List of recipes using Water: 65 recipes (lactose free)

Hummus

Hummus (or houmous), is one of the famous and delicious Lebanese "mezzes".
325K4.7 16 min. May 30^th 2020

Leek and Jerusalem artichoke soup

Jerusalem artichoke and leek is a much rarer combination than the classic potato and leek, but it works rather well, as you will see in this recipe.
22K 51 min. April 28^th 2021

Sesame fried scampi

Scampi, coated with a sesame crust, fried quickly, and served with a herb salad.
289K5 33 min. November 11^th 2012

Soup Cornouaillaise

This rustic soup comes from Cornouailles in Brittany – France's very own Cornwall. It is made with fried bacon and onions, and thickened with a little buckwheat flour, typical of the region.
19K 42 min. May 9^th 2021

Confit of carrots with bacon

As with any confit, these carrots are cooked long and slow. This is done in the oven in chicken stock, with the carrots rolled in a strip of bacon or cured ham that has been lightly fried.
41K4.8 2 hours 32 min. April 16^th 2017

Fillet of beef in a rosemary crust

This is a sophisticated way to cook beef fillet (tenderloin): we make an unleavened bread dough (which will not be eaten), adding plenty of salt and lots of roughly chopped springs of rosemary. The beef fillet is seared all over in a frying pan, then wrapped in the dough before being cooked in a hot...
49K 14.8 50 min. August 26^th 2021

Sausage and lentils "en cocotte"

This is a casserole-style version of the traditional French sausage-and-lentils recipe with a special feature: the lentils are cooked in just the right amount of water. The other ingredients add flavour as does, most importantly, the sausage (preferably smoked). When pricked, this will release its...
129K4.5 1 hour 5 min. February 5^th 2017

Cassoulet

Cassoulet is typical, even emblematic, of southern French cuisine. It is a "slow food" casserole in which meat and vegetables, particualrly dried beans, are cooked together for a long time. Here is a simplified version of this famous dish.
197K4.1 16 hours 9 min. September 17^th 2021

Chicken pie

Apart from the obvious chicken, this pie's puff pastry "lid" also conceals mushrooms, bacon, hard-boiled eggs and leeks.
106K4.3 2 hours 29 min. May 10^th 2023

Eggs meurette

Eggs meurette or "œufs à la bourguignonne" is a great classic of French cooking, and of Burgundy in particular. It consists of poached eggs on a bed of fondue onions and bacon, served on a slice of fried bread. This is topped with a tasty reduced red wine sauce.
190K 14.1 1 hour 11 min. March 29^th 2020

Provençal braised carrots

Chunks of carrot (different coloured varieties here), braised in a vegetable stock with herbes de Provence and served on a bed of couscous.
54K 1 hour 14 min. January 27^th 2019

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti "bolognese" (after the town of Bologna, Italiy) is a well-known dish, but so often amounts to nothing more than pasta topped with minced meat in a plain tomato sauce. Here is a more traditional version, in which the sauce is made with tomatoes, herbs, red wine and - of course - meat.
96K3.8 1 hour 19 min. September 29^th 2022

Minted Melon

It is tempting to call this a melon Mojito: little balls of ripe melon in a light Mojito-flavoured syrup with mint, rum and lime.
52K4.5 45 min. September 13^th 2015

Mojito peaches

A simple fruit salad of white peaches bathed in mojito flavours: lime, rum and mint (with a delicate hint of vanilla).
26K 39 min. August 2^nd 2020

Nougat

Nougat is a sweet made with honey and almonds that has changed very little since ancient times. The nougat we know today is the Montelimar variety, in which egg whites are added to the basic recipe for a lighter texture. Here is a simplified version.
113K 15 1 hour 41 min. June 19^th 2013

Quick orange marmalade

Just oranges (organic) and sugar in this simplified marmalade recipe.
144K3.9 1 hour 11 min. February 26^th 2014

