Flavours from France

The French mark their national day on July 14. The time, therefore, is quite right to explore their cuisine.

France is known for its superb food and for a chef, it is best to start by learning the basics of classic French dishes and then go on to perfect his skills.

Over the years, friends have shared some of their favourite recipes with me. These have, however, been simplified and adapted to suit local tastes.

Soup d'oignon (Onion soup)

Method:

Melt the butter and sauté the onions over low heat till golden.
Add seasoning and stock and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the grill and toast the bread slices till golden. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and heat again.

Place one cheese-topped slice in each soup bowl, ladle on hot soup and serve immediately.

Moules a la marinere (Mussels in gravy)

Method:

Scrub the mussels and discard broken ones. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, add the onion and sauté till transparent.

Stir in the thyme, parsley and bay leaves; add the stock and bring to a boil.

Add the mussels and boil for about six minutes till they open.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the mussels and keep warm.
Boil the rest of the stock till it is reduced to half.

Mix the flour with a little cold water and stir it into the stock.
Add remaining butter, adjust seasoning, stirring well to make sure no lumps are formed.

Cook over low heat till slightly thick. Pour this over the mussels, sprinkle some parsley and serve.

Gigot a la bretonne (Leg of lamb with haricot beans)

Method:

Trim excess fat from leg of lamb. Melt the butter in a large baking dish.

Seal in the meat flavours by browning over high heat for a few minutes.

Add garlic, seasoning and stock; cover and cook over low heat for about three hours or till done.

Meanwhile, cook the beans in salted water till done; drain. Add these to the lamb for the last 30 minutes.

To serve, place the lamb on a platter, surround with beans and gravy; decorate as desired and serve hot.

Note: Add a bouquet garni to the meat while it is cooking or sprigs of parsley.

Quiche au roquefort (Roquefort cheese flan)

Method:

Prick the base of the piecrust and bake blind for ten minutes at 200°C; take out from oven and cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs; add the cream, cheese, chives and seasoning.

Spoon into crust, cover loosely with foil and bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes till done. Remove the foil for the last few minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: You can also use a cheese of your choice.

Gateau prithiviers (Almond dessert)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry and cut into two rounds: a nine-inch circle and an eight-inch round.

Place the smaller one on a buttered baking sheet. Mix together the butter, sugar, yolks and almonds spread over the pastry, leaving a little space around the edge.

Brush this with beaten egg and place the larger round on top.
Seal and twist up the edges for a decorative touch; make a criss-cross pattern on top and brush with remaining egg.

Bake for ten minutes, take out and sprinkle icing sugar; then bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. When ready, cool on wire rack.

— Nirmal Khanna is a UAE-based freelance writer who has family, friends and guests eating out of her hands

Pardon my French: A glossary to help you navigate the menu or a cookbook

It is an accepted fact that the classiest eateries are French. Therefore, when one plans a special evening, one usually chooses a French restaurant.

However, for those of us who do not speak the language, ordering a meal can be a daunting experience.

To make it worse, the maitre'd invariably looks supercilious and fed up because we cannot speak the language and are puzzled by the menu.

Today, let us take a look at some of the common phrases, so the next time we are in a French restaurant, we can order the meal with savoir faire.

Or if your pals are discussing French dishes, you can look knowledgeable.

I have compiled this list over many years with a lot of input from French friends. Just file it away and use when needed.

Agueau: Lamb: 5 to 9 months. Mouton is mutton between 1 and 2 years old.

Agneau de lait: Milk-fed lamb, 2 to 3 months old

Agneau de pre-sale: Lamb from northern grasslands called les pre-sales (Just as Bresse after chicken shows it comes from Bresse, a good place for poultry).

Aigo Bouido: A Mediterranean garlic soup

Aiguilette: Top of the rump, a small, very lean braising joint of beef. On menus, it is called piece de bouef.

Ail: Garlic

Aioli: A strong garlic mayonnaise used on hot or cold boiled fish, stirred into fish soup or melted over green vegetables and boiled potatoes.

Arroser: To baste

Aspic: A cold dish involving gelatine (gelée)

Baba Au Rhum: A rich yeast cake, usually baked in a small size, soaked with syrup, among other things

Bain Marie: Originally a deep water recess in a solid fuel stove where sauces were kept warm enough to serve but not to cook (so the texture would not be spoilt)

Nowadays, a bain marie is a heavy-metal double pan with hot water in the larger pan and sauce in the smaller.

Actually, cooking bain marie is very tedious. Sometimes, one can speed up the process by cooking over a very low temperature.

Bard: Using thin sheets of fat as in the case of the breast of a roasting chicken

Béchamel: A simple white sauce

Beekenohfe: A thick, hot pot much like a Lancashire hot pot. It consists of layers of onion, potato and mutton, and is cooked either etuvee or in a double boiler.

Beurre Noir: Butter heated to a dark brown colour. Used hot over brains or fish

Beignets: French fritters

Beurre Composes: Cold flavoured butters used for garnishing cold dishes, basting or stirring into hot soups

To make: Cream butter well and then beat in chosen flavouring, a teaspoon at a time. Flavourings are usually garlic, mustard, anchovy, egg yolks, lemon juice, herbs, onion juice, etc.

Biftek: A vague term meaning some kind of steak

Biftek bache: a hamburger

Bigarade: Dressings made from peel and juice of bitter oranges

Blanche: Cook in boiling water for a very short spell, usually for skinning tomatoes and almonds

Boeuf sale: Salt beef, usually brisket, that has been in brine

Bonne femme: Simply cooked; housewife-style. Usually includes potatoes

Boudin: Black pudding

Bouillabaisse: A fish stew usually made with six different kinds of sea fish and crustaceans.

Originates from the Mediterranean coastline between Toulon and Marseilles.

In Marseilles, it will usually have lobster and eel added to it. In Paris, it will have oysters and mussels.

Other ingredients are generous amounts of garlic, saffron, olive oil, onion, fennel and parsley. However, each region has its favourites.

Bouilli: Boiled beef

Bouillie: Milk, sugar and starch (flour or rice flour) into which egg yolks or rice flour and butter are whisked.

The result is a little like creme patisserie and together with béchamel forms one of the three similar ways to make a soufflé.

Boullir: A big, roaring boil-up. A gentle boil is called mijoter.

Bouillion: A clear meat stock

Bouquet garni: A bunch of herbs, usually parsley, thyme, etc

Brochet: Pike. Quenelles of brochet are soft dumplings of pike.

To be continued