Vive La France! The country that brought us Parisienne bistro classics and lesser-known regional dishes from the sunny Provençe through Spanish-influenced Basque and the Germanic Alsace. Here are some of my favourite French recipes.
French Onion Soup Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Soup, bread, cheese: three of my favourite comfort foods. I love French onion soup because it combines all three! Beef stock is considered the traditional base, but I often use chicken stock or just water. Sometimes I use […]
Tarte Tatin Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Tarte Tatin is one of those classics that I didn’t attempt for a long time for fear it would be too tricky. Turns out it’s super quick and easy, especially if you use a good ready-made shortcrust pastry like […]
Easy Sauce Béarnaise Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Sauce Béarnaise is the classic accompaniment to roast beef. It’s named for Béarn in southwestern France, the birthplace of Henri IV, although the rather tenuous connection seems to be that it was created around 1830 at a Parisian […]
Steak Tartare Let’s Eat Steak Tartare Together on my small group food & wine tour of Switzerland! As a reformed vegetarian, it’s odd that my favourite way to eat meat is raw, but I can rarely resist steak tartare when I see it on a menu (it sometimes also appears as beef tartare). It’s my […]
Salade Lyonnaise Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Salade Lyonnaise is one of my favourite starters and also makes a great light meal. I became addicted to it on a trip to Lyon where I had an excellent version at the bouchon La Meunière. As with all […]
Crème Caramel Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! The best recipes are simple yet impressive, like classic French crème caramel. Best of all they’re made ahead of time and just whipped out of the fridge when you’re ready to serve. Two tips help ensure crème caramel success: dissolving […]
Coq au Vin Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Coq au vin was one of the first French dishes I ever cooked, and it seemed terribly sophisticated in the early ‘80s. Literally ‘rooster in wine’, it’s a classic braise of chicken, onion, mushrooms and lardon (cured pork […]
Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Profiteroles are sometimes filled with whipped cream or custard, but I think it’s hard to beat really good vanilla ice cream. They’re a great do-ahead dessert as the puffs can be made days in advance and recrisped […]
Pommes Dauphinoise Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Also known as gratin Dauphinoise, or more simply ‘potato bake’, pommes Dauphinoise is a delicious layering of potatoes and cream and the perfect accompaniment to many steak dishes. It originated in the Dauphiné region of southeastern France, famous for […]
Classic Tarte Flambée (Flammekueche with Speck) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class Inspired by Damien Pignolet! Tarte flambée is a traditional flatbread from Alsace. In the Alsatian language it’s called flammekueche – literally ‘flame cake’ – as it was traditionally cooked in a very hot wood-fired oven, like a pizza (and […]