Scallops’ delicately sweet taste pairs brilliantly with fragrant French cider, particularly when said cider is reduced to a luscious glaze that clings to each bite. The scallops are placed atop a bed of spinach studded with crisp bacon and sauteed mushrooms, then generously napped with the unctuous sauce.
Haricots verts — delicate, supermodel-thin French green beans — bear little resemblance to their sturdier American cousins. Sweeter, crisper, and more tender, they need only a few minutes cooking to bring them to perfection. Here they’re joined with woodsy wild mushrooms, sauteed shallots, and a splash of Madeira, creating a dish of balanced richness and lightness: deep savory mushroom-shallot flavors and chewiness complementing the beans’ crisp-tender crunch and delicate vegetal taste.
Tarte flambée is a specialty from Alsace, thinly-rolled bread dough topped with crème fraîche, thinly sliced raw onions, and lardons, then baked in a very hot oven. It resembles a thin pizza, and like pizza, the toppings can be varied infinitely. Here we take an approach suited to a quick weeknight dinner: start with a frozen base, add some tasty toppings, then quickly blitzed in a hot oven.
Tarbais beans are the traditional beans used for Cassoulet. They only come from a specific area in France, next to the city of Tarbes. They are preferred because some of the other types of white beans tend to break down, while these stay whole, making for a creamier Cassoulet without it becoming mush. Saucisse de Toulouse is also the traditional sausage used in Cassoulet but any one of your favorite “Fabrique Délices” sausages would be delicious.
If you’re looking for an indulgent dinner, this has got to be it. Luscious, plump grains of rice are coated with butter, slowly cooked in roasted chicken stock and finished with wild mushrooms, truffles and a dash of cream to create one of the most heavenly risottos you will ever experience.
Artichokes are wonderful eaten leaf by leaf as a vegetable, but equally fabulous when trimmed down to their meaty centers and added to pasta, risotto, and braised dishes. This risotto combines artichokes with sautéed mushrooms, then boosts the mushroom flavor with dried cèpes.
A quintessential French braise, with a luxurious, richly concentrated red wine sauce. Don’t be tempted to substitute canned or frozen pearl onions — made with fresh, the dish is incomparable. Serve with Pommes Noisettes*.