Herbs de Provence

A Love Letter to Herbes de Provence

How one French friend’s “secret ingredient” won over my whole gluten-free kitchen — plus crepes, dipping oil, and a few celiac treasures.

When I was recovering from the birth of my last baby, a dear friend of mine — a French native with the loveliest accent you ever heard — brought over a chicken and rice dish that was absolutely, unforgettably delicious. I couldn’t stop asking about it. What was in it? What made it taste like that?

Her secret, delivered in that beautiful accent: “Herbes de Provence.”

She’d cooked the rice, cooked the chicken, stirred in a can of diced tomatoes, and seasoned the whole thing with Herbes de Provence and sea salt. That was it. I kept pressing her — “That’s all? Nothing else?” And she just smiled and said, “No…nothing else.” Sometimes the simplest things are the most magical.

My French Friend’s Chicken & Rice gluten-free. Beautifully simple — season to your own taste.

Cooked rice

Cooked chicken

1 can diced tomatoes

Herbes de Provence, to taste

Sea salt

Stir it all together and warm through. That really is the whole secret. Voilà.

It’s been in everything since

From that day on, Herbes de Provence has had a permanent home in my spice cabinet. I’ve used it in more dishes than I can count. Once, I made a batch of Juliano’s raw buckwheat bread and seasoned it with Herbes de Provence and sea salt — I quadrupled the recipe, and still wished I’d made more once it came out (though I’m fairly sure my poor dehydrator was already packed to capacity).

Tortilla night — with a little help from the cookie cutters

Tonight we made homemade corn tortillas on our Mexican tortilla press. I use Maseca masa flour and just follow the directions for water and salt (sea salt, of course). The kids adore helping — and tonight they got wonderfully creative, pulling out the cookie cutters and turning our tortillas into little animals before we cooked them. Then we dipped those warm animal tortillas into the simplest, most addictive herb oil:

Herbes de Provence Dipping Oil gluten-free dairy-free

A “guesstimate” — I never measure. Adjust to your own taste.

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

1/4 cup good olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

The one trick that matters: give the herbs a few minutes to steep in the oil before you dip. That’s how you get the full, fragrant flavor of the herbs instead of just tasting oil. As we devoured our tortillas, I’d add a splash more oil whenever it started tasting too salty or too herb-heavy — just keep it in happy balance.

That same herb oil is endlessly useful. Stir it into rice, swirl it into soups, fold it into a cheese spread, or spoon it over a baked potato loaded with sour cream, organic butter, sea salt, and — naturally — that blessed herb mix.

A little note on buying good olive oil: you can usually tell a high-quality oil by two things — it’s cold-pressed, and it comes in a dark bottle (light is the enemy of good oil, so that dark glass is actually protecting the flavor). I usually buy mine at Real Foods Market, but I ran out a while back and grabbed one at Smith’s — I picked the darkest bottle and the one that simply felt like the best. Honestly, do any of us ever really know which is purest? That’s exactly why I lean so heavily on the research a store like Real Foods Market does on every product they carry.

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A note to my fellow celiacs — crepes!

That same lovely friend also made me French crepes for breakfast one morning, and here’s the happy surprise: they were naturally gluten-free. The trick is simple — follow any crepe recipe you love, but use cornstarch in place of the flour. They come out tender, delicate, and delicious.

Naturally Gluten-Free Crepes gluten-free

A simple starting point — makes about 8 thin crepes.

3 eggs

1 cup milk of choice

3/4 cup cornstarch

A pinch of sea salt

A little melted butter or oil for the pan

Whisk everything smooth, let the batter rest a few minutes, then cook thin and lacy in a hot, lightly greased pan. To serve: spread with St. Dalfour fruit spread and a dollop of homemade whipped cream (just cream whipped with a little agave). Mmmmm.

Dairy-free: use your favorite plant milk, and whip chilled coconut cream with a touch of agave in place of the whipped cream.

And a word on St. Dalfour jams: they’re made with no added sugar — sweetened instead with concentrated fruit juice — naturally gluten-free, and so tasty. I buy them whenever I catch them on sale at Good Earth and happily stock up on three or four at a time.

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I’ll admit it: if I could eat French bread, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I loved bread so much growing up that I’m convinced I ate my entire lifetime supply before the age of 21 — until my body finally staged a revolt and decided the kindest thing it could do was develop an intolerance, leaving me no choice but to step away from gluten for good.

And you know what? I’m grateful for it. That little revolt keeps me eating well — and it’s a rather handy excuse at parties for skipping all the junk. (At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. 😉)

I always wished I knew how to sign off in French, the way my friend would — so I finally learned a little just for you:

Bon appétit, mes amis — et à bientôt! (Enjoy, my friends — and see you soon!)

With much love,

Steffanie