Biscuits for Candlemas
I’m in Marseille this week, and I'm sharing a recipe for their famous biscuits, navettes de Marseille.
We arrived in Marseille with our minds open, hope in our hearts, and with our taste buds poised for new flavours.
My Life in France, Julia Child
I don’t have a market haul to share today as I’m in Marseille for a few days with my friend, Julia. This might come as a surprise to some of you who think I already live in Marseille. I get it. Marseillan, population about 8,000, does sound quite like Marseille, population about 880,000, but it’s 250km to the east of us.
This weekend, I’ll share pictures, stories and some great addresses from our trip, but for today I have for you a recipe for navettes de Marseille, the boat-shaped biscuits associated with this great port city. They’re available year round, but they’re traditionally associated with Candlemas (fête de la Chandeleur) in Marseille, and as we’re just a nudge past February 2, I thought I would share them today. While the rest of France enjoys pancakes, in Marseille they share these biscuits and eating them, in abundance, is thought to bring good luck for the coming year.
Honestly, they’re not for people who like a luxurious biscuit covered in chocolate or filled with nuts. They are plain bordering on austere and they’re quite hard.
The biscuits were invented by one Monsieur Aveyrous in 1781. Legend has it that the shape represents the boat that brought the three Marys, Mary of Clopas, Mary Salome and Mary Magdalene, to Provence and the town now called Saintes-Maries-de-la Mer in their honour. Each Candlemas in Marseille, there’s a procession which ends at the Four des Navettes (the navette oven) by the Abbaye Saint-Victor in rue Sainte, The Bishop of Marseille marks the end of the pilgrimage by blessing the biscuits.
Navettes are a very simple biscuit made from dough enriched with two flavours of the south, olive oil and orange flower water. Honestly, they’re not for people who like a luxurious biscuit covered in chocolate or filled with nuts. They are plain bordering on austere and they’re quite hard. Have I sold them to you yet? Some dip them in their coffee, but I like them with a cup of Lady Grey tea with its bergamot, orange and lemon flavours.
Four des Navettes
136 rue Sainte
13007 Marseille
fourdesnavettes.com
I’ve just downloaded…
Wicked City: The Many Cultures of Marseille by Nicholas Hewitt, in an attempt to get under the skin of this great port city.
Navettes de Marseille
I followed this recipe from Hervé Cuisine when I made the biscuits, but all of the recipes are very similar
They’re good fun to make with children, who often enjoy the rolling out and cutting.
Makes 16 large biscuits
180g caster sugar
2 eggs
Zest of an organic orange, finely grated – though don’t grate it until you’ve read the recipe – being careful not to remove any of the bitter white pith
3 tbsp/45ml olive oil
3 tbsp/45ml orange flower water
½ tsp salt
500g plain flour, plus a little more for dusting the board
A little whole milk
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs until they’re very light and fluffy – you want them to be doubled in size.
Grate the orange zest directly into the bowl over the sugar and eggs – this way, you don’t lose any of the beautiful orange oils. Tip in the olive oil, orange flower water and salt and mix until well combined.
Start adding the flour a bit at a time, stirring to incorporate it before adding more. You’ll end up with a raggy dough, at which point, abandon the beater or wooden spoon and knead it together gently with your hands until you have a nice, smooth ball. It will be a little sticky.
Leave it in the bowl covered with a tea towel for 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Lightly dust a board or counter with flour and cut your disc of dough into 16 pieces. This will make quite large and sturdy biscuits – you can make smaller ones if you would like, dainty knickers.
Roll each piece of dough into a tube of about 10cm long. Place each piece on the baking parchment, evenly spaced, and gently pinch the ends to form the boat shape. With a small sharp knife, make a cut along the length of each navette, almost to the ends and cutting through to the parchment.
Brush each biscuit with milk and bake for 20 minutes – reduce the time by 3-4 minutes for smaller ones – until very lightly golden. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will keep quite well in a tin for a week or so.
The biscuits do not appeal to me, sorry but it’s great to have a downloadable pdf, thank you. That is a very, very good illustration on the front of the book too. Such detail and obviously a good draughtsman, I’m envious.
I just came home with a big bag from Les Navettes des Accoules. Try to go by if you're still in Marseille? (And get the chocolate almond macaron, too!)