Ali Baba bread

This bread is so-called because its magical sesame flavour is non-negotiable! The triple dose comes from tahini (sesame paste), sesame oil added to the dough before kneading, and toasted sesame seeds both in the dough and on top of the loaves. The texture is soft, rather like ciabatta, but with a...
38K5 4 hours 23 min. December 10^th 2017

Bacon rolls

These tasty little rolls are enriched with bacon bits and toasted sesame seeds. The slightly flaky texture comes from lard, folded in like for puff pastry. Served sliced, these make an ideal savoury snack to share with friends over a drink.
54K4.6 3 hours 38 min. October 24^th 2017

Benoîton

This curious name (explained below) applies to a small bread fingers made with a blend of wheat and rye flour, enriched with raisins and almonds.
39K 4 hours 32 min. February 4^th 2018

Classic French white bread

This is the recipe for classic, everyday French bread raised with yeast. French bakers call this "pain courant". It is quicker and easier to make than leavened bread or new leavened bread, so ideal for a beginner.
285K4.1 3 hours 50 min. June 6^th 2017

French baguettes

This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the...
1.1M 364.7 5 hours 6 min. October 24^th 2017

Leavened bread

It might be harder to achieve good results than with traditional yeast bread, but what a flavour! It also keeps better. This recipe is designed for baking bread in a wood-fired oven but, of course, you can use the conventional oven in your kitchen.
1.2M 23.8 6 hours 26 min. May 23^th 2017

Mixed seed grissini

Little crusty bread sticks of Italian origin, these are delicious for aperitifs, plain or with dips like tuna rillettes, guacamole or houmous.
256K4.2 2 hours 30 min. February 21^th 2011

Natural leaven

Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...
1.7M 304.0 7 days 15 min. April 3^rd 2020

New leavened bread

This new recipe for leavened bread is simple and delicious, but needs rather long resting times. If you'd like more more information about making your own bread, look at this dedicated page.
891K 34.3 7 hours December 30^th 2019

Olive and pesto bread

This bread with olives and pesto has a very Italian flavour: a ciabatta dough, herbes de Provence and green olives. The loaf is baked in a tin, with a thin layer of pesto spread in the middle between two pieces of dough, and green olives (with stones removed) pressed into the top.
60K3.8 3 hours 57 min. October 24^th 2017

Peanut rolls

Combining soft and crunchy textures, these flavour-packed peanut rolls are delicious just as they are, but they are also ideal for burgers.
72K4.6 4 hours October 24^th 2017

Pitta bread

This Lebanese speciality is made as a flat round pocket, which can be filled with all manner of things.
512K 14.5 2 hours 55 min. February 21^th 2011

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

Poitevin twist

This short baguette, from the Poitou region of western France is soft-textured, made with walnuts, walnut oil and goat's cheese. As the name suggests, the bread is twisted, rather than slashed, just before it goes into the oven.
50K 3 hours 19 min. December 19^th 2018

Seeded loaf

This seeded bread is based on a French baguette dough, with a mix of dry-roasted seeds added (poppy, millet, linseed, sesame...). Delicious on its own, this bread makes excellent toast to go with foie gras, adding an amazing complementary crunch.
143K3.8 4 hours 27 min. October 24^th 2017

Special small breads

When you are have mastered the basic leavened bread, you certainly ought to try special breads: with nuts, cheese, seeds, etc... Here is a series of recipes, based on traditional leavened bread.
375K4 6 hours 26 min. October 13^th 2010

Tomato foccacia

Foccacia is an open-textured Italian bread. The French sometimes refer to it as the Italian fougasse. This version is made with preserved tomatoes, green olives and parmesan.
74K4.3 4 hours 53 min. October 24^th 2017

Two-olive ciabatta

Enjoy the real flavour and scent of the Mediterranean in this ciabatta made with two olives (green and black).
109K4.3 4 hours 12 min. October 24^th 2017

Blackcurrant liqueur

The fruit liqueurs (or "creams" in French) are a mix of neutral alcohol in which fruits are macerated, and sugar syrup. They are the basis of the very famous "Kir", mixture of dry white wine and blackcurrant liqueur. This recipe is for blackcurrant, but it can be made with other soft fruits like...
833K 44.7 51 min. August 3^rd 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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.
358K 154 48 min. October 13^th 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stewed apricots

