Ragoût aux Artichauts

Most traditional Provencal recipes call for mutton, not lamb, as the sheep were raised for wool rather than for meat. Sheep rearing is one of the most ancient Provencal occupations and in the old days the shepherd was a popular figure, carrying news from village to village as he drove his flock to and from the summer pastures, high in the foothills of the Alps. Today’s twice-yearly migration is more mundane, taking place by truck.