French cuisine appetizers. Traditional French cuisine

Snacks in France, these are not just dishes that precede lunch. Light snacks are an indispensable part of a French aperitif. And an aperitif is by no means only a weak alcoholic drink that stimulates the appetite. These are delicious dishes, and a great occasion for communication. The roots of this tradition go back to the beginning of the last century, in the Belle Epoque, when an aperitif became a separate occasion for meeting friends or business partners. Whether at home or in a cafe, a little alcohol before lunch or dinner should have liberated the guests and improved their appetite. It is believed that an aperitif taken on time and correctly relieves digestive problems.

There are no strict rules for organizing an aperitif, so feel free to trust your taste. For an aperitif, you can also serve Lorraine or Alsatian pie, homemade bread, a cheese plate, tartlets with various fillings, sandwiches, sandwiches, tarts and canapes, salads, pates, sausages, seafood, vegetables and much more.

Pate- a traditional French appetizer. Usually, pates are made from chicken, duck, turkey liver, as well as pork or veal liver and different types of meat (ideally, wild boar, roe deer, rabbit, but beef or pork is also suitable). The liver of poultry is ideally combined with fruits and berries - both sweet, and sour, and sweet and sour, but in no case with cranberries. But apples, raspberries, blackberries - raw or slightly stewed in oil - will give the dish an exotic and festive look and taste. Mushrooms, cheese, vegetables, greens are often put in the pate. To make the taste of the pate more tender, alcohol is added to it - cognac, nutmeg wine.

Terrine, a type of pate popular in France, is a casserole made from finely chopped minced meat (meat, vegetable, fish) laid out in several layers, filled with jelly.
The preparation of terrine requires exact following of the recipe and care. If you don't dry the terrine enough before pouring the jelly, unappetizing white spots will appear on the finished dish.

Despite the name julienne this is not quite a French dish, although it is directly related to France. In French cooking, this word refers to the method of cutting young vegetables into thin strips, as well as dishes in which these finely chopped vegetables are included, for example, julienne soup, julienne salad. But since all the ingredients are in the usual julienne, i.e. mushrooms baked in sauce are also cut into thin strips, and this dish is rightfully called julienne.

Meat, chicken, fish, shrimp, tongue, ham are added to julienne. You can cook julienne without meat - only with mushrooms. Onions are an essential ingredient in julienne. As a filling, you can use sour cream thickened with egg or flour, or bechamel sauce. Julienne is served in portioned cocotte makers, in which it was baked. Topped with grated cheese.

Tartarus- another popular snack - appeared in the 19th century. Then in French cuisine there was a fashion to imitate the cuisines of different nations with the help of sauces, which, according to the chefs, most of all corresponded to foreign tastes. A sauce was also created for the cuisine of the Tatars living far to the east - based on the mayonnaise so beloved by the French, to which they added pickles, capers, lime or lemon juice, gherkins, chopped onion, black pepper. This sauce is served with sea and river fish, preferably fried - it goes well with salmon, trout, sturgeon, cod, haddock, pike perch.
Tartar is also called dishes from finely chopped raw meat or fish. Tartar steak, tatar beef steak, a minced meat cutlet surrounded by all the components of tartar sauce, has firmly entered the menu of restaurants. In addition, there are many dishes where there is neither tartar sauce nor raw meat, but all these are also tartars - a finely chopped composition of various products, accompanied by a spicy sauce. There are even dessert fruit tartars.

tapenade- This is a Provencal seasoning that is served as an appetizer spread on toast, crackers or raw vegetables cut into pieces. Tapenade contains capers, unleavened

Publication date: 2015-12-30

One of the signs of a mature culture is the high professionalism of artisans. When they have the opportunity to develop their art not only for the sake of earning and subsistence, there is a chance to create masterpieces that will remain in history for all time. It is now not only about artists, sculptors or architects. The art of cooking is no less aesthetic and beautiful. And France is one of the clearest examples of how gastronomy has developed.

French cuisine is conditionally divided into three parts: regional peasant, widespread national and highly refined, the basis for which was the royal court cuisine.

The regional cuisine of the southern provinces is sharply distinguished by the spiciness of food, the extensive use of wines and spices in its preparation, especially garlic and onions. Alsatian cuisine also has its own characteristics, characterized by a significant consumption of cabbage and fatty pork, although residents of all other regions of France prefer lean meats (lamb, veal, chicken, various game). Burgundy is famous for sea and meat dishes with the addition of wine. Of course, the population of the coastal provinces consumes a large amount of seafood.

Dairy products are practically not used in French cuisine, with the exception of cheeses, of which there are several dozen varieties. Also, the French almost do not eat cereals - they love fresh vegetables. The main feature that distinguishes French cuisine is the presence of several hundred different sauces. The use of sauces helps to enhance the taste of even the most ordinary dishes.

The French regard cooking as an art, and dozens of borrowed words (restaurant, side dish, scrambled eggs, sauce, entrecote, mayonnaise, soufflé and many others) emphasize the universal respect for their cuisine. It is curious that in France the word "gourmet" means, first of all, a lover of plentiful and delicious food, while a connoisseur who understands the intricacies of gourmet dishes is called a gourmet (French gourmet).

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French cuisine for breakfast

(omelette) - a dish known to everyone and easy to prepare came to us from France. Traditionally nothing is added to it; A true French omelette is a mixture of beaten eggs fried in butter in a frying pan. It is made flat, not lush, rolled up or folded in half.

In French cuisine, regular references to a dish called "omelet" occur in the 16th century (although there are earlier, but rare cases), but the omelette in its modern form did not appear until the 18th century.

(croissant) - a bagel made of puff pastry with filling, the most famous French pastry. Traditionally served with breakfast. Butter puff yeast dough gives the pastries a delicate airy structure. The modern croissant is one of the staples of French and Austrian bakeries and pastry shops. Thanks to the introduction of factory-made frozen puff pastry in the 70s, they have become a widely popular fast food and now everyone can bake croissants, not just experienced chefs. The croissant is the most common continental breakfast pastry.

Such buns have been known in Austria since the 13th century, but became popular when they began to be baked in Paris. However, the Viennese and French croissants are different: the French borrowed only the shape from the Austrian confectioners, and they came up with the type of dough themselves. Around the bun there are various culinary legends that have no confirmation. For example, as if their shape is a reference to the Ottoman crescent.

