Lunch at the Mirazur in Menton

We arrived a few days ago at our little Italian hideaway in the perched village of Fanghetto built more than 1000 years ago. After two days of traveling from Paris, it is always a relief (given autoroute driving) and a thrill to arrive. The  weather has been perfect, sunny with cool dry breezes and wildflowers are everywhere. There are still snow-capped mountains in the distance making this paradise even more perfect.

View from our Terrace

We are just fifteen minutes from the sea in Ventimiglia which has an unbelievable covered food market with remarkably reasonable prices. We stocked up on all the spring delicacies - artichokes, new peas, fava beans, many different salad greens and the first strawberries and tomatoes from Sicily. We put our feet up and enjoyed meals on our terrace for the first couple of days.

Then yesterday, we and two friends, drove thirty minutes into France and treated ourselves to lunch at Mirazur, a restaurant with one star in the Michelin Guide, which is on a hillside just outside of Menton with panoramic views of the city which is known as “ The Pearl of the Cote d’Azur”.

Menton

I have known the chef, Mauro Colagreco, since he first opened Mirazur in 2006. He is originally from Argentina but spent more than 10 years working in two Michelin three star restaurants, Le Cote d’Or with Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu and L’Arpege with Alain Passard in Paris. Mauro grows many of his own vegetables, including little known varieties from Argentina, in a garden on top of the hillside. His food is fresh and stunningly beautiful.

Lunch is a bargain if you stay with the menu du dejeuner, available weekdays only. For 33 euros, you will have a feast. We ordered a provencal rose, Rimaureq 2010 cru classe which we had as an aperitif and continued drinking throughout lunch as it was crisp, with just the right amount of fruit and it complemented everything we ate nicely. Mauro serves tapas and then an amuse bouche to double your pleasure. The tapas were black rice chips with a vegetable tartar and polenta chips with a goat cheese cream, studded with cucumbers. The amuse bouche which followed was a delicate dollop of cream of cabbage soup with a mustard cream quenelle and a sliver of radish to add a little punch. 

For our first course we were served a carpaccio of gascon, a local white fish with a citrus vinaigrette and tiny edible flowers. We had a choice of fish or fowl for our main course. Three of us enjoyed the mackeral with a quenelle of manderine orange cream sprinkeled with Angelique flowers.

My husband Kent devoured every bite of his farm raised chicken, served with white asparagus, a cream of green asparagus, radishes and bits of caramelized juice from the chicken as it cooked.

So far every bite was as heavenly as the setting. Dessert however was a disappointment. It was an assortment of pastel colored sorbets and creams, including a saffron cream and an orange sorbet with orange flower bread. The colors on the plate matched the colors of the Menton buildings in the distance which was lovely to look at but the dish lacked flavor sadly.

At the end of the meal, we were served a complimentary glass of homemade limoncello and then we left for a nap on the nearby beach to dream of a meal which, despite the dessert, was a true feast for all our senses.

As many of you know, my business, Les Liaisons Delicieuses, (www.cookfrance.com) has been running culinary vacations for 17 years all over France, Italy, Morocco and Vietnam. I have an exciting new trip to both the French and Italian Rivieras, September 25- October 1, 2011. Mirazur and Mauro are highlights of this trip which still has a few spaces available. Email me at patricia.ravenscroft@gmail.com for details.

Recipe Fricasse d'Artichauts facon Barigoule

Serves 8

12 artichokes

4 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 pound lean salt pork

1/2 pound sliced raw ham

Chopped tomatoes

Garlic

Onion

Parsley

Olive oil

Lemons

The lactarius mushroom “barigoule” in provencal, was simply sprinkled with olive oil and fried on charcoal.

Even though the recipe has changed, the name barigoule has remained.

Prepare the artichokes by cutting off the bottom tail and taking off the small leaves and the top of the upper leaves. Boil for 5-8 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Stuffing preparation:

Wash and thinly slice the mushrooms. Cut the lean salt pork into small pieces. Chop the raw ham. Mix with garlic, onion and parsley. Stuff the artichokes with the mushroom and ham mixture. In a deep saucepan, sauté the onion and chopped tomatoes in olive oil. When the mixture is cooked through, add the stuffed artichokes. Put in the oven uncovered for 10-15 minutes and sprinkle from time to time with dry white wine. Bring to a boil, cover and lower the temperature to cook slowly for 45-60 minutes.