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French recipes

Recipes
Enjoy recipes that remind you of eating in French restaurants and homes.

FARCIDURE DE COURGETTES (Zucchini Pancake)
(serves 4)

  • 2 medium zucchinis
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 egg
  • salt & pepper
 farcidure, zucchini pancake

Wash and dry the zucchinis. Do not peel.

Grate them in a large mixing bowl. Add the entire egg and the onion, already minced. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a large frying pan that has been preheated with enough olive oil to cover the bottomn of the pan. Press down gently with spatula, cover and cook six minutes at the lowest setting.

Flip the "pancake" over by sliding it on a plate and flipping back into the frying pan. Let it cook on this side an additional 4-5 minutes (low flame).

Take off the cover this itme, so the will pancake takes on a golden color. Salt and pepper to taste.

Goes well with all meats and can be prepared at the last minute.

POIVRONS À L'HUILE (Roasted Red Peppers in Oil)
(serves 4)

poivorns, roasted red peppers
  • 3 red bell peppers
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • parsley
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Wash the peppers. Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and cook them for 40 minutes in a warm oven.

Tehn unwrap them and roll them in a dish towel or newspaper for 10 minutes. You will then be able easily to remove the skin.

Cut awau the internal seeds and ribbing and cut the peppers into large strips.

Arrange them on a serving plate, sprinkling with finely chopped parsely. Salt and pepper to taste and generously douse with olive oil.

TAPENADE
(serves 4, easy to fix)

  • olive oil
  • pepper
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 T capers
  • tuna
  • black olives, pitted

Gently heat 1 T olive oil in a frying pan with the tuna. In a medium bowl, mash together the tuna, the olives, the capers and the garlic. Add a touch of pepper and a small amount of olive oil to form a fine paste.

Serve with small toasts and a Rosé wine.

ROUX

Roux serves as a foundation for many types of French sauces (i.e., Béchamel, Mornay, etc.) as well as for some pastry dough. (i.e., Gougères, éclairs, etc.)
Roux is formed with different combinations of melted butter and flour in a casserole or frying pan heated on a low flame. The quantity of milk that is added to the preceding mixture will determine how thin or how thick the roux becomes. Thus, recipes for roux are totally dependent upon the original recipe for the sauce or pastry dough.

If you have a great recipe for a roux-based sauce or pastry dough, please share it with us! Submit it here.

CAMEMBERT CHAUD
Easy and delicious hors d'œuvre

Medium size box of Camembert.
Take off the paper & return the Camembert to the box.
Peel one clove of garlic and cut into slivers.
Insert garlic slivers and fresh thyme into small incisions in the tip of the camembert.
Put in medium oven until warm. Serve warm with crusts of bread for dipping.

GOUGÈRE
Cheese puff appetizers (from Burgundy).
Easy to make. Excellent with champagne!

1 cup milk 1 cup flour
4 T. butter, well-chilled cut in small pieces 4 eggs
1 t. salt 4 oz. Gruyère cheese
dash pepper

Scald milk and let cool. Strain the milk into a sauce pan. Add butter pieces, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add all the flour. Cook over low heat until a ball forms that leave the sides clean. Remove from heat and beat in the 4 eggs, one at a time. When shiny and smooth, mix in 3 oz of the cheese cut in small cubes. With large oval spoon, spoon out dough about the size of an egg and place on buttered baking sheet.

Or you can make them smaller by using a tablespoon and using walnut-size portions of the dough. Either size, leave about an inch between each gougere. Continue until dough is gone from the bowl, Brush with milk and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and puffed (baked thoroughly). Serves 4. Best served at room temperature.

GRATIN DE L'OIGNON

10 oz. onions sliced
2 cloves garlic
4 fluid oz. white wine
3 T. whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste 		a knob of butter
1 T. olive oil
2 T. snipped basil
2 T. finely grated Parmesan

Soften the onions and garlic in butter and oil. Do not brown. Moisten with the wine, cover and cook over moderate heat till tender. Season and add the basil. Place in a buttered ovenproof dish, cover with the cream and sprinkle on the parmesan. Cook 10 minutes in a 275 degree F. oven. (140 C.)

sorbet

LE SORBET (GRANITA) FRAMBOISE-CHAMPAGNE

1 cup sugar
1 ¾ cup water

1 lemon, juice & grated zest 2 pints pureed raspberries, without seeds

½ cup dry champagne

Boil the water, sugar, lemon juice and zest in medium saucepan for 1 minute. When mixture is cool, add the raspberry puree and champagne. Stir till combined. Pour into large, shallow pan to freeze for 12 hours. (May need to stir occasionally.)

To serve: let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, then scrape with a scoop or spoon. (5 cups)

LE PAIN PERDU (Lost Bread)

French toast, pain perdu

Have you ever insisted that "French Toast" was not French? Well, it does exist - but not as a breakfast food. It's served as a dessert -French bread, dipped in milk and egg, fried, with a crème anglaise added -Truly délicieuse!!

 

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Restaurants

 

Where can you find the original Tarte Tatin?

Just south of Orléans, in the area known as the Sologne, is the town of Lamotte-Beuvron. In this small village is the Hôtel Tatin where the legend states that the two Tatins sisters "invented" the tarte Tatin as an "upside-down" mistake!! And what a glorious mistake! This present hotel-restaurant still serves what they call the "véritable (real) Tarte Tatin" --- (with a warning that it is best served "au natural" - without whipped cream). (Another caution: Le dîner peut être assez cher!)

