What to sample during your French Riviera tour
Are you thinking about booking a French Riviera walking tour?
Perhaps you’ve already booked it and are in need of some vital information regarding local cuisine and culture?
Then look no further…. Here is a list of absolute must eats on your Riviera holiday!
1. Award winning Lavender honey from Sospel, a small medieval village in the back country of the Riviera, excellent for walking and fantastic for honey! The Sospel lavender honey is extremely flavoursome, light and creamy.
2. Fougasse from the Roya Valley. If you are walking through Breil sur Roya, then be sure to stop off at a bakery and sample a fougasse. Known as a Foccacia in Italien, this flat bread, round or rectangular in form, comes with a variety of fillings such as anchovies, olives, walnuts, bacon or tomato. In the olden days, the Fougasse was used by bakers as a way of checking the temperature of the oven before cooking the bread.
3. Your French Riviera tour will take you all the way from the backcountry of the southern alps down to the Mediterranean, to Menton. And in Menton, you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to the culinary specialities!
Firstly, there is the socca – a chick pea galette, that is an ideal sharing dish as it is a huge galette that is then cut up into bite size pieces.
Then there are the Menton lemons made into spreads and even aperitifs such as lemon wine and limoncello beer! A great thirst quencher after your walking day! There is even an annual lemon festival that last for 2 weeks and attracts over 200 000 people!
For a more oriental flavour, try the barbajuan. Similar to an indien samosa, the ravioli is stuffed with locally grown chard, rice and cheese and then fried. Simply delicious!
Finally, if you fancy feasting your eyes on some real culinary creativity, check out the flower fritters made with aubergine or courgette flower that are often served alongside a main dish. Some chefs even use acacia, orange or peach flower too!
You now know the important local dishes to sample on your French Riviera stay!
