Three coasts, one sea, one lunch

I. The Provençal version

On the French coast: grilled fish with aioli. The fish — loup de mer, daurade, rouget — from the morning’s catch, grilled over charcoal or vine wood, served with nothing on the plate except the fish and a wedge of lemon. The aioli served alongside. Rosé wine, cold, from the hinterland behind Marseille.

Aioli in Provence is not a condiment. It is a component of the meal with the same standing as the fish itself. Garlic pounded to a paste, egg yolk, olive oil added drop by drop until the emulsion forms. Thick, intensely garlicky, almost spreadable.

The meal is complete. Nothing is missing. The simplicity is the point.

II. The Spanish version

On the Spanish coast: gambas al ajillo, or grilled fish, with pan con tomate and a glass of cava or local white wine. The gambas cooked in olive oil with garlic and a dried chili in a small clay cazuela that arrives at the table still sizzling.

The pan con tomate is bread rubbed vigorously with a cut tomato until stained red, then drizzled with olive oil and salted. The tomato was not present in Spanish cooking until the sixteenth century, which means pan con tomate is no more than five hundred years old. By Mediterranean standards, practically recent.

III. The North African version

On the North African coast: chermoula fish, couscous or bread, preserved lemon, mint tea. Chermoula — cilantro, garlic, lemon, paprika, cumin, olive oil — goes on the fish before cooking and produces a coating that is simultaneously herb and crust and sauce.

The mint tea arrives at the end: green tea brewed strong, poured into a glass from a height to produce a foam, sweetened to a specific degree that varies by region and household and is not negotiable by the guest.

The structure: fish with marinade, something starchy, preserved citrus, tea. The same structure as the Provençal and Spanish lunches. Different contents.

IV. What the three have in common

Olive oil in all three — the French lighter and more floral, the Spanish more robust, the Maghrebi similar to the Spanish with specific herbal notes. Fish as the primary protein in all three. Acidity in all three — lemon, vinegar, preserved lemon, tomato. Bread in all three — different breads, the same role.

Time in all three — these lunches are not eaten quickly. The gambas are still sizzling when they arrive and the moment must be used. The aioli requires bread that must be torn and dipped. The mint tea requires waiting while it is prepared correctly. All three organise an unhurried midday hour.

One sea. Three coasts. One lunch in three languages.

Recipe — Moroccan Mint Tea · the closing ritual

Camille Dubois · the North African end of the lunch · 10 minutes

• 4 glasses
• 3 min steep
• 2 pours
• 1 handful mint

Ingredients

• 2 tsp gunpowder green tea
• 1 full handful fresh mint
• 3–4 tsp sugar (not optional — the sweetness is part of the balance)
• Boiling water to fill the pot
• A small glass for each guest
• A teapot you trust

The method

1. Two teaspoons of gunpowder green tea, steeped in a small amount of boiling water for 30 seconds. Pour off to remove the bitterness. The leaves remain.
2. Add fresh mint — a full handful — and 3 to 4 teaspoons of sugar. This is not optional; the sweetness is part of the balance.
3. Add hot water to fill the pot. Steep 3 minutes.
4. Pour from height into a small glass to aerate and foam.
5. Taste. Adjust sugar. Pour back into the pot. Pour again.
6. Serve. The lunch ends here. The afternoon may continue. The ceremony of the pouring is part of the tea.

About the contributor

Camille Dubois

Camille Dubois writes about Mediterranean food culture and the shared logic of three coasts from Marseille, France.

Editor’s notes — the longer view

A note on the argument. There is a specific lunch that exists in three versions on three coasts of the Mediterranean. The specific contents vary enough that someone eating all three in a single week might not initially recognize them as the same meal. They are the same meal.

A note on the aioli. Garlic, egg yolk, olive oil from the Vallée des Baux — added drop by drop until the emulsion forms. Thick. Intensely garlicky. Almost spreadable.

A note on the cazuela. The clay holds the heat. The gambas arrive still sizzling. The moment must be used — which means you are at the table and paying attention.

A note on the sweetness. Moroccan mint tea is sweet. The sweetness is not negotiable by the guest. The host has decided the level of sugar and it is correct because the host has decided it. The tea is the close of the meal.

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