120 French recipes. Page 4 of 5. Compare ingredients and cooking times. Flammkuchen (Alsatian Crème Fraîche Flatbread), Lobster Thermidor.
Rolled paper-thin from a dough with no yeast, the base ends up far thinner than pizza and is scattered lightly with creme fraiche, onion, and bacon. This Alsatian flatbread puts tangy creme fraiche where pizza would have tomato sauce and cheese. A very hot oven chars the edges in minutes, and it is cut and eaten while the crust still snaps.
Boiled lobster meat is folded into a Dijon cream sauce, spooned back into its own split shell, topped with Parmesan and given a brief blast in a hot oven. Since the meat is already cooked, the sauce and oven only need to warm it; every extra minute tightens it. Bite-size pieces hold up better than fine shreds, which dry out first.
The vanilla custard is thickened with cornstarch on the stove before it goes into the pastry, so once the tart is baked and chilled it slices into clean, upright wedges. In Paris bakeries it sits in the case by the slice, its top freckled with caramel-brown spots.
Mussels release their own briny liquor as they open, and together with dry white wine that becomes the broth without any added stock. The butter is split in two for a reason: the first part softens the shallot and garlic, the second is stirred in at the end to give the broth some shine. The pot comes off the heat once most shells have opened, before the meat shrinks and toughens, and any that stay shut get thrown away. Ladle the leftover wine broth into the bowls too.
Black olives, rosemary, and thyme go into a dough that is shaped like a leaf and slashed open before baking, so the edges and thin parts crisp while the thicker strips between the cuts stay soft and chewy. The olives are patted dry first. Wet ones loosen the dough and leave the salt bunched in one spot.
Mussels steamed fast in white wine release their juices into the pot, and that liquid becomes the sauce once a spoonful of cream and chopped parsley are stirred through. Any mussels already open before cooking are left out. Shallot and garlic soften in butter without taking color, giving the wine a mild, sweet base. One shake of the covered pot halfway through helps the shells open at about the same time. The cream waits until they have all opened, and crusty bread takes care of the broth.
A smooth, glossy top and a ruffled foot around the base are the signs of a well-baked shell. The almond-meringue shells give way from a thin crisp skin to a chewy center, and pairs of them sandwich a buttercream made with melted dark chocolate.
Unlike a dry baguette sandwich eaten right away, pan bagnat is meant to soak: the bread takes in olive oil and red wine vinegar, then gets pressed in the fridge. During that time the tuna, boiled egg, tomato, red onion, olives and anchovies settle into compact layers.
Cherries or plums are laid in a single layer, and a thin batter of eggs, milk, sugar and a little flour is poured over just until the tops of the fruit peek through. Straight from the oven the edges are puffed and golden; after a few minutes they sink and the custard settles. Spooned out warm, each serving gets soft fruit, a moist middle and some of the browned edge.
Thin potato slices bake in cream and milk until the liquid thickens between the layers, with Gruyere melted through the middle and browned on top. Garlic never touches the potatoes themselves, only the buttered dish, where it leaves a faint scent at the base. Baking happens in two phases, covered with foil until the potatoes cook through and then uncovered to color the cheese, which keeps the top from scorching before the center softens. There is no bechamel, just cream poured straight over the slices.
Eaten across France around Epiphany in January, this pie seals an almond frangipane between two rounds of puff pastry. A small porcelain charm, the feve, is hidden inside, and whoever gets it in their slice is king or queen for the day and wears a paper crown. This version adds a little rum to the frangipane. A leaf or swirl pattern scored into the egg-washed top bakes into a sharp, glossy design.
Rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parsley chopped into breadcrumbs form a green crust over the lamb, held in place by a thin layer of Dijon mustard. Searing the rack first supplies the color, leaving the oven only to crisp the crust while the center stays pink. The seared surface needs to cool briefly before the mustard is spread on, otherwise the coating slides. Carve between the bones into individual chops.
