The 24 regional specialties in Occitania

Tile, picholine, crunch, roquefort, garbide, gardiane... Discover the best Occitania specialties to enjoy during your stay in the South!

The Occitania region was opened in 2016, following the merger of the former Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions. It is the second largest region in France, which extends from the massif of the Cevennes to the mountains of the Hautes-Pyrénées, to the beaches of the Mediterranean. Gastronomy in Occitania is literally part of the culture of the inhabitants. Moreover, one of the slogans of the region is nothing but: “Occitania, eating well is our nature” . Everything is said! Occitania is also more than 250 products with quality sign AOC/AOP, Label Rouge, IGP, AB. During your stay, you will discover a unique terroir, products and know-how, combined with a conviviality and a good mood. Your taste buds are already shining? Follow the Chef for an overview of Occitanie’s specialities!

Fruit and vegetables

Occitania produces more than one million tons of fruit and vegetables annually. It is also the second orchard of France. No wonder given the climate and the rate of sunshine in the region! Here are some of the fruits, vegetables and other condiments that you can find on the markets animated from the South of France and considered to be true specialties of Occitania:

Fruit

• The grape huntlas de Moissac
• The chestnut Pyrenees or Cevennes
• The melon of Quercy, Lectoure or Cavaillon
• La prune Reine-Claude
• The cherries of Céret
• The red apricot of Roussillon
• Strawberry Nimes
• The queen apple of the Vigan

Vegetables

• Tarbais beans
• The asparagus of the Landes sands
• Onion (doux des Cévennes, the Cebe of Lézignan, Trébons, red of Toulouges and Citou)
• The potato Bea du Roussillon

Condiments

Many of the specialties of Occitania are on your tables every day, such as the famous herbs of Provence or the salt and rice of Camargue . The white garlic of Lomagne or the pink garlic of Lautrec, accompanies the dishes of the simplest to the finest. Finally, know that Occitania produces a quarter of the French production of olive oil, thanks in particular to two varieties of mouth olives produced in the Gard: The Picholine and the Lucca, also for the aperitif.

The dishes

With regard to the dishes, the gastronomy in Occitania has something to surprise and please all the palaces! Here’s a short overview of Occitanie’s specialties.

Soups

Some soups are real specialties of Occitania, to be enjoyed in all seasons:

• L’aigo boulido : means boiled water in Provencal. This garlic-based soup and boiled sage leaves, is light and ideal for the day after heavy meals.
• Garbide: Southwest soup, also considered as a fully-fledged dish as it is copier. It is composed of pieces of seasonal vegetables and various meats (canard confit, pork stock, sausage...), all simmered very long.
• Pestou soup: It is also Provencal, made of summer vegetables, pasta and pistou, a mixture of garlic, olive oil and chopped basil.
• The fish soup in Setoise: contains several varieties of fish, cooked with vegetables, white wine and olive oil, and accompanied by crusts, rust and gruyer.

Meat-based dishes

One of Occitania’s specialties is undoubtedly meat. Southwest Duck and foie gras, beef l’Aubrac , lamb of Quercy, sausage Toulouse Bigorre black pig, Lacaune charcuterie... In Occitania, the carnivores will be served! Here are some flagship dishes that the gastronomy counts in Occitania.

• L’aligot : purée from Aubrac, based on potatoes, fresh tome, cream, butter and garlic, traditionally served with grilled sausage.
• The boar daube: The firm and lean meat of game is cooked with carrots, onions, bacon and red wine, to give way to a delicious dish in sauce, often served in family meals in the noon.
• The manouls: variant of the "tripoux", this lozerian dish is prepared with veal tripe, garnished with panse pieces, then rolled into a panse of sheep, and cooked for more than four hours in a calf background.
• The cassoulet of Castelnaudary: a must-have dish based on beans and meat, which is no longer present to you.
• The bullring: traditional camarguais dish based on bull meat marinated in red wine, decorated with vegetables and condiments then gently simmered in a cocotte. This dish is often tasted during the "ferias" of the South of France.
• The little pasta of Pézenas: delicious sweet-salted pasta, stuffed with lamb meat, cooked with citrus fruits, spices and sugar.

Seafood dishes

The region has nearly 220 km of Mediterranean coastline. No wonder, therefore, that many of Occitania’s specialties are elaborated with seafood. Here are some:

• The brandade of Nîmes : cod preparation, worked with olive oil and milk, to get a kind of cream. Enjoy cold on toast or gratin.
• Ioa: Provencal dish, composed of aïoli sauce. It is made of garlic, olive oil, egg yolks and lemon juice, accompanied by boiled vegetables, poached fish and hard eggs.
• La tielle de Sète : individual peat, topped with a pulp and tomato sauce filled with garlic and chili peppers. Hot or cold, it’s a treat!
• Sardine escape: Mediterranean recipe that consists of roasting sardines before marinating them in a vinegar sauce with aromats.
• The squid rust: She's a speciality, too. This friendly dish based on seiche, tomato sauce and aïoli, is often enjoyed with family.
• The mussel braucade: tradition of the banks of the pond of Thau. In fact, this recipe consists of cooking the mussels in a large paëlla pan, on a fire of vines and sprinkling them with a scented olive oil.

Cheese

If there is a region that will delight the biggest cheese lovers, it is Occitanie!

• For cow’s milk cheese lovers, it will be necessary to test the Bethmale, Laguiole or Tomme des Pyrénées.
• The Pérail and the Tome of Lozère will delight the followers of sheep’s cheese, as well as the Cabécou d’Autan, Rocamadour and the Cevennes Pelardon will surprise goat cheese lovers.
• Are you pretty blue? Don't panic! This is the country of the Roquefort (1st AOC of France in 1925), but also of Blue Causses and the Fourme d’Aubrac.

One thing is sure, the cheese is at the center of the gastronomy in Occitania.

The sweets

The specialties of Occitania also include many sweet delights. Below, a list – non-exhaustive – of the most famous desserts!

• Apple chips: or pastis gascon according to the place, sort of spun with apples.
• Brush cake : speciality of the Hautes-Pyrénées in the shape of a fir, obtained by cooking a liquid paste, poured on a spindle in front of a chimney fire.
• Lauragais Poumpet: paste filled with lemon or bergamote paste.
• Fénétra de Toulouse : consisting of a genoese, meringue, confit lemons, apricot jam and almonds.
• Pescajoune du Quercy : thick crêpe scented with plum life water, rum, orange blossom or vanilla. It is also garnished with apple, pears or prunes.
• Catalan cream: speciality of Roussillon cooked with the pan. Not to be confused with the burnt creme, which is cooked in the oven.
• Mont Valier de l’Ariège : cake is based on maroon cream and Chantilly.
• Gâteau de Limoux : brioche garnished with candied fruit and filled with pastry cream.
• The zezette of Sète (biscuit sablé à la fleur d’oranger), the cruncher of Mende (often almonds, the Albigeian shuttle (recovered with effilated almonds) or the crunch (around anise, covered with a fine white meringue) are some of the dry cakes you can find in the area.
• Do you like candy? Enjoy it without further delay Grisette de Montpellier, the Berlingot of Pézenas or the liquorice d’Uzès, true specialties of Occitania.

Regulate with the specialties of Occitania!