All recipes

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Agneau pascalLamb-shaped Easter cake

The lammele, or agneau pascal, is the Easter cake of Alsace, a light sponge baked in a lamb-shaped earthenware mould from Soufflenheim and dusted with icing sugar, with a little paper flag tied round its neck. It is bought from bakeries in Strasbourg and Colmar or made at home for Easter Sunday breakfast. No lamb meat is involved; it is a vegetarian cake. The common mistake is not greasing the mould well enough, so the head sticks. Chef's tip: brush the mould with soft butter, chill, then dust with flour, so every detail comes out clean.

60 min

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Paupiettes de veauStuffed veal rolls

Paupiettes de veau are the little tied bundles every French butcher sells ready-made for family dinners, especially in autumn and winter, but they are simple to make at home. Thin veal escalopes are rolled around a seasoned stuffing of pork sausage meat and herbs, tied with string, browned and braised in a light tomato and white wine sauce with mushrooms. This recipe contains pork. The wine simmers for 45 minutes, which drives off most of the alcohol but not all; for an alcohol-free version use more stock with 1 tsp white wine vinegar. The common mistake is undercooking the stuffing: it must reach 71 °C in the centre. Chef's tip: pound the escalopes very thin between sheets of cling film; they roll tightly and cook evenly.

80 min

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Velouté de potironCreamy pumpkin soup

Velouté de potiron is the soup French families make all autumn, from the October markets piled with orange pumpkins right through to Christmas, often served as a starter for Sunday lunch or a simple supper with bread and cheese. The pumpkin is simmered with onion and potato in vegetable stock, then blended until velvety and finished with a spoonful of crème fraîche. The common mistake is too much stock, which makes it thin and bland; you can always add more after blending. Chef's tip: a small potato gives body without masking the sweet pumpkin flavour.

45 min

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Soupe à l'oseilleSorrel and potato soup

Soupe à l'oseille is an old country soup made in French homes in spring and early summer, when sorrel grows back in the vegetable garden, and served at supper with bread. The lemony leaves melt in butter into a khaki purée, then simmer with potatoes and are finished with an egg yolk and cream, which softens the sharpness into a silky, tangy soup. The common mistake is letting the soup boil after adding the yolk, which scrambles it. Chef's tip: cut the sorrel into ribbons and melt it in butter first; it collapses in a minute and releases all its flavour.

35 min

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Velouté de topinamboursJerusalem artichoke soup

Velouté de topinambours is a winter soup French cooks rediscovered in the last twenty years; the knobbly Jerusalem artichoke was wartime food for older generations and is now a favourite at markets and bistros from November to March. Simmered with leek and potato and blended smooth, it has a sweet, nutty flavour close to artichoke and hazelnut. The common mistake is leaving the peeled roots in the air, where they turn grey; drop them straight into lemon water. Chef's tip: finish each bowl with a few drops of hazelnut or walnut oil to bring out the nutty taste.

45 min

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Potage Saint-GermainFresh pea soup

Potage Saint-Germain is a Parisian classic named after the Saint-Germain district, a bright green spring soup served at the start of family dinners in May and June when fresh peas arrive, though frozen peas make an excellent version all year. Peas are simmered briefly with lettuce, spring onions and mint, then blended smooth so the soup tastes fresh and sweet. The common mistake is cooking the peas too long, which turns the soup khaki and dull. Chef's tip: cool the blended soup quickly in a bowl set over iced water if you are not serving it at once; it keeps its vivid colour.

30 min

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Pâté lorrainPork and veal pastry pie

Pâté lorrain is the pride of Lorraine in north-east France, a long puff pastry loaf filled with pork and veal marinated overnight in white wine, shallots and herbs, served hot as a starter for Sunday lunch or village feasts with a green salad. It contains pork. The meat marinates raw in wine in the fridge and then bakes for an hour, which cooks off most of the alcohol but not all; for an alcohol-free version marinate in 150 ml chicken stock with 1 tbsp white wine vinegar. The common mistake is underbaking: the filling must reach 71 °C in the centre. Chef's tip: cut the meat into thin strips, not cubes; it cooks evenly and slices neatly.

