Bouillabaisse, Plateau de Fruits de Mer (Seafood Plate), Assiette d'Oursins (Sea Urchins), Oysters on the Half Shell and Moules Marinières - Seafood Dinner in Marseille, 2022

Pictures: Sefood Dinner in Marseille

Annette and I went to the Southern Rhône Valley/ Provence from March 5 to March 12, 2022 for a planning trip of the Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France, June 20 - June 29, 2022.We flew from Frankfurt to Marseille and back to Frankfurt from there.

We spent the last night in a Hotel in Marseille downtown, with a beautiful view of the Vieux Port Marseille. There is a large number of restaurants around the old port. 

We went to one of them for a typical Mediterranean seafood dinner, including Bouillabaisse, Plateau de Fruits de Mer (Seafood Plate), Assiette d'Oursins (Sea Urchins), Oysters on the Half Shell and Moules Marinières. Of course, in Marseille, you have to start the dinner with a Pastis.

The Provence

The Provence largely corresponds with the modern administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône River to the west to the Italian border to the east. The largest city of the region is Marseille.

The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana, which evolved into the present name. It was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France.

Picture: Provence (Lonely Planet)

Apéritif - Pastis

Pastis is an Italian-inspired, anise-flavored aperitif with an alcoholic strength of 45°. It is a symbol of Marseille, or more generally, the south of France. It’s a refreshing and strong drink produced from the star anise, a spice originally from China. Its distinctive sweet licorice taste is also used to cook up many dishes in Provence.

 

There are a lot of different brands. The three major brands are Ricard, Pernod and Pastis 51. The classic way to drink pastis is to add six parts of water to one part of pastis in a lengthened glass. 

 

When I am in the South of France, I rarely have dinner without a Pastis as apéritif. This time, I had one at the hotel before dinner.

 

Bouillabaisse 

 

Marseille’s most famous and classic dish is Bouillabaisse, which was once known as the poor man’s soup. The soup is made using a variety of seafood combinations, typically decided upon by the chef or by what is available. Ingredients can range from multiple types of fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, and sea urchins and often includes any combination of vegetable seasonings such as garlic, onions, potatoes and fresh herbs. 

Annette had a Bouillabaisse as main course.

 

 

Moules Marinières (Mussels in White Wine Sauce)

 

Moules Marinières is a traditional French dish. Steam mussels in white wine, then serve in a sauce of juices from the mussels, wine, butter, and shallots. it is typically served with French Fries.

Christian had Moules Marinières as main course.

 

 

Plateau de Fruits de Mer (Shellfish Platter)

Plateau de fruits de mer, which translates to a plate of fruits of the sea, is a traditional French dish that consists of various kinds of seafood served on a platter, usually over crushed ice. Typical seafood used in this dish includes a variety of shellfish such as shrimps, mussels, lobsters, crabs, clams, and oysters that can either be cooked or raw.

Traditionally, the seafood is consumed chilled, and it is typically placed on a large serving platter that is covered with crushed ice and (optionally) seaweed to keep the food’s temperature low. Lemon wedges and various sauces, such as mignonette sauce, mustard sauce, and cocktail sauce usually accompany this seafood platter. 

 

A plateau de fruits de mer can be vary elaborate and large. Ours, as a starter, was on the smaller side as we also had oysters and and sea urchins as starters. 

 

 

Aïoli 

It looks like mayonnaise, but in Marseille, aïoli is a gourmet spread made of garlic, lemon juice, eggs and olive oil. It’s a popular dipping sauce for fries, cod, vegetables, shellfish and just about any other dippable food. 

It came with the plateau de fruits de mer.

Assiette d'Oursins (Sea Urchins)

While it may seem strange to eat the spiny and seemingly-dangerous sea urchin, it’s actually considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. People in Japan, Chile, the Mediterranean, and even the West Coast of the United States, regularly enjoy this unique and savoury seafood.

The most common way to enjoy sea urchin is by eating it raw, similarly to how one would eat oysters on the half shell. Adding lemon juice is a great way to enhance the natural flavour.

Oysters on the Half Shell

Oysters on the Half Shell.

Rosé de Provence 

Domaine Pey Blanc, Instant, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, 2020

The Wines of the Provence

Wine has been made here for over 2600 years, making Provence the oldest wine producing region of France. It is also the only French wine region to focus on Rosé. Two thirds of the wines from the Provence are Rosé.

Picture: Provence AOC (Wine Folly)

(Source: wikipedia): Provence is the oldest wine producing region of France. The wines of Provence were probably introduced into Provence around 600 BC by the Greek Phoceans who founded Marseille and Nice. After the Roman occupation, in 120 BC the Roman Senate forbade the growing of vines and olives in Provence, to protect the profitable trade in exporting Italian wines, but in the late Roman empire retired soldiers from Roman Legions settled in Provence and were allowed to grow grapes.

Provence is also the only French wine region that predominantly produces rosé wines. The most characteristic grape is mourvèdre, used most famously in the red wines of Bandol. Cassis is the only area in Provence known for its white wines.

The wines of Provence are grown under demanding conditions; hot weather and abundant sunshine (Toulon, near Bandol, has the most sunshine of any city in France) which ripens the grapes quickly; little rain, and the mistral.

Picture: Rosé Wines Account for 80% of the Wines of the Provence

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