French cuisine

CORDON BLEU

This dish is originally from Switzerland, although today it is widely spread throughout France.


Cordon bleu is a cutlet of veal, pork, chicken or turkey rolled around ham and cheese, breaded and then cooked.

Prep Time: 20minutes mins
Cook Time: 30minutes mins
Resting Time: 45minutes mins
Total Time: 50minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French, Swiss
Servings: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 2 veal cutlets (or pork or chicken cutlets)
• 1 large slice raw ham
• 150 g Comté cheese
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter (or clarified butter or sunflower oil, for cooking)

Method:

1. Butterfly the cutlets.
2. Depending on their size, flatten them a little using a meat mallet. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the slice of ham in half.
4. On each flattened cutlet, place a piece of ham, then thin slices of Comté.
5. Fold each cutlet in half and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
6. Pour the flour into a deep dish.
7. Beat the egg in a second hollow dish.
8. Pour the breadcrumbs into a third hollow dish.
9. Roll the first cordon bleu in the flour and tap it to remove the excess.
10. Then dip it in the egg.
11. Finally, roll it generously in the breadcrumbs.
12. Proceed in the same way for the second cordon bleu.
13. Preheat the oven to 300 F (150°C).
14. Heat a generous amount of fat (butter, clarified butter or sunflower oil) in a skillet over medium heat.
15. As soon as the fat reaches a temperature of 340 F (170°C), dip each cordon bleu into it and fry them on both sides, until golden brown.
16. Remove the cordons bleus, place them in a baking dish, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

This dish is commonly served with French fries, mashed potatoes, rice or even salad.

VARIATIONS
Throughout the world, the versions of different types of meat breaded and then fried are countless – and there are also many that include cheese inside. Traditional cordon bleu can be prepared with a few variations, including baking instead of frying, placing ham on top of the chicken, using bacon instead of ham, or eliminating the breadcrumb coating altogether.

There is even a version called “cordon bleu de prosciutto” which is ham wrapped around cheese and mushrooms.

In Spain, specifically in the province of Asturias, there is cachopo. This dish is nothing more than a beef or chicken cutlet rolled up just like cordon bleu and stuffed with Serrano ham and some melting cheese. Generally, if it is the version made with chicken, it is called San Jacobo.

Finally, in Uruguay and Argentina, people use the term “stuffed milanesa“. The milanesa is nothing more than a filet of beef, pork, chicken or fish in batter and fried, and in its stuffed version, it is simply folded in half and stuffed with ham and mozzarella cheese.


Reference:
See on Authentic French Dishes
https://www.196flavors.com/cordon-bleu/

---

DAUBE

Daube comes from the South of France and is one of the most famous of Provencal stews.

The word “daube” comes from the Provençal word adobar which means “to prepare or arrange”. The genius of the cooks who invented this stew was to prepare a tasty dish with ingredients of mediocre quality. “Adobo” in Provençal would mean “to arrange”, therefore to “improve”.



Daube is a traditional comforting French stew from Provence made with beef that is marinated in red wine with herbs and spices.
Prep Time: 30minutes mins
Cook Time: 6hours hrs
Rest Time: 8hours hrs
Total Time: 6hours hrs 30minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 6 people


Ingredients:
For the marinade:

• 1 kg beef flank (cheek, chuck or beef stew)
• 1 carrot , cut into 1-inch/2,5cm sections
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 bottle Provence red wine (preferably full-bodied)
• 3 cloves
• 1 leek (white part), cut into 3
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, rosemary, savory, and laurel)
• 3 strips orange zest
• Salt
• Pepper

For the stew:

• 4 carrots , cut into 2-inch/5cm sections
• 3 shallots , finely chopped
• 1 onion , finely chopped
• 1 slice smoked pork belly , diced
• 1 cup black olives , pitted
• 2 tomatoes , peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Ground pepper

Method:
Marinade:

1. The evening before, cut the beef into large chunks and place in a large bowl.
2. Add the onion, cut into 4, and with the cloves inserted. Add the carrot, 2 garlic cloves lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife and 2 pressed garlic cloves. Add bouquet garni and orange peels. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with red wine. Mix well.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. Mix the marinade two or three times during this time.

