Top 10 recipes – A little taste of France in your plate!

When leaving France after a short or long stay often the thing that everyone misses the most is the famous French cuisine. The reputation of French cuisine has crossed centuries, pleased the palates of thousands of connoisseurs and even satisfied the most demanding gourmets.  From Brittany to Languedoc Roussillon, French regions offer a wide choice of culinary delights. Each region has its own specialities and each season offers its variants thus enriching even more French Recipes. The following top 10 French recipes will take you on a trip throughout France with different sweet or salted dishes that are solid institutions of the traditional and popular French cuisine.

1.       Croque-Monsieur and Croque Madame (Paris)
The croque-monsieur is, according to the legend, a Parisian sandwich usually served as a quick snack in French cafés and bars. It is a hot sandwich typically made of grilled ham and cheese (Gruyere or Emmental) but it has several variants –regarding the region- ; the most famous is the Croque-Madame which keeps the same basic recipe except that this time a fried egg is placed on top of it. With le jambon-beurre, it is one of the simplest French meals to make!

2.       Bœuf Bourguignon (Burgundy, East of France)
Boeuf Bourguignon is made of beef cooked and red wine accompanied with onions, carrots and potatoes. It is named after the two basic products it is made of: beef and red wine from Bourgogne, a region in the east of France. Recipes’ variants with lardons or mushrooms exist. In France boeuf bourguignon is a traditional dish often served on Sundays during family dinners but it is obviously served in restaurants or during the week too.

 3.       Gratin Dauphinois (South East)
Also known as potatoes gratin, Gratin Dauphinois is a rustic dish from the Dauphiné region in France, located in the south east of France. This dish has a very simple recipe, made of thinly sliced and layered potatoes cooked in butter and garlic, with cream and cheese on it (gruyere or emmental). The Gratin Dauphinois has lots of variants with different regional cheeses.

4.       Tartiflette (Savoy, French Alps)
Tartiflette is a typical dish from Savoy made of potatoes, lardons, onions and reblochon which is a typical cheese from Savoy. This recipe is not that old as it only appeared in Savoy in the 80’s. However, it was almost instantly adopted by Savoyards (people from Savoy)! The main reason might be that Tartiflette, more than a tasty dish made of local cheese, conveys an image of conviviality and authenticity. This popular dish is usually served during Winter.

5.       Raclette (Franche-Comté, French Alps)
Raclette is both a type of cheese and a dish (Swiss’ originis), for French people it has its origins from the regions of Auvergne, Franche-Comté and Rhone-Alpes, located to the east of France. The original way of ceating it was to heat a big piece of cheese, scrap off the melted part and eat it with potatoes and dry meat. Today it is often consumed with an electric table-top grill to heat pieces of cheese and eat them with potatoes and cooked meats. It also is often served with white wine from Savoy. This dish gathers people around a unique meal and allows them to share a moment of conviviality.

6.       Bouillabaisse (Provence)
Bouillabaisse is a traditional dish that has made Marseille proud. Bouillabaisse is basically a fish stew (or fish soup) made of different fishes, whole potatoes and rouille (a sauce made of garlic mayonnaise and pimento). The soup is traditionally accompanied with garlic croutons to make it even tastier. According to tradition, its origins date back to ancient Greece, and it is then Marseilles fishermen that created the bouillabaisse, a typical Marseilles dish. Recipes for bouillabaisse vary from family to family in Marseilles, and from restaurants to restaurants, offering lots of variants with different fishes and ingredients. However there is no such thing as an authentic version as every Marseillaise has his own views. However, they all agree on one point:  it is a dish made to be shared!

7.       Cassoulet (Midi-Pyrenees)
Cassoulet is a typical dish from the Midi-Pyrenees region made of slow-cooked meat (typically pork sausages, goose, duck, mutton and haricot beans). Fun fact: legend says it was invented during the Castelnaudary siege lead by English soldiers during the One Hundred Years’ war. French besieged gathered all the food left in the village to cook a giant stew then giving birth to Cassoulet. Nevertheless, truth is slightly different. However, the legend emphasizes the fact that Cassoulet is a convivial French recipe that people from Midi-Pyrenees are proud of.

8.       Tarte Tatin
Tarte tatin is an upside-down apple pie in which apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. It is probably one of the most original ways of baking apples as the legend says it was invented whilst Stéphanie Tatin (the creator of Tarte tatin) made a mistake whilst cooking. She forgot to place the cake batter at the bottom of the mould and thus placed it on top of her caramelized apples; and this how the Tarte Tatin was born!

9.       Pain perdu
Also known as eggy bread or French toast (literally lost bread), Pain perdu consists in soaking bread (traditionally stale bread) into beaten eggs mixed with milk and sugar and then fry it in a pan. Vanilla and cinnamon are often added according to taste. It is common to top it with sugar, butter, fruit or maple syrup. Pain perdu is historically a dish that poor people used to cook; indeed it was a way to add savour to stale bread instead of throwing it away. Nonetheless, nowadays it is served in gastronomic restaurants and considered as a delicious dish!

10.   Crepes (Brittany or Normandy?)
Last but not least: crepes! Usually made of wheat flour, eggs, milk, butter and a pinch of salt; it is a typical dish from Brittany (north west of France) where they are traditionally served with sweet cider or hard cider, which are local beverages  (different from the British cider). Crepes can be consumed with a multitude of fillings such as chocolate, sugar, jam, caramel, map syrup, honey or fruits. They can also be eaten hot or cold, flambéed or not. Even if they take their origins from the north west of France, crepes are popular throughout the country especially on Candlemas day called La Chandeleur in French, which can be considered as a sort of “National crepe day”. French also eat crepes during Mardi gras (Shrove Tuesday). In France one can find crêperies which are restaurants serving crepes; they are typical of Brittany but can be found everywhere in France.

As simple as tasty these traditional French recipes will undoubtedly please the palates of connoisseurs willing to bring France into their plates even living miles away!

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