90 min

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Pain au laitSoft milk rolls

Pain au lait is the soft, slightly sweet milk roll French children take to school for goûter at four o'clock, split and filled with a bar of chocolate or spread with jam. The dough is enriched with milk, butter and a little egg, shaped into small oval rolls, snipped along the top with scissors and sprinkled with pearl sugar. The common mistake is overbaking, which gives a crust; they should stay pale gold and pillowy. Chef's tip: brush them with egg twice, before and after proving, for the glossy bakery finish.

175 min

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Pain aux raisinsRaisin custard swirl pastry

Pain aux raisins, called escargot in some bakeries for its snail-shell spiral, is the third great pastry of the French breakfast counter, alongside the croissant and pain au chocolat. Croissant dough is spread with vanilla crème pâtissière, scattered with plump raisins, rolled up and sliced into spirals, then baked and brushed with syrup until glossy. The common mistake is spreading the cream too thick, so it oozes out and the spirals open. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot tea or orange juice for 30 minutes so they are juicy and do not burn.

680 min

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Brioche à têteTopknot brioche

Brioche à tête, the brioche parisienne, is the little fluted bun with a round head that sits in every French bakery window, eaten for Sunday breakfast, dunked in hot chocolate or served with jam at goûter. The dough is very rich in eggs and butter, kneaded long until silky, then chilled overnight, which makes it easy to shape and gives a deep flavour. The common mistake is adding the butter too fast, which leaves a greasy dough. Chef's tip: add the butter a little at a time while the mixer runs, and wait until each piece disappears before adding the next.

620 min

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OranaisApricot custard pastry

The oranais, also called abricotine, is a French bakery pastry that is said to come from the city of Oran in Algeria, brought back by returning pieds-noirs in the 1960s, and it is now found in boulangeries all over France for breakfast and goûter. A square of puff or croissant dough has its corners folded over a spoonful of pastry cream and two apricot halves, so it looks like a pair of eyes. The common mistake is using wet canned apricots, which make the pastry soggy. Chef's tip: drain the apricots on kitchen paper and glaze them with warm apricot jam after baking for a jewel-like shine.

50 min

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Langues de chatCat's tongue biscuits

Langues de chat, "cat's tongues", are long, thin butter biscuits with golden edges, served with coffee, ice cream or a bowl of chocolate mousse in French homes and cafés; they keep well in a tin and children love them. A simple batter of butter, sugar, egg white and flour is piped in strips and baked until the edges just brown. The common mistake is piping them too close together; they spread. Chef's tip: tap the tray firmly on the worktop after piping so the strips flatten evenly.

25 min

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Crêpes dentelleCrisp lace crêpe biscuits

Crêpes dentelle, "lace crêpes", are a speciality of Quimper in Brittany, said to have been invented by a baker there in 1886 who burnt a crêpe and rolled it up; they are wafer-thin, crisp, buttery rolled biscuits, sold in tins all over Brittany and eaten with coffee or crumbled over ice cream. The common mistake is spreading the batter too thick, so they will not crisp. Chef's tip: spread the batter so thin you can see the tray through it, and roll each one as soon as it comes out of the oven.

40 min

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Gâteau nantaisAlmond rum-free lemon cake

The gâteau nantais comes from Nantes in the Loire, created in 1820 by a local baker when the city's port imported sugar and rum from the Caribbean; it is a dense, moist almond cake with a crackly white glaze, eaten at goûter and family lunches. Traditionally the cake is soaked in rum and the glaze flavoured with it; this version uses lemon juice for both so all ages can eat it, and adults can add 2 tablespoons of rum to the glaze. The common mistake is overbaking, which dries it. Chef's tip: soak the cake while it is still warm.

50 min

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Torteau fromagerGoat's cheese cake

The torteau fromager is the cake of the Poitou-Charentes, a tall, light goat's cheese cake with a dramatically burnt, almost black dome, sold at markets around Poitiers and served at Sunday lunch and weddings. Fresh goat's cheese is beaten with egg yolks and sugar, folded with whisked whites and baked in a pastry-lined dome mould at a high heat, which gives the dark crust. Use pasteurised fresh goat's cheese. The common mistake is opening the oven early, which makes it fall. Chef's tip: do not worry about the black top; it is meant to be that way and tastes of caramel.

