Camargue Rice

The Camargue, that wind-tormented delta of vines, salt marshes and lagoons at the mouth of the Rhône, grows a quarter of all the rice eaten in France – and they eat a lot, particularly in the south, where rice is served as a vegetable with grilled or roasted meat, or even with fish and is a hugely popular salad ingredient. I have never liked rice salad particularly, but in the Camargue itself they know how to do it, and it can be seriously good.

Round grain and long grain are both grown in quantity, but the most interesting is the red, riz rouge, which is a cross between a wild and cultivated grain. It is a rosy-russet colour, tastes nutty and savoury, and makes a beautiful change to white.