French cuisine is considered one of the best in the world, it has absorbed the traditions of many nations, becoming a trendsetter of the culinary arts. Of course, it did not arise overnight: it was a long evolutionary process from simple stuffing the stomach to preparing complex dishes, the use of which is a special ceremony.
Eating food for the French is a ritual of happiness, they are real gourmets and hedonists. We invite you to join the mystery of the French meal.
Onion soup
Do you love onions? We are sure not like the French. From an ordinary ordinary vegetable, they managed to make a delicacy and a masterpiece of French cuisine - onion soup.
Do not rush to frown: the correct recipe and the hands of a French chef work wonders - you will not even notice how you will collect the leftovers from the bottom of the plate with a piece of fresh baguette or toast, which relies on soup.
The authorship of the recipe is attributed to King Louis XV, who, waking up hungry at night, concocted soup from what was: onions, cheese and white wine.
Croissants
The prototype of the modern croissant appeared in Austria, but it was French chefs who invented the recipe for puff pastry with butter, thanks to which the aromatic crispy crescent moon became famous all over the world and became a hallmark of French cuisine - and an integral part of French breakfast along with a baguette. "Good morning" will not come without a cup of coffee and a freshly baked croissant.
A distinctive feature of a real French croissant is the absence of filling, it is magnificent and self-sufficient in itself. Of course, you can secretly dip in berry jam, just shhh ...
Ratatouille
The world wonders what is the secret of the harmony of French women who do not hesitate to absorb flour baguettes and croissants. It's simple - “not by bread alone”: the French diet contains a lot of vegetables.
The favorite national dish is ratatouille: peppers, eggplants and zucchini are baked with cheese or with the addition of sauce. The secret ingredient of real French ratatouille is in Provencal herbs, which are always used to flavor the dish. These include fennel, cumin, aromatic mint and rosemary.
Nicoise salad
Nicoise is a derivative of the word Nice , where the salad recipe appeared. Initially, nicoise is the food of fishermen living on the coast. The ingredients are the most common here: anchovies, olives, olive oil and, of course, wine vinegar. Subsequently, the recipe was finalized, and today there are many options for salad with the addition of fresh vegetables and boiled eggs.
Tart Taten
Or a pie inside out, an upside-down pie. In the classic recipe, apples are used as a filling, which are fried in advance with sugar in butter and then added to the dough.
Today, there are many options for the cake, the main thing is imagination. Instead of apples, we take pears, peaches or pineapples, and if you are a fan of vegetables, feel free to use eggplants or tomatoes.
Julienne
A dish of mushrooms and chicken baked in a pot under a cheese crust is familiar to us under the name "julienne". In France, the word " julienne " is not the name of the dish mentioned, but the method of cutting vegetables into strips for further preparation of soup or salad. And our “julienne” is called “ cocotte ” by the French.
The main thing in the cocotte julienne is the thick creamy béchamel sauce, which is made from milk, butter and flour. Initially, the appetizer was prepared exclusively from mushrooms, since its task is not to saturate, but to whet the appetite. Subsequently, chicken, seafood, bell peppers and even eggs were added to the recipe. Which option do you like?
Kish
More precisely, Kish Lauren is an open pie with a hearty filling made from minced, shortbread-like dough. Fish, vegetables, meat or sausages are placed on a prepared dough mold with high sides and carefully poured with a mixture of eggs, heavy cream, sour cream and cheese.
In a traditional pie, smoked brisket was used as a filling, but today it is difficult to remember all the filling options - the imagination of the chefs is limitless.
Cordon blue
The romantic name " cordon blue ", which means " blue ribbon ", refers to veal schnitzel, which is stuffed with cheese and ham, rolled up and fried in breadcrumbs, always in ghee. Tip - forget and don't think about calories, just enjoy.
Veal can be replaced with other meat: pork, turkey or chicken breast.
Cock-o-vein
Meet the cock in wine . The French simply love to stew chicken in wine, there are a great many options for dishes in different wine-growing regions. In the traditional recipe, it is imperative to use a rooster, preferably not older than a year and weighing up to 3 kg. They were once specially grown for this dish. In conditions of a shortage of roosters (yes, it happens), they began to use the chicken.
An important rule is a whole carcass, you cannot cook from pieces.
Potato gratin
If you mix potatoes, cheese and cream, you get an incredibly tasty and satisfying side dish. Gratin is a crust, always golden and ruddy. If the restaurant serves you a dish without a crust, return it back!
The potatoes are cut into thin slices (this is necessary so that the milk and cream soak up more easily), placed in a heat-resistant form, poured with a creamy mixture and sent to the oven. An obligatory seasoning for gratin is nutmeg, which favorably emphasizes the taste of potatoes.
Lyons style veal liver
Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France.
All traditional Lyons dishes with a touch of masculine character: sausages, tripe combined with strong alcohol. There was also a recipe for cooking liver. This product is difficult to love and easy to spoil during preparation, which is why Lyons chefs advise “the simpler the better”.
Small pieces of liver are breaded in flour and fried in ghee for just a few minutes; it is very important not to dry the dish to the state of the sole. The liver goes well with onion rings stewed in wine. And if you like to eat better, potato gratin will be an excellent side dish.
Bouillabaisse soup
Or Marseilles ear . This is a traditional fish soup that originated in the coastal regions of France. The recipe for the dish was invented by local fishermen who cooked it from the remaining and unsold fish after a hard day. The peculiarity of the soup is that it is boiled by mixing several types of sea fish, including especially bony ones, to get a rich broth, and vegetables for the soup are pre-stewed. Soup is served with fried baguette and garlic sauce.
The dish is so tasty and popular that it was sung by Alexander Dumas, Emile Zola and Nikolai Kuprin.
Clafoutis
For dessert - cherry clafoutis, which looks like a casserole and a pie at the same time. Many berries are taken as a basis (in the original recipe - cherry) and poured with liquid egg dough. You can take a large quiche cake pan, or you can cook it in small cake tins.
You can replace cherries with pears, apples, peaches. The main thing is to cut them into small cherry-sized cubes.
Bon appetite!
