List of recipes from category Basic recipes: 77 recipes (lactose free)

Preserved lemons

For this recipe, the lemons are sliced first (this makes them easier to use later), then salted to drain off the juice before being bottled in herb-flavoured olive oil. These preserved lemons can be used in all sorts of dishes, especially with fish and poultry.
116K 15 12 hours 36 min. December 2^nd 2012

Vanilla sugar

Almost essential in patisserie, you can find it in expensive little sachets of about 10g. It's necessary to distinguish between the vanilla sugar which really contains vanilla, and vanillin sugar, purely chemical which has never seen a vanilla pod. Here is how to quickly make a whole jar full of...
404K 15 26 min. August 12^th 2018

Herb salad

Herb salad is a small salad made with leaves of all kinds of aromatic herbs, it's highly flavoured, and should be considered almost as a condiment. It really is a salad, the leaves are not chopped.
219K4.6 22 min. October 13^th 2010

Vegetable stock

Vegetable stock is a very easy and versatile basic recipe. It can be used in many different ways: for cooking rice, making soups, sauces, etc. It's a good idea to keep a supply of vegetable stock in your fridge or freezer.
252K4.3 1 hour October 5^th 2011

Herb olive oil

This flavoured olive oil, easy to prepare, goes very well with Mediterranean cuisine: pizzas, pastas, pan bagnat, etc...
297K3.8 21 min. February 21^th 2011

Bouquet garni

Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after...
404K3.5 12 min. March 21^th 2017

Praline

Praline is a preparation of caramelized nuts (in this case almonds), with a very characteristic flavour. Either crushed or as a paste, it is used to fill or flavour all manner of things like creams, chocolates, biscuits, etc.
254K3.5 55 min. August 3^rd 2012

Pickled gherkins

Preparing your own gherkins in vinegar is quite straightforward, if you know how to avoid a few pitfalls. Here's a recipe which works every time.
754K 73.1 4 hours 36 min. August 21^th 2013

Home-made chilli oil

It is very simple and economical to make your own chilli oil. Here's how to do it.
20K 15 min. March 30^th 2022

Red mixed pickle

This mixed pickle is made with a variety of vegetables left to mature for 2 weeks in diluted vinegar. The result is similar to gherkins and can be added to lots of recipes, or eaten with a snack or sandwich. This red version gets its name from beetroot and red cabbage, which eventually colour...
35K 1 hour 29 min. April 29^th 2020

Home-made breadcrumb coating

The crispy crust on many fried (or baked) foods comes from a breadcrumb coating. You can buy this, of course, but it's easy and much better to make your own at home. For one thing, you will know excatly what's in it – just bread – which is not the case for the commercial product. This is also a...
107K1 1 hour 7 min. October 28^th 2018

Biscuit de Savoie sponge cake

Biscuit de Savoie is not a "biscuit" in the English sense, just a very light sponge cake. It is delicious plain, but it can also be filled with cream, fruit, etc.
102K5 1 hour 8 min. December 23^th 2014

Nougatine

Nougatine is a delicious nut toffee: caramel mixed with toasted flaked almonds. Not a dessert in itself, it is often used to decorate cakes and pastries. But those who enjoy good things are sure to want to eat it on its own!
315K3.9 32 min. March 29^th 2018

Chocolate Chantilly

If we look at the more scientific side of Chantilly cream we can see that it's mainly cream, and cream is a mix of very small droplets of milk fat and water, which is called an emulsion. When we whip this emulsion, we incorporate air into it and so create a mousse or foam. In the end Chantilly is a...
165K5 15 min. September 25^th 2013

Stewed apple (compote)

Here is a very basic but delicious recipe, and the pitfalls to avoid.
2.4M 14.8 1 hour 13 min. November 8^th 2017

Royal icing

Royal icing is a mixture of egg white and icing sugar. From its pasty consistency when fresh, it dries to give a lovely white crust.
187K4.7 13 min. February 12^th 2012

Foie gras Chantilly

Chantilly is a method which is applied to cream of course, but also to other surprising ingredients. If we look at the more scientific side of Chantilly we can see that it's mainly cream, and cream is a mix of very small droplets of milk fat and water, which is called an emulsion. When we whip this...
105K4.6 28 min. September 17^th 2013

