seven classics from the French cuisine that you must know
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: classics from the French cuisine.
The French cuisine is the cradle of all other culinary developments. At least, that's what the French think. But that French food stands for classic, traditional, and seriously delicious, we can all agree on that, right? According to us, these are the seven French classics that every home cook should have in their repertoire.
Quiche Lorraine
Savory pie from the time before savory pies were a trendy thing. Filled with bacon, onions, and cheese, and nothing else. Of course, you don't make that crust from puff pastry, because then you're immediately out: puff pastry stays soggy and a quiche is made with a salty 1-2-3 dough, with 1 egg, 150 grams of butter, and 300 grams of flour. A pinch of salt in it, knead a nice dough, done.
Boeuf bourguignon
Beef, slowly stewed in a light red wine (don't use expensive Burgundy, silly!) with pearl onions, bacon, and mushrooms. Retro? No, classic – this stew enchants everyone who eats it. Best recipe to start with: that of Julia Child; she was American, but so in love with French cuisine that it was contagious.
Gratin Dauphinois
Take potatoes, cream, and pepper and salt. And nothing more. The potatoes are sliced into thin slices and then layered like roof tiles in a baking dish with pepper and salt on each layer. Pour the cream over it and let it bake to a golden brown and tender in about an hour. About a trillion calories, but then you have something.
Crème brûlée
It's all about the perfect ‘crack’ when you tap your spoon on the crème brûlée. With a torch (maybe even a paint burner) you melt the sugar that you sprinkle on the vanilla pudding into a beautiful reddish-brown layer of divinity.
Onion soup
Maybe it's not even that onion soup that everyone raves about, but especially the baguette with melted cheese that floats around like a little lifeboat in it. Do you try to press it in half with your spoon against the edge of the bowl, or can you use your knife and fork from the next course here? Those kinds of dilemmas are typically French. And to drive a Frenchman crazy? Serve him this French onion mac ‘n cheese.
Croissant or pain au chocolat
On the French campsite, you could go to the store with a few loose francs in your hand. Trwaa kraasants ee uun pen oo sjokolaa alstublieft! Stork! And then back to the caravan with a paper bag with those characteristic grease stains. Even a little stone in your water shoe didn't bother you because soon you were sitting in the grass with such a delicious crispy roll with a stick of half-melted dark chocolate in the middle.