The filling in a croissant can be anything - praline, almond paste, chocolate, dried fruits, fresh fruits. By the way, it is in France that croissants without filling are most often sold.

(œuf poché) is a simple and nutritious dish that came to us from France. The essence of the poached method is boiling eggs without shells in hot water. This is a method that allows you to achieve the desired result with only two components - the exact cooking time and the inadmissibility of boiling water.

There are different recipes based on poached eggs: they are sprinkled with herbs, salt, added to soups, put on sandwiches. One of the popular breakfast options is egg Benedict(bun with poached egg, bacon and sauce). The key is to use very fresh eggs. Also, cooks recommend choosing the highest category of eggs (they have a bright and large yolk). Then the cooked egg will consist of a tender soft yolk in a thin, light, almost imperceptible layer of protein.

Traditional French cuisine for starters (soups)

(pot-au-feu) or pot-au-feu is a traditional "homemade" soup with beef and vegetables. In translation, its name - “pot on fire” - literally reflects the method of cooking: in winter, a pot of water was hung over the fire, where vegetables, meat and roots were placed. As they were cooked, they were selected and eaten, and a new batch of ingredients was added to the pot.

It takes a very long time to prepare potofyo, so the dish has practically come out of household use. Traditionally, several pieces of inexpensive beef with a bone, carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage and turnips are placed in the soup. Sometimes mushrooms are added. For the "smoke" flavor, onions are often heavily fried. The serving of the dish distinguishes it from other soups - vegetables and meat are served separately from the broth. They can be additionally seasoned with a side dish. Seasonings such as mustard, horseradish and mayonnaise are combined with potofyo.

Over time, the term "potofyo" became a household word. In Russia, it was used as a synonym for the word "philistine", since the soup is the simplest, "philistine".

(coq au vin) or coq au vin is a traditional French dish. Depending on the type of wine, there are several preparation options. It is generally accepted that the original recipe was invented in Burgundy, so it is Burgundy wine that is considered the most suitable. You can also cook a rooster in champagne, in Riesling, in Beaujolais Nouveau.

The dish is prepared from whole poultry, unlike, for example, duck confit, where only legs are used. The sauce must be accompanied by premium wine, which is also served with the dish at the table. Traditionally, rooster in wine is served as a side dish.

But why the rooster? There is a legend about the origin of the dish since the time of Caesar: when the Romans conquered the Gauls (gallus - rooster), one of the leaders of the Gauls presented the future emperor with a live rooster, wanting to emphasize the prowess of Rome in this way. Caesar "returned" the gift by boiling the rooster in wine. Since the dish is national and actually folk, researchers still assume, since the dish is national and actually folk, that the rooster was boiled in wine to make its rather tough meat softer.

(cassoulet) - a stew with meat and beans, similar in texture to a thick stew. For its preparation, a cassette (a special deep pot) is used. Previously, the dish was cooked in ceramic casseroles, but today they are made from aluminum foil.

Cassoulet originated as a folk dish in the southern regions of France and is still very popular in the Languedoc and Occitania to this day. This is, in fact, the birthplace of all kinds of cold cuts. Cassoulet traditionally includes white beans, sausages, pork, goose or, sometimes lamb is present in the recipe.

Cooked over low heat in a closed container - this is done in order to reduce the characteristic feature of the beans to cause the accumulation of gases. Traditionally, French peasants cooked all the ingredients together in a pot, but nowadays it is customary to cook cassoullet from beans pre-boiled with vegetables and fried meat.

(bœuf bourguignon) or Burgundy beef is a traditional French dish, which, like, gave the world one of the most famous regions of France - Burgundy. The main "highlight" of the dish is a thick sauce based on red wine, of course, Burgundy.

The classic recipe for beef bourguignon is fried beef stewed in wine sauce with mushrooms, onions, carrots and garlic. However, these are very conditional ingredients, since there is no single generally accepted cooking option. Some cooks add tomato sauce, parsley and tomatoes to the dish.

Auguste Escoffier (1848-1935) introduced Burgundy beef into the “high cuisine” menu of France, and according to critics, this is one of the most delicious beef dishes, although the origin of the dish is folk. Previously, beef was stewed for a long time (more than three hours) in wine sauce in order to remove the stiffness of the meat. Today, cooks use tender "marbled" meat, veal, and therefore there is no need for long-term cooking, as French peasants did.

(bouillabaisse) - French original fish soup, a popular dish on the Mediterranean coast. The name consists of two words: boil and stew. Initially, it was a cheap soup made from the remains of fish that could not be sold at the market during the day. Today bouillabaisse includes halibut, hake, mullet, eel and even seafood - shellfish, mussels, crab, octopus. During cooking, fish are added to the broth in turn and brought to a boil. The classic recipe also includes a set of Provencal herbs and vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, celery, onions (pre-fried and stewed). Bouillabaisse is served with mayonnaise in olive oil with spices and garlic, slices of grilled bread.

Previously, bouillabaisse was served as follows: broth and slices of bread separately, and fish and vegetables separately. The wide popularity of the dish and the influx of tourists to the southern coast of France have created new bouillabaisse recipes - with expensive ingredients and exquisite seafood delicacies. Such dish options can cost 150-200 euros per serving. In some areas, walnuts, calvados, vinegar are added to the soup, and a bouquet of garni is used instead of Provence herbs.

(vichyssoise) - onion puree soup, named after the French resort of Vichy. The history of the soup causes discussion among culinary experts. According to Julia Child, it was created in America, but most experts attribute its creation to the famous Ritz-Carlton chef Louis Diat, who first cooked vichyssoise in 1950, based on childhood memories. Initially, a similar dish appeared as a hot soup made from potatoes and different varieties of onions (primarily leeks) at the end of the 19th century, and the chef's innovation was that he came up with the idea of ​​whipping it with cold cream.

Traditionally, Vichyssoise is served cold, sometimes with the addition of crackers. The soup is also served with shrimp salad with garlic and fennel.

(consommé) - beef or chicken strong but clarified broth. In a modern version, the dish is complemented by a pie. Usually the broth is prepared with minced meat, but some restaurants serve consomme from vegetables and even fruits.

Beaten egg whites are used to remove sediment and fat from the broth. The broth is also cooked with the addition of carrots, celery, leeks, which are taken out before serving the dish. The classic taste of consomme is achieved by cooking at high temperature and frequent stirring: this is how the broth is cooked until a dense protein film appears on its surface. Then it is simmered over low heat for about an hour until an amber translucent color and rich aroma are obtained.

