Up to about 8 cm. A knobbly creature with a leathery skin which lives anchored to rocks or the seabed and is so constructed as to permit the sea water to pass through it (in at one protuberance and out at the other).
CUISINE The yellow part inside, which is what you eat, looks like scrambled egg and is considered to be a delicacy in Provence. The procedure is to cut the violet in half with a knife and to take from each half the edible part, which is eaten raw and is pleasant washed down with white wine. The small violets of Marseille, Toulon and Hyères are reputed to be the best. The ones which I ate in Marseille certainly tasted quite good, and were fairly small. I have never faced up to a big one.
