France
50 recipes to explore
Coq au Vin
A timeless French masterpiece of chicken slowly braised in a full bottle of Burgundy red wine with pearl onions, smoky lardons, and earthy mushrooms. The long, gentle cooking transforms humble ingredients into a deeply rich, wine-infused stew worthy of any bistro.
Baked Ratatouille
The Provençal summer classic in its showpiece form: thin rounds of aubergine, courgette, tomato and red pepper layered in rows over a garlicky tomato and pepper sauce, drizzled with olive oil and herbes de Provence and baked until meltingly soft.
French Onion Soup (Soupe à l'oignon gratinée)
Onions cooked slowly until deep golden and sweet, simmered in beef stock with a splash of white wine, then topped with toasted baguette and melted Gruyère.
Soupe au Pistou (Provençal Vegetable Soup)
A hearty summer soup from Provence, full of vegetables, white beans and small pasta, finished with pistou: a fragrant paste of fresh basil, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan.
Vichyssoise (Chilled Leek and Potato Soup)
A silky, creamy soup of leeks and potatoes, blended until smooth and served cold with chopped chives. Elegant, simple, and just as good hot in winter.
Quiche Lorraine
Crisp homemade shortcrust filled with smoky bacon and a soft, creamy egg custard. The original from Lorraine has no cheese, just bacon, eggs and cream.
Croque-Madame
The Paris café classic: a toasted ham and Gruyère sandwich covered in creamy béchamel, baked until bubbling and crowned with a fried egg.
Basque Piperade with Eggs
Sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes cooked down slowly with a gentle kick of Espelette pepper, then stirred with soft scrambled eggs and topped with crisp Bayonne ham.
Salade Niçoise
A colourful main-course salad from Nice: tuna, eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, olives and anchovies, dressed with a simple mustard vinaigrette.
Leeks Vinaigrette (Poireaux vinaigrette)
Tender poached leeks dressed with a sharp mustard and shallot vinaigrette, finished with grated hard-boiled egg and chives. A Paris bistro starter.
Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef in Red Wine)
Burgundy's famous stew: chunks of beef braised slowly in red wine with bacon, carrots and herbs until meltingly tender, finished with golden mushrooms and little onions.
Cassoulet
The great bean feast of south-west France: white beans slow-baked with duck confit, pork and garlicky sausage until a golden crust forms on top. A weekend project worth every minute.
Blanquette de Veau (Creamy Veal Stew)
France's favourite family stew: veal gently poached with vegetables, then bathed in a velvety white sauce of cream, egg yolk and lemon, with mushrooms and little onions.
Poulet Chasseur (Hunter's Chicken)
Crisp-skinned chicken thighs simmered in a rich sauce of mushrooms, shallots, tomato and white wine, finished with fresh tarragon. A classic French one-pot dinner.
Moules Marinières (Mussels in White Wine)
Fresh mussels steamed open in minutes with white wine, shallots, garlic, butter and herbs. Serve with crusty bread or fries to soak up every drop of the juices.
Carbonade Flamande (Beef and Beer Stew)
Northern France's answer to boeuf bourguignon: beef slowly braised in dark ale with sweet caramelised onions, thickened with mustard-spread bread. Rich, sweet-sour and deeply comforting.
Sole Meunière (Fish in Brown Butter)
Delicate sole lightly dusted in flour, pan-fried until golden and finished with nutty brown butter, lemon and parsley. Ready in 20 minutes and pure French elegance.
Gratin Dauphinois (Creamy Potato Bake)
Thin slices of potato baked slowly in garlic-scented milk and cream until meltingly soft inside and golden on top. The original from the Alps has no cheese, and doesn't need it.
Tarte Tatin (Upside-Down Caramel Apple Tart)
Apples cooked in buttery caramel under a lid of puff pastry, then flipped out so the glossy, amber apples sit on top. Serve warm with crème fraîche.
French Crêpes
Thin, tender, lacy crêpes made from a simple batter rested for 30 minutes. Eat them warm with sugar and lemon, jam, chocolate spread or fresh fruit. Makes about 12.
Mousse au Chocolat (French Chocolate Mousse)
The classic French mousse: just dark chocolate, butter, eggs and a little sugar, whipped into an airy, intensely chocolatey dessert. Make it ahead and chill for at least 4 hours.
Far Breton (Prune Custard Cake)
Brittany's homely baked dessert: a thick, flan-like custard cake studded with soft prunes, golden and crusty on top. Easy to make and delicious warm or cold.
Marseille Fish Stew (Bouillabaisse)
A saffron-gold Provençal fish stew built on a long-simmered bony-fish broth, finished with firm fish, mussels and prawns, and served with crisp croutons and garlicky rouille to spread and stir in.
French Beef and Vegetable Stew (Pot-au-Feu)
Beef and marrow bones simmered low and slow with carrots, turnips and leeks until the broth turns clear and deeply savoury. Served the traditional way, with coarse salt, Dijon mustard and cornichons on the side.
Melted Raclette with Potatoes
Alpine raclette cheese melted until bubbling and scraped warm over tender boiled potatoes, with cornichons and a board of cured meats. The classic French mountain supper, best shared slowly around the table.
Alsatian Flatbread (Tarte Flambée / Flammekueche)
A paper-thin Alsatian flatbread spread with tangy crème fraîche, scattered with raw bacon lardons and thinly sliced onion, then baked in a screaming-hot oven until the edges crackle and the bacon turns crisp. Simple, smoky and irresistible straight from the oven.