Usually, consomme is served hot, because when it solidifies, it forms a jelly. Garnish for it can be very different, but it is certainly served separately. Consommé is considered one of the most exquisite dishes, since its preparation requires a large amount of meat (about 500 grams of minced meat per serving of broth) and the poor could not afford such a wasteful dish. It is also common to serve gelled broth - chilled consommé.

(soupe à l "oignon) - a typical French cuisine soup based on meat broth, with onions and cheese. Served with croutons. Similar onion-based soups have been known since Roman times - this is a popular food among the poor, who have always had onions in The current version of the dish originated around the 18th century, and according to French legend, it was first prepared by King Louis XV, who, while on a hunt, got hungry, but late at night there was only onion, champagne and butter in the house.According to other sources, a similar dish was popular among Parisian workers and market traders.Today, French onion soup is caramelized onion in beef broth in a pot of croutons.Comte cheese melts on top of the soup.

Thanks to the use of browned onions, the soup acquires a wonderful aroma and golden color. Chefs caramelize onions for at least half an hour. For original notes, before serving the dish, sherry or dry white wine can be added to the soup.

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Traditional French cuisine for the second

(сonfit de canard) - stewed duck legs; a dish originally from the Gascony region (southern France). Confit arose as a way to preserve meat in the absence of the possibility of its long-term storage. Usually the legs were salted and stewed for a long time in their own fat. Then they were placed in a ceramic pot and filled with the same fat. In this form, in a cold cellar, a cooked dish could be stored for months.

Today, the recipe has changed somewhat: the duck is still rubbed with salt, herbs, garlic, but then kept in the refrigerator for more than a day. It is prepared in its own fat, or in olive oil, for several hours (from 4 to 10). Properly cooked duck confit in an airtight package can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. In a modern classic recipe, duck confit is served with fried potatoes.

(foie gras) - fatty liver, as the name of this most delicate dish literally translates. Even the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans mastered the practice of forcibly feeding waterfowl. By the way, we owe even the French word foie - liver - to the ancient Romans, who fed geese with figs, and received from them "fig liver", ficatum.

Today, mainly ducks and mulards (a cross of duck and goose) are fattened to get the liver. According to connoisseurs, the taste is almost indistinguishable. As a rule, foie gras is served before a hot dish, accompanied by dessert white wine. But there are also original options - fried escalope foie gras.

(timbale) - a hearty and original dish, which is a pasta casserole in a special form. In general, timbales and timbales are products prepared in a special form, which does not allow the sauce or cream to spread, and also gives the dish a beautiful look. This was in keeping with the spirit of French court cuisine at the beginning of the 19th century, when cooks had to be able to cook multi-storey "palaces" from such timbales.

Today, timbale is understood as large long pasta, which fills the baking dish (bottom and sides). The filling can be very different - vegetables, mushrooms, cheese, meat. The top layer of timbale is pasta again.

(cuisses de grenouille) - an unusual delicacy, to which the French owe the offensive nickname "paddling pools". Connoisseurs say that frog legs taste like a cross between chicken and fish. Only the upper part of the hind leg is used for food. According to statistics, more than 3 billion frogs are grown for this purpose every year.

(escargots de bourgogne) - a snail appetizer, one of the specific well-known dishes of French cuisine. In general, escargot is a term that unites all edible types of snails, but the French consider Burgundy snails to be classic and most delicious.

Escargot is an exquisite delicacy served in expensive restaurants. Of course, in the markets and shops in France you can buy live snails or semi-finished products. In the first case, they will have to be prepared on their own (an extremely troublesome task) - soak for several days in flour and herbs, pour over with boiling water, and remove the meat. Snail shells can be used to serve a dish more than once.

An obligatory component of the escargot recipe is green oil (garlic and parsley are whipped with salted butter). This mixture is placed on the bottom of the shell, then stuffed with snail meat, and again smeared with green oil on top. Snails are baked in the oven until golden brown, and eaten with a fork and special tongs. Escargot is served with white wine.

(galantine) - "jelly" in old French, aspic from chicken, rabbit, veal meat. Galantine is a rather complicated, richly decorated dish (hence the name: galant - complex). The classic recipe is as follows: minced meat is mixed with seasonings and eggs, then boiled in broth or baked, and then cooled to form the outer layer of jelly. The dish is served cold. Galantine in France is traditionally made from chicken, duck, pheasant, pork and lamb. Nowadays, the term "galantine" refers not only to a specific dish, but also to the technology of its preparation.

(aligot) - mashed potatoes and cheese, often with garlic, served with fried sausage or pork. The dish appeared in the Auvergne region and became widespread at the end of the 19th century, mainly due to urbanization.

Aligo is made from mashed potatoes, to which cream, butter, garlic and chopped cheese are added (half a kilo of cheese per kilogram of potatoes). As for the variety of cheese, Auvergne cheeses Tom and Cantal were traditionally used. Historically, this dish was prepared for pilgrims who, on their way to Santiago de Compostela, asked to eat at least “something” in Latin, which sounds like “aliquid” in the abbey on the Aubrac plateau. Nowadays, red wine is recommended for the dish.

(côtelette de volaille) - a dish very similar to "chicken Kiev". A classic French recipe: a beaten chicken breast is stuffed with a creamy sauce, covered several times with a mixture of egg and breadcrumbs, then fried or baked in the oven. A variety of ingredients are allowed to be added to the creamy sauce, which can significantly change the taste of the dish as a whole.

In 1918, cutlets de volyay were served for the first time at one of the official receptions in Kyiv. Everyone liked the new dish and quickly entered the restaurant menu, having received the name “Kiev cutlet”. Later, during in-line production, her recipe was simplified - instead of sauce, they began to use cold butter.

(choucroute) - Alsatian sauerkraut, a dish of regional French cuisine. Usually, this word means not only the cabbage itself, but also a side dish in the form of potatoes or meat products. Shukrut has been known in this form since the 19th century. The cooking method is as follows: finely chopped cabbage is infused in brine for some time, then it is boiled in beer or wine.

