564 french recipes

Soupe de potiron is a French Provencal pumpkin soup with white onion, sage, garlic and a handful of rice for body. Pureed, then finished with Parmesan shavings. A simple, peasant-style fall soup.

Fried bananas almandine sautes split bananas with sliced almonds in clarified butter, served over warm chocolate sauce spiked with Grand Marnier. A classic French-leaning dessert that comes together in under 20 minutes.

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.

Basic rack of lamb: a French-trimmed rack marinated, then roasted hot to a rosy medium-rare and carved into elegant double-bone chops. The foundation technique for an impressive special-occasion main.

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.

Apple pie with apricot glaze layers tart Granny Smith apples over a custard pastry cream and finishes with a layer of apricot preserves under the top crust. A French-style twist on classic American apple pie.

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.

Pan-fried fish fillets finished with a quick boiling sherry vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil sauce, punched up with fresh parsley, chives, and chervil. A French bistro classic that cooks in under 10 minutes.

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.

Seafood crepes stuff thin pancakes with poached monkfish, scallops, and shrimp bound in a garlic-infused Gruyère cream sauce, then bake until bubbling. A French bistro starter or light luncheon dish that punches well above its ingredient list.

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.

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.

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.

Turbot fillets gently poached in milk infused with anise-scented Pernod, then napped with a velvety egg yolk sauce. This elegant French-style fish dish needs just a handful of ingredients and an hour of your time.

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.