Thoïonade & Lou Saussoun
As time's gone by I've become a lot less formal about the way I serve meals and I use more and more little savoury spreads, dips and sauces. They can be prepared in advance and put on the table in various combinations for people to share. There are plenty of recipes of that kind around, but these two Provençal classics don't seem to turn up very often these days. So here are my versions. They're really easy to make, there's no cooking involved and all you need is a blender. Admittedly, like so many of my recipes, they aren't quite authentic. (See if I care). I first came across these two tasty treats as dips for crudités (essentially, strips of raw veg) but I think they're even nicer spread on toast (or savoury biscuits or crackers, if you prefer). In fact, they're even more versatile: for instance, try using saussoun as a sauce for pasta or roasted veg or serve it alongside lamb or simply cooked fish. At the risk of sounding excessively elegiac, I feel