Sausages, knuckle, salted meat, and potatoes are traditionally added to shukrut. This is one of the popular Alsatian dishes. In 2012, shukrut was patented as a protected geographical name. Now manufacturers can produce products with this name only if the preparation technology meets the established standards. For example, heads of cabbage should weigh from 3 kg, enzymes should not be added during fermentation and the temperature should not be changed, and if the clover is sold boiled, then only Alsatian alcohol is used for it. This guarantees the high quality standards that have been developed over the years.

(gratin dauphinois) - potato casserole with cream. Also used are such names as "potato a la dauphinois" and "dauphinois casserole". The dish was first mentioned in 1788. The recipe originally included potatoes, garlic and butter, with cream and additional ingredients added later. Potatoes are cut into coin-thick circles, stacked in layers and cooked in an oven over low heat for about an hour. You can also add cheese and eggs. The main thing is to choose the right potatoes, yellow and not too hard. The highlight of the dish is the aroma of garlic. As an alternative to cream, some recipes use poultry broth. In some recipes, potatoes are pre-breaded.

french desserts

(creme fraiche) - a French fermented milk product with a fat content of not more than 30%, similar to sour cream. It is obtained from cream by adding lactic acid bacteria. Cream fresh is practically not used as a separate dish, but is widely used as an ingredient for making various soups, sauces and desserts. Sometimes it is used as a marinade for meat, then spices, garlic and herbs are added to it.

(crème brûlée) is a dessert whose name translates as "burnt cream". The earliest mention of it dates back to the 17th century and appears in the cookbook of Francois Messialo, the chef of the Duke of Orleans. Therefore, creme brulee is traditionally considered a French dessert, although the British believe that its authorship belongs to them and that creme brulee was first prepared at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Creme brulee is a custard base of cream with egg and sugar, on top of which is a layer of hardened caramel crust. Dessert should be at room temperature. The custard base is usually flavored with vanilla, in some cases with other additives. Another version of the recipe is Catalan cream, which contains lemon or orange zest and cinnamon. Its base is prepared with milk, unlike the traditional creme brulee. Another original version of the recipe is creme brulee flambe - custard is sprinkled with sugar and caramelized with a burner right before serving.

(éclair) is one of the most popular French desserts. A long tube of creamy choux pastry, most likely created by a famous chef named Marie-Antoine Careme (1784-1833). In the USA, eclairs are, in fact, understood to be yeast donuts, but real French eclairs are hollow inside, tender and correspond to the literal translation of “lightning” - they are eaten with lightning speed.

It's funny that in Germany these cakes were called "love bone" and "hare's foot". The characteristic oblong shape, icing and the most delicate filling are the hallmarks of all eclairs. Choux pastry tubes are filled with cream with vanilla, coffee or chocolate flavor, whipped cream, cream with rum or fruit fillings, and even chestnut puree. Fudge, caramel, chocolate can act as a glaze.

french pies

(quiche lorraine), also known as Lorraine pie, is an open pie with filling and filling. The original savory quiche is made from shortbread dough, stuffed with smoked bacon and filled with a mixture of eggs and cream with pepper, and sometimes with nutmeg. Its main feature is a tender baked crust, which is formed from the filling.

Initially, quiche lauren - a pie with Lorraine custard, as the egg-cream filling was called - appeared on the table at the beginning of the 17th century. Then it was sprinkled with cheese, but over time, the cheese was replaced with bacon. Other varieties of the pie also appeared - with fried onions or with fish and an egg, or without filling at all.

Today, quiche lauren has become so popular that now this name is understood to mean all salted pies with filling and filling. There are a lot of quiche recipes in our time - vegetable, meat, fish, but quiche loren with brisket is still considered classic (sometimes supplemented with cheese, Gruyère cheese is used in the original).

(pissaladière) - an open onion pie with anchovies, similar to pizza. It originated in southern France and has become a traditional local dish, especially popular in the Nice area. A true pissaladière must contain pissala (a salty mash of very small anchovies and herb sardines), but due to the ban on catching such small fish in the Mediterranean, the pie has been made from the pulp of lightly dried anchovies (sometimes they are ground into minced meat). Onions are caramelized for a long time in olive oil, garlic, thyme and black olives are also added.

(tarte tatin) is a French-style apple pie in which apples are caramelized in sugar and butter. Appeared at the end of the 19th century, perhaps thanks to Stephanie Tatin (the owner of a hotel near Paris), who, in the process of making an ordinary pie, forgot about the apples in the pan and almost burned them. Then she poured the dough directly on the burnt apples and put it in the oven in this form (along with the frying pan). Then the woman turned over the finished cake, which, to everyone's surprise, turned out to be a delicious treat.

The peculiarity of tarte tatin is that it is baked upside down. So the apple upside-down pie became the signature dish of the Tatin sisters. At least according to the legend. The owner of the famous Parisian restaurant "Maxim", having tasted this new dessert, was amazed and included it in his menu. For tarte tatin, not only apples are used, but also pears, peaches and even tomatoes and onions. The dough can be sand or puff.

French pastries

(canelé) is a signature French dessert originally from Aquitaine. This is a small cake that is distinguished by a hard, crispy crust on the outside and a tender dough on the inside. The term originated from the architectural "flute" - a column with grooves. Dessert is the same.

There is a story that canele appeared in the 18th century, perhaps thanks to the nuns who invented the dessert - small oblong fried pieces of dough. Another legend is associated with winemaking in the Bordeaux region - in this area, the wine goes through a clarification stage with the help of beaten egg whites, while unnecessary yolks were sent to the monastery, where they came up with a cake based on them.

The must-have ingredients for canele are vanilla, rum, egg yolk and cane sugar. Whether the monastery cakes of the 18th century were the forerunners of modern canele is difficult to say, but they were called, in any case, it seems - canolier. Canele is one of the most popular "simple" desserts today. They are even served with champagne and wines - this is a versatile, delicate and fragrant dessert.

(gougères) - savory pastries stuffed with cheese. Gougères look like small cakes made from choux pastry, from 3 to 12 cm in diameter. For their preparation, cheese is used, which has a pronounced taste, for example, Comte, Gruyère, Emmental. Grated or finely chopped cheese is added directly to the dough. In some recipes, gougères are stuffed with meat, mushrooms, and ham. It is believed that they were first made in Burgundy. Served at wine tasting (cold), and as an aperitif - hot.