Seventy percent dark chocolate and butter far outweigh the flour, so the cake bakes dense and close to a truffle rather than a sponge. Separating the eggs and folding in a meringue keeps it from being heavy, and it melts softly instead of sitting like fudge.
Raclette works as a meal at the table: each person melts a portion of cheese and pours it straight over warm potatoes and ham. The cooking ahead is simple, boiling small potatoes until a fork goes in but the centers hold, then keeping them covered and warm. A raclette machine is the usual tool, though small ovenproof pans under an oven grill manage the same job. Pull the cheese when it turns glossy and the edges bubble; left longer, it browns and the fat separates.
Finely grated Gruyère folded into choux paste and piped small bakes into savory cheese puffs. The eggs go in until the paste drops slowly from the spatula in a V, not by count, so some beaten egg may be left over. Only trapped steam holds up the hollow centers, and opening the oven door before the shells set will collapse them.
Thin rounds of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and bell pepper stand in overlapping rings on a cooked base of onion, garlic, and chopped pepper, which sets this version apart from ratatouille stewed in one pot. Instead of stock or water, the juices the vegetables release in the oven loosen the base into a sauce. Part of the pepper is diced into the base and the rest sliced for the top, giving it two textures in one dish. It makes a full plate without any meat.
The classic hump needs two things together: a 30-minute rest in the fridge and an oven that starts hot and is then turned down. Hallabong marmalade stirred into the batter leaves small bits of peel throughout, so a faintly bitter citrus note keeps cutting through the butter. A little honey and milk keep the crumb moist.
In this Benedict, smoked salmon takes the place of ham and brings its salty, smoky flavor between the toasted muffin, a poached egg, and hollandaise. The sauce is whisked from yolks and lemon juice over water that only steams, with warm melted butter added in a thin stream, and hotter water would set the yolks and break the sauce. The eggs poach in barely trembling water with a splash of vinegar, and 3 minutes 30 seconds leaves the whites set and the centers soft. Once cut, the yolk runs over the salmon and muffin as a second sauce. Since the eggs, sauce, and muffins all need to land at the same moment, melting the butter first and keeping it warm sets up the rest.
These shell-shaped cakes are best eaten within 30 minutes of leaving the oven, while the edges are still crisp, with black tea or coffee alongside. A generous amount of melted butter browns those edges deep gold, and honey in place of part of the sugar gives a rounder, faintly floral sweetness that granulated sugar alone does not.
Sole fillets, dusted lightly with flour, fry in butter until golden; the butter left in the pan is then taken further until it browns and smells of toasted nuts. Lemon juice and parsley stirred into that brown butter make the sauce, its acidity cutting the richness. The window between brown and burnt is short, so the heat comes down the moment brown specks and a nutty aroma appear.
Baked in a fluted ring mold, this Alsatian yeast cake comes out shaped like a crown, with whole almonds from the bottom of the pan sitting on top once it is turned out. Butter and eggs kneaded into the dough give it a soft, brioche-like crumb, and raisins scattered throughout add bursts of sweetness.
Coarsely crushed peppercorns pressed into the sirloin give every bite a sharp, aromatic crackle, while finely ground pepper would add heat but lose that fragrance. The sauce comes from the same pan, where the browned bits left by the steak meet shallot, brandy, cream, and Dijon. Cream rounds off the pepper's bite and the mustard adds a quiet acidity that keeps the sauce bright rather than heavy.
With only five ingredients in this Breton pastry (flour, butter, sugar, yeast, and salt), the folding technique decides almost everything. Butter is wrapped in the dough and sugar is scattered over each fold, three times in all. In a hot oven the sugar melts into a glassy, dark caramel shell while the layers inside stay moist with butter.
Steak frites lives or dies on two techniques at once: a well-seared sirloin and properly double-fried potatoes. The first fry at 160°C cooks the potato sticks through while they stay pale, and the second at 190°C turns the outside crisp and golden. Soaking the cut potatoes in cold water first washes off surface starch so they do not stick together in the oil. The steak gets only salt and pepper, then a quick baste with butter, thyme, and garlic.