My life is pretty crazy right now, I’m having a hard time finding moments to post
But don’t worry, I keep cooking and shooting so I’ll have a lot of dishes to share with you once I can escape more often from by business!

This lamb and pistachio skewers recipe was inspired by the French « Saveurs » magazine although it ended up a lot different from the original. These kebabs are a variation of the Mediterranean kofta. Like the original, they’re served with a mint and yogurt sauce and can be eaten with some salad in a flatbread.

Preparation time: 30 minutes – Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

Lamb and pistachio skewers

1.3 lbs (600 g) of  ground lamb meat
1 oz (30 g) of shelled pistachio nuts
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 egg
1 onion
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground cilantro
1 squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Yogurt sauce

2 Greek yogurts
30 mint leaves
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Prepare mint yogurt sauce: Peel and chop garlic finely. Rinse, dry and chop mint leaves. Combine yogurt, garlic, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep in the fridge.

2/ Prepare skewers: Rinse, dry and chop parsley. Peel and chop onion. Chop pistachio nuts.

3/ Break egg in a small bowl and whisk it with a fork.

4/ Keep some chopped pistachios aside for sprinkling. In a large salad bowl, combine lamb meat, onion, pistachios, parsley, olive oil, breadcrumbs and whisked eggs.

5/ Add one squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and scrunch all together with your hands.

6/ Preheat oven over grill position. Line a baking sheet on a baking tray. Wash your hands with cold water. Don’t get them totally dry, meat will stick less on your hands.

7/ Mold lamb mixture around each skewer into a kind of flat sausage. Place kebabs on the baking tray as they’re made.

8/ Bake in oven for 10 minutes, turning them after 5 minutes.

9/ Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve with mint yogurt sauce.

There are many ways of cooking rabbit in French cuisine but with mustard sauce is the most famous of them. In my version of the recipe, I use both Dijon mustard and old fashioned mustard. That’s because old fashioned mustard doesn’t taste as strong as Dijon mustard. It’s a way to get the Dijon’s taste keeping the old fashioned look of the dish.

If you only have one kind, don’t worry, it should work too

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

1 whole rabbit (cleaned, in pieces)
4 tablespoons of old fashioned mustard
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of creme fraiche
1 glass (25 cl) of dry white wine
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 shallots
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Season rabbit pieces with salt and spread them with old fashioned mustard using a kitchen brush or a knife.

2/ Pour olive oil in a large iron-cast casserole. Heat it over medium heat.

3/ Peel and chop shallots.

4/ When oil is hot, add rabbit pieces and leave them 2 minutes on each side or until they get a golden color. Take them off casserole and set aside. (If your casserole is too small to broil all rabbit at once, repeat this step several times).

5/ Pour shallots into the casserole.

6/ Once shallots are translucent, add white wine and get to a smooth boil until the strong smell of alcohol is gone.

7/ Return rabbit pieces to the casserole. Cover and leave over medium/low heat for 25 minutes.

8/ Combine creme fraiche with Dijon mustard and the old fashioned mustard you have left (if any).

9/ Uncover casserole, add mustard sauce and stir well so your sauce is homogeneous.

10/ Leave it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens.

11/ Serve with potatoes, rice or tagliatelle and top generously with mustard sauce.

This recipe is a huge classic. French supermarkets sell tons of the frozen version everyday. But let’s face it, these industrial substitutes are pretty much awful. Nothing compared to the real flavor and most important: you never really know for sure which meat is in it!

It’s one of the easiest recipes I know and the result is always a big hit. Don’t look for it, there is no excuse not to make them from scratch

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
4 slices of ham
4 slices of Emmenthal cheese (Swiss cheese)
1 egg
6 tablespoons of bread crumbs
3 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

1/ Unfold one chicken breast, season with a pinch of salt and place it between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Flatten the breast by  pounding it with a meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy pan) until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.

2/ Place one slice of ham on each chicken breast and top with a slice of cheese. Ham and cheese slices must have the same size than the flattened chicken, cut any sticking out part.

3/ Simply fold chicken breasts so ham and cheese are inside the chicken.

4/ Pour in three different plates the the flour, the egg and the bread crumbs. Beat the egg with a fork.

5/ Carefully dredge each chicken cordon bleu into the flour first (eliminate excess but make sure it’s entirely covered with flour). Then dredge it into the beaten egg and finish with the breadcrumbs.

6/ Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add olive oil.

7/ When olive oil is hot, add the chicken cordons bleus and cook 6 minutes on each side or until they have a golden color. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with some greens.

