List of French dishes

There are many dishes considered part of French cuisine. Some dishes are considered universally accepted as part of the national cuisine, while others fit into a unique regional cuisine. There are also breads, charcuterie items as well as desserts that fit into these categories which are listed accordingly as well.

Common dishes found on a national level

There are many dishes that are considered part of the nation's national cuisine today. Many come from haute cuisine in the fine-dining realm, but others are regional dishes that have become a norm across the country. Below are lists of a few of the more common dishes available in France on a national level.

Common breads of France

Baguette

• Baguette
• Ficelle
• Flûte
• Fougasse
• Miche
• Pain de campagne

Common savory dishes

Pot au feu

• Steak au poivre
• Steak frites (steak and fries)
• Poulet frites (chicken and fries),
• Pommes duchesse (duchess potatoes)
• Blanquette de veau (blanquette of veal)
• Coq au vin (rooster in red wine)
• Pot au feu (beef stew with mixed vegetables)
• Cassoulet (duck with different sausages served with white beans)
• Boudin blanc (delicate flavored sausage similar to bratwurst)
• Andouillette (chitterling sausage)
• Foie gras (fatty duck or goose liver)

Common desserts and pastries

A mille-feuille pastry

• Choux à la crème (cream puffs, see choux pastry)
• Crème brûlée
• Éclair
• Madeleine (a small cake-like cookie)
• Mille-feuilles
• Mousse au chocolat
• Profiteroles (baked puff pastries (choux) filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with melted chocolate)
• Religieuse (chocolate éclair shaped to resemble a nun)
• Tartes aux fruits (fruit tarts)
• Tarte Tatin (caramelized apple tart)

Common canned food unique to France

Many dishes, including relatively sophisticated ones, are available as canned or frozen food in supermarkets. These products are sometimes endorsed by famous chefs. Below is a list of some of these canned items which are unique to France.

• Cassoulet
• Choucroute garnie
• Confit de canard (duck confit)

Lorraine

• • Quiche Lorraine
  • Potée Lorraine
  • Pâté Lorrain

Alsace

A typical choucroute garnie

• • Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes)
  • Coq au Riesling (The local Alsace variant of Coq au vin)
  • Spätzle
  • Baeckeoffe
  • Kouglof
  • Bredela
  • Beerawecka
  • Mannala
  • Tarte flambée
  • Baba au rhum

Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Artois, Flanders, Hainaut) - Picardy

• • Andouillette of Cambrai
  • Carbonnadeiilig (meat stewed in beer)
  • Potjevleesch (four-meat terrine)
  • Waterzooi (sweet water fish stew)
  • Escabeche (cold terrine of sweet water fish in wine and vinegar)
  • Hochepot (four meats stewed with vegetables)
  • Flamiche

Normandy

• • Tripes à la mode de Caen (tripe cooked in cider and calvados)
  • Matelote (fish stewed in cider)
  • Moules à la crème Normande (mussels cooked with white wine, Normandy cider, garlic and cream)
  • Tarte Normande (apple tart)
  • Terrinée (a baked rice dessert)

Brittany

A sweet crêpe

• • Crêpes
  • Far Breton (flan with prunes)
  • Kig ha farz (boiled pork dinner with buckwheat dumplings)
  • Kouign amann (galette made flaky with high proportion of butter)

Loire Valley/Central France

• • Rillettes (spreadable paste made from braised pork and rendered fat, similar to pâté)
  • Andouillettes (sausage made with chitterlings)

Burgundy

Gruyère Cheese Gougères.

• • Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine)
  • Coq au vin (chicken braised in red wine, lardons and mushrooms)
  • Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter)
  • Gougère (cheese in choux pastry)
  • Pochouse (fish stewed in red wine)
  • Oeufs en meurette (egg poached in red wine)

Rhône-Alpes

tartiflette with ham

Tomme cheese

• • Raclette (the cheese is melted and served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef)
  • Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped)
  • Gratin dauphinois
  • Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)
  • Andouillette (a kind of Sausage with Tripe)
  • Quenelle (flour; butter; eggs; milk; and fish, traditionally pike, mixed and poached)

Aveyron

• • gargonschnov Tripoux (tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce)
  • Truffade (potatoes sautéed with garlic and young Tomme cheese)
  • Aligot (mashed potatoes blended with young Tomme cheese)
  • Pansette de Gerzat (lamb tripe stewed in wine, shallots and blue cheese)
  • Salade Aveyronaise (lettuce, tomato, roquefort cheese, walnuts)

Toulousain

• • Cassoulet (a dish made with beans, sausages and preserved duck or goose)

Languedoc

• • Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod)
  • Cargolade (Catalan style of escargot)
  • Trinxat (Catalan cabbage and potatoes)
  • Bourride (white fish stewed with vegetables and wine, garnished with aïoli)
  • Rouille de seiche (Similar preparation of squid)
  • Encornets farcis (Cuttlefish stuffed with sausagemeat, herbs)

Provence/Côte d'Azur

Soupe au Pistou

• • Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs)
  • Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with olive oil, aubergine, courgette, bell pepper, tomato, onion and garlic)
  • Pieds paquets (Lambs feet and tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce)
  • Soupe au pistou (bean soup served with a pistou (cognate with Italian pesto) of fine-chopped basil, garlic and Parmesan)
  • Salade Niçoise (varied ingredients, but always black olives, tuna)
  • Socca
  • Panisses
  • Quince cheese
  • Pissaladière (an antecedent of the much more popular pizza)
  • Chicken with forty garlic cloves (recipe by chef Philippe Gion)

French cuisine ingredients

An entire foie gras (partly prepared for a terrine).

Escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter in a shell (with a €0.02 coin as scale)

Black Périgord Truffle

French regional cuisines use locally grown vegetables, such as:

• potatoes
• haricot verts (A type of French green bean)
• carrots
• leeks
• turnips
• aubergine (eggplant)
• courgette (zucchini)
• Mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, cèpes (porcini)
• Truffle (fungi)
• shallots

Common fruits include:

• oranges
• tomatoes
• tangerines
• peaches
• apricots
• apples
• pears
• plums
• cherry
• strawberry
• raspberry
• redcurrant
• blackberry
• grape
• blackcurrant

Meats consumed include:

• chicken
• squab
• turkey
• duck
• goose
• foie gras
• beef
• veal
• pork
• mutton and lamb
• rabbit
• quail
• horse (rarely and not common)

Eggs are fine quality and often eaten as:

• omelette
• hard-boiled with mayonnaise
• Scrambled plain or haute cuisine preparation

Fish and seafood commonly consumed include:

• cod
• sardines, canned and fresh
• tuna, canned and fresh
• salmon
• trout
• mussels
• herring
• escargot (snails)
• oysters
• shrimp
• calamari
• frog's legs

Herbs and Seasonings vary by region and include:

• fleur de sel
• herbes de Provence
• tarragon
• rosemary
• marjoram
• lavender
• thyme
• fennel
• sage

Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat can be purchased either from supermarkets or specialty shops. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; some towns have a more permanent covered market enclosing food shops, especially meat and fish retailers. These have better shelter than the periodic street markets.

Works cited

• Steele, Ross. The French Way. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.