Apple confectioner's custard

For this strongly apple-flavoured version of confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream), apple juice is used instead of milk and the quantity of sugar is reduced.
119K4.6 21 min. July 23^th 2014

Stewed rhubarb

This is perhaps the best known use of rhubarb, and can be used as the basis for other recipes.
281K4.4 55 min. October 13^th 2010

Italian Meringue

Italian meringue is made with sugar cooked to 120°C or 248°F. This is different from the French, which is made from caster sugar. The cooked sugar gives a softer meringue which can be added to other preparations or use as it is.
462K4.3 30 min. June 2^nd 2015

Pear compote

Stewed pears are not as easy to prepare as stewed apples, as they contain more juice and you risk ending up with more of a coulis than a compote. So here are two simple methods to help you succeed.
451K4.3 37 min. April 26^th 2012

Swiss meringues

Swiss meringues are a variant of the classic French meringue. The eggs whites and sugar are beaten together in a bain-marie at first, then beaten stiff as normal. This makes for a firmer meringue which can be used to make small items or figures to decorate cakes or ice creams (such as mushrooms,...
110K3.8 1 hour 17 min. June 2^nd 2015

Stewed apricots

Here is how to make delicious stewed apricots, both an easy and a more sophisticated way.
754K 143.6 1 hour 17 min. July 12^th 2023

Quince and apple compote

This compote is a tricky balancing act between the characteristic quince flavour and just enough apples to sweeten it. You should end up with a compote that has a delicate quince flavour rounded out by the apples and brown sugar.
101K3 59 min. December 30^th 2019

Stewed plums

Quick and simple, stewed plums can also be spread like jam.
451K2.6 38 min. June 27^th 2010

Quince compote

Quinces make an excellent compote, full of their delightful perfume and flavour. However, preparing the fruit is hard work, so here's a recipe to show you how to manage this.
31K 55 min. November 11^th 2020

Clear strawberry juice

In French this is called a "clarification". The method for making a clear strawberry juice is simple, with little added sugar. The delicious juice obtained can be used in lots of recipes: mousse, cream, jelly, etc.
24K5 59 min. July 25^th 2021

Dried apricots

Making your own dried apricots at home is perfectly feasible. It's really quite simple, though it takes a long time. Basically, the apricots need to be cut in half, destoned, then the halves put to dry slowly for several hours in a cool oven.
118K3.9 6 hours 6 min. July 12^th 2023

Poached pears

Poached pears are used in a number of desserts. Here's a method for poaching them that you can use in all your recipes.
4,929 28 min. November 22^th 2023

How to cook potato grenaille

The French call very small potatoes "grenaille". This is a typical way of cooking them: the tiny potatoes are pan-fried in their skins and make an excellent accompanient for meat. Grenaille can be made with any kind of potato; it is a question of size, rather than variety, though I think that...
438K4.5 43 min. September 16^th 2015

Vol-au-vent cases

Vol-au-vents, whether large or bite-sized, need a special pastry case that is hollow to take the filling. Here is how to prepare these delicate cases using puff pastry.
292K4.1 44 min. October 16^th 2013

How to prepare apricots

Here's how to prepare apricots for use in a recipe, from washing to slicing.
729K3.7 32 min. July 12^th 2023

Meatballs

Used in several recipes like couscous, meatballs can also be a dish on thier own. The secret of this recipe is in the mix of two different kinds of meat with a little Parmesan. Note that it's a dish children always love.
279K 24.7 43 min. February 21^th 2011

Sausagemeat

Sausagemeat is a mixture of fatty pork (belly bacon here) with leaner meat, all minced and seasoned. In this version I have used veal as the additional meat.
196K3.8 15 min. October 3^rd 2019

Caramelised walnuts

These delicious nuts can be used in several cakes, but you can also put them on ice-cream, pancakes, fruit salad, or eat them just as they are.
355K5 22 min. February 21^th 2011

Poached eggs

Poached eggs are cooked, without the shell, in barely simmering (nearly boiling) water. White should be firm and yolk soft, that's the difficulty. This recipe teaches you how to succeed with three important points.
302K5 2 hours 40 min. January 8^th 2013

Toasted flaked almonds

Toasted flaked almonds are the perfect finishing touch for desserts, ice creams in particular, because of their delightful crunch.
296K4.8 27 min. March 9^th 2020