Stew:

1. Drain the pieces of meat with a skimmer and place on paper towels. Reserve the marinade.
2. In a cast iron pot, Dutch oven or an electric slow cooker, heat the olive oil and sweat the shallots and onion over medium heat.
3. Add the smoked pork belly, and sauté for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the meat, and brown the pieces of beef on each side.
4. Pour the flour gradually and stir with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and mix again.
6. Remove the celery and leek from the marinade and add the marinade to the pot. Cook 1 minute over high heat and simmer over very low heat for 5 to 7 hours or more.
7. Two hours before the end of cooking, add the carrots and black olives. Ensure that the sauce does not completely evaporate during cooking.

Notes
Hock, round, flank, cheek, ox tail, scoter and neck are also the different beef cuts that can be used for this recipe.
You can use a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time but it will be necessary to regularly monitor the level and the smoothness of the sauce.
Serve with steamed potatoes, mashed potatoes, or pasta.

Reference:
https://www.196flavors.com/france-daube/

---

BLANQUETTE DE VEAU

Blanquette de veau (veal blanquette) is a veal stew that is definitely part of the French culinary heritage.
Some historians believe that the blanquette would be the evolution of a classic recipe of the Middle Ages called brouet de poulet.
Other versions attribute the paternity of blanquette to Vincent La Chapelle (1690-1746), a French cook who was the chef of Lord Chesterfield in England and then of the Prince of Orange-Nassau, before becoming the chef of Madame de Pompadour and finally Louis XV.




Blanquette de veau is a traditional French dish known for its delicious creamy white sauce prepared with creme fraiche and egg yolks.

Prep Time: 30minutes mins
Cook Time: 1hour hr 30minutes mins
Total Time: 2hours hrs
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4 people


Ingredients:

• 1 kg veal , shoulder, chest or flank, cut into large cubes
• 1 onion , poked with whole cloves
• 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sage)
• 4 carrots , cut into large sections
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 300 g mushrooms , quartered
• 50 g butter
• 50 g flour
• 200 ml creme fraiche
• ½ lemon , juiced
• 3 egg yolks

Method:

1. Put the meat cubes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add salt.
2. Skim regularly at the surface so that the broth becomes clear. After 20 minutes, add the onion stuck with cloves and the bouquet garni.
3. Simmer for another 20 minutes, then add carrots and wine.
4. Continue to simmer uncovered over low heat for another 45 minutes or until meat is tender. Add a little water during cooking if necessary. Remove the onion and the bouquet garni.
5. Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan for 2 minutes with a knob of butter. Add salt, pepper, add a ladle of broth and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
6. Sauce (prepare a few minutes before serving)
7. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour while whisking over low heat for 5 minutes.
8. Gradually add cooking broth while whisking until a reaching a thick sauce consistency.
9. Add creme fraiche as well as lemon juice, and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
10. Take saucepan off the heat and add egg yolks. Whisk well to incorporate. Add this sauce back to the pan with the meat and vegetables. Add the mushrooms and gently stir to incorporate everything.
11. Immediately serve the blanquette with rice.

Reference:
https://www.196flavors.com/france-blanquette-de-veau/

---

HACHIS PARMENTIER

Hachis parmentier is a popular family dish named after the apothecary and pharmacist Antoine Augustin Parmentier. The latter was an avant-garde scientist who lived in the 18th century.


