French cookery need not take hours or involve persnickety techniques. Keep reading for fuss-free options ranging from moules frites to roast lavender chicken.
Believe it or not, this coq au vin recipe only takes a mere 45 minutes to make.
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Lyonnaise Salad
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
Bring bistro fare home with a classic menu item, Lyonnaise salad. Frilly, slightly bitter frisée is tempered by a warm bacon vinaigrette, perfectly crisp-chewy pork bits, and a runny-yolked poached egg.
This isn't your everyday ham and cheese sandwich — it's a croque monsieur (or madame if you top it with a poached egg).
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French Omelet
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts
Do dinner for breakfast à la française with a traditional French omelet. While admittedly it takes a bit of practice to perfect, have no fear — our how-to video breaks it down into a manageable feat. Learn the technique, and you'll have a back-pocket meal that comes together in mere minutes.
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Moules à la Marinière
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Steamed mussels may seem like complicated restaurant fare, but they're actually very simple to prepare. Paired with toasted slices of baguette (to sop up the juices) and roasted veggies or a green salad, it's an elegantly simple meal.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts
Channel Provence with this lavender-lavished chicken recipe. To make it more weeknight-friendly, whisk together the marinade in the morning, slather it on the chicken, and let it do its magic while you're at work.
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Salmon en Papillote With Fennel, Tomatoes, and Olives
Cooking en papillote might sound fancy, but is actually a very-simple technique that involves packaging ingredients — in this case, salmon, sliced fennel, cherry tomatoes, and olives — in a parchment pouch and then baking the whole lot. The parchment pouch traps in steam, making this a virtually-foolproof way to cook delicate proteins.
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Potato Leek Soup
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
Velvety, mild, and soothing, potato leek soup makes for a low-fuss meal when paired with a simple green salad.
Nicoise salad not only comes together in a weeknight-friendly time frame, but it also boasts a variety of flavors, textures, and colors, making it palate-fatigue-proof.