In the 18th-19th centuries, gougères were made from dough tubes, sometimes it was just a flat cake. Even earlier, gougères meant stew in dough, as well as a medieval cheese pie with filling. In England, there is a similar pastry - scones. Gougères differ from them in the obligatory presence of cheese, which gives the pastry a piquant taste.

(vol-au-vent) - a savory snack, a dish of French cuisine, the name of which translates as "flying in the wind." This puff pastry confectionery usually has a meat, fish or mushroom filling.

Initially, the vol-au-vent was prepared as a small pie and was about 20 cm in diameter. The famous chef Antoine Careme (1784-1833) used light and crispy puff pastry to make a salty or sweet unusual snack. It is said that when the flat rings, from which he made the cake, greatly increased in the oven, as happens with puff pastry, Karem's student noticed that the cake seemed to fly into the air - hence the characteristic name. Later, the flounces were reduced in size by at least half, "to the bite of the queen."

The filling for the vol-au-vent can be very different: stew, fish, mushrooms, even snails and crayfish. The main feature of the dish is its original shape. Vol-au-vent consists of several rings of dough, fastened together with the help of egg white. Hot appetizers are served.

(baguette) - a long soft bun with a crust; considered a symbol of French cuisine. Typically, a baguette is about 65 cm long, 6 cm wide, and weighs 250 grams. Its name is borrowed from Italian and translates as "wand". The harbingers of these long rolls were known in France as early as the time of Louis XIV - they were described as six-foot thin loaves that looked more like weapons or crowbars.

The baguette is usually broken, not cut. It is eaten only fresh, a few hours after cooking it becomes stale. The main condition for creating an airy light baguette is a well-heated oven. One of the features of a baguette is the speed of its preparation.

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Other traditional French cuisine

(andouillette) - the original type of French sausage; a characteristic dish for the regions of Champagne, Picardy, Flanders, Lyon. Andouillet is a filling of ground intestines and stomach with the addition of spices, peppers, onions and wine, with which pork intestines are stuffed. The dish is practically not found anywhere except France and has a specific original smell that arises from its ingredients. The mayor of Lyon once spoke about the smell of sausage: "Politics is like an andouillet, it should smell a little unpleasant, but not too much." Anduiette is served fried or grilled, either hot or cold.

Biscuits(les galettes) - a flour product, the main property of which is a long shelf life. This word (translated as “boulder”) denotes several dishes at once, including cookies, crackers, crackers, pancakes, and even a type of bread. For example, a typical snack in the French region of Brittany is sausage biscuits, thin pancakes wrapped with fried sausage or sausage.

Simple types of biscuits - crackers and crackers - are made from low-fat dough. They keep for several years. They are still used in army and expeditionary rations, they are taken with them on hiking trips. Despite the density, the structure of such a "cookie" is layered and it is easily soaked in liquid. Fat biscuits are also prepared, in which the fat content (butter) can reach 18%.

Plain biscuits are a well-known French peasant food. And if in Brittany biscuits are pancakes made from buckwheat flour with milk and eggs, then in other regions they are large cookies or long-term storage bread. Thin buckwheat Breton spring rolls are a specialty of the local cuisine and are garnished with eggs, meat, cheese, vegetables or fruit.

Like any other, French cuisine is conditionally divided into folk-peasant and exquisitely aristocratic. However, the phrase "French cuisine" is associated exclusively with the sophistication of culinary art, as well as with the delicate and delicate taste of dishes. And this makes sense. After all, thanks to the efforts of local chefs, the first McDonald's restaurant appeared in France already in 1983!

The French are happy to use any vegetables and herbs in cooking. Dairy products are mainly represented by cheeses, while olive and butter oils are used as fat (depending on the region). In coastal areas, seafood is traditionally preferred, in continental areas - pork and game (at least once preferred). Frog legs - a delicacy that is used by ordinary French people very, very rarely.

Separately, it should be said about wine and sauces, which are an integral part of the menu of any native French family. Moreover, often wines are not just drunk, but used in the preparation of all kinds of dishes in the form boiled down and completely exhausted during the cooking process. After all, the main thing is not the degree, but the taste, taste and aroma!

In this collection, our culinary experts share French cuisine recipes with photos and step-by-step cooking instructions. Bon appetit!

Cold and hot snacks

The French take food very seriously. Eating on the go is not accepted here. During the day, must at least one meal be organized according to all the rules? and in this case, snacks appear first on the table. For French snacks? not an addition to an alcoholic drink (although there is a tradition of serving such drinks as an aperitif that stimulates the appetite), but a kind of “overture” to the main course of lunch or dinner. It is believed that a well-chosen snack contributes to a better disclosure of the taste of subsequent dishes, stimulates the appetite, adjusts to the upcoming meal, and even promotes better digestion.

Among the variety of French appetizers, there are several main ones - you will find their various variations among the recipes in this section. For example, tartare is a snack that appeared in French cuisine in the 19th century. French chefs then experimented, creating recipes that, in their opinion, conveyed the national flavor of the cuisine of one or another foreign people. So the sauce was invented, as if it came from the kitchen of the Tatars living far to the east, based on mayonnaise, with the addition of pickled cucumbers, capers, lemon juice, onions and black pepper. Later, dishes made from finely chopped raw meat or fish began to be called tartare. A variety of pates and terrines (baked pates) are very popular in France. They are prepared from various types of meat and liver, supplementing the main ingredients with vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and enriching the taste with the addition of cognac or nutmeg wine. Another story is foie gras dishes. This fatty and tender goose or duck liver is an enduring hit in French cooking. The excellent taste and subtle aroma of foie gras turn appetizers from it into a true delicacy. Egg dishes can also be attributed to hot appetizers - there are a great many of their recipes in France. The most refined are poached eggs and eggs benedict (poached with hollandaise sauce).

