My mother always said my ratatouille wasn't as good as hers. She insisted that a proper ratatouille was made by slowly cooking the vegetables together. I always disagreed until one day she made me her ratatouille the way she had learned it at home. One bite, and I knew she was right. Her version was ambrosial and embodied the rich flavors of Provence.

I love shaved fennel and orange salad. It is the perfect late winter salad that your whole family will love. It combines the perfect crunch of raw fennel with a citrusy sweetness. One of the best qualities is that it is highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand. You can make it solely with oranges or add grapefruit, satsumas, tangerines, or whatever other citrus fruit you like. You can add cheese, olives, onions, nuts, and a host of other ingredients depending upon what you have on hand.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is incredibly easy to make at home. I was craving vegetables when I photographed this version so I made it with a higher ratio of vegetables to chickpeas. Despite the recipe given below, it is best to follow your own passions and add whatever you like. Use my recipe solely as a springboard to your own creation.

Pommes Anna is the classic French dish of sliced potatoes layered in a pan with butter (lots of butter), browned on the stovetop, and finished in a hot oven until crispy. It is a dish I have made countless times over my career and still LOVE to eat today.

Confession Time. I planted way too many tomatoes this year and I was looking for the best, most tasty way to use them. I ended up making a Provençale Vegetable Tian - which is sort of a super healthy vegetable casserole.

Chickpeas stewed in tomato sauce is a popular flavor combination in Provence. I added chunks of homemade espelette sausages I had leftover from a sausage-making experiment. You could use spicy Italian sausages or even Moroccan merguez.

One of the most endearing and favorite of all Provencal dishes is Petits Farcis or stuffed vegetables, also known as lu farçum in the Niçard (Nice) dialect. Petits Farcis are best made in the summertime when so many great vegetables, like sun-ripened tomatoes, round zucchini, and thin eggplants start to appear in the farmers' markets.

Trouchia is a flat omelet similar to frittatas that your family will never tire of; especially when your garden is producing more zucchini than you can eat.

The best thing about tomato tarts is they are very forgiving and can be modified easily based on what you have on hand. I have baked this tart with slices of tangy goat cheese or even shredded gruyere cheese sprinkled over. Or even pulled the hot tart out of my oven and dropped a ball of creamy burrata right on top.

Carottes Rapées and other quick single vegetable salads like potato, celery root, beet, or cucumber, were made from pantry ingredients that were typically on hand. They are simple, quick, and healthy to eat.

A lot of people want to buy artichokes and don't know what to make with them. Today I want to show you the best way to eat and prepare artichokes. Learn how to make a simple Provencal artichoke and goat cheese tarte tatin.

A really simple dish that has all the classic flavors of Provence hidden in the layers. Roasted red peppers stuffed with creamy goat cheese and basil and topped with an anchoïade sauce. This makes a great meal served with nothing more than a big green salad and a glass of rose wine. Anchoiade is an interesting Provencal sauce. French people will revel at its wonderful briny flavors while most Americans recoil in terror at the mere mention of anchovies. I promise you will love this sauce.

Today I want to teach you how to make Richard Olney's delicious Chickpea and Spinach gratin from his classic cookbook ' Simple French Food'. It is a classic Provencal vegetarian preparation that is easy to make and will impress your friends.

No other dish better defines Provence than soupe au pistou, the famous vegetable, bean, and pasta soup. Within a bowl you will discover the edible history of the ‘arrière-pays’, or hinterlands of Provence. A region where thrifty farmers have long tended their fields, growing some of France’s most amazing vegetables and fruits. It is a soup born from austerity and frugality; making the best use of what is in season and what is on hand.