Here is how to make delicious stewed apricots, both an easy and a more sophisticated way.
755K 143.6 1 hour 17 min. July 12^th 2023

Stewed plums

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

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

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.
253K4.3 1 hour October 5^th 2011

Cooking sugar

Cooking sugar, which is one of the basics of patisserie and sweet-making, is a delicate operation in which sugar is heated from 100°C or 212°F to 180°C or 356°F. Here is some information on this tricky subject. [Translator's note: the terms used below correspond to the French tradition, as often...
476K4.9 43 min. April 3^rd 2019

How to cook pasta properly

Here is some advice for pasta that's properly cooked and doesn't stick.
1.1M4.4 22 min. July 18^th 2019

How to prepare endives

A very classic recipe, but which can easily fail due to two main errors: too much water in bottom of dish because endives give off a lot, and endives that are too bitter so that children hate it. Here is a method which avoids these two problems.
453K3.7 26 min. February 14^th 2012

How to prepare Jerusalem artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes are quite an unusual vegetable with a strong artichoke taste, if you want to use them in a recipe, here is how to prepare them.
13K 18 min. January 11^th 2023

How to rehydrate dried mushrooms

Rehydrating dried mushrooms restoes them to something like their fresh texture, ready to use in a recipe. You will see that there is more to it than simply leaving them to soak in water. At the same time, we can also make a delicious mushroom "jus" to use in recipes. Throughout the recipe, I have...
321K4.8 1 hour 10 min. April 5^th 2017

How to seal a terrine or casserole dish

The French have a term for it: "luter", which means to seal around the lid of a cooking dish with dough. The dough forms a crust and hermetically seals in all the steam and flavours while the dish is cooking in the oven. This is a good way to concentrate flavours. The dish is brought to the table...
158K3.8 33 min. January 11^th 2017

How to use gelatin

Gelatin is a gelling agent use in some desserts where a rather firm texture is required when cold. It can also be used to stabilize a dessert (mousses especially) that you need to keep longer than usual.
391K4.8 7 min. July 9^th 2018

Chicken nems

Nems are probably the best known Far Eastern dish in France. These small crispy rolls can be made in different flavours: chicken, crab, pork, etc. Making your own is not very complicated, the only difficulty is in the rolling stage. You will find in this recipe full details on how to successfully...
493K3.8 2 hours 21 min. April 6^th 2017

Chorba

Chorba is a spicy meat and vegetable soup, typical of the Maghreb. This is my own personal version.
136K5 2 hours 8 min. May 4^th 2012

Minestrone

Minestrone is a traditional Italian soup. It is made with a mix of vegetables and a poultry stock. It is quite simple to make, but preparing all the vegetables takes time. There are doubtless as many minestrone recipes as there are Italian cooks, but here is my version.
164K4.3 3 hours 30 min. May 29^th 2011

Paella

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made with round rice, associated mainly with the Valencia region. The name comes from the large two-handled pan in which it is traditionally prepared. This is an adapted version with a mix of meat, vegetables and shellfish.
332K4.1 2 hours 58 min. February 21^th 2011

Papadums

Papadums (pronounced "poppadoms") or papad are very thin, crisp Indian crackers. They are often served as an aperitif snack in Indian restaurants. The tricky part of making them at home is rolling them out thinly enough.
91K4.5 22 min. June 26^th 2014

Sushi

Sushi is probably the best known element of Japanese cooking outside Japan. For the Japanese it's a culinary art learned over time from masters, but we can make simplified and easier sushi which are still pretty and delicious. The most common types of sushi are nigiri: a little oval-shaped mouthfuls...
322K4.5 1 hour 38 min. October 13^th 2010

Vietnamese prawns

In this recipe, the prawns are first lightly fried, then spiced up with a piquant sauce.
140K4.3 54 min. May 26^th 2013