Common French Main Dishes

1. Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients:

FOR T HE S TEW:
  6 ounces thick cut bacon, diced,
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  3 pounds lean stewing beef (preferably chuck), cut into 2 inch cubes and patted dry
with a paper towel
  1 large onion, peeled and sliced
  1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
  2 garlic cloves, minced
  Salt and pepper to taste
  1 tablespoon flour
  1 750ml bottle full bodied, young red wine (*read the post for alternatives)
  2 to 3 cups brown beef stock
  1 tablespoon tomato paste
  1 teaspoon thyme leaves
  1 bay leaf
  Garnish: chopped parsley
FOR T HE PEA R L ONI ON S :
  18 to 24 small white pearl onions
  1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  ½ cup of beef broth
  Salt and ground pepper to taste
  1 bay leaf

FOR T HE MU S HR OOMS :
  1 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered
  2 tablespoons butter
  1 tablespoon oil

Instructions
 Bring a pot of water to boil and add the bacon. Cook for 10 minutes, drain and dry with paper
towels. (This step removes the excess salt/smoky flavor and renders some of the fat.)
 Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.
 In a large dutch oven (or ovenproof casserole), over medium heat, heat the oil and, once hot,
sauté the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and
reserve.
 Increase the heat to medium high and, working in batches, brown the beef on all sides in the
hot oil and bacon fat. Remove the browned beef and reserve.
 In the same fat, add the onion and sauté until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the
garlic and carrots and continue sautéing for another couple minutes.
 Return the bacon and the beef to the dutch oven and season everything with salt and pepper.
Then, sprinkle the flour and toss to coat the meat. Transfer the dutch oven, uncovered, to the pre
heated oven and let it cook for 4 minutes.
 After 4 minutes, toss the meat once more and return the pot to the oven for 4 more minutes.
(This process browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.)
 Remove the dutch oven from the oven and turn the temperature down to 325 degrees.
 Set the dutch oven on the stove again, over medium heat, and stir in the wine and the beef
stock, so that the beef is barely covered. Now it's a good time to scrape any remaining browned
bits off the bottom of the dutch oven, using a wooden spoon!
 Add the tomato paste, the thyme and the bay leaf. Once it begins simmering, cover and
transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender. The meat is done when
a fork pierces it easily.
 While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
 Peeling pearl onions can be challenging, so here's a little trick: Bring a pot full of water to a
boil. While the water is boiling, trim the root end of the onions. Then add the onions and blanch
for about a minute. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Pinch each onion at
its stem end, and it should just slip out of its skin. If not, use a paring knife to remove the skin.
 In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat the olive oil and the butter until they are bubbling.
Add the onions and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are browned. Be
careful not to break their skin!
 Pour the beef broth, season to taste and add the bay leaf. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to
50 minutes or until the onions are soft (but retain their shape) and the liquid has evaporated.
Reserve.
 Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over medium high heat. Add the
mushrooms and toss and shake pan for four to five minutes. As soon as they begin brown lightly,
remove from heat.
 When the beef is done, remove from oven and separate the sauce from the beef, bacon and
carrots, using tongs Reserve.
 Strain the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve set over a sauce pan. Skim fat off the sauce and
simmer for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. Cook until the sauce is thick
enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of beef broth.
 Transfer the meat and vegetables back to the dutch oven and pour the sauce over it.
 Cover the dutch oven and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the
sauce several times.
 Taste for seasoning and fix salt and pepper.
 Garnish with chopped parsley and serve!

2. Coq au Vin
Yield: 6-8 serving

INGREDIENTS

6 to 8 large bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total)

Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup dried wild mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
1/2 cup (1/2-inch) cubed pancetta or bacon (about 4 ounces)
1 large red or yellow onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
5 large cloves garlic, peeled and gently smashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups dry, fruity red wine, such as Zinfandel or Burgundy
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 fresh thyme sprigs
6 to 8 fresh parsley sprigs, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and pour enough boiling water over to just
cover; set aside.
2. Place the pancetta or bacon in a 4- to 6-quart (large enough to accommodate the chicken)
deep skillet or Dutch oven with a lid over medium heat, and cook until browned, 5 to 7
minutes. Add the onions and cook another minute, until onions begin to soften.
Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Push
the pancetta and onions to one side of the pan. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the
chicken skin-side down in a single layer (in batches, if necessary), and cook until the fat
is rendered and the skin is crisp and golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken skin-
side up and drain off any excess fat.
3. Add the carrots, garlic, tomato paste, wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Lower
the heat so that the liquid just barely simmers. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked
through and an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F, about 20 minutes.
4. Transfer the chicken pieces to a serving platter. Skim any excess fat off the top of the
liquid. Remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid and add them to the pot. Pour
the mushroom liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth (to remove any grit) and into the
pot. Turn the heat up to high and boil the mixture until the sauce is reduced by a third to a
half, depending on how much time you have. Remove the bay leaves and thyme.
5. A few minutes before serving, put the chicken pieces back into the sauce to reheat. Serve
each chicken thigh topped with a ladle of sauce and garnished with chopped parsley
leaves or a whole parsley sprig.
7. Top with cheese, bake again: Remove foil, top with cheese. Bake for a further 10 to 15
minutes until golden and bubbly. Stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes

1. Cream - any full fat cream works great here. Heavy / thickened or even a full fat pouring
cream are all great.
For a lighter version, use light fat, or half and half (or use 1/2 cream, half milk). But it won't have
the same rich mouthfeel. Don't try this with just milk.

