557 french recipes

Oysters au champagne is a classic French appetizer: fresh oysters poached in champagne and oyster liquor with garlic butter, plated over a bed of wilted spinach, and cloaked in a silky roux sauce.

Soupe de saumon a la creme is a French salmon cream soup made with a homemade fish stock, diced salmon, and whipped cream finished with fresh dill. An elegant, light first course for a dinner party.

Pots de creme pie with a pound of dark Belgian chocolate, heavy cream, half-and-half, and ten egg yolks set into a graham cracker crust. Decadent French chocolate pie for serious chocolate lovers.

A crusty Cajun yeast bread loaded with three kinds of pepper: black, cayenne, and hot sauce. Polenta adds grit and crunch while garlic and parsley bring herby depth. Baked with steam like French bread.

Mike's fish fumet is a clean, aromatic homemade fish stock simmered from fish trimmings, leeks, and herbs with a splash of tarragon vinegar for brightness. The French base for chowders, seafood soups, and pan sauces.

Yule log cake (buche de Noel) is the classic French rolled sponge cake for Christmas, made from a delicate whole-egg genoise baked thin, filled, rolled, and decorated to look like a wintry wooden log.

Savarin aux fruits, a classic French rum-soaked yeast ring cake. A light, beaten dough is baked, then drenched in flavored syrup until saturated and filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit. An elegant patisserie dessert.

Cold soups make for excellent summer fare. The best vichyssoise I ever had in my life was at a French restaurant during a Montreal summer. Humor me. Try the soup in the traditional manner but then, if you must heat it up, (sigh), go ahead.

Puree of broccoli florets with cream is a velvety French-style side dish: quickly blanched broccoli pulsed smooth, enriched with heavy cream, and seasoned with fresh nutmeg. Bright green, elegant, and ready in under 30 minutes.

This no-cook French-inspired tuna salad packs briny capers, sliced black olives, roma tomatoes, and red onion with a red wine vinaigrette. Serve on whole grain bread with peppery watercress, or go full Nicoise-style over mixed greens with potatoes, eggs, and green beans.

Serves a large group and can be prepared the morning of the party and is assembled at the site of the party, 10 minutes before serving.

Fall off the bone lamb with sweet capsicum (bell pepper) and tomatoes. Stand a shank on top of a 'mountain' of garlic mash potato in a bowl; ladle bell peppers and soupy stock all around. Mop up with crusty bread

Butter in India is called makkhan. Clarified butter, instead of being called makkhan ghee, is called usli ghee (usli means "real" or "pure," which in this context refers to the real or original fat of the ancient Indians). Clarified butter or usli ghee is essentially French brown butter with the brown residue strained off. Usli ghee has a light caramel color and a heavenly aroma. Since there is no moisture present, it keeps well covered, at room temperature, for several months.

A delicious summer standard at our place. Easy to make with a mix of Southern European and Middle Eastern flavours. I use my Cucumber Raita (posted separately) to dress the lamb salad or you can use the quick yoghurt dressing provided here.

Turkish baklava layered with cinnamon-and-clove spiced walnuts between dozens of buttered phyllo sheets, then drenched in fragrant clove syrup. Crisp, flaky, and honey-sweet, cut into the classic diamond pieces.

Lightning-fast sheet cake with boiled cocoa mixture poured over flour and sugar, baked thin at high heat, then drenched in warm chocolate-nut frosting straight from the oven.