Pistou Grilled Fish In Nîmes, France
Walking through Nîmes, it was hard for us to decide whether we were in France or Italy. The city has always been on the frontier between the two countries and its culture is a heady mix of both. Nîmes was founded as a Roman city in the 1st century BCE, and even today it gives you the feel of being in Rome. It still has some of the best preserved Roman architecture surviving anywhere in the world.
Our tour of Nîmes began at its signature monument - the enormous Arena in the centre of town. This Roman stadium once held over 24,000 spectators at raucous public games, cheering on gladiators who battled each other and wild animals at great personal peril. Today the Arena hosts reenactments of Roman games that are somewhat less bloodthirsty than the original, music concerts, and bullfights, a reminder that Spain is also close by.
The next stop on our walk was the Maison Carrée, a remarkably well preserved Roman temple that once stood in the old Forum, the centre of public life in ancient Nîmes. Today it is flanked by a modern art gallery and library. You can enter the building and see a film presentation on the history of Nîmes.
Nîmes had a large Roman bathhouse, built around a natural spring. In the eighteenth century, formal gardens known as the Jardins de la Fontaine, were laid out around the ruins of the bathhouse. The park still has wonderful gardens, fountains, and walkways and we could see lots of people out for a picnic under the trees.
Excavations carried out when the Jardins de la Fontaine were being built uncovered the ruins of a building that was immediately dubbed the Temple of Diana. Later examination by archaeologists led them to believe it was a library rather than a temple, but it is a wonderful example of a Roman building, where we could almost imagine how the residents once lived.
Water for the ancient city of Nîmes was brought by a great aqueduct from a reservoir over 30 miles away. The best preserved section of the aqueduct still stands about 10 miles outside of Nîmes, where it passed over the river Gard. The Pont du Gard is now a major tourist attraction, one of the few surviving examples of a Roman aqueduct, and the largest in the world. It is an imposing sight and you have to walk across it to get an idea of its sheer size and magnificent view.
The Quais de la Fontaine, the water channels that run through the town, were a seventeenth century addition. The tree-lined embankments along the channels were a wonderful, cool, place for us to walk and escape the heat of summer.
The warm breeze blowing from the sea gave Nîmes a tropical feel. The palm trees growing in the town squares were a reminder of the close connection it always had with the other countries along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Walking through the Place du Marché we spotted a very realistic looking crocodile emerging from the fountain! Legionnaires from the Roman army that conquered Egypt were granted land in this area and founded a town whose symbol was a crocodile chained to a palm tree. This is still on the coat of arms of Nîmes and the lobby of the city hall has four crocodiles suspended from the ceiling. Having a wedding there is still known as “going under the crocodiles”!
We had lunch at a restaurant right across from the Arena, affording us an unimpeded, leisurely view of the famous monument. The ambience was amazing and the char grilled octopus with fresh Pistou was so delicious, I can still taste it!
Pistou is the French version of Italian Pesto and reflects the shared history of this region. The key difference between the two is that there are no cheese or pine nuts used in traditional Pistou. Although modern recipes for Pistou call for lots of grated Parmesan, I prefer the old fashioned version for grilling. You can, of course, add Parmesan to your Pistou if you wish.
In my recipe here, Pistou is used both in the marinade for the fish and drizzled on top after grilling as well. This creates layers of fresh, vibrant flavour, adding depth and smokiness to the finished dish. Serve the fish with French onion soup, a Caprese salad or Ratatouille if you wish. And if you have any leftover Pistou, add it to your soup, stew or salad dressing!
Note: The fish can also be roasted in an oven instead of a barbecue grill.
Pistou Grilled Fish
For the Pistou:
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil (about 45g)
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
You can make Pistou in a small food processor, blender or mortar and pestle.
Combine all ingredients together and blend/pound to a paste, adding a few spoonfuls of water or more olive oil if necessary to achieve a smooth paste.
Transfer to a bowl, scraping out all the Pistou into bowl.
Refrigerate covered until needed.
Note: Pistou can be made up to two days ahead, refrigerated in an airtight container.
For the fish:
1 lb firm fleshed fish fillets such as Halibut, Trout or Salmon
1 tbsp each: Pistou, olive oil, white wine vinegar
Salt to taste, optional
1/4 tsp each: ground black pepper, paprika
Lemon wedges and additional Pistou for serving
Pat fish dry and place on a large plate or tray in a single layer
Combine remaining ingredients (except for the lemon wedges and additional Pistou for serving), in small bowl
Spread this marinade over top of the fish fillets and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer
When ready to cook, preheat outdoor grill to medium or oven (if using) to 400F
Place fish fillets skin side down on grill (or on a parchment lined baking tray), scraping all of the marinade evenly over top
Grill for about 8 - 9 min per side, turning gently once to cook evenly all over. If using the oven, bake fish without turning, for about 17-18 min. Fish should flake easily and be slightly browned and crispy around the edges.
Serve with reserved wedges of lemon and additional Pistou to drizzle over top of grilled fish
Serves two or more
