Cook Your Way Through France This Week

Basque Braised Chicken With Peppers (Chicken Basquaise)

If You’re Already A Fan Of Apples for Dessert, Try Caramelized Apple Omelet

Caramelized Apple Omelet

A quick and easy broiled rabbit recipe from Richard Olney and Lulu Peyraud. Get the recipe for Rabbit with Mustard (Lapin a la Moutarde)

Mussels with Herbed Vinaigrette (Moules Vinaigrette)

Some fresh herbs are all you need for these French mussels, which come from Langon, France.
Get the recipe for Mussels with Herbed Vinaigrette (Moules Vinaigrette) »

“Tour de France” Aperitif

A few dashes of orange liqueur and orange bitters lend a citrusy note to this herbaceous, iced French aperitif.

Get the recipe for Pissaladière »

Duck Pâté en Croûte

Pâté is a labor of love, but it’s worth every step, especially when you bake it in flaky homemade pastry dough and top it with a flavorful gelée. Get the recipe for Duck Pâté en Croûte »

Chef Yves Camdeborde assembles these haute deviled eggs—the whites marinated in soy sauce and pomegranate vinegar—à la minute at his stand-up bar L’Avant Comptoir de la Mer in Paris, but you can make the filling up to a day in advance and keep it refrigerated. Be sure to drain the whites immediately after 15 minutes of marinating so they don’t toughen. Get the recipe for Deviled Eggs With Crab »

“Créme de la” Aperitif

A terrific starter for learning the art of the French aperitif, this easy, elegant cocktail has dramatic color and a hint of bubbly.

Finely ground chickpea flour is key to the silky interior of these simple fritters.

Normandy-Style French Onion Soup

Perfect Blue Cheese Quiche With Whole Grain Crust

Crêpes

Cornmeal is the centerpiece of this polenta-like savory porridge, drizzled with rendered duck fat and topped with crispy fried bits of duck skin. Get the recipe for Gascon Duck-Fat Polenta with Duck-Skin Fritons (La Cruchade)

Tartare de Filet de Boeuf (Steak Tartare)

The key to finely chopping filet mignon for this classic tartare is to chill it in the freezer before slicing and mincing it. Get the recipe for Tartare de Filet de Boeuf (Steak Tartare)

Crème Brûlée

Alsatian Bacon and Onion Tart (Tarte Flambée)

Cooking on a very hot pizza stone gives this bacon and onion tart a shatteringly crispy crust. Get the recipe »

Rather than using the traditional dash of blood often used in a civet, Kate Hill uses a few squares of dark chocolate. The deep purple prunes from Agen, France, lend a luxurious texture and sweetness to the duck legs. Get the recipe for Wine-Braised Duck Legs with Agen Prunes (Civet de Canard Aux Pruneaux D’Agen)

Provençal Stuffed Squid

Dried Apricot and Fig Clafoutis with Rum

Clafoutis is a French dessert that’s trickier to pronounce than to make. A simple mixture of flour, eggs, dairy, and a little sugar, it’s like a pancake, but more custardy, and it’s baked instead of griddled. It looks and tastes impressive the way classic French desserts often do, but it’s simple enough to whip up any weeknight. Rum-soaked dried apricots, figs, and raisins add their caramelized and honeyed flavors to this creamy version, perfect for cold weather when there’s no fresh fruit around. Get the recipe for Dried Apricot and Fig Clafoutis with Rum »

Tomatoes Stuffed with Foie Gras, Duck Confit, and Chanterelles (Tomates Farcies)

Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples

Normans use apples and cider in many savory preparations—with game, poultry, even fish. In this classic pork dish from Jean-François Guillouet-Huard, of Domaine Michel Huard, it’s important to use a slightly tart variety so the end result isn’t too sweet. Get the recipe for Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples »

Whole Wheat Mille Crêpe Cake

Dominique Ansel’s Cassoulet

Made with confit duck legs, pork belly, and two kinds of sausage, this meaty, resplendently rich cassoulet is worth treasuring all winter. Get the recipe for Dominique Ansel’s Cassoulet »

Pain au Chocolat

Beautiful homemade croissants, each containing a bar of high-quality dark chocolate, make for an impressive and indulgent addition to a breakfast spread.

