their production methods. For a true discovery of local flavors, check out for example our PDO Vallée des Baux-de-Provence olive oil.

Aromatic herbs, the finishing touch

Thyme, rosemary, basil, savory… Aromatic herbs are inseparable from Provençal cuisine.

They allow you to flavor preparations while letting the taste of the ingredients shine through. A few basil leaves on tomatoes, a sprig of thyme in a stew, or a little rosemary on roasted vegetables can be enough to instantly give a recipe a Mediterranean identity.

At Jean Martin, thyme and aromatic herbs accompany several of our iconic recipes, such as ratatouille or eggplant riste.

A simple, generous, and easily shared Provençal cuisine

What makes Provençal cuisine so charming is perhaps above all its simplicity.

A slice of toasted bread and a few spoonfuls of tapenade are enough to improvise an appetizer. A jar of ratatouille can accompany meat or fish. An eggplant riste can become the base for a pasta dish or a gratin.

These products make it easy to enjoy the flavors of the South daily, without necessarily spending hours in the kitchen.

At Jean Martin, we have been perpetuating a tradition of expertise for several generations centered around Provençal and Mediterranean recipes: cooked vegetables, spreads, and recipes inspired by the terroir, designed to be simply enjoyed and shared.

Discover all our Provençal products and let yourself be inspired by our Mediterranean recipes to bring a little bit of Provence into your kitchen.