Sunrise - looking towards St Christophe

It started snowing yesterday afternoon here at Domaine La Véronique! Not unusual for England at this time of year.... but for the South of France... pretty rare!!!! We've seen snow in the Languedoc perhaps three times in the 15 years we've been here. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland... a wonderful sunrise... and now beautiful blue skies, and a temperature of  -4°.

Looking south from Veronique

So Peter has just lit the fire and is now in the middle of making his wonderful take on minestrone soup, which will keep us warm and full for a wintry walk this afternoon with our dog, Caline. Not the  'gourmet cooking' you'd expect at our cooking school, but extremely tasty and good winter fayre.

Sunrise over the boulodrome!

Not quite sunbathing weather at Domaine La Veronique!!

INGREDIENTS:-
Smoked lardons (chopped bacon)
Onions
Potatoes - diced
Garlic - finely chopped
Red Pepper - diced
Carrot - diced
Celery - diced
Tinned Haricot Blanc or Lingot beans
Pasta
Tinned plum tomatos
Tomato purée
Harissa
Homemade ham stock
Olive oil
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese
METHOD:-
Heat the olive oil. Cook the lardons until coloured but not crispy. Add all vegetables (except the tomatos and Haricot) and the oregano and stir for 15 minutes on a low heat. Add tomatos, purée, harissa and stock and bring to the boil. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and beans, and continue cooking until the pasta is cooked. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.