The Wines of France
Foods
French countryside cuisine, delightfully fresh and simple, is pure pleasure. You often need only a few essential ingredients. Try your local farmer's market for fresh-cut herbs (rosemary, marjoram, thyme and lavender are French-kitchen classics) and locally grown vegetables in season. Always as your butcher for the freshest cut of meat and keep a bottle of virgin olive oil in your pantry as a staple. Ready to try to make a French countryside classic?
Start with our easy and delicious French Onion Soup recipe.
French Onion Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2T
- Butter
- 2T
- Olive Oil
- 4
- Medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- ¼c
- Cognac or Sherry (not cooking Sherry)
- 4c
- Beef stock
- 1t
- Fresh thyme
- Salt & ground black pepper to taste
- 1c
- Grated swiss cheese
- 4
- Slices, baguette, cut 1 inch thick
Method
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat, then add olive oil and onions.
- Sauté for 5 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Turn down heat to medium-low and sauté for 15 minutes more.
- Add Cognac, then cook for 1 minute.
- Transfer onions to a soup pot.
- Add beef stock, thyme, salt and pepper and simmer over medium-low uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet, top each slice with 1/4 cup of cheese, and bake in oven for 10 minutes
- Ladle soup into 4 bowls, top each bowl of soup with prepared baguette slice and serve.
Wine Tip
French Chardonnay is the perfect complement to this dish.
Countryside-Lavender Créme Brûleé
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 6
- Egg Yolks
- 2/3c
- Sugar
- 1t
- Vanilla
- 1½c
- Whole milk
- 1½c
- Heavy cream
- 3t
- Lavender flowers
- 6t
- Sugar
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Whisk egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended.
- Incorporate as little air as possible by keeping the whisk close to the bowl.
- Bring remaining ingredients, except for the 6 teaspoons of sugar, to a simmer in a medium pot.
- Remove from heat and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- While whisking the egg yolks quickly, slowly pour in the hot milk mixture.
- Strain the mixture and divide evenly between six 3/4 cup size ceramic ramekins placed in a deep baking pan.
- Add water to the pan to come up halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake.
- Check for doneness after 60 minutes. Custards should be firm but still jiggle slightly in the middle when shaken.
- Let cool, then remove from pan and refrigerate for at least two hours
- Just before serving, sprinkle the top of each custard with 1 teaspoon of sugar, then broil for a minute or until the top browns and forms a crisp caramel coating.
Wine Tip
French Syrah is the perfect complement to this dish.
Squash and Apple Gratin with Herbs and Crème Fraîche
Serves 6
Ingredients
For Crème Fraîche
- 1t
- Chopped fresh rosemary
- ½t
- Chopped lavender flowers
- ½c
- Sour cream
- 1t
- Salt
- Squeeze of juice from ½ lemon
- 1½t
- Water
For Gratin
- 1t
- Butter
- ½t
- Chopped lavender flowers
- 1
- Medium onion, sliced
- Salt and pepper
- 1
- Granny Smith apple, sliced
- 1t
- Chopped fresh thyme
- 1t
- Chopped fresh sage
- 1
- Small butternut squash, peeled and thinly sliced
Mix together in medium bowl
- 1½c
- Heavy cream
- 1t
- Salt
- 1t
- Sugar
Method
- Mix all crème fraîche ingredients together and refrigerate. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion, pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper. Stir occasionally.
- When the onions turn golden brown, add the apple. Cook 1 minute more, stirring occasionally.
- Add the thyme and sage. Set aside.
- Cover bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with a layer of squash, overlapping slightly.
- Cover with half of the onion mixture. Repeat with the squash, then onions, and finish with a third layer of squash.
- Push down on the layers firmly with your hand. Pour cream mixture over the squash.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil from the pan and use a spatula to push firmly on the layers.
- Test for doneness with the tip of a knife. If the squash is not tender, cover with foil and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
- When tender, remove the foil and return pan to the oven for 15 minutes or until the top is bubbly and golden.
- Cool for 30 minutes, cut into squares, and serve with a drizzle of crème fraîche for a delicious side dish.
Wine Tip
French Chardonnay is the perfect complement to this dish.
