Fancy French Cuisine Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes After Work

Sometimes it is nice to spend hours making an extra special dish and other times you are tired and just want to throw a readymade meal into the microwave, but it is possible to have the best of both worlds.

What if you could make classic French dishes in as little as thirty minutes? The following pair of recipes show you how easy it is to eat traditional French food, which is both delicious and fast to prepare.

Classic Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is a well known French recipe and, if you like traditional French dishes like onion soup, you will enjoy these chicken roll ups. Parmesan, garlic, mozzarella, paprika, prosciutto and more are used to add lots of flavor to the chicken in this quick chicken recipe and you will be able to prepare this dish in half an hour. Make some mashed potatoes to go with it and everybody will enjoy this wonderful meal. The following recipe makes enough to serve four people.

What you will need:

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
5 teaspoons melted butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (6 oz each)
1 minced clove garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon paprika
8 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Salt, pepper, and oregano, as needed
Cooking spray, as needed
How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Microwave the broth for fifteen seconds or until it is warm, then stir in the garlic and butter. Mix the paprika, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs in a bowl.

Put each chicken breast between a couple of sheets of plastic wrap and pound to a quarter inch thickness with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and oregano over both sides of the chicken. Top each breast with a couple of slices of prosciutto and some mozzarella, then roll them up like jelly rolls.

Dip each chicken roll in the broth mixture and then in the breadcrumbs. Put them seam-side down in a cooking spray-coated baking dish and pour the remaining broth over the top. Bake for about twenty five minutes or until the juices run clear.

Pesto Flavored Tomato Tart with Herbes de Provence

This delicious tart can be served hot or cold and you can keep it overnight if you wrap it tightly and refrigerate it. To reheat the tart, just put it in the oven for a few minutes. This recipe might only call for pastry, tomatoes, pesto, salt, and herbs but it is full-flavored and satisfying.

What you will need:

1 package thawed puff pastry
2/3 cup pesto
6 thinly sliced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the pastry on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and spread the pesto over them. Layer the tomatoes on top, and then sprinkle the herbes de Provence and salt over the tomatoes. Bake in the top of the oven for about twenty five minutes or until the pastry edges are golden brown. Slice the tart using a pizza wheel and serve hot or chilled.

Another delicious French recipe would be the classic French onion soup recipe. If you crave some hot and tasty onion soup but you are in a rush, what about making one of our quick and easy onion soup recipes?

FrenchOnionSoups.com - Simple, Elegant, Perfection; Soup the Way it Was Meant to Be!

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French Cuisine Basics - Some Simple Tips For Beginners

The techniques employed in French cuisine are many and varied. First of all a thorough knowledge and understanding of all the ingredients used is essential. Most of the principles of this type of cuisine are generic and can be found in many kinds of cookery but the most important element to remember is that French cookery does not rely on convenience methods however labour saving they may be.
The art of sauteing is one technique that is widely used. Sauteing is the method used to fry onions and garlic in olive oil at a high temperature. Some culinary terms in French cuisine are necessary to have some knowledge of before attempting a recipe. These three essential terms refer to basic cuts:
Brunoise - This is a square cut, each side being 8 inches.
Dice - a quarter of an inch cut
Chop - a half inch cut
A professional French chef will know the exact dimensions of these cuts and anyone who is trying to achieve an authentic French dish should be thoroughly acquainted with these terms.
It goes without saying that to achieve the correct results you should consistently use the basic French cooking techniques. French cooking relies heavily on only the freshest ingredients and if you can follow this example by only purchasing your produce from reputable greengrocers and markets. If dedicated to this aim find out when markets receive their deliveries and when these are available for sale. In this way you will have the chance to select the freshest choice of vegetables. In the spirit of French cuisine it is always good to be imaginative and make alterations to your recipe where needed.
One element of French cooking is patience. The techniques used in French cooking to produce wonderful sauces are painstaking. To prepare the stock for any sauce most recipes call for unsalted butter or occasionally clarified butter. Unsalted butter is used in preference to salted butter in the preparation of any stock as it doesn't hamper the flavour of the the food it will accompany. In the same vein no other seasoning such as salt or paper should be used in the preparation of the stock. To retain the stock for future use it can be frozen and kept for no longer than three months for the best results.
Prepare labels to identify your stocks whilst in storage. When ready to use for the preparation of the sauce you wish to make use a copper bottom or heavy duty pan.
It is customary for sauces that are made from butter and clarified butter stocks are made prior to serving the dish that the sauce will accompany. There are different temperatures at which certain sauces should be served. White butter sauces should be served at a warm temperature and kept that way. Butter sauces should be served hot.
Some sauces require a thickening agent. However, in the case of Beurre Marie, the butter can be used straight from the refrigerator and mixed with flour. For more information about French cooking techniques there is a wealth of information on the internet and many cookbooks are dedicated to this subject.
These are just a few tops that may inspire you to learn more about French cooking techniques and give you an insight into French cuisine.
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