French Cuisine Recipes - French Onion Soup, Oysters, Lapin a Moutarde, etc.
Salad Nicoise
Ingredients:
- 5 potatoes, cooked and diced
- 1/2 pound green beans, cut up and cooked
- 3 tomatoes, cut in eighths
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced onions
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 hard cooked egg, sliced
- 1 head lettuce
- 13 ounces canned solid white tuna in water, drained
- 12 pitted black olives, sliced
Directions:
Mix oil, vinegar, garlic, and seasonings. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. Marinate for one hour. Layer lettuce, vegetables and eggs. Separate tuna into small pieces, arrange on top of salad. Garnish with olives. Pour remaining dressing over salad. Toss and serve.
Note: 5 potatoes is about 3 cups.
French Onion Soup
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
- 3 T Butter
- 1-1/2 lbs. Onions, thinly sliced (about 4 large onions)
- 1 T Brown sugar
- 1 t Paprika
- 2 T Flour
- 6 C Canned beef broth (if using cubes, granules or concentrate, use half beef and half chicken)
- 1 t Dried thyme
- 1/2 t Salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 4 Slices French bread, dried until crisp in a 250°F oven for 30 minutes
- 1/3 C Gruyere cheese (grated)
- 4 t Parmesan cheese (grated)
Directions:
- Heat the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onions, cover and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the brown sugar. Stir until the onions are well browned. Stir in the paprika and flour. Add the broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over gentle heat for 30 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into pots.
- Place on a baking sheet. Put a round of French bread in each pot. Mix the cheese and sprinkle over the surface. Place 4 inches from the broiler flame and cook for 4 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned. Makes 4 servings.
Oysters
Serves 4
Huitres
The majority of French oysters are raised in the numerous oyster parcs in the coastal waters of Brittany and Normandy. As you pass through the seaside villages, signs point you to the parc, where you can buy-freshly harvested oysters of different varieties and sizes. For this dish, you must use the creuse, a deep-shelled oyster, or a similar type, rather than the flat belon variety, because the well of the shell is needed to hold the sauce. Placing the oysters on a hot bed of rock salt and baking them just long enough to open will warm them slightly but not cook them through.
Ingredients:
- Rock salt
- 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and minced
- 2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) Champagne vinegar
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 dozen oysters in their shells
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Preparation:
- Preheat an oven to 500 degrees F. (260 degrees C).
- Pour rock salt to a depth of 1 inch (2.5 cm) in 1 large or 2 smaller baking dishes. Place in the oven to heat for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, stir together the tomatoes, vinegar, shallots, chives, pepper, and salt to form a vinaigrette. Set aside.
- Remove the baking dish(es) from the oven and place the oysters, rounded side down, on the salt. Return to the oven and bake until the oysters open, 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool until the shells can be handled, 3-4 minutes.
- Discard any oysters that failed to open. Using a small, sharp knife, cut through the muscle near the hinge that attaches the shells together on each oyster, being careful not to spill any juices. Discard the flat upper shells and place the lower ones on a platter or 4 individual plates.
- Spoon a tablespoon of the vinaigrette onto each oyster. Serve immediately.
Foie Gras or goose pat&233 has its origins, as many other good things, from the Egyptians and then the Romans...But it was as a French specialty that it conquered the discerning palates of the world. As early as the 18th century, Toulouse and Strasbourg were rivals in earning the reputation for the finest Foie Gras.
Nevertheless it is in Strasbourg in 1780, under the reign of Louis XVI, that the Foie Gras Pâté was truly presented as such to the world by J.P. Clause, gifted cook to the governor of Alsace, the Marshall of Contades.
Since then the reputation of the "Foie Gras de Strasbourg" has spread across borders throughout the world carrying the name of the capital of Alsace as a seal of quality.
This particular expertise brought to Strasbourg the title of "Capital of Foie Gras" for more than one century.
How to serve foie gras by French Conoisseurs
Throughout the year, foie gras is prepared from goose or duck liver (the package always specifies what kind of poultry has been used).
This preparation dates back to ancient times when geese were fed with figs.
Today, the way the poultry is selected and fed is based on better techniques. Foie gras is certainly known all over the world; however, the geese or ducks can be cooked in different ways: you can have roast goose with chestnuts for Chritmas or 'magrets' (duck fillets) or tender-textured 'confits' (preserved pieces of cooked goose or duck), or you can savour goose and duck pâtés.
At French Connaisseurs, you will discover in your Perigord hamper duck foie gras traditionally produced on a small-scale basis and in line with the European standards. Ducks are fed with a type of corn especially grown for them by the person who also cans the foie gras.
These ducks are kept in the beautiful countryside of the Gers district, in a place we could almost envy them!
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The French Connaisseurs advise:
- Foie gras must be refreshed in its jar few hours before being served, then brought out 20 minutes before sampling.
- Cut into slices at last moment to preserve colors and flavours.
- With what bread ? Avoid fanciful breads. Choose a beautiful country bread or a vienna loaf.
- To accompany your foie gras dish, you can drink mellow white wine, such as Sauternes.
Rabbit Dish - Lapin à la Moutarde
Ingredients:
- 1 rabbit, cut up, liver set aside for another use
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-1/2 cups dry white wine
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon superfine flour such as Wondra
- 1-1/2 cups Chicken or rabbit stock
- Several branches fresh thyme, rosemary, summer savory or tarragon
- 1 bay leaf
- Chopped parsley
- Cooked rice
Preparation:
- Season rabbit with salt and pepper. Brush one side of each piece with mustard. Heat oil and butter in a deep, non-reactive skillet and cook pieces, mustard side down, when fat is hot. Don't crowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary (or use two pans). Brown 10 minutes. Season and coat other side with mustard. Brown another 10 minutes.
- Remove rabbit and add a few tablespoons of wine to pan. Scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add onions and cook until soft. Stir in flour and mix well. Add remaining wine, stock, thyme (or other herb) and bay leaf. Return rabbit to pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes.
Serves 2-4.
Adopted from "Bistro Cooking" by Patricia Wells (Workman Publishing).
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- Bread Crumbs
- 1 Egg mixed with 1/2 cup Milk
- 8 oz Swiss cheese, cubed
- 8 oz ham, diced
- 1 can (10oz) cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup milk
Preparation:
Dip chunks of chicken in egg and milk mixture, then into bread crumbs, coating well. Brown in a little oil until golden.
Place chunks in baking dish, add cubes of swiss cheese and small pieces of ham. Mix cream of chicken soup with 1 cup of milk; mix well and pour over all. Bake about 30 minutes at 350° or until tender and bubbly.
Frog Legs with Pouilly Fuisse and Parsley
Ingredients:
- 36 pairs of frog legs, (usually available frozen in specialty food stores)
- 3 T. unbleached flour
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 T. unsalted butter
- 2 T. vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups chardonnay wine, preferably Pouilly Fuisse
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup creme fraihe
- 3/4 cup fresh parsley
Directions:
- Thaw the frogs' legs, if frozen, by leaving them in the refridgerator overnight. Pat them dry. Sprinkle them lightly with the flour and then season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the butter and oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the frogs' legs and saute for 5 minutes. Add the wine, shallots, and garlic and simmer until the frogs' legs are tender, 15-20 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the legs to a platter and keep warm.
- Bring the cooking liquid in the skillet to a boil and cook until reduced by half, 7-10 minutes. Add the creme fraihe and continue boiling the mixture until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Return frogs' legs to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce. Adjust the seasonings, if necessary, and then stir in the parsley. Serve at once.
- Makes 4-6 servings
Source: Pedaling Through Burgundy Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase.