Cuisine Nicoise: Recipes from a Mediterranean Kitchen - Tapa blanda

Nice has been part of France only since 1860 - so it is not surprising that its cuisine has no particular affinity with the traditions of the French cuisine. The Nicois cook believes in simplicity, not disguise, eschews rich sauces, nourishes a penchant for fish, fruit and vegetables and appreciates the importance of careful, subtle seasoning. The author, and mayor of Nice, offers an enthusiastic guide to the cookery of his city. As well as explaining how to make genuine salad nicoise (the most betrayed of Nicois dishes), he lures the reader into the world of stockfish, tians, panisses, socca, rabbit with fruit in aspic, stewed pork with capers and gherkins, ganses and Christmas bread.

Jacques M decin was born in Nice, studied law in Paris and worked for several years as a journalist. He was elected mayor of the city of Nice in 1966 where he served for 24 years. In the 1980s he became the target of corruption allegations, following an expos of judicial and police wrongdoing by the novelist, Graham Greene in his celebrated pamphlet J'Accuse. M decin fled France in 1990, but was extradited from Uruguay back to France in 1993, convicted and jailed for one year. In spite of this he remained hugely popular with many of the people of Nice for making the city cosmopolitan and trendy in the 60s. He died in Uruguay in 2011 at the age of 70.