Gascon Sourdough Cornbread (Pain de Méture)

Corn is prevalent in Gascony, France, where it’s used to feed the region’s famous foie gras ducks. It’s also the star of this pain de méture, a Gascon cornbread made with sourdough and baked in a cast iron pan. This cabbage-leaf-lined version from New York-based baker Kamel Saci was tested by Saveur contributor Kate Hill, a cook and cooking instructor in the region, who loves the crispy bits of cabbage that sear around the bread’s edges. Saci’s recipe uses a mix of sourdough starter for leavening and acidity and leftover fermented bread dough (pâte fermentée) for added depth of flavor. “I make a basic bread dough with my own sourdough starter, using starter, flour, and water,” Hill says, “My starter was well developed, but I also add a small amount of dried yeast as it’s important to have a vigorous dough to support the cornmeal mix.” For hurried home bakers who might not have several stages of preferments at the ready, Saci suggests substituting a good pre-made dough purchased from your local bread bakery or pizzeria. In France, Hill enjoys her pain de méture with soup, such as a garbure, and also with some Mont D’or cheese. Get the recipe for Gascon Sourdough Cornbread (Pain de Méture) »

Sauternes Custard with Armagnac-Soaked Prunes

Baked Apple Terrine with Calvados

Calvados, an apple brandy made from double-distilled apple cider aged in oak barrels, is generally made from highly tannic apples. Guillouet-Huard likes to use it to underscore the flavor of sweet cooking apples. Get the recipe for Baked Apple Terrine with Calvados »

Crepes Suzette

Credit for inventing crêpes Suzette is claimed by French restaurateur Henri Charpentier, who in 1894, at age 14, while an assistant waiter, accidentally set a sauce aflame when serving dessert to the Prince of Wales.

Mocha Dacquoise Cake

Fromage Blanc Spread (Cervelle de Canut)

This dish, which translates literally to “silk worker’s brain,” is said to be named for Lyon’s 19th-century silk weavers, who’d often make a lunch of the smooth herbed-cheese spread. Get the recipe for Fromage Blanc Spread (Cervelle de Canut) »

Marseille-Style Fish Stew with Aioli

A pungent garlic and olive oil aïoli both thickens and enriches this stew perfumed with saffron and white wine.

Provençal Vegetable Tian

A tian is a type of gratin, typically vegetables baked in an earthenware dish. (The word “tian” also refers to the earthenware dish itself.) This classic Provençal version is made with alternating rows of sliced zucchini, eggplant, and tomato. The flavors meld as the vegetables cook together, somewhat like ratatouille. Seasoned simply with thyme, garlic, and good fruity olive oil, the dish is best served at room temperature. Lulu insists it tastes even better made a day in advance. Get the recipe for Provençal Vegetable Tian »

Brûléed Italian Plums with Armagnac Custard

Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Souffles

Garlic Confit

Garlic confit, a silky, spreadable condiment, relies on a French technique for gently poaching peeled whole cloves in oil or fat. The process caramelizes the cloves and concentrates their sweetness while infusing them with the oil or fat that renders them rich and creamy. Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta taught us this simple method for making confit, perfect in dishes like garlicky skillet greens with ham. See the recipe for Garlic Confit »

Lyonnaise Potato Salad with Herring

The key to this potato salad is its powerful ingredients: Cured herring and bracing red wine vinegar give each bite a pop of flavor. Get the recipe for Lyonnaise Potato Salad with Herring »

Egg-Topped Ham and Cheese Sandwich (Croque Tartine Parisienne)

A fried egg crowns a decadent sandwich of ham enrobed in bechamel and melted cheese from Oklahoma City’s Ludivine restaurant.

Spring Vegetable Stew

Any gently simmered mixture of vegetables is truly greater than the sum of its parts. It’s important to cut the ingredients to the proper size and cook them sequentially, starting with the ones that need longer cooking. Get the recipe for Spring Vegetable Stew »

Vin jaune, a semisweet wine, enlivens the creamy morel ragù in this veal and oyster dish. Get the recipe for Veal Chops with Morels, Wilted Lettuce, Oysters, and Garlic-Parmesan Sauce

Apple and Armagnac Phyllo Pie (Tourtière Landaise)

The crust of this striking dessert—named for Les Landes, the region where it is beloved and ubiquitous—curls up into jagged shards as it cooks, like a crown. Get the recipe for Apple and Armagnac Phyllo Pie (Tourtière Landaise) »

