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The national cuisine of France is included in the fund of the World Cultural Heritage of mankind. And the reasons for this do not have to look for a long time. Probably, French chefs have discovered a secret formula for the harmony of taste and put it into each of their creations. It is not surprising that from these names alone, gourmets begin to be blissful. We offer you to make another gastronomic journey without leaving your home and cook the most popular French dishes.
Meat from the count’s family
French-style pork in the oven often decorates our festive table. However, few people know that in the original version, veal was used in this recipe. It is believed that the dish was invented by Parisian chefs in the XVIII century specifically for the favorite of Catherine II, Count Orlov. It was called Veau Orloff, or veal in Orlovsky. Then it was more like a casserole and was prepared from pieces of veal, mushrooms, potatoes and onions with bechamel sauce.
The modern recipe for French-style meat with potatoes in the oven largely repeats the original version. Cut 600 g of pork into slices 1 cm thick, lightly chop, rub with salt and black pepper. We cut 5 potatoes into circles, and 2 onions into rings. Put half of the potatoes in an oiled form, sprinkle with salt and pepper, lubricate with homemade mayonnaise with garlic. Next comes pork, also greased with sauce, and onion rings. We put the remaining potatoes on top, salt and pepper, again we smear the sauce. Cover the form with meat and potatoes with foil, put it in the oven at 200°C for an hour. 15 minutes before the end, remove the foil, sprinkle the dish with grated gruyere cheese and put it back in the oven. Meat in French is served only hot, if desired, supplemented with chopped herbs or green onions.
Vegetable etude from the oven
In addition to French-style meat with potatoes, there are still a great many recipes in the oven. Ratatouille may well compete with him in popularity. The name of the dish consists of two words: rata-food and touiller-mix. This simple technology was used by the French peasants, who were the first to prepare a hearty vegetable stew. According to another version, its author was chief Gerard. In search of the perfect combination, he traveled all over Europe and, inspired by different dishes, came up with his own recipe.
Remove the skin from 2 fleshy tomatoes, grind the pulp into a puree. Add finely chopped purple onion and red sweet pepper. Simmer the sauce over low heat until thickened. We cut eggplant, 2 zucchini or zucchini, 4 more tomatoes into thin circles. Pour the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, place the vegetable slices on top in a spiral. We pass 4-5 cloves of garlic through the press, add a chopped bunch of parsley, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of Provencal herbs, a pinch of salt and black pepper. We lubricate the vegetables with a spicy dressing, cover them with foil and send them to bake in the oven at 180°C for an hour. If you want the ratatouille to turn out crispy, reduce the time by 10-15 minutes.
Salad from the earthly paradise
The famous nicoise salad is named after the equally famous resort of Nice, because it has absorbed the fascinating flavor of the Cote d’Azur. It is not known for sure who first came up with the recipe. There are different origin stories. According to one version, the dish was brought from Italy by Catherine de ‘ Medici. Another legend says that the British sailors taught the French to cook nicoise. The culinary luminaries of our time also did not agree on the classic composition of the salad.
We suggest turning to the most popular option. Blanch 200 g of string beans for 5 minutes, cover with ice water, fry in olive oil with a clove of garlic. Cut 5 cherry tomatoes and 4 boiled eggs into slices. We divide 180 g of canned tuna into pieces. Wash in water and dry 8 small anchovy fillets. Mix the dressing from 5 tbsp. l. olive oil, 1 tsp. balsamic, garlic clove, 2 tbsp. l. fresh basil, a pinch of salt and pepper. We make a pillow of salad leaves on a plate, lay out the ingredients in layers in any order, pour the sauce over everything. Decorate the nicoise with olives or olives and quail eggs.
There was a simple soup, but it became golden
Soups can be devoted to a whole cookbook of French recipes with photos, delicious to the point of insanity. And bouillabaisse will take an honorable place in it. Initially, this simple soup was reinforced by the fishermen of Marseille. Fish, squid, shrimp and other shellfish caught in the nets were used. Today, bouillabaisse is considered a dish of haute cuisine, it is prepared from the most expensive sea fish and even lobsters.
For the home version, we will need at least 5 different varieties of sea fish. Suitable for salmon, pollock, trout, tuna, perch, sea bream, stingray — a total of 1.5 kg. All the fish, except salmon, pour 2 liters of water and cook the broth with the addition of 2 stalks of leeks. We make a bag of clean gauze, wrapping in it the zest of an orange, 2-3 peas of white and allspice, bay, a pinch of thyme, basil and saffron.
In a saucepan with a thick bottom, we prepare a passerovka of 2 heads of onions, 3-4 cloves of garlic and a stalk of celery. Add 3 mashed tomatoes without skin, 200 ml of dry white wine and boil the mass. By this time, the fish will have already been cooked. We take it out of the pan, filter the broth, pour it over the vegetable roast in the pan. We put here a bag of spices, salmon cut into pieces and boiled fish platter.
We clean and wash 200 g of shrimp and squid, 100 g of scallops and mussels. Cut the squid and scallops into slices, put everything in the soup, cook for 5 minutes. It remains to prepare the traditional rui sauce. Rub the raw yolk with a crushed clove of garlic, a pinch of salt, chili, saffron, paprika. Gently stirring the mass, we introduce 100 ml of olive oil for 1 tsp. As a result, we will get a sauce that resembles mayonnaise in consistency. Serve the bouillabaisse with ruy sauce and crispy baguette croutons.
Pleasure over the edge
The French, without a doubt, can be called skilled baking masters. One of their main creations is the lauren quiche, or an open pie with filling. His homeland is the once independent region of Lorraine in northern France. Local chefs have invented a recipe for a simple but delicious pie. The basis was the dough left after making bread. And as a filling, they took what was at hand — ham, eggs and cream.
Sift 250 g of flour, add a pinch of salt and 120 g of frostbitten grated butter. With your hands, knead the mass into a crumb, add the egg yolk, 2 tbsp. l. ice water and knead the dough. We send it to the refrigerator for half an hour. Then we tamp the dough into a baking dish, make smooth sides, fall asleep with dry beans and put it in the oven at 200°C for 15 minutes. While the dough is cooling and baking, we will do the filling. We cut 250 g of bacon into slices, brown it in a frying pan without oil and put it in the base of the dough. Place 8-10 cherry tomatoes between the pieces of fried bacon. Separately, whisk 200 ml of thick cream with 3 eggs, pour 250 g of grated emmental cheese, a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg on the tip of a knife. Fill the base with bacon and tomatoes with this mass, bake in the oven at 180°C for 30-40 minutes. Let the quiche lorena cool down a little and serve to the table.
This culinary journey through the universe of popular dishes originally from France does not end there. You can continue it yourself on the pages of the culinary portal “Healthy Food Near Me”. Here you will find alternative recipes for French-style meat in the oven with photos from our readers and much more. And what dishes of French cuisine have won your heart? We will be glad if you tell us about them in the comments.