6 Delicious French Winter Dishes To Warm You Up
If you have been to France in the winter, you know it gets cold there. From the rains of Paris to the chilling wind of Marseille, there is nothing like a warm meal after a day-long in the freezing temperatures. When you speak of french dishes, know that it includes lots of cheese, heavy sauces, meat and potatoes, everything that warms you up. In fact, many warm and hearty french meals are inspired by the culture of snow skiing. One will find many luxurious ski resorts in the French Alps, a place where friends and family gather and enjoy popular french winter dishes. Whether it's mouth-watering cheesy fondue or nourishing boeuf bourguignon, you can choose a variety of sumptuous french dishes to fill you up and keep you warm. In this blog, let's discuss five delicious french winter dishes that you would love to have and enjoy with friends and family.
Cheese Fondue:
After a chilling snowy day, enjoy time with friends and family with this melted cheese dish, which is quite easy to prepare at home. There are different cheeses that you can use while preparing this dish. From reblochon to fontina to goat cheese, pick whichever is your favorite. While preparing, you can also add other items like mushrooms and tomato sauce for added flavor.
Creamy Coquilles St. Jacques en Gratin (Starter)
Another delicious starter among french dishes is Creamy Coquilles St. Jacques en Gratin (Which means scallops in English). This dish is cooked in a creamy sauce, drenched with cheese, and topped with breadcrumbs. It is light and easy to prepare with minimal effort.
Tartiflette
If you are a potato and cheese lover, you will certainly enjoy tartiflette. This is a winter dish from Savoie and the Alps. With a generous amount of reblochon cheese and bacon lardons, this potato and cheese dish is a quick recipe that can be baked in the oven on a cold winter's night.
The ingredients of this dish include potatoes, onion, garlic, butter, Reblochon cheese, heavy cream, and white wine. Though originated by the skiers coming to French Alps in the 1970s, this dish is a regular on the menus of brasseries and restaurants all over France.
Boeuf Bourguignon
This rich and succulent French dish involves hours of slow-cooking meat and vegetables in juices and wine. The traditional beef bourguignon is a classic French dish that has been around for centuries. Similar to chicken stew, this dish dates back to early Roman times. The recipe includes beef chunks, bacon lardons, mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, beef stock, garlic, dried thyme, parsley, butter, flour, and red wine. If you want, you can also toss spinach and a few more veggies to increase the nutrition content of this dish.
Raclette
Another cheesy, delicious dish that originated from the Swiss Alps is the Raclette. After a long day of skiing, you will cherish having this dish with your friends. Raclette is a semi-hard type of cheese, traditionally made from non-pasteurized milk. You know the weather is starting to get cold when someone in France invites you to a Raclette meal. This dish may be Swiss, but France is the land of more than 1600 kinds of cheese. So, when Frenchmen adopted this dish, it quickly became an exemplary one, loved by the masses. It is one of those classic French dishes everyone falls in love with.
Cassoulet
The origin of this dish dates back to the 1300s in the Occitanie region of France. It is a delicious and mouth-watering stew made of beans, meat, and sausages, all slow-cooked for hours. Although, in earlier days, it used to take ages to soak and prepare the beans, not anymore. Today, with that handy instant pot, this winter dish is a great bit. This quick and hearty French classic can be a delicious weeknight dinner with sausages and beans, making it an ideal one-pot stew. The recipe includes white cannellini beans, duck confit legs, sliced sausages, pork bellies, tomato puree, garlic, chicken stock, olive oil, bay leaf, and thyme. With a few basic conveniences, you can cook a mouth-watering French Cassoulet today in less than an hour.
I hope you have enjoyed the list of these classic French dishes. Although there are many other popular dishes like the French Onion Soup, Coq au Vin, Gratin Dauphinois, and Pot au feu, these were on the top of the list. Traditional French dishes include meat, vegetables, and herbs cooked in a single pot. All these dishes are quick and easy to make with an instant pot. Try all these recipes at home, and enjoy them with your friends and family.