Classic Eclairs

Velouté de Châtaignes (Creamy Chestnut Soup)

Earthy roasted chestnuts are simmered in an aromatic stock until tender, then puréed to make a luxurious cream-thickened soup. See the recipe for Velouté de Châtaignes (Creamy Chestnut Soup) »

Basque Seafood Stew

Hearty “bouillabasque”—Darroze’s tongue-in-cheek name for a Basque-style bouillabaisse, in which the fish is cooked separately and then added to a rich, reduced seafood-and-tomato stock—perfectly marries the culinary cornerstones of southwest France: duck fat, seafood, and armagnac. You can grill the fish on grates or a plancha, in the Spanish style, but a stovetop solution works just as well. Serve with aïoli, rouille, or any garlicky mayonnaise, along with some crusty bread. Get the recipe for Basque Seafood Stew »

Pipérade, a sauté of onions, peppers, and tomato, adds sweet Basque flavor to tuna. Get the recipe for Basque Pipérade with Seared Tuna Steaks

Coquilles St-Jacques (Gratinéed Scallops)

While modern chefs tend towards lighter scallop recipes, this old French dish of scallops poached in white wine, placed atop a purée of mushrooms in a scallop shell, covered with a sauce made of the scallop poaching liquid, and gratinéed under a broiler, is a great way to prepare the bivalve.

Eggs Baked with Smoked Salmon (Oeufs en Cocotte au Saumon Fumé)

Eggs mixed with cream are poached over a bed of smoked salmon in this simple yet elegant breakfast dish from chef Wolfgang Puck.

Pomme Purée

Passing cooked potatoes through the fine holes of a potato ricer ensures a silky consistency for this ultrarich side. Get the recipe for Pomme Purée »

Pike Quenelles with Sauce Nantua (Quenelles de Brochet)

Traditionally, these quenelles are served with a sauce Nantua (made from crayfish from the region of Nantua), but you can use any shellfish, such as crab or lobster. Get the recipe for Pike Quenelles with Sauce Nantua (Quenelles de Brochet) »

Beaujolais Chorizo Bread

Lyonnaise Salad with Sausage and Walnuts

Cinnamon Apple Bostock

A lean cut like filet mignon takes well to sautéeing in a little fat, as in this classic preparation with a simple pan sauce that’s laced with brandy and set aflame—a spectacular feat that cooks off the alcohol and contributes rich caramel notes to the dish. Get the recipe Steak Diane »

Basque Cherry Pie (Cherry Gâteau Basque)

Lentil Salad with Pork

Basque-Style Fish with Green Peppers and Manila Clams

Frozen Chocolate Mousse (Marquise au Chocolat)

This dessert—a fudgy, frozen or semifrozen chocolate mousse that’s sometimes coated in ganache, then sliced—likely came from the 17th or 18th century, when royal pastry chefs lived large. Get the recipe for Frozen Chocolate Mousse (Marquise au Chocolat) »

Sprinkled on top of these delicate meringues—which float in a vanilla custard—are praline roses, caramel-coated almonds dyed a bright pink. The color’s a bit shocking, but they’re a staple of Lyonnaise pâtisseries and lend a nice crunch and color to this white-on-white backdrop. Get the recipe for Meringue Floating in Crème Anglaise »

Pear Tarte Tatin

This tart is traditionally made with apples, but firm-fleshed pears make a delicate and delicious alternative.

Honey-and-Tea Jammers

These are dream cookies…literally. They came to me in a dream in Paris, the city of sweets. The base is a French shortbread, or sablé, flavored with honey and loose tea. If you have 2-inch baking rings, you can make the cookies in the rings on lined baking sheets instead of using muffin tins. Build the cookies inside the rings, bake, then leave the rings in place for at least 20 minutes before lifting them off, rinsing and reusing. Get the recipe for Honey-and-Tea Jammers »

Cook Your Way Through France This Week

If You’re Already A Fan Of Apples for Dessert, Try Caramelized Apple Omelet

Tartare de Filet de Boeuf (Steak Tartare)

Marseille-Style Fish Stew with Aioli

Garlic Confit

Velouté de Châtaignes (Creamy Chestnut Soup)

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