Burgundy Snails in Garlic Butter (Escargots à la Bourguignonne)
Plump snails nestled back into their shells and crowned with a fragrant butter of garlic, shallot and parsley, baked until bubbling. A classic French bistro starter best eaten straight from the oven with crusty bread for mopping up the butter.
Blood Sausage with Caramelized Apples (Boudin Noir aux Pommes)
Rich, crisp-skinned blood sausage pan-seared low and slow and served with apples melted down in butter and a splash of Calvados. A rustic French bistro classic that's warming, deeply savoury and just a little sweet.
French Steak Tartare
Hand-chopped raw beef bound with shallots, capers, cornichons and mustard, mounded and topped with a glossy raw egg yolk. A true bistro classic, best served right away with thin fries or warm toast.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes (Aligot)
Silky mashed potatoes beaten with fresh curd cheese until glossy and stretchy, a mountain specialty from the Aubrac region of France. Served straight from the pot, it pulls into long elastic ribbons that make it one of the great showstoppers of French home cooking.
French Lost Bread (Pain Perdu)
Thick slices of day-old bread soaked in a sweet vanilla custard, then pan-fried in butter until golden and crisp outside, soft and custardy inside. A frugal French breakfast that tastes like a treat.
King's Cake (Galette des Rois)
Crisp, deeply golden puff pastry wrapped around a rich almond frangipane, baked until the layers shatter at the first cut. A hidden charm inside turns dessert into a little coronation — just as it has for centuries at Epiphany.
French Mulled Wine (Vin Chaud)
Red wine gently warmed with cinnamon, cloves, star anise and orange, just sweet enough to make it feel like a treat. This is the cozy, fragrant drink that fills French Christmas markets with steam and spice.
Croissant
A buttery, laminated pastry with hundreds of thin, crisp-shattering layers inside a soft, golden crumb. This is the real bakery method, broken down into clear steps anyone can follow at home.
Steak and Fries (Steak Frites)
A juicy, well-seared steak basted with garlic butter and thyme, served alongside crisp, golden double-fried potatoes. The classic brasserie plate, done right at home.
Seared Foie Gras (Foie Gras Poêlé)
Thick slices of raw duck liver, seared in a bare-hot pan until the outside turns deep golden and almost caramelized while the inside stays soft and melting. Served the classic bistro way, with caramelized apples and a sweet wine pan sauce.
Frog Legs in Garlic-Parsley Butter (Cuisses de Grenouilles)
Tender frog legs soaked in milk, lightly floured and sautéed in butter until golden, then tossed with garlic, parsley and a squeeze of lemon. A classic bistro delicacy from eastern France, best eaten hot with crusty bread.
Croque Monsieur
A toasted ham and cheese sandwich bathed in creamy béchamel and melted Gruyère, baked until golden and bubbling. The classic bistro snack of every Parisian café terrace.
Lyonnaise Dumplings (Quenelles Lyonnaises)
Featherlight pike (or veal) dumplings, bound with a buttery panade and cream, poached until they puff up, then baked under a blanket of nutmeg-scented cream sauce and gruyère. A true specialty of Lyon's bouchons.
Lamb Stew (Navarin d'Agneau)
Lamb shoulder braised low and slow with baby turnips, carrots and new potatoes until the meat is fork-tender and the sauce turns rich and glossy. A French bistro classic that tastes like spring in a pot.
Basque Chicken (Poulet Basquaise)
Chicken braised low and slow with sweet peppers, tomatoes, onion and a pinch of Espelette pepper until the sauce turns rich and glossy. A sunny, colorful classic from the French Basque Country, best served over rice.
Pork Rillettes (Rillettes de Tours)
Pork shoulder and belly cooked for hours in their own fat until they fall apart, then shredded coarse and packed into jars under a seal of fat. Spread thick on warm crusty bread with a little coarse salt.
Cherry Clafoutis (Clafoutis aux Cerises)
A rustic Limousin classic: sweet cherries baked under a thin, eggy custard that puffs up golden in the oven. Simple, lightly sweet, and best eaten warm with a dusting of icing sugar.
French Apple Tart (Tarte aux Pommes)
Thin apple slices fanned in neat circles over a buttery pastry shell, baked until the edges caramelize, then brushed with warm apricot jam for a glossy, bakery-style finish.
Profiteroles
Little puffs of golden choux pastry, crisp outside and hollow inside, filled with cold vanilla ice cream and drowned in warm, glossy dark chocolate sauce. A French bistro classic that is far easier to make at home than it looks.
Chocolate Éclair (Éclair au Chocolat)
Crisp little logs of choux pastry, filled with silky chocolate pastry cream and dipped in glossy dark chocolate glaze. The classic of every French pâtisserie window, well worth making at home.
Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Silky vanilla custard baked gently in a water bath and chilled, then topped with a thin layer of sugar burnt to a glassy caramel crust that cracks under your spoon.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Little dark chocolate cakes with a crisp outside and a hot, runny chocolate centre that flows out when you cut in. Ready in under 30 minutes and much easier than they look.
French Lemon Tart (Tarte au Citron)
A crisp, buttery sweet pastry case filled with a smooth, zingy lemon cream that sets like silk. Bright, fresh and the perfect end to a rich meal.
Sardine Rillette Toast Fingers
Soft canned sardines mashed into a creamy, lemony spread and piled onto warm toast fingers — a French bistro snack turned into an easy, omega-3-rich bite for little hands.