80 min

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Brioche vendéenneBraided Easter brioche

The brioche vendéenne is the plaited Easter brioche of the Vendée on the Atlantic coast, once baked for Easter Sunday and for weddings, where it was carried into the dance on a huge board. It is softer and lighter than Parisian brioche, scented with vanilla and orange-blossom water, and has protected status (IGP). The common mistake is plaiting too tightly, so it splits in the oven. Chef's tip: plait loosely and give it a long, slow final prove.

330 min

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Pogne de RomansOrange blossom brioche crown

The pogne is the Easter brioche of Romans-sur-Isère and Valence in the Drôme, a high crown of soft dough fragrant with orange-blossom water, traditionally made for Easter and eaten with the local ravioles, or at breakfast with butter. Its name comes from "poigne", the fistful of dough the baker grabs. The common mistake is underproving; it needs a long, slow rise to be light. Chef's tip: make the starter the night before; it gives the pogne its gentle, rich flavour.

635 min

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Gâteau marbréMarble loaf cake

Gâteau marbré is the marble cake of French childhood, a vanilla and chocolate loaf with swirls through every slice, packed in school bags for goûter and sold in supermarkets everywhere as a lunchbox cake. Homemade, it is soft, buttery and quick. The common mistake is swirling too much, which turns the cake brown all through. Chef's tip: layer the two batters in the tin and drag a knife through just two or three times.

60 min

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ChouquettesSugar choux puffs

Chouquettes are the small, hollow choux puffs studded with pearl sugar that French bakeries sell by weight in paper bags, a favourite treat bought on the way home from school and shared between brothers and sisters. They are made with the same choux dough as éclairs but left unfilled. The common mistake is opening the oven too soon, so they collapse. Chef's tip: press the pearl sugar in well after glazing, so it does not roll off.

40 min

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Blanquette de veauVeal in cream sauce

Blanquette de veau is the classic French family Sunday stew and a fixture on the lunch menus of traditional bistros, always served with white rice. Pieces of veal shoulder are simmered gently, never browned, in a light stock with carrots and an onion studded with cloves, and the broth is then turned into a silky white sauce with butter, flour, cream and egg yolk, finished with small mushrooms and lemon. The common mistake is letting the sauce boil after adding the egg yolk, which scrambles it. Chef's tip: blanch the veal for 2 minutes first and rinse it; the stock stays clear and the sauce comes out pure ivory.

150 min

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Pot-au-feuBoiled beef and vegetables

Pot-au-feu, "pot on the fire", is the most French of family meals, cooked on winter Sundays in homes from Normandy to the Auvergne and served in two courses: first the clear broth with toasted bread, then the meat and vegetables with coarse salt, mustard and gherkins. Several cuts are used together, something lean, something gelatinous and a marrow bone, simmered very slowly for hours. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which clouds the broth and toughens the meat. Chef's tip: skim carefully in the first 30 minutes and keep the water at a bare shiver; the broth will be clear and golden.

270 min

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Lapin à la moutardeRabbit in mustard cream

Lapin à la moutarde is a farmhouse dish of Burgundy and Champagne, cooked for family lunches in autumn and winter, where rabbit is as common as chicken and Dijon mustard is the local pride. The rabbit pieces are brushed thickly with mustard, browned, then braised in white wine with shallots and thyme and finished with cream into a pale, tangy sauce. The wine simmers for an hour, which drives off most of the alcohol but not all; for an alcohol-free version use chicken stock with 1 tbsp cider vinegar. The common mistake is a hard boil, which dries out the lean rabbit. Chef's tip: stir a spoonful of fresh mustard into the sauce at the very end; cooked mustard loses its bite, and this brings it back.

75 min

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Aigo boulidoGarlic and sage broth

Aigo boulido, "boiled water" in Provençal, is the old cure-all of Provence, a simple broth of garlic and sage served after the indulgent Christmas Eve gros souper and whenever someone feels run-down; the saying goes that it saves your life. The garlic simmers until mellow and sweet, then the broth is poured over slices of bread drizzled with olive oil and often thickened with an egg yolk. The common mistake is boiling the sage for too long, which makes the broth bitter. Chef's tip: add the sage only for the last 5 minutes and lift it out before serving.

30 min