 Tarte Tatin restaurant


RESTAURANT Ferme Saint-Hubert

21 Rue Vignon, Paris 8
47.42.79.20
Metro: Madeleine
11:30 A.M.-3 P.M., 6:45-9:45 P.M.
Closed Sunday and Monday

Are you a cheese lover? Then, this is definitely the place for you! You can try something as simple as a salad with goat’s cheese, a platter of tastings of French cheeses, or a roquefort souffle. Or go all out with a huge wheel of Raclette served on a pike with an attached broiler, allowing you to scrape ("racler" in French means "to scrape") your fill of the delicious hard cheese onto baguettes, boiled new potatoes, ham, and cornichons. Can cost under 12$ with a glass of wine or much higher if you really want to indulge. This cheese store and restaurant next door is located just off the Place Madeleine near the wonderful food and gift stores of Fauchon.

Vegetarian Restaurants

If you ever get tired of foie gras and steak frites, here is a list of veggie restaurants "parisiens":

These names have been taken from "Vegetarian France", by Alex Bourke and Alan Todd, Vegetarian Guides, London, 1998. Please check that these establishments still exist and call first for hours and reservations.

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Herbs

 

tarragon, herb

L’une des principales herbes culinaires, l’estragon constitue la base des fines herbes

et est associé au cerfeuil et au persil. Plusieurs variétés existent dont une, l’estragon

français, est presque sucré, au parfum raffiné.

 

On peut récolter les feuilles à tout moment, les faire sécher, les congeler ou les

conserver dans l’huile ou dans le vinaigre. C’est un ingrédient délicieux dans de

nombreuses sauces, dont la plus connue est la béarnaise.

(En anglais = tarragon)

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Cheese (fromage)

boursault cheese, fromage

Boursault Cheese



>L’alliance du lait de qualité supérieure et de crème onctueuse confère au Boursault son caractère particulier. Fabriqué selon les méthodes traditionnelles, il s’épanouit doucement dans nos caves puis dans sa boîte où son goût s’enrichit.

Fabriqué avec du lait pasteurisé. Produit de France. Fabriqué par Boursault, 23700 Auzanes (Ile de France). Mat. Grasse = 39% Humidité = 49%
Conserver au froid.

Mild flavor (Brie-like), soft and creamy.

Chaource Cheese

Fromage d'appellation d'origine contrôlée, le Chaource est fabriqué au cœur de la Champagne. Herbe riche et parfumée de cette illustre province donne au lait tout son arôme. Le savoir-faire des maîtres fromagers Lepetit apporte à ce grand fromage de terroir et de tradition une saveur délicatement relevée.

Chaource is produced in a small town by the same name in the heart of the champagne district. It has the same consistency as a brie, but with a slightly nutty taste. 		Chaource cheese

>Vraiment délicieux!

sainte-maure cheese, fromage

Sainte-Maure Cheese

A mature goat’s cheese made in the Poitou-Charentes (de Touraine). The taste has a hint of salt, sourness and walnut taste.

Roquefort Cheese

Roquefort cheese should be kept in its original packaging or wrapped in aluminum foil. Place it on the lower shelf of your refrigerator. Avoid frequent temperature changes. Just as fine wine, Roquefort must be kept at room temperature at least one hour before serving. It will then fully express its smoothness, flavor and unrivaled taste.

In the Roquefort cellars, the aging cheese is sheltered from light with 95% humidity and at approximately 10ºC. This ripens and fosters the growth of Penicillum roqueforti to acquire its unique smoothness and taste. The transformation lasts at least three months.

While in France, visit des Caves de Roquefort Société.

 1932 Roquefort poster
des Caves de Roquefort- open April to September

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THE BEST CHOCOLAT IN FRANCE
French chocolate, chocolat

Are you a francophile who is also a "chochoholic"?

According to "The Chocolate Companion" by Chantal Coady (1995, Simon & Schuster) the following French chocolatiers have been given three *** for the highest quality. So, if you’re visiting any of the following towns make sure to stop at:

 

Lyon Bernachon 42 Cours Franklin Roosevelt
Bernard Dufoux 32 et 40 Rue Centrale
 
Nancy Lalonde  59 Rue St Dizier 
 
Paris  Christian Constant  26 Rue du Bac  7ème 
  Fauchon  26-27-28 Place de la Madeleine   8ème 
  Jean-Paul Hévin  3 Rue Vavin  6ème 
  La Maison du Chocolat  225 Rue Faubourg St. Honoré  8ème 
  Michel Chaudon  149 Rue de l’Université  7ème 
 
Quiberon  Le Roux  18 Rue du Port-Maria 
 
Reims  Deleans  20 Rue Cérès 
 
Rennes  Joël Durand  5 Quai Chateaubriand 
 
Toulouse  Christian Saunal  31 Avenue des Minimes 

Nougat de Montélimar

A l'origine gâteau romain de miel et de noix, le nougat sous sa forme actuelle apparut au XVIIème siècle à Montélimar. Ainsi le vrai nougat, fierté et renommé internationale des Montiliens, composé d'amandes grillées, de pistaches et de miel, régale petits ou grands et s'offre en cadeau comme on le fit jadis aux rois de France. nougat, chocolat, chocolate

Yves Thuriès

Yves Thuriès is a superb chocolatier found in the centre of Albi.

Monsieur Thuriès is also the chef and owner of the famous gourmet restaurant, Le Grand Ecuyer, found in the elevated medieval town of Cordes, just 30 minutes north of Albi.

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