Dishing up some sun

Provence, the colorful region of southeastern France that skirts the Mediterranean Sea, is a land of lavender, olive oil and sun-ripened fruits and vegetables. It's a place where great food means simple food.

"Provençal cooking relies on fresh seasonal ingredients and simplicity," said Lulu (Lauren) De Rouen, who as executive chef at Pinot Provence in Costa Mesa has developed a menu focused on a Provençal theme.

"They are dishes that let the ripeness and freshness of the fruits and vegetables come through. For example, it may come down to showing off the ripest, sweetest tomato of the season. Simple, yes, but with my own twist. I want these dishes to smell like the sun. I want to build up real flavor with the addition of each component."

De Rouen sparkles with spunk. She is fearless, both when surfing, fishing or snowboarding with friends, or when working in her prestigious restaurant kitchen. She says she has a never-ending love affair with the organized chaos that exists in every kitchen. Perhaps that is because she started to learn to cook before she went to kindergarten.

The 26-year-old chef grew up in a home where the kitchen was the focal point of daily life. Her father, Albert De Rouen, was raised by emigrant French parents in New Orleans. An avid self-taught cook, he brought Lulu into the kitchen when she was 4, teaching her everything from rustic Provençal cuisine to Creole recipes that had been in the family for years. She fell into the role of sous chef and absorbed her father's "cooking secrets." She created her own version of gumbo at age 6.

"Dad is a Louisiana boy, a big fisherman and hunter, and he knows that making a great stock is key; he creates big flavors by sweating down sausages, onion, celery and (bell) peppers," she said about her father's souplike gumbo that is served over red beans and rice.

"I use similar techniques when creating the fumet (concentrated fish stock) for bouillabaisse. I call it rustic elegance when I take a dish that I have grown up with, then adapt it by kicking it up to become part of a fine dining experience."

And part of her experience includes a stint cooking at the Provençal restaurant of Clement Bruno, Chez Bruno, about 100 kilometers from Nice.

"It was a five-person team in the kitchen, and the whole menu was based on truffles," she said, her voice taking on a joyous tone. "Chef would come in and write the menu, a 12-course menu, and we would cook all day to make those rustic dishes. Simple but delicious dishes like blini with truffle cream and truffle 'caviar.'

"One of my favorites was the pork loin with apples. We would peel golden apples and cook them with butter, cloves and raisins in a 450-degree oven; they would stay in the turned-off oven overnight with the oven door open. The apples would get a golden crust on them; they'd absorb the butter and cloves. We'd shave truffles on them."

On her days off, she would drive to every small town she could, taking in farmers markets, food shops, vineyards and restaurants.

"I had never smelled such food in my life," she said. "The melons! You could smell them as you walked by. That is true of the room-temperature cheese and cured meats, too. They really care about produce. The tomatoes are amazing. They are in almost everything they eat."

Here are some Lulu-style Provençal dishes:

• FRESH BURRATA CHEESE, BABY ARTICHOKES, MORTAR-CRUSHED OPAL BASIL AND TOMATO CONFIT

Yield: Four servings

6 baby artichokes, trimmed, see cook's notes

Sea salt

Wedge of lemon for juicing

1/2 cup lemon oil, store-bought or homemade, see recipe

1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Optional: more fresh lemon juice, if needed

12 cherry tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Chopped leaves from one sprig of thyme

2 thick slices brioche, cut into 3⁄8-inch cubes

Leaves from 1 bunch opal basil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 spheres of burrata cheese, cut into thick slices, see cook's notes

Garnish: basil microgreens

Optional: fleur de sel (fancy French sea salt)

Cook's notes: To trim baby artichokes, pull off and discard tough outer leaves. Keep removing leaves until the leaves remaining are mostly kidglove soft and a light yellowish-green. Cut off tops of leaves. Trim off bottom of stem end. Using sharp paring knife, cut off and discard remaining dark or medium green parts along the sides of the base. Place in bowl of water along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Burrata is a cheese that is fresh mozzarella on the exterior with a buttery soft, creamy core. The name "burrata" means "butter" in Italian. It is now sold in the refrigerated deli section at Costco.

Procedure

Fill a large saucepan 2⁄3 full with water. Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice; bring to boil. Add trimmed baby artichokes and cook until just fork-tender at the base. Drain well and half from bottom to top and place in small bowl.