Preserved tomatoes

Softer than dried tomatoes, they can be used as a kind of chutney in pasta dishes for instance, or simply served to accompany an aperitif.
330K4.8 5 hours 6 min. February 21^th 2011

Citrus crunch

These are fine crumbs of candied citrus peel. It can be used to sprinkle a dessert or other preparation to add both crunch and the flavour of the chosen citrus fruit. It is easy to prepare well in advance, and will keep in an airtight jar. This recipe is given for clementines, but can be made with...
221K3.7 1 hour 16 min. February 2^nd 2016

Fresh pasta dough

You can use this dough to make lasagne, ravioli, spaghetti, etc. - in fact, any fresh pasta you wish.
173K3.8 1 hour 13 min. December 6^th 2012

Almond dacquoise

A dacquoise is a sort of almond meringue that can be eaten like a biscuit or can be used as the base of more sophisticated desserts.
192K5 44 min. June 28^th 2011

Armagnac marzipan

Almost the same as plain marzipan, but this almond paste is flavoured with a hint of Armagnac or Cognac.
39K4.8 9 min. September 12^th 2018

Pizza dough

Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.
495K4.6 1 hour 59 min. August 27^th 2020

Marzipan (almond paste)

Very easy to do if you have a food processor which can slice or grate a lot of things.
620K 34.5 11 min. December 19^th 2021

Coconut paste

Similar to marzipan or walnut paste, coconut paste can be used in a variety of cake or sweet recipes, but you can enjoy munching it just as it is.
278K 14 15 min. October 13^th 2010

Pistachio powder or paste

Pistachio paste has a similar texture to almond paste, but the similarity ends there, as its flavour and colour are quite characteristic.
357K 154 48 min. October 13^th 2010

Walnut paste

Very similar to marzipan (almond paste) in method, walnut paste is very tasty.
290K 63.5 14 min. February 21^th 2011

Macaronade mixture

Macaronade is the sweet almond and egg-white mixture (inspired by macarons (the original french macaroons) that French pâtissiers use as a topping on cakes and brioches. It forms a delicious crust when baked.
56K 2 min. November 25^th 2020

Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is a cold egg dressing, quite thick, served with many dishes, usually cold too: meat, fish, vegetables, etc.
799K5 6 min. February 16^th 2014

Pesto

Pesto is an Italian sauce made from pine nuts, Parmesan and basil. It's very simple but quite delicious, and goes particularly well with pasta.
258K 25 15 min. July 25^th 2020

Purple Pesto

You may already be familiar with the classic green basil pesto , but here is a version with purple basil that gives a very aesthetic purple pesto with a more peppery taste, quite similar to ginger.
22K5 19 min. August 7^th 2022

Tomato pesto

This is a variation on the classic pesto sauce (basil and pine nuts), using cherry tomatoes, basil and almonds.
157K4.5 13 min. June 29^th 2011

French dressing (vinaigrette)

Here is a very simple recipe, but it could completely transform, maybe even transcend, your salad.
1.0M4.5 7 min. July 7^th 2011

Lemon Mayonnaise

This is almost as simple to make as a plain mayonnaise, but with the double lemon flavour of both zest and juice for a delicate, fresh tang.
76K4.5 5 min. February 17^th 2016

Tomato sauce (for pizzas)

This is the sauce to put on pizza bases before the toppings.
514K4.3 1 hour 15 min. October 19^th 2010

Green parsley sauce

This sauce, with a great parsley taste, is perfect with steamed vegetables or fish. At the bottom you will find the coulis version of this recipe.
495K 44.3 23 min. February 21^th 2011

Tapenade

Tapenade is a classic of Mediterranean cuisine, basically a purée of black olives and olive oil. This version is little more sophisticated, with a less marked olive flavour.
182K 14.1 13 min. November 21^th 2010

Cocktail sauce

Cocktail sauce is a spicy mayonnaise with cognac, Tabasco and concentrated tomato paste (or purée) added.
193K4 9 min. October 13^th 2010

How to succeed in making sabayon (syllabub)

A sabayon is a delicious and delicate preparation based on egg yolks and sugar, with a liquid added (wine, alcohol, fruit juice, etc), which is then whipped in a bain-marie until it is both light and smooth. Usually sabayon is sweet (syllabub), but you can make it savoury, in which case there is...
919K 54 18 min. November 12^th 2017