Hachis Parmentier is a French dish made from mashed potatoes and shredded, finely minced or ground beef.
Prep Time: 30minutes mins
Cook Time: 1hour hr
Total Time: 1hour hr 30minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 546kcal


Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes , about 3 lb / 1.2 kg
• 400 g shredded or knife-chopped beef , ideally leftover stew meat
• 1 carrot , finely diced
• 1 onion , grated
• 2 cloves garlic , pressed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 120 ml heavy cream
• 120 g grated cheese (Gruyère, Emmental or Comté)
• Salt
• Black pepper , freshly ground

Method:

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces and cook them for about 25 minutes in a pot with salted water.
2. Remove them from the heat using a slotted spoon and reserve the cooking water.
3. In a large bowl, mash the potatoes using a potato masher and add any cooking water to obtain a less compact purée (do not use a food processor to mash the potatoes).
4. Add the heavy cream and mix.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180°C).
6. Pour olive oil into a small skillet and heat over medium heat.
7. Add the onion and carrot and sauté, stirring regularly, until tender.
8. Add the beef, thyme, and garlic.
9. Add salt, pepper and mix.
10. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
11. In the bottom of a baking dish, spread the meat mixture and spread the mashed potatoes on top.
12. Sprinkle grated cheese and cook for 25 minutes.
13. Finish cooking with 3 to 5 minutes under the grill to brown the cheese and for the surface to be golden brown.

VARIATIONS:
In Quebec and New Brunswick, Chinese pie is a variation of hachis parmentier in which corn kernels are introduced into the recipe. It is a popular and affordable dish for all families.

In Brazil, in the northeast region, there is a variation of hachis parmentier prepared with either mashed potatoes or mashed cassava.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is customary to add vegetables between the layers of minced meat and potatoes in recipes for shepherd’s pie and cottage pie.

Reference:
https://www.196flavors.com/hachis-parmentier/

---

NIÇOISE SALAD (SALADA NISSARDA)

Niçoise salad (salade niçoise) is known throughout the world. Unfortunately, despite its success, the authentic and traditional Niçoise salad is only known by a minority of people.


The traditional recipe of Niçoise salad include tomato, hard boiled eggs, scallions, unpitted black olives and canned tuna or anchovies.
Prep Time: 15minutes mins
Cook Time: 10minutes mins
Total Time: 25minutes mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: French
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients:

• 100 g mesclun salad
• 150 g tuna (solid, in olive oil), crumbled
• 2 tomatoes , cut into wedges
• 2 small cucumbers , sliced
• 12 black olives (ideally small black olives from Nice)
• 1 Mexican onion , finely chopped
• ½ red onion , thinly sliced
• 4 hard-boiled eggs , quartered
• 6 fillets anchovy
• ½ green pepper , thinly sliced
• 100 g small fava beans , cooked
• 1 clove garlic , halved
• ½ sprig rosemary , finely chopped
• 6 leaves basil , whole or cut in chiffonade
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

1. In a bowl, prepare a vinaigrette with the olive oil, vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper.
2. Rub a large plate with garlic.
3. In the plate, place a bed of mesclun.
4. Arrange tomatoes, boiled eggs, cucumbers, green peppers and tuna, anchovies, olives, spring onions, fava beans.
5. Pour the vinaigrette on top and garnish with basil.

Reference:
https://www.196flavors.com/nicoise-salad-salada-nissarda/

---

Coq au Vin
Coq au vin is one of the most emblematic dishes of French gastronomy. It is a rooster cut into pieces and marinated in red wine. The meat is then braised and simmered for a long time in the wine.
It is accompanied by a garnish called “à la française” made up of small lardons, spring onions, button mushrooms and carrots. This garnish can sometimes contain buttered bread toast and flat parsley leaves.
The exact origin of coq au vin is unknown, but this recipe is full of legends. Its creation is nevertheless between the center and the east of the country. The commonly accepted legend of the origin of the coq au vin is in the Auvergne. The chief of the Arvernes tribe, the famous Vercingetorix would have sent a Gallic rooster to his enemy Julius Caesar who was besieging Gergovia in 52 BC. An episode that can be found in La guerre des Gaules.
Vercingetorix would have sent this rooster, symbol in the Gauls of fighting spirit and valour. Julius Caesar then proposed to Vercingetorix to come to dinner before the battle, he would have made him serve this rooster cooked in wine. The next day, Vercingetorix crushed the Roman armies.