Prepare vinaigrette: Whisk lemon oil, parsley, salt and pepper together. Taste; add a little lemon juice if desired. Add just enough vinaigrette to artichokes to generously coat; toss and set aside. Leftover vinaigrette can be refrigerated and used in another dish.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In small baking dish, toss tomatoes with enough extra-virgin olive oil to generously coat (about 2 tablespoons) garlic and thyme. Roast in preheated oven until outside skin starts to shrivel, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. When cool enough to handle, pull tomato skin from blossom end to stem end, leaving it attached at stem end. This will create a flowerlike look at the top of each tomato. Set aside.

For croutons: Place cubes of brioche on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle or brush with a little olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Bake eight to 12 minutes, or until an even golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Place opal basil in mortar. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and salt to taste. Smash with pestle, adding more oil if needed to make a spoonable mixture.

Drizzle a little lemon olive oil on four narrow, rectangular plates. Place burrata slices on top of oil in single layer. Top with artichokes cut-side up. Spoon opal basil on top of cheese and artichokes. Scatter croutons and tomatoes on plates next to cheese. Sprinkle basil microgreens on top. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil on top. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and a few grains of fleur de sel (if using).

Source: Lulu De Rouen, executive chef, Pinot Provence, Costa Mesa.

• PAN-ROASTED ALASKAN HALIBUT, BASIL EMULSION, SAUTÉED SQUASH BLOSSOMS AND FINGERLING POTATOES

Yield: Four

8 to 10 fingerling potatoes, rinsed

8 baby green pattypan squash (round with scalloped edge)

3 tablespoons butter, divided use

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

4 shallots, finely diced

12 squash blossoms

For basil-mint emulsion:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 egg white

Juice of 2 lemons

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Fine sea salt to taste

For halibut:

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for sautéing fish

4 (about 6 or 7 ounces each) halibut filets

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: handful of mixed microgreens. Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Optional: fleur de sel (fancy French sea salt)

Cook's notes: De Rouen says the basil-mint emulsion can be stored airtight in the refrigerator up to two days. It is delicious served as a dip with raw vegetables or as a garnish for grilled lamb, chicken or roasted vegetables.

Procedure

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil on high heat. Add fingerlings and cook until fork tender, about six minutes, but cooking times vary depending on side and shape of potatoes. Remove with slotted spoon. Add squash and cook until tender-crisp, about three to four minutes. Drain. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Cut squash in half from top to bottom.

In large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat. Add potatoes, squash and shallots; cook until heated through, tossing occasionally, until potatoes are lightly caramelized. Remove and place in bowl. In same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high heat. Add blossoms; sauté, shaking handle to rotate blossoms. Cook until heated through. Remove from heat.

Prepare sauce: Place all basil-mint emulsion ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth. It should look like a light green paste. With the motor running, add oils in thin stream, feeding it into the center of the mixture. Whirl until blended. Add salt to taste.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold filets in single layer, heat oil on medium-high heat. Season fish to taste on both sides with salt and pepper. Add fish to skillet and brown on one side, about three to four minutes. Turn fillets and cook about one minute. Place in preheated oven and roast until just barely cooked through and opaque, about three to four minutes, depending on thickness of fillets.

To plate: Spread a streak of sauce on bottom of four plates. Top each streak with a generous amount of squash-potato-shallot mixture. Top with filets. Smear some sauce on top of the fillet. Top with squash blossoms. Add microgreens. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and, if desired, fleur de sel.

Source: Lulu De Rouen, executive chef, Pinot Provence, Costa Mesa.

• LEMON-FLAVORED OIL

Yield: About 1/2 cup

3 lemons, Meyer lemons preferred, cut into eighths

1 cup olive oil

Procedure

Roughly chop lemons — skin, seeds and all — in food processor with short pulses or with a chef's knife. Do not process to a purée. If the fruit is too finely chopped, the oil will emulsify with the pulp and not separate. Transfer fruit to work bowl of electric mixer and add the oil. Mix on low speed 10 minutes with paddle attachment. Let stand at room temperature for two hours.

Rinse four layers of cheesecloth in cold water and squeeze dry. Suspend a fine-mesh strainer over a fat separator or bowl. Put the lemon mixture in the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract the oil. (As you squeeze, the web of the cheesecloth loosens. The strainer will catch the bits of pulp that may escape.) Let stand again to allow oil and juice to separate. The clear oil will float above the thick mixture of juice, pulp and some emulsified oil. Pour off oil to a sterilized glass jar or bottle; discard juice. Cover tightly, refrigerate and use within one week.

Source: "Michael Chiarello's Flavored Oils and Vinegars" (Chronicle, $ 18.95).