Make French Food Recipes: How to Create a Fabulous Meal

If you can’t travel to France, then bring some of the French food culture to your home by cooking romantic French cuisine. Try these easy French food recipes starting with an appetizer of tapenade, an olive spread. Then cook up some Pan Fried Fish with white asparagus. Of course, serve it with some white wine. Then set the mood with some music. We recommend French Cafe by Putumayo Presents. Finish your meal with this French food recipe for Raspberry Parfait. To pair a fancy drink with your French dessert you can try one of our Valentine drinks. Of course if you are looking for more romantic recipes, try our French toast recipe for breakfast.

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Start with this French Food Recipe for Tapenade

This is a classic French appetizer. This easy French snack doesn’t take a lot of time and tastes great spread on a loaf of French bread.

Ingredients for tapenade recipe

• 2 cups pitted black olives
• Tablespoon capers
• Teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• finely chopped garlic clove
• 3 anchovy fillets drained and soaked to remove salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• baguette

Directions for tapenade

1. Slice baguette thinly and toast slices in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
2. While baguette is toasting, add remaining ingredients into a food processor and process until almost smooth.
3. Serve tapenade with baguette toasts and a nice glass of French Wine.

You can make the tapenade ahead of time and store in a glass jar until ready to serve.

Easy French Onion Soup

This is an easy French food on a cold evening or as a starter.

Ingredients for French onion soup recipe

• 3 large onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• toasted baguette slices or croutons
• slices of Provolone cheese

Directions for easy French onion soup

1. Begin by cooking onions in margarine in a large soup pot, until soft and golden
2. Then stir in flour. Gradually stir in one cup of broth, and heat until boiling.
3. Once it boils, add remaining broth and Worcestershire sauce. When it boils, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
4. For a quick French weeknight meal, lade soup into bowls. Then top with toasted baguette slice and sliced cheese. The heat from the soup will melt the cheese.

For the more traditional version, ladle soup into ovenproof crocks. Then top with bread and cheese. Broil until cheese is crusty and browned.

Then Create this French Food Recipe for Pan-Fried Fish with White Asparagus

You don’t need to be a food network expert to to cook classic French dishes. Many French entree ideas are simple. The French like to keep things simple, contrary to popular belief. Their foods use basic local ingredients and simple herbs for flavor. This fried dish is one of my favorites. While sometimes desserts may be more complicated, I have tried to keep these French food recipes simple.

Ingredients for French food recipe for fried fish

• 1 1/2lbs. skinless fish fillets (We used Rockfish)
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of millet flour or almond flour
• 1 tsp. dried tarragon or parsley, more if using fresh herbs
• 6 tbsp. butter
• juice from half a lemon
• asparagus

Directions

1. First rinse fish. Then pat dry with paper towels. Subsequently, pour the milk in a shallow bowl, and put the flour on a plate. Then combine the dried tarragon or parsley with the flour.
2. After that, season each fillet with salt and pepper. Then dip each fillet into the milk and lightly coat them with flour.
3. Next, melt half the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the fillets to the pan and cook for two minutes. Flip over and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. To sum up, fish should be cooked to 145 degrees at the thickest part.
4. Transfer the fillets to a warm plate. Add the remaining butter to the pan. Then add the lemon juice and scrape the bits from the pan. Spoon this over the fish. Keep warm.
5. Finally, using the same pan, add a bit more butter and saute the asparagus for about 3-5 minutes over medium high heat until it is crisp tender. Serve with the fish and a nice bottle of chilled white wine.

I always have problems skinning fish. My trick is to heat a frying pan on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and then place the fish in the pan skin side down for a little less than a minute. Remove from the pan and the skin should peel away with a spatula.

Chicken Francaise

Ingredients for French food recipe for Chicken Francaise

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp garlic herbs de Provence
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2-1 cup chicken broth
• butter and olive oil for cooking

Directions for Chicken Francaise

1. Cut chicken horizontally to make thin fillets.
2. Then heat a frying pan over medium high, adding two tbsp butter and two tbsp olive oil.
3. While the pan is heating mix flour, parmesan, salt and pepper, and herbs de Provence. Usually I only use a little salt, as many people are on low salt diets. This way, people can add extra later if they choose.
4. Then beat eggs in a separate bowl.
5. After that, dip chicken pieces first in flour mixture, then in egg. Make sure to let extra egg drip off before placing pieces in pan. Cook approximately 2 minutes on each side to brown.
6. Once chicken is browned, remove to a plate.
7. Add wine and 1/2 cup of broth to the pan along with lemon juice, cooking until bubbling. Then reduce heat, and add the chicken back into the pan. Cover and cook for ten minutes or until chicken reaches 165F at thickest part.

What should you serve with Chicken Francaise? Green peas or green beans with butter and Parmesan cheese make an easy classic side dish. You can also serve the chicken with its sauce either over noodles or mashed potatoes.

Top off Your Meal with This French Food Recipe for Raspberry Parfait

Ingredients

• 2 cups of raspberries
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• Tablespoon cherry brandy
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups cool whip

Directions

1. Begin by blending raspberries and 1/2 cup of water in a blender. Then use a spoon to push them through a mesh strainer into a bowl to remove the seeds.
2. Once the seeds are removed, add the confectioners’ sugar to the puree and stir. When it is mixed well, add the brandy.
3. After that, place 1/2 cup of water and granulated sugar in a saucepan and heat to boiling until sugar dissolves and a syrup forms, about 5 minutes.
4. While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff.
5. When the syrup is done drizzle it into egg whites and continue beating until mixture is at room temperature.
6. Once the egg mixture comes down to room temperature mix it with the raspberry puree. Then blend in the cool whip.
7. Then mix in an ice cream mixer approximately 20 minutes.

Make this ahead of time and store in the freezer. You can garnish with fresh raspberries, chocolate shavings, cherry or whipped cream.

To sum up, I have created these French food recipes after being inspired by The French Kitchen Cookbook and my old standby Betty Crocker. Let me know if you try these French food recipes and if you make additional improvements upon them.

An actual trip to France isn’t complete without wine tastings. Here are some sponsored wine tours to try when you go to France:

Donna Emperador is a travel and food blogger and copywriter. Donna believes in learning about different cultures while sharing good food and cocktails. She has lived in South Florida for over 20 years and enjoys spending time exploring the road to find unique places to share with readers. She can be found on Facebook,  Instagram, and Pinterest.