The 10 most popular
french recipes
Despite new trends, hype and marketing, tradition has never
been stronger. In France, good food still means authentic cooking by using
natural products from diverse regions. This is how we celebrate human being by
offering the best food to all our senses. Cooking home-made food and eating at
the table make your appetite grow stronger. The challenge is to combine
ingredients together to get the best taste out of them. However anyone from
anywhere can explore the world of french cooking. To start with, let's find out
what french people enjoy to eat.
Here are the top 10 most popular recipes in France:
Roast Chicken
Indeed roast chicken is not a notorious french recipe but
cooked everywhere around the world from Asia and Africa to America. However it
is the most popular french dish. Roast chicken is not stuffed inside. The
secret is to baste the poultry several times during roasting with butter and
cooking oil and to add an onion in the roasting pan. Roast chicken is
traditionally served with potatoes and green beans.
Boeuf bourguignon
The most famous beef stew in France. Boeuf bourguignon is a
traditional recipe from Burgundy. A recipe that french people use to cook at
least once every winter. The beef meat is cooked in a red wine sauce, obviously
a red wine from Burgundy. Bacon, onions, mushrooms and carrots add flavor to
the recipe. But thyme, garlic and beef stock are essential to cook a good boeuf
bourguignon.
Mussels mariniere
A typical summer recipe very popular along the Atlantic and
Mediterranean coast. Mussels are fresh and cooked in a white wine sauce with
parsley, thyme, bay leaf and onion. It takes only 5 minutes to cook a tasteful
mussels mariniere. The secret is to season carefully the meal and to discard
any mussels that don't look good enough.
Sole meuniere
Although sole is an expensive fish, the taste is so elegant
that it is considered as the noblest fish. Sole meuniere is a recipe from
Normandy. The fish is cooked in a butter sauce with a little bit of flour and
lemon juice. Sole is traditionally served with rice or green vegetables.
Pot au feu
A typical family meal coming once again from Normandy. Pot
au feu is a boiled beef with pork, chicken and vegetables. It takes about 4
hours an a half to cook as the beef has to simmer slowly to extract all its
flavor. Pot au feu is also called Potee Normande in France.
Sauerkraut
Quite similar to the german sauerkraut, the french
sauerkraut called choucroute comes from Alsace. However the french recipe can
be traced back to 6 centuries ago ! Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage. Commonly
sauerkraut includes sausages, pork knuckle and bacon. Two essential ingredients
are alsatian white wine and juniper berries.
Veal stew
Called blanquette de veau in France, this is another stew
recipe from Normandy. The veal meat simmers in white sauce – as blanquette from
blanc stands for white in french - with mushrooms and onions. The white sauce
is made of egg yolks, whipping cream and lemon juice. Veal stew is usually
served with rice.
Lamb navarin
Another stew but this one is made of lamb meat. It is also
called spring lamb as it comes with green vegetables available in spring.
Navarin comes from navet which stands for turnips in french. Other ingredients
are tomatoes, lamb stock and carrots. This stew takes less time to simmer than
any other.
Cassoulet
A strange recipe that english people often confuse with
their traditional breakfast! A traditional meal from south west of France. Each
village has its own recipe but it always includes beans and meats. Cassoulet is
a rich combination of white beans and depending on the village lamb, pork,
mutton or sausage meat. Cassoulet is the cornerstone of the french paradox
study describing why people from south west of France suffer less than others
from infarcts.
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is closely linked with the city of Marseille
on the Mediterranean coast. The recipe is a fish soup from local fish and
seafood products including crabs, scorpion fish, monk fish and others.
Provencal herbs and olive oil are essential. For a long time, the recipe was a
secret jealously kept by the people from Marseille.
