Provençal olive oil perfumes some sweet treats with its inimitable taste:
• Gibassié in Aix-en-Provence
Flour, sugar, olive oil, orange and lemon zest: these are the ingredients for gibassié, a specialty from Aix that is none other than the pompe à huile (oil olive brioche) (without yeast), one of the 13 desserts of the great Provençal Christmas dinner. Pierre Piantino, an artisan renowned for this recipe, sells it on the market every Thursday and Saturday morning at Place Richelme, in Aix-en-Provence.
• Chocolate in Marseille
In Marseille, artisan-chocolatier Francesco Martorana has developed a confectionery made with 70% dark chocolate, sweet almonds, candied oranges and extra virgin olive oil: Espérantine. This sweet treats shaped as olive leaves can be found in his two shops in the town center.
• Baba in Gémenos
At the gastronomic restaurant La Magdeleine, in Gémenos, Chef Mathias Dandine is offering a citrus baba this winter, accompanied by ice cream and an emulsified sauce with an olive oil full of character.
• Citrolive pastries
Find this successful blend in the citrolives produced by the Domaine du Jasson, in La Londe-Les-Maures, where olives and citrus fruits are pressed together. This is the fragrant oil that Pastry Chef Clément Higgins loves to use to make an astonishing creamy lemon, offered in his two Les Bricoleurs de douceurs shops in Marseille.
• Olive Gin in Avignon
Finally, in Avignon, Maison Manguin also bottles the olive. The distillery has been manufacturing gin, brandies and an olive aperitif since 2014. Raise a glass to them—a glass of olive oil, of course!
Dining and Cooking