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Secrets of Japanese Cuisine author Khvorostukhina Svetlana Alexandrovna

COLD APPETIZERS Salads play a central role in Japanese national cuisine. Many Japanese chefs consider them the most important dishes of any menu. It should be noted that the salads prepared by the masters are a real work of culinary

From the book 50 Korean Salad Recipes author Recipe collection

COLD STARTERS 34. Cucumber cold appetizer 200 g cucumbers, 60 g chicken meat, 10 g green onions, 4 g salt, 5 g mustard powder, 2 g vegetable oil, 1 g red pepper, 2 g toasted sesame seeds, 3 g garlic, 5 g soy sauce, 10 g table vinegar, 1 egg, 5 g sugar

From the book Picnic Dishes author Ivleva Ludmila Andreevna

Cold appetizers Eggs stuffed with mushrooms Ingredients: 30 g dried mushrooms, 7 eggs, 2 onions, 2 tbsp. tablespoons melted butter, 3 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, 2 tbsp. spoons of mayonnaise, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of spicy tomato sauce, salt, parsley. Preparation: peel hard-boiled eggs,

From the book Polish Cuisine author Melnikov Ilya

Cold appetizers Potato cakes You will need: 1 kg of potatoes, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of lard, 100 g smoked brisket, 1 onion, 2 eggs; 1 st. a spoonful of fat, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of crushed breadcrumbs, marjoram, salt to taste. Boil potatoes in a uniform, peel, grate on a coarse grater.

From the book 500 recipes from around the world author Perederey Natalia

Cold appetizers Sandwiches "China" Ingredients: Buns with cumin - 2 pieces, pork - 100 g, cheese - 50 g, pine nuts - 30 g, vegetable oil or fat - 1-2 tbsp. spoons, mayonnaise - 2 tbsp. spoons, meat broth - 2 tbsp. spoons, mustard - 1 teaspoon, parsley, salt and pepper

From the book Egg Dishes. Various menus for weekdays and holidays author Alkaev Eduard Nikolaevich

COLD AND HOT SNACKS

From the book Cheese Dishes author Treer Gera Marksovna

Cold and hot soups Cold white gazpacho with cream cheese and macho grapes - 2 tbsp. cream cheese spoons - 250 g white grapes - 2 slices of white bread - 1 cucumber - 2 leek stalks - 1 garlic clove - 1/3 cup almonds - 1/3 cup cold water - 1-2

From the book Okroshka and other Russian soups author Cooking Author unknown -

DRINKS HOT, COLD Sbiten Simple sbiten 500 g of honey, 700 g of molasses, 5 - 10 g of spices (cinnamon, cloves, hops, mint, etc.), 6 liters of water Boil water and, having added all the components, boil for another 30 minutes. Drink sbiten hot like tea. In this and other recipes

From the book 800 dishes for fasting days author Gagarina Arina

Hot and cold drinks Sour milk with apples and orange What you need: 1 glass of sour milk, 1 apple, 1 tbsp. l. sugar syrup, 2 tbsp. l. orange juice, 1 tsp. chopped walnut kernels And start cooking: Finely chop

From the book Summer soups, okroshka, beetroots and others. Cooking like a pro! author Sladkova Olga Vladimirovna

Russian cold and hot soups Okroshka Okroshka with potatoes and tomatoes Kvass - 2 l Hard-boiled egg yolk - 1 pc. Mustard - 2 g Sugar - 5 g Horseradish root - 3 g Cucumbers - 100 g Tomatoes - 100 g Radishes - 50 g Potatoes boiled in their skins - 100 gluk green - 30 g

From the book Festive Table in French author Recipe collection

Cold and hot appetizers The French take food very seriously. Eating on the go is not accepted here. During the day, must at least one meal be organized according to all the rules? and in this case, snacks appear first on the table. For French snacks? Not

From the book Diary of the Kremlin Diet author Lukovkina Aurika

Hot and cold dishes Cottage cheese pate with ham Required: 150 g soft low-fat cottage cheese, 50 g butter, 150 g ham, milk, salt to taste. Preparation. Stir the butter in a bowl, gradually add cottage cheese, finely chopped ham, rubbed through a sieve,

From the book 215 recipes for healthy bones and teeth author Sinelnikova A. A.

Hot and cold dishes Cottage cheese with egg and green onions Required: 200 g low-fat cottage cheese, 3 tbsp. l. sour cream or milk, 1 egg, 1 tbsp. l. chopped green onion or chives, salt or pickle brine to taste. Cooking. Rub cottage cheese with a wooden spoon, mix with sour cream

From the book 500 recipes of the old innkeeper author Polivalina Lyubov Alexandrovna

Hot and cold dishes Cottage cheese pate with cod liver Required: 150 g soft low-fat cottage cheese, 150 g canned cod liver in oil, 1 tsp. chopped onion, ground pepper, milk, salt to taste. Preparation. Grind cottage cheese in a bowl,

From the author's book

Cold appetizers Bean pate. 2 cups boiled beans, 3 tbsp. spoons of red wine, 6 tbsp. spoons of olive oil, 2 green peppers, 2 red peppers, 1 onion head. All components are combined and beaten with a mixer. Processed cheese pudding. 400 g processed cheese, 20 g

From the author's book

COLD APPETIZERS KIEV MERCHANT'S VINAIGRE Required: 6–8 potatoes, 3 carrots, 2 beets, 2 onions, 3–4 pickled cucumbers, 250 g (1 can) canned green peas, 200 g pickled cabbage, vegetable oil, salt. Cooking method. Boil

Ah, Versailles, Angelique, the King, balls and dinner parties... How beautiful it all looks by the light of a thousand candles in films about a beautiful French woman and her life adventures.

This is how you look and so you want to taste at least a small fraction of that unattainable French luxury. And although now there are no kings anymore and their palaces can be safely visited, and dishes named after royal names can be tasted during a sightseeing tour, you still need to travel and get a visa for this. But who prevents you from arranging at least for one evening a “branch of France” in your kitchen?

After all, French cuisine uses all the products available to us and you can safely treat yourself to truly French snacks with good French wine bought at the nearest wine store.

Fish and seafood dish

The French are very fond of cooking fish, but they do it in such a way that even a simple fish trifle will look elegant and appetizing. And the whole secret is in the aromatic sauce. It is not for nothing that France is famous for its magnificent sauces and dressings, which will turn even the most ordinary dish into a culinary masterpiece.

Let's try the French recipe for tilapia with green sauce.

Ingredients:

For fish:

• Fish fillet - 3 pcs.
• Breadcrumbs - 50 gr.
• Egg - 1 pc.
• Sunflower oil - 3-4 tbsp. l.
• Salt, pepper - to taste.

