Pottery fair on the port
Summer visitors, pottery and a lively salad for one, plus this week’s market haul.
I walked down the port last weekend with the dogs, and then I took the dogs home and walked down the port again. There was the serious business of the annual pottery fair to attend to and that cannot be done while juggling two leads, dogs that walk at different rates – one at a casual meander and the other at an enthusiastic gallop – a developing head wind and delicate pottery on precarious stands, some of which were at tail-wagging height.
We are well into the “Another weekend, another fair/race/concert” time of year now. Last weekend pottery, this weekend the music festival. Last Saturday morning, all along the port, there were white-painted stalls filled with plates, pots and sculptures, some of them colourful and adorned with pattern and flowers, some textural, the colour of basalt, decorated with natural motifs. At one of my favourite stalls – Marseillan’s own Céramique de Thau – the potter explained he’d created the pattern by pressing vine leaves into the clay. I bought some orange plates from the Taupinette et Cie stall to go with the yellow dishes of theirs I already have, and ordered a few more, for cheerfulness.
At lunchtime, the air filled with the smell of moules frites from O’Soleil. On the terrace of La Maion de Camille, people tucked into salads and plates of charcuterie, crêpes and waffles. I stopped at La Glacerie for a noisette (a shot of espresso with a dash of hot milk). Among the murmur of French voices, I hear English, Swedish, German, Dutch and American ones.
I think of the time before we lived here when I used to sit at my desk in London and click on the port’s webcam, waiting for it to swing round to the house where we now live and then swing back to the open water.
There is something special about living in a place where people come on their holidays. I think of them counting down the days each year until they can walk along the pavements I walk along every day, to post a letter, drop off a duvet at the laundromat, or pick up a parcel at the depot in the pet shop. It makes me lift up my eyes from my daily errands and see these familiar streets through theirs.
I think of the time before we lived here when I used to sit at my desk in London and click on the port’s webcam, waiting for it to swing round to the house where we now live and then swing back to the open water. It’s raining, it’s sunny again, there’s that man walking his huskie, he’s there every day about this time, they’re putting up the stalls for the night market. I used to stalk the Marseillan hashtag on Instagram, too, reading each image with all the intensity of a Cold War Sovietologist examining who was standing on Lenin’s mausoleum to watch parades on Red Square. The market looks busy, I see the artichokes are in, water jousting this weekend, is that the mayor in a sash?
I’m grateful to them, these visitors, for the happiness they bring. I know sometimes locals complain about the summer, when the village is crowded and you can’t get a table at the Marine. (Often I think this moaning about visitors, among some of the other British residents at least, is a statement intended to raise them above the rabble, that they live here, they’re not tourists, they’ve unpacked, they have a pass for the tip.) The complainers count down the days to September when the streets are quiet again. Perhaps I’ve not been here long enough to tire of the visitors. Along with their mosquito spray and sun lotion, they carry with them their holiday cheerfulness. Their shoulders are soft. They smile easily. It’s uplifting, infectious. They are the spirit of summer, and they are generous with this gift.
Céramique de Thau 3 rue Henri Maffre, 34340 Marseillan
François Thirion’s beautiful studio and shop is tucked away in one of the winding streets of the village and is certainly worth a visit if you are here. He also runs pottery courses for adults and children.
Taupinette et Cie 12 place de la République, 34120 Pézenas
Wonderful shop and studio in Pézenas. I buy so many birthday, Christmas and wedding presents here, as well as pieces for my own house.
Halloumi and melon salad
Séan is back in London this week, so I wanted to show you the kind of thing I eat when I’m alone (though I know he’d like it too). If you want to make this salad for more people, it’s very easy to up the quantities. This recipe makes more dressing than you need for a salad for one, but you can use it in all sorts of things, from spreading on wraps, stirring into roast vegetables and mixing with yoghurt to use as a dip for crudités. It keeps well, sealed, in the fridge for 2-3 days.
I use Charentais melon here because they are slices of sweet heaven right now and I can’t stop buying them, but watermelon would also be great.
Serves 1
For the dressing
5 tbsp/75ml olive oil
2 tbsp/30ml red wine vinegar
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
A small green chilli, or a red chilli, depending on what you have and how hot you would like the dressing to be
2-3 garlic cloves, halved, any green germ discarded, and diced
A small bunch of parsley, about 10g, leaves and fine stems only, chopped
A small bunch of coriander, about 10g, leaves and fine stems only, chopped
12-20 mint leaves, chopped – I like to chop these with a pinch of sugar
For the salad
3-4 slices of ripe Charentais melon, or wedges of watermelon
A small handful of ripe cherries, pitted and halved
2-3 tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges, I used a red and a yellow tomato
A little olive oil
3-4 slices of halloumi, cut 1cm thick
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the dressing.
Scatter the melon, tomatoes and cherries on a plate.
Warm a bare slick of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the slices of halloumi for 2-3 minutes per side, until both sides are golden and the cheese is soft.
Arrange the hot cheese on the salad, season with a little flaky sea salt and pepper, then finish with some spoonfuls of the dressing. Serve immediately.
TIP
If you want to serve this for a group of people, you can prep everything in advance, arrange it on a platter or plates, then simply cook the halloumi at the last minute and finish with the dressing.
Market haul, 18 June 2024
This week’s market haul comprises: mild green chillies, the first haricots coco rouges (borlotti beans), Charentais melon, tomatoes, cucumber, lemons, avocados, parsley, three punnets of strawberries (the third one a gift), cherries, lettuce, a pot of basil in a new basket, limes, red onion, shallot, garlic, endive, half a sourdough loaf, apricots.
I was one of the fortunate visitors that weekend and we saw you, I think, in La Glacerie where we stopped for a coffee. I'd have loved to tell you how much I enjoy and appreciate your writing but didn't want to interrupt your reverie...
Marseillan is a special place.
I look so forward to these posts! It’s like going on a weekly visit to your oh-so-charming town. 💛