Coq au vin is a French dish made with marinated rooster then braised in Burgundy wine and garnished with bacon bits, mushrooms and carrots.
Prep Time
1hour hr
Cook Time
3hours hrs
Resting Time
12hours hrs
Total Time
4hours hrs
Course: Main CourseCuisine: French Servings: 8 people Calories: 131kcal Author: Renards Gourmets
Ingredients
For the rooster and poultry stock
1 rooster , about 8 lb / 3.5 kg, cut into pieces (keep the carcass and fat)
1 bouquet garni
750 ml water
For the coq au vin marinade
800 ml full-bodied Burgundy red wine
4 juniper berries
1 clove
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
For the toppings
250 g button mushrooms , cut
1,5 kg thin carrots , cut into thin sections
200 g smoked bacon , diced
2 sweet onions , peeled and finely diced
10 pearl onions
10 cloves garlic
For the sauce
300 ml veal stock
100 ml cognac
2 squares dark chocolate
Salt
Black pepper
Butter

Method:

1. Flambé the pieces of rooster to remove any lingering fluff.

Marinade (to be prepared the day before)
Mix all the ingredients needed for the marinade in a bowl and add all the pieces of rooster except the carcass and the fat.
Leave to marinate in the fridge for 12 hours.
Poultry stock
In a Dutch oven (or cast iron pot), heat 2 tablespoons (30 g) of butter over medium heat and brown the carcass as well as the excess fat and skins.
Brown well for a few minutes, then cover with water.
Add the bouquet garni and, over medium to high heat, reduce the stock to half.
Using a cheesecloth, strain the broth well.
Pour it into a glass container and let it cool, then cover it and keep it in the fridge for 8 hours.
Cooking of the rooster
Take the rooster pieces out of the refrigerator and remove them from their marinade.
Reserve the marinade.
Using a cloth, dry the rooster pieces well.
Heat a large cast iron pot and sauté the diced bacon bits until golden brown.
Remove the pan from the heat, remove all the diced bacon bits and set them aside.
Place the pot over medium heat and brown the pieces of rooster skin side down in the fat from the bacon bits. If there is not enough fat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons (20 g) of butter if necessary.
Once the rooster pieces are golden brown, remove them from the pan and in the same fat, sauté the onions and 4 minced garlic cloves, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
Put the pieces of rooster back in the pot and immediately deglaze with cognac, and flambé everything.
Add the marinade liquid to the reserved wine, and add the reserved chicken stock until the pieces of rooster are covered.
Add the rest of the garlic cloves, unpeeled.
Cover and bring to a boil over medium to high heat.
As soon as it boils again, lower the heat and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Uncover the pot and simmer again over low heat for 30 minutes to reduce the sauce.
During cooking, check the liquid level often and, if necessary, add the remaining chicken stock or, failing that, add boiling water.
Sauces and garnishes
After 2 hours of cooking, preheat the oven to 350 F (180°C), and place the pieces of rooster in a large baking dish (reserve the sauce).
Bake the pieces of rooster and roast them for 35 minutes or until the skin is crispy.
Meanwhile, in the pot, add the carrots, pearl onions, veal stock and dark chocolate.
Cover and cook over low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and, stirring frequently, reduce over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the sauce is smooth.
Shortly before the end of cooking, in a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon (15 g) of butter over high heat and sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the mushrooms and the diced bacon to the pan.
Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the coq au vin from the oven and add them to the pot.
Cook for 2 minutes.

Reference:
See on Authentic French Dishes
https://www.196flavors.com/hachis-parmentier/