For sauce:

• Fresh dill - 1/4 bunch.
• Ready mustard - 1 tbsp. l.
• Lemon juice - ½ lemon.
• Honey - 1 tsp
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking:

1. In a deep cup, combine honey with mustard and olive oil.

2. Squeeze juice from half a lemon, trying to make sure that no bones get into the future sauce.

3. Chop fresh washed dill as finely as possible.

4. Pour chopped dill into a cup with liquid ingredients and beat everything well with a fork. The sauce is ready!

5. Prepare a lezon from an egg with salt and pepper. To do this, beat them with a whisk until a homogeneous foamy mass.

6. Rinse the fish thoroughly, pat dry with paper towels and dip in turn in the lezon. Each side should be covered with egg mixture.

7. After that, immediately dip into a plate with breadcrumbs to cover the fillet with breadcrumbs.

8. Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan and fry for about 5 minutes on each side so that the fish meat is well fried and the breading acquires a fried appearance that is pleasing to the eye.

When you turn it over to the second side, add a spoonful of fresh oil so that there is no taste of overheated oil.

9. Put the fried fish, add boiled vegetables, a slice of lemon and pour over the green sauce.

Bon appetit!

French style meat dish

In the old days, the French "high society" was famous for its hunting trips with dogs. Even if the gentlemen did not manage to shoot a single animal or bird during their "fun", on their return they still wanted to taste freshly prepared meat dishes. Whole carcasses were prepared on a spit, as well as all kinds of cutlets, rolls, pates, etc.

Chefs, wanting to surpass the culinary skills of their colleagues and glorify their master, came up with incredible combinations of products and it turned out very, very original and tasty.

They did not bypass their attention and mouth-watering meat balls. Until now, restaurants serve the famous Languedoc meatballs - according to an old recipe that was invented and prepared in the former historical southern French region.

Ingredients:

For meatballs:

• Pork and beef mince - 700 gr.
• Chicken egg - 2 pcs.
• Garlic clove - 4 pcs.
• Flour - 3 tbsp. l.
• Parsley greens - 5 branches.
• Salt, pepper - to taste.

For sauce:

• Pitted olives - 200 gr.
• Meat broth - 0.5 l.
• Salted salo - 120 gr.
• Cooked-smoked ham - 60 gr.
• Tomato - 2-3 pcs.
• Onions - 2 pcs.
• Flour - 2 tbsp. l.
• Sunflower oil - 3 tbsp. l.
• Cayenne pepper, salt to taste

Cooking:

1. To prepare minced meat for meatballs, it is necessary to chop the garlic cloves and parsley sprigs as finely as possible. Then add them to the minced pork and beef along with the eggs. Salt and pepper to your taste and knead well until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.

2. Scoop up the meat mass with a spoon, “shove it out” so that the minced meat becomes a little denser and then does not crumble during cooking. Gently roll 3 cm balls between your palms and roll them in flour. Place in the refrigerator while you make the sauce.

2. Make small cuts of bacon, ham, onions and tomatoes.

3. Send the meatballs to the heated oil for 4 minutes for light frying, then pull them out and put them on a plate.

4. Pour the bacon pieces into the remaining oil and fry for 5-7 minutes while stirring.

5. Add vegetables to them and season with red pepper. And to thicken the sauce, add 2 tablespoons of flour with vigorous stirring, and then let it simmer under a closed lid for about 5 minutes.

6. Add meat broth, stir until smooth and bring to a boil. Send the fried meatballs to the sauce to simmer for half an hour.

7. So that the finished dish does not interrupt the taste of olives, first cut them into halves and put them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain excess water and leave for a few minutes in a colander to dry out a little.

If the olives are small, you can use them whole.

8. Send scalded olives to an almost ready dish and simmer for another 10 minutes.

9. For a side dish, you can cook mashed potatoes or fried potatoes and, beautifully laying them out on a plate along with cooked meatballs in a complex sauce, sprinkle with herbs and serve still hot.

Bon appetit!

A dish of vegetables and nuts

Provence is famous for its herbs, spices and vegetables. It was from this French province that the love for casseroles, mayonnaise and baked dishes with Provence herbs went around the world.

You can feel the taste that this part of the world is proud of by preparing a Provencal vegetable casserole.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 300 gr.
• Canned string beans - 400 gr.
• Zucchini - 250 gr.
• Tomato - 400 gr.
• Vegetable broth - 150 ml.
• Parmesan grated - 40 gr.
• Onion - 150 gr.
• Tomato paste - 3 tbsp. l.
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Paprika - 1 tsp
• Parsley - 20 gr.
• Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l.
• Crushed nuts - 2 tbsp. l.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Cut the onion into rings about half a centimeter thick. Chop the garlic with a press or chop with a knife.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and send the onion rings and garlic into it for 7-8 minutes to fry.

3. Pour in paprika and let it soak a little with hot oil and onion juice so that a delicate aroma goes. Then mix the roast with tomato paste, beans and chopped parsley and put in an even layer in a baking dish.

4. Cut the peeled potatoes into centimeter circles and dip in salted boiling water and cook for five minutes until half cooked.

5. Pull out the potato circles with a slotted spoon on a plate and, as soon as they dry slightly, spread them in a layer over the onion-bean layer.

6. Peel the zucchini from the skin (if the skin is young and tender, then you can not remove it), cut into plastics or rounds and put in a mold on the potatoes.

7. From the tomato, make slices of uniform thickness in circles and put on top of the zucchini.

8. Pour vegetable broth so that it completely covers all the vegetables and send for half an hour in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

9. Sprinkle the almost finished dish evenly with grated parmesan and crushed nuts and send to the oven to bake for another 10 minutes.

10. This dish can be eaten on its own without a side dish, served with fresh bread.

Bon appetit!

French dish with foie gras

Ah, this is an interesting and such a romantic word "foie gras". It even sounds somehow true in French! Do you know what it is? It actually means "very fatty liver." It really has a buttery, smooth texture and a sweet aftertaste, because ducks and geese are specially fattened for this effect. Although it is about 5 times more expensive than regular chicken liver, it's worth it.

The secret of the dishes lies in the fact that foie gras is cooked only at low temperatures so that the fat does not melt and the delicacy does not lose its value. Chefs also soak it in Armagnac so that a stunning cognac flavor appears. But in our conditions, a good port wine or even milk is quite suitable if someone does not tolerate an alcoholic note in a dish.

