FR – Alongside the editorial team’s summer reading selection, chef and grocer Gérard Vives presents his fennel and apricot salad, taken from his collection of 65 sun-kissed recipes, Cabanon chic, ‘his manifesto for taking it easy’.
Let's eat!
Serves 4
Preparation time:
10 minutes.
Ingredients
1 fennel bulb, 4 apricots (not too ripe), 25 g Parmesan, 1 bunch of basil, olive oil (with a strong flavour), white pepper.
Preparation
Slice the fennel very thinly using a mandoline. Cut the apricots into quarters.
Use a vegetable peeler to make thick shavings of Parmesan.
Place the fennel, apricots and Parmesan in a salad bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil, scatter over some basil leaves and season with white pepper.
It’s simple, original and delicious – what more could you ask for?
About the author: As a chef and spice merchant, Gérard Vives has mastered the art of spices from the plant to the plate. Having been drawn to cooking by passion, he set up several restaurants in the South of France before temporarily stepping away from the kitchen to embark on a journey in search of spices. In doing so, he acquired a wealth of expertise that enabled him to work on plantations to improve the quality of spices, which he then incorporated into his cooking. He continues to share his knowledge through workshops and talks, as well as through his books, including Mes Epices en cuisine (2023, Editions de La Martinière) and Piquant brûlant (2025, Editions de La Martinière). He has just published Cabanon chic with the same publisher – his manifesto for ‘taking it easy, featuring 65 sun-kissed recipes’.
Many thanks to Gérard Vives and Editions de La Martinière for their collaboration on the Recipes section.
Photo©Louis Laurent Grandadam.