List of 32 recipes using Bayleaf (lactose free)

Little vegetable omelettes

As an appetiser or starter, little thick soft omelettes, with diced tomato, courgette and smoked ham.

Salmon marinated like herring

In this recipe, the salmon is cured in coarse salt, then left to marinate in oil with herbs, spices, carrots and onions. Salmon prepared like this is served sliced thinly on a bed of potatoes.

Spicy seafood plancha

A mix of diced fish and uncooked prawns marinated with spices and then simply cooked on a plancha. The fish benefits from the acidic citrus note provided by the lime, and the prawns from a little vinegar.

Beef braised in reduced red wine

In classic recipes of this kind, the meat is simply cooked in the wine as it comes. This version is different: the red wine is reduced first separately on low heat with herbs, onion and carrot, then the meat is cooked long and slow in this. This method gives the meat a richer, more intense flavour.

Chicken "cantina"

Chicken cantina is a simple recipe for spicy chicken with onions and tomatoes, served with rice, red beans or both.

Duo of slow-cooked pork

Two pork ingredients, smoked sausage and a shoulder joint here, are left to cook slowly on a bed of vegetables and herbs, moistened with a vegetable or poultry stock. This is one of those crafty dishes that can be reheated over and over, getting better each time.

Mexican-style pork medallions

For this recipe with a Mexican flavour (New Mexican, actually), I have used tender medallions of pork fillet mignon. These are first marinated in a spicy oil then pan-fried with the remaining marinade. Serve with green beans and sauce made with a reduced vegetable stock in the frying pan.

Pâté de campagne

Here is a personal version of the famous country pâté. It's an interesting recipe to prepare in large quantities because it keeps well and freezes easily. The secret of a good pâté is of course the ingredients, but also how it is cooked.

Pork roast with herbs

A succulent joint of pork, slow-roasted with herbs and served with baby potatoes cooked in the meat juices.

Rabbit civet

Rabbit civet is a classic dish of French cuisine. The word "civet" comes from "cive", an old word for onion. These days, the name refers to chunks of meat, marinated then cooked slowly in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and onions. This tasty stew or casserole, with its very tender meat, is like my grandmother Jeanne used to make for me when I was little.

Rabbit terrine

This is a rather special rabbit terrine, with some of the meat added in larger morsels to the minced mixture before cooking. These whole pieces of rabbit show when the terrine is sliced and add character, both in flavour and texture.

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 full flavour into the lentils during cooking. Not only will the lentils be perfectly cooked and extra-tasty, thanks to the sausage, they are ideal to serve with the sausage itself.

Fried eggs with tomatoes

In this recipe, thick slices of tomato are cooked first, then the eggs are left to cook gently in the spaces between them. Particularly delicious served simply with a trickle of balsamic vinegar.

Mushrooms à la grecque

Mushrooms "à la grecque" (Greek-style) is a simple way to enhance sautéed mushrooms with the flavours of olive oil, herbs and lemon. A common variation is to add tomatoes – just one of many possibilities.

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.

Provençal-Style Eggs

For this very simple recipe, which can be enjoyed hot or cold, you'll need slices of tomato that you grill, a generous pinch of herbes de Provence, and eggs arranged around the edges.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a typical Mediterranean dish. The best-known version comes from Nice. It is a ragoût of different vegetables (aubergines, peppers, courgettes, onions) in a tomato sauce.

Roast potatoes "à la provençale"

These roast potatoes with echoes of Provence are cooked in 2 stages: boiled first, then finished in the oven until golden and crisp. They can be served on their own, to accompany meat, or simply with a good green salad.

Sausages with baked beans, French style

What could be more basic than sausages and beans? This is a rustic French version using dried white haricot beans (or "mogettes") that are first boiled fast, then left to cook slowly with tomatoes and smoked sausages. The long cooking allows the smoky flavour of the sausages to gradually spread down into the beans - simply delicious!

Small ratatouille with

It's a hotch-potch of vegetables, cooked in two stages, onto which eggs are broken and cooked until the white only is just firm.

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.

Spaghetti with mushrooms

In this recipe, the mushrooms are cooked in the oven first and are then combined with the cooked spaghetti, shallots and dressed with white wine and soy sauce.

Spaghetti with tomatoes and pesto

For this very simple recipe, just pasta, tomatoes, a few herbs and a little pesto, but a delicious taste you'll see.

Upside-down Parmentier

Parmentier is a French version of shepherd's pie. This variation has slow-cooked meat on top of the mashed potato (purée), instead of underneath. A red-wine sauce adds the finishing touch.

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 cooking.

Herb olive oil

This flavoured olive oil, easy to prepare, goes very well with Mediterranean cuisine: pizzas, pastas, pan bagnat, etc...

Home-made chilli oil

It is very simple and economical to make your own chilli oil. Here's how to do it.

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.

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.

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 everything else in the jar.

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 firm-textured potatoes, such as rattes or charlottes, work best. I am using rattes in the photos. The cooking is a combined method: boiling first, then frying. This is quicker than using a single method.

How to slow cook meat

By cooking meat slowly with no added fat, it will become very tender - almost melt-in-the-mouth - and can be cut with a fork.