Ingredients:

• Duck foie gras - 150 gr.
• Milk - 0.5 cups.
• White mushrooms - 100 gr.
• Dry morels - 3 gr.
• Chanterelles - 50 gr.
• Meat broth - 1-2 tbsp. l.
• Butter - 20 gr.
• Flour - 2 tbsp. l.
• Shallot -15 gr.
• Garlic - 1 clove.
• Parsley - 2 branches.
• Arugula - a few leaves for decoration.
• Salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Defrost foie gras to room temperature, carefully remove the ducts and rinse. Then soak for 5-8 hours in milk.

2. Roll the foie gras well in flour to form a crust that retains the fat during frying and quickly fry in a dry frying pan heated over medium heat.

While cooking, try not to disturb the foie gras so that the crust does not crack, and carefully turn over only 1 time so that it is fried on the second side.

3. Soak morels overnight. In the morning, wash them well under running water and chop them.

4. Defrost the rest of the mushrooms to room temperature (ideally take fresh ones), chop into equal pieces.

5. Slice the shallots.

6. Chop the garlic and parsley sprigs.

7. Pour oil into the pan and fry until half cooked, first sliced ​​porcini mushrooms. Then add chanterelles to them, and after 7 minutes morels. When the mushroom assortment is almost ready, add the shallot rounds. As soon as the shallot softens a little, salt, pepper and add the garlic and parsley. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat of the pan.

8. Arrange arugula on a dish, put mushroom garnish and warm fried foie gras. To make it a little more tender, sprinkle warm meat broth on top.

9. Usually the French also sprinkle the dish from the “mill” with sea salt and Provence herbs. Be sure to serve lightly crispy toast.

Bon appetit!

French cheese platter

The love of the French for blue cheeses is world famous. Most of us are already familiar with cheeses such as Roquefort, Camembert and Brie.

For most of our people, of course, the cheese seems to be completely spoiled, but here it is green abroad, and even white cheese with mold is considered a delicacy. It turns out that such cheeses are not only used in a “fresh” form, but they also prepare all kinds of chic dishes.

Let's try to cook slices of fried Brie cheese with a spicy tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

• Brie cheese - 300 gr.
• Green tomato - 2 pcs.
• Egg - 2 pcs.
• Green apple - 1 pc.
• Purple onion - 1 pc.
• Dried apricots - 4 pieces (large).
• Raisins - 1 tbsp. l.
• Lemon zest - 1 tbsp. l.
• Garlic clove - 2 pcs.
• Flour - 100 gr.
• Breadcrumbs - 1 cup.
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.
• Sunflower oil - 1 cup (for deep-frying).
• Salt, spices - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Rinse dried apricots with raisins and soak in cool water for an hour and a half. Then rinse and let dry.

2. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water so that you can easily peel the skin, and then chop the peeled tomatoes into small cubes.

3. Cut the skin off the apple and remove the core with seeds. Cut into cubes like tomatoes.

4. Chop the onion with garlic cloves with a knife and fry in heated olive oil for about 3 minutes.

5. To the onion-garlic frying, send apple and tomato cubes to stew for a couple of minutes.

6. Crumble the swollen rounds of dried apricots into strips and, together with raisins, send them to stew for three minutes to the previous components. You can simultaneously salt the resulting sauce with dried fruits and add your favorite spices. Let cool to room temperature.

7. Mix flour well with lemon zest. Beat eggs with a pinch of salt until frothy.

8. Cut the cheese into beautiful large pieces. Then first roll in the zest-flour mixture, then dip in egg lezon and roll well in breadcrumbs.

It is advisable to dip the cheese pieces in all these three cups with elements of the future breadcrumbs twice so that a good thick layer is obtained and the cheese does not leak out during melting.

9. Heat sunflower oil in a deep fryer or stewpan and lower the rolled cheese for one and a half to two minutes to fry a beautiful bread crust.

10. Lay the fried cheese slices beautifully on a dish, and put the spicy tomato sauce into a cup for convenience and serve.

Bon appetit!

french dessert

If we are already talking about French cuisine, then we cannot ignore the creations of these world-famous European confectioners. What kind of mousses, cakes, cookies, meringues, marshmallows and sweets they do not cook! The variety of photos from French pastry shops can make your head spin! Parisians are very fond of arranging coffee breaks with all sorts of sweet desserts.

Delicate chocolate petit fours are very popular with them, which are somewhat similar to shortbread cookies with cream and chocolate icing.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 1 cup.
• Butter - 170 gr. + 30 gr. + 50 gr.
• Sour cream - 2 tbsp. l.
• Milk - 70 ml. + 30 ml.
• Dry chocolate pudding - 40 gr.
• Starch - 2 tbsp. l.
• Baking powder - 1 tsp.
• Vanilla sugar - 10 gr.
• Sugar - 2 tbsp. l.
• Powdered sugar - 80 gr.
• Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking:

1. Pour a spoonful of baking powder and starch into the sifted flour. Mix well.

2. Add regular and vanilla sugar, sour cream and cut into pieces butter (170 gr.), Rub it well with your hands and knead a homogeneous, tender dough according to the consistency, like on a “grandmother's pie”. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour.

3. Roll out a half-centimeter layer from the dough and cut circles with a glass or a special form for cutting cookies.

4. Lay a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet, put blanks for future cookies on it and send to bake for 13 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.

5. Carefully remove the finished cookies from the parchment and let cool.

If you remove a cookie that has already cooled down, it may break.

6. From whipped milk with sugar, butter (30 g) and a mixture for chocolate pudding, prepare a well-whipped thick chocolate cream.

7. Combine milk (30 ml), powdered sugar, cocoa powder and the remaining butter in a saucepan and cook the chocolate icing with vigorous stirring.

When the mass becomes homogeneous and slightly thickened - the glaze is ready!

8. Put the cream in a pastry syringe or bag and squeeze out about a teaspoon for half the number of finished cookies.

9. Put a second cookie on top. Squeeze lightly so that the cream “squeezes out from the center of the cookies to their edges, creating a kind of uniform cream layer, and pour the icing with a teaspoon.

10. You can decorate with squeezed chocolate cream or jam on top.

Bon appetit!

Video recipe - Lenten French-style Sunday lunch

Let the aromas of French cooking conquer not only you and your household with their smell, but also make your neighbors kindly envy you.

It does not matter whether you cook a very complex dish or the famous ratatouille, the main thing is that you feel a sense of satisfaction from your culinary masterpiece and nostalgia for royal times has disappeared.

Bon appetit and an unforgettable feeling of a piece of France on your table!