Galettes are from France’s western region Brittany but there is no rule saying they can’t be accommodated Mediterranean style! This spring version uses ham, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and the flavorful « herbes de Provence ».

Quick tip: When using tomatoes as a crepe or galette stuffing, you should always cook them before in a frying pan so the water they contain doesn’t soak your crepe.

Preparation time : 10 mn (+ at least 2 h in the fridge)

Ingredients (for 12 to 15 galettes)

5 cups of buckwheat flour
4 cups of water (more or less)
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
butter

Garniture (per galette)

6 cherry tomatoes (incl. 1 for decoration)
1/8 lbs (55 gr/2 oz) of Feta cheese
1 slice of ham
1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence (rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme) (Click here to buy Herbes de Provence)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1/ Blend flour, egg and salt.

2/ Gradually add water. Stir energetically until smooth. (It has to be liquid)

3/ Leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

4/ Heat a large frying pan (diameter of at least 15 inches is best) over medium high heat. Melt butter. (Be careful not to put too much butter, your crepes would be too greasy and not easy to cook) (Click here to buy crepes cooking material).

5/ Pour about 1/4 cup of mixture in the pan making a circle. Then tilt the pan with a circular motion so the mixture fills the pan evenly. (Note: galettes are supposed to be thin, if you make them like pancakes, it won’t be good at all)

6/ Cook galette for about 2mn or until borders peel off and bottom is slightly brown. Turn and cook the other side (1mn should be enough).

7/ Make all galettes at once, you’ll go faster serving your guests later.

Garniture

8/ Heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat.

9/ Slice cherry tomatoes in half and pour them into the pan. Add herbes de Provence mix.

10/ Take most of the tomato juice off the pan. Scrub Feta cheese (keeping some aside for decoration), add to the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and take off heat.

11/ Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Heat galette quickly on one side (10 sec), then turn it to the other side.

12/ Add cheese tomato mixture, then top with ham. Close borders. Leave on heat for two more minutes.

13/ Serve it topped with a cherry tomato cut in half. Sprinkle with Feta cheese scrubs and herbes de Provence. (It’s best eaten warm, tell your guests to start eating as soon as they’re served to enjoy all the flavors while it’s hot.)

If you’re looking for new flavors, check out the most traditional galette recipe: La Complète!

My French Classics section definitely lacked beef Bourguignon. It’s an easy to make recipe although it will require time. If you have a pressure cooker, you’ll be able to reduce the cooking time. If not, there is no way you’re going to get away with it! Only time gives this wine sauce its amazing flavor

The most common side dish to be served with beef Burgundy is steamed potatoes but you can also serve it with rice or pasta. Fresh tagliatelle will be perfect with boeuf Bourguignon.

Preparation time: 15 minutes – Cooking time: 4 h 30 to 5 hours – Marinating time: at least 5 hours

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

2.2 lbs (1 kg) of beef cut into 2 inches pieces (Rump roast, chuck roast, sirloin tip, top or bottom round…)
3.5 oz (100 g) of bacon
1 carrot
2 onions
6 portobello mushrooms
1 garlic clove
1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 5 sprigs of parsley, 4 sprigs of thyme)
3 cups of red wine (Côtes du Rhone, Bourgogne…)
1 cup of beef stock
2 tablespoons of olive oil (click here to buy online)
1 tablespoon of flour
Salt & pepper

Side

2.2 lbs (1 kg) of potatoes
2 springs of parsley
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/  The night before (or at least 5 hours before preparing it), rinse and chop thyme and parsley. In a large dish, season meat with salt and combine it with the red wine and the bouquet garni. Cover and leave marinade in the fridge.

2/ Peel and slice carrots, mushrooms and onions.

3/ Dice bacon.

4/ Peel and crush garlic clove.

5/ Heat oil in a large casserole or stew pot over high heat. Add beef pieces moving them so all sides get cooked equally. Keep marinade aside.

6/ Add bacon, carrots, onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle ingredients with flour and stir until flour gets a golden color.

7/ Cover with red wine from the marinade and get to a boil stirring continuously.

8/ Add garlic clove, bouquet garni, beef stock, salt and pepper. Cover and leave over low heat for at least 4 h 30. (Try checking on it and stirring  every 30 to 40 minutes so ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the stew pot. If your sauce keeps being too liquid, uncover for a while. If it’s not enough, you can still sprinkle a little more flour. Meat is ready when soft.)

9/ 40 minutes before serving, peel and steam side potatoes.

10/ Rinse and chop parsley.

11/ Serve beef Bourguignon with potatoes seasoned with parsley, salt and pepper.