2. Potatoes - Australia: Use Sebago ("dirt" potatoes, sold everywhere), US: Russet, UK: King
Edward or Maris Piper
OR any other starchy potatoes. Dutch creams, King Edwards or red delight. Great all-rounders
like golden delight, coliban and red rascal are also great.

3. Cheese - Gruyere is the best as it provides flavour and browns beautifully on top. Julia Childs
uses gruyere. It's quite expensive so for everyday purposes, mozzarella is an idea alternative but
if you do, add an extra pinch of salt on each layer. 
Any other melting cheese will also work fine - Monterey Jack, cheddar and tasty are all cheeses I
have used and love.
Always best to grate your own as it melts better - store bought pre shredded has anti caking
agent which prevents cheese melting as well as it should.

4. Baking Dish Size - I use a 1.5L / 1.5 Qt / 6 cup, 18 x 26 cm x 5 cm / 7 x 11 x 2" oval shape, or
thereabouts but it's full to the brim so a slightly larger one would be more ideal. A 26 cm / 11"
skillet also works great. A 20cm/8" square pan is too small. Larger dish is fine - just means the
potatoes au gratin isn't as deep

5. Make ahead: Near perfect for make ahead! The best way (in my experience) is hold back
about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture. Bake covered in foil, then cool with foil on. Pour over
reserved cream, top with cheese, cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate. Remove from fridge 1 hour
before, reheat covered in foil in a 180C/350F oven for 20 - 30 min or until hot, then remove foil
and bake until cheese is golden. To speed things up you can microwave it then pop it in the
oven (this is dense so takes quite a while to reheat in the oven, depends on depth of baking dish
you use).

6. Source: Adapted from Julia Child's Dauphinoise Potatoes recipe. Hers is slightly more fiddly
to put together, involves scattering finely diced butter on each layers (which I simplified by
melting), only rubs garlic on baking dish (I use 2 whole cloves), and she uses less cheese. Mine
gradually evolved over time from her original recipe to what mine is today!

7. Nutrition assumes 10 servings.
 BAKED CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

Chicken breasts – Use boneless, skinless breasts since they will need to be pounded into thin
pieces for easier rolling. Veal or pork can also be used instead.
Ham slices – Lean meat will have less fat, which means it’s less likely to be greasy or slide out of
the chicken.
Cheese – I like to use fontina or Swiss, but Gouda and Gruyere are great options as well.
White pepper – While the overall flavor isn’t as spicy as black pepper, the main purpose for
using this variety is so the flecks don’t show in the sauce. If you don’t have white pepper, feel
free to use ground black pepper.
Panko breadcrumbs – Even though the chicken isn’t fried, these still add a nice crunch to the
dish. They do contain some carbs, so if you’re concerned about going over your limit, use
crushed pork rinds or almond meal instead.

Prep the ingredients

If the chicken breasts are extra-large, first slice them in half horizontally. Then, place the
chicken between two pieces of plastic and pound with a mallet or rolling pin until thin.
Next, whisk together the mustard, maple syrup, and pepper in a small bowl.
Use a basting brush to spread about half of the mixture over the chicken breasts.
Roll up the chicken
Place a slice of ham and cheese over each piece of chicken breast.
Roll each breast tightly over the stuffing and push 2-3 toothpicks through the top to hold
everything together.
Brush each roll with the rest of the mustard sauce, then coat in the Panko breadcrumbs.
Bake and serve
Place the chicken roll ups in a greased baking dish and drizzle them with oil.
Add a little chicken stock or wine to the bottom of the dish. This helps to keep the chicken moist
as it cooks.
Cover with foil and bake until cooked through. Then, serve with the pan drippings and your
preferred sides.

Croque Monsieur
SERVINGS: 4
 
PREP TIME: 5 MINS
COOK TIME: 25 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 30 MINS
 
INGREDIENTS  
8 slices of sandwich bread, I used french bread
2.5 cups grated Gruyere
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
4 slices of cooked ham
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups hot milk
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the flour, stirring constantly for 2
minutes.
Add the hot milk, slowly, and whisk until the sauce has thickened.
Turn the heat off and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese (1/2 cup of the Gruyere and
Parmigiano Reggiano).
Lightly brush one side of each bread with Dijon mustard.
Add Gruyere cheese to each side, one slice of ham and then close the sandwiches together.
Spoon the bechamel sauce on top of the sandwiches and then sprinkle the rest of the Gruyere
cheese.
Bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes.
Turn on the broiler and broil the sandwiches until the top is bubbly and slightly browned.
Serve warm.