Hachis parmentier

(Found inTextsStages)
This is the French answer (meat with mashed potato and cheese) to the English cottage or shepherd's pie: a typical family recipe which is an excellent way of using up leftover meat. The proportions are vague here: you need "whatever you have left over"...

French croissants

(Found inTexts)
In this famous and highly technical recipe from a piece of yeast-based flaky dough we are going to cut and shape ("roll") croissants.

Chocolate rolls (petits pains)

(Found inTexts)
Here is a recipe for "real" chocolate petits pains, i.e. with a milk bread dough (not croissants dough) and with a stick of chocolate inside.

Crispy rolls with chicken and leek

(Found inTextsStages)
Finely sliced leeks are cooked with a shallot, to which is added leftover chicken with a little cream and parmesan. This mixture is rolled up in filo pastry, and cooked in the oven.

Beans with tomatoes

(Found inTexts)
Fresh white haricot beans and leftover chicken cooked with stewed tomatoes, a sprig of parsley and it's ready.

Chorba

(Found inTexts)
Chorba is a spicy meat and vegetable soup, typical of the Maghreb. This is my own personal version.

Rice and peas

(Found inTexts)
This is a very simple recipe that can made almost entirely with leftovers: chicken, rice and peas.

Ham pasta bake

(Found inTexts)
Here's a really simple recipe that children love. Just pasta, ham, a little cream and cheese on top.

"Day After Pork Belly" Soup

(Found inTexts)
If you have made cured pork belly with lentils, you will no doubt have some of the stock left from cooking the meat and lentils. This will be full of flavour, so can be turned into a quick and delicious soup. Here's how to do it.

Chicken with rice and leeks

(Found inTexts)
For this "chicken with rice", the rice is cooked using the pilau method (started on the hob, finished in the oven), but with chicken cooking juices as the liquid to add plenty of delicious flavour. Pieces of cooked chicken are then added. This version also has chopped and lightly fried leeks.

Lemony chicken and radish salad

(Found inTexts)
This salad combines the crunch of finely sliced radishes with tender cubes of chicken. The tang which lifts the flavour comes from fresh herbs and the dressing of lemon mayonnaise.

Gratin of chicken with rice and sautéed mushrooms

(Found inTexts)
This is a very simple gratin, mainly using leftovers (chicken and rice), ideal for a Sunday night supper.

Quick flaky pizza

(Found inTexts)
This pizza with a difference has a thin puff-pastry base instead the traditional dough. Apart from this small refinement, the basic elements you would expect are all there: tomato sauce, a variety of toppings and fresh basil leaves.

Mozzarella pasta bake

(Found inTexts)
A good way to use up leftover pasta, or cook some specially for this gratin with fried ham and two cheeses: diced mozzarella for melting texture and grated Comté for a nicely browned top.

Normandy seafood stew

(Found inTexts)
A "marmite normande" is a combination of different seasonal julienne vegetables and a mix of shellfish, rapidly sautéed, then deglazed with cider. The vegetables and shellfish are then simmered together in cream, which intensifies the...

Tandoori-flavoured chicken with leeks

(Found inTexts)
Indian flavours pep up this recipe. The leeks are cooked then mixed with chunks of chicken (a good way to use leftovers from a previous meal) and simmered with tandoori spices.

Chicken with spinach in a cream sauce

(Found inTexts)
This recipe combines morsels of cooked chicken, spinach and potatoes with cream for a simple and tasty dish.

Stuffed baguette

(Found inTexts)
This baguette is "stuffed", rather than merely filled: hollowed out and refilled with a tasty mix of sautéed onions, fried bacon bits and eggs, before browning in the oven. A useful way to use up a leftover baguette, even if it is already going dry. It makes a great dish that children love, and grown ups, too!

Chicken Brussels pie

(Found inTexts)
This is a novel twist on the well known cottage or shepherd's pie idea (minced meat topped with mashed potato). Why not try this "Brussels" pie with a mixture of mashed potato and Brussels sprouts on top of chopped chicken?

Mini almond-morello tarts

(Found inTexts)
This very simple recipe is a good way to use up leftover sweetcrust pastry. The tiny tarts are filled with almond cream and topped with a morello cherry (French Griottines are best, if you can get them).

A little leftover butter

Very often when you're making a cake, your recipe will tell you to melt some butter and mix it into the batter - a classic for cookies, cakes, moelleux and the like. And every time you do this, you'll have to butter the baking tin to prevent the dough from sticking during baking. Naturally,...
April 16^th 2026205

Using stretch food film effectively

Maybe you use food film in your own kitchen. You know, the very thin, clear plastic stuff that you can stretch, often used to cover food and protect it from the air. It’s become so widely used that it’s now an essential item for pros. They even have a verb for it in French: “filmer”: to...
May 12^th 201824 K 14.9

The perfect boiled egg

Making boiled eggs is always a delight and it pleases the young and old alike. This little transgenerational side puts them on the list of "things to do on Sunday evening when you don't know what to do" in many families (including mine)... That said, it's not that simple, you have to pay...
January 30^th 202118 K4.7

The infinite variety of salads

Making a salad for a meal, a few ingredients of your choice and a sauce to bind it all together is still one of the best ways to cook something really good quickly and simply. And since there is often a "fresh" aspect with the vegetables in the ingredients, not only does it taste good, but it's...
March 13^th 202111 K4.6

Soup vs. potage

It's true that we're finally coming out of winter as I write these lines, and that we'll all be making, no doubt, a little less soup and potages, but even if it's out of season, it really is a simple and delicious dish, which is one of the always easy answers to "What's for dinner this (Sunday)...
April 9^th 202212 K