Rémoulade dressing

This dressing is a kind of mayonnaise with vinegar, used for some salads like celeriac rémoulade. Usually it is prepared from mayonnaise, but here is another version, simpler and just as tasty.
863K3.9 6 min. October 3^rd 2010

Carrot-top pesto

You will no doubt be familiar with classic pesto. Here is an alternative, zero-waste version using carrot tops for a surprising pesto, full of fresh flavour.
34K 16 min. September 16^th 2020

Coriander and cashew nut pesto

You are probably familiar with the classic pesto,made with basil and pine nuts. I'd like to tempt you with a rather different (but quite delicious) version, made with coriander and cashew nuts.
59K 26 min. December 9^th 2018

Green parsley tahini sauce

This greeen sauce with tahini and parsley is an excellent accompaniment for lots of vegetables (raw or cooked) and also goes well with poultry.
40K 9 min. April 8^th 2020

Gribouille dressing

Gribouille dressing is based on a rémoulade dressing, with shallot, herbs, hard-boiled egg and tuna added. It goes well with fish and vegetables of all kinds and makes a great sandwich filling.
24K 18 min. February 17^th 2021

Pistachio and spinach pesto

You are no doubt familiar with classic pesto, made with basil and pine nuts. Here's a winter version with spinach and pistachios that's just as delicious.
18K 34 min. January 16^th 2022

Provençal remoulade sauce

The classic remoulade sauce is, in this recipe, declined in a Provençal version, where we use olive oil and to which we add chopped basil before mixing. You will obtain a classic remoulade texture, but a very typical and fresh taste.
13K 9 min. September 18^th 2022

Rémoulette dressing

This is similar to rémoulade dressing, but with lemon juice instead of vinegar and with chopped chives added. The name comes from the French for chives: "ciboulette". In technical terms, it is a cold emulsion, like mayonnaise. Not just a tasty dressing for vegetables and salads, it also goes well...
64K 8 min. March 27^th 2019

Sorrel pesto

Alongside the traditional basil pesto, here's a sorrel version, very fresh, with a delicious herbaceous taste.
2,189 29 min. April 7^th 2024

Tartar sauce

Tartar sauce is a remoulade sauce with the addition of chopped pickles and herbs. It is an ideal accompaniment to cold dishes, such as cold meats, or hot dishes, such as fries or cooked vegetables.
9,749 18 min. March 15^th 2023

Poaching syrup

Less sweet than normal sugar syrup, poaching syrup is specially for slow cooking fruits to be used in other recipes.
279K5 14 min. September 2^nd 2012

Fruit coulis (fruit purée)

Contrary to what people usually think, coulis is not just a simple fruit purée with sugar. Of course, this is the general principle, but it's possible to make something much better and more refined. This recipe is for a strawberry coulis (see below for other fruits): how to make it, but also how...
760K 44 24 min. October 20^th 2012

Blackcurrant coulis

Blackcurrants make a very good coulis, but it's a bit more difficult than with other fruits. Here is a simple method to help you succeed.
435K 23.5 25 min. February 21^th 2011

Sugar syrup

This syrup is mainly used as a basis for all sorbet recipes, which consist of this syrup and fruit pulp, but it can be also used to soak biscuits for example, or for fruit salads.
733K3.5 8 min. February 21^th 2011

Citrus syrup

This citrus-flavoured syrup blends the bitterness of the zest with the delicious acidity of the juice. It can be used to soak biscuits or cakes when making desserts. You can make this with whatever citrus fruits you prefer. It can be prepared in advance and will keep for several days.
57K 1 hour 13 min. December 30^th 2019

Pan-fried potatoes

What could be simpler than fried potatoes? No need of a recipe for that! Quite right, but it's also very easy to end up making fried mash instead. Here are the main pitfalls to avoid.
286K4.4 1 hour 37 min. February 3^rd 2011

Macédoine of vegetables

A macédoine is simply vegetables diced small (carrots and turnips) or cut small (green beans) with peas. The different vegetables are cooked separately "à l'anglaise", then thoroughly drained. They are only combined at the end in a mayonnaise dressing.
149K4 1 hour 24 min. September 3^rd 2014

Lettuce "chiffonade"

Chiffonade is a French term meaning "made of rags.", it consists of shredding the heart of a lettuce into thin ribbons.
211K 15 32 min. February 21^th 2011