Easy Everyday French Cooking

These six dishes work as a light supper for two, a generous lunch, or the opening course of a longer meal. They rely on familiar vegetables, pulses, eggs and good dressing, with enough texture and contrast to feel complete without keeping you at the stove.

Carrot and red lentil soup with cumin and lemon

Serves 4 · Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 500 g carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 150 g red lentils, rinsed
• 900 ml vegetable stock
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic and cumin. Stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant, then add the carrots, red lentils and vegetable stock.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover partly and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the carrots are very tender and the lentils have broken down.
4. Blend the soup until smooth with a stick blender, or blend in batches in a blender. If it is thicker than you like, stir in 50 to 100 ml hot water and warm it through gently.
5. Finely grate the zest from half the lemon and squeeze its juice. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the zest, then season with salt and pepper. Divide between bowls and finish each portion with a spoonful of yoghurt and a little extra pepper.

Tip: The soup keeps for up to three days in the refrigerator. Reheat it slowly with a splash of water, then add the lemon juice after heating so its flavour stays bright.

Leek, potato and white bean soup with parsley

Serves 4 · Prep 20 min · Cook 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 400 g leeks, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced
• 350 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 400 g tinned white beans, drained and rinsed
• 850 ml vegetable stock
• 25 g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems separated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt, then cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until they are silky and reduced in volume without taking on much colour.
2. Add the potatoes, white beans and stock. Bring the pan to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a quiet simmer. Cook, partly covered, for 18 to 20 minutes, until a potato cube crushes easily against the side of the pan.
3. Chop the parsley stems finely and stir them into the soup. Simmer for 2 minutes more. Use a potato masher to crush some of the potatoes and beans directly in the pan, leaving plenty of pieces intact for texture.
4. Finely chop the parsley leaves. Stir half into the soup with the lemon juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. The soup should be brothy but lightly creamy from the crushed beans and potato.
5. Ladle into warm bowls and scatter over the remaining parsley. Serve with bread if you want this to become a more substantial supper.

Tip: Leeks often hold grit between their layers. Slice them first, then swish the slices in a bowl of cold water and lift them out with your hands, leaving the sand behind.

Warm goat cheese, beetroot and walnut salad

Serves 2 · Prep 15 min · Cook 8 min

Ingredients

• 250 g cooked beetroot, cut into wedges
• 80 g mixed salad leaves
• 60 g soft goat cheese, cut into 4 rounds
• 40 g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon water
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the walnuts and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan often, until they smell nutty. Tip them onto a plate so they do not continue cooking.
2. Wipe out the pan if needed and add half the olive oil. Add the beetroot with a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until warmed through and glossy at the edges.
3. Whisk the remaining olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey and water in a large bowl. Season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Add the salad leaves and turn them through the dressing just before serving.
4. Place the goat cheese rounds in the warm frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, using a thin spatula to turn them carefully, until the surface is soft and lightly golden but the cheese still holds its shape.
5. Arrange the dressed leaves on two plates. Add the warm beetroot, place two goat cheese rounds on each plate, and scatter over the toasted walnuts. Spoon any warm beetroot juices from the pan over the salad.

Tip: Use vacuum-packed cooked beetroot for speed, but avoid beetroot packed in sweetened vinegar. If the goat cheese is very soft, chill it for 10 minutes before slicing and frying.

French lentil salad with soft-boiled eggs and Dijon vinaigrette

Serves 2 · Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min

Ingredients

• 140 g green or brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 eggs
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 to 22 minutes, until tender with a slight bite. Drain well and tip into a large bowl.
2. While the lentils cook, bring a small pan of water to a steady boil. Lower in the eggs with a spoon and cook for 6 minutes for soft, jammy yolks. Transfer them immediately to a bowl of cold water for 2 minutes, then peel carefully.
3. Whisk the vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil and honey in a small bowl until glossy. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste the dressing before using it: it should be sharp enough to season the mild lentils.
4. Add the carrot, celery, shallot and parsley to the warm lentils. Pour over the dressing and fold everything together. Leave for 5 minutes so the vegetables soften slightly and the lentils absorb the seasoning.
5. Divide the salad between two plates. Halve the eggs and set them on top, cut side up. Finish with a twist of black pepper and serve while the lentils are still faintly warm.

Tip: The dressed lentils can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring them close to room temperature before serving, then add the eggs only at the last minute.

Tomato, cucumber and herb tartines with fresh cheese

Serves 2 · Prep 15 min · Cook 6 min

Ingredients

• 4 slices country-style bread, about 160 g
• 120 g fresh cheese
• 250 g ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 150 g cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons mixed soft herbs, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Heat a grill pan or large frying pan over medium heat. Toast the bread for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until crisp at the edges and marked with golden patches.
2. Rub one side of each warm toast lightly with the cut side of the garlic clove. Use a gentle touch: the aim is a faint savoury perfume rather than a harsh raw garlic flavour.
3. Mix the fresh cheese with the chopped herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Spread the mixture generously over the garlic-rubbed side of each toast.
4. Layer the tomato and cucumber slices over the fresh cheese, overlapping them so they stay in place. Season the vegetables with a small pinch of salt and a little more pepper.
5. Serve at once, while the toast is crisp and the tomatoes are cool. For a lighter starter, offer one tartine per person; for lunch, serve two with a handful of dressed leaves.

Tip: Salt the tomatoes only when the tartines are assembled. Salting them earlier draws out juice that can quickly soften the bread.

Mushroom and thyme omelette with dressed leaves

Serves 2 · Prep 10 min · Cook 12 min

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 200 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 50 g mixed salad leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon water
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt, black pepper and half the thyme leaves. In a second bowl, whisk the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, water and half the olive oil. Add the salad leaves and set aside without tossing yet.
2. Heat a 24 cm non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil and the mushrooms in a single layer. Leave them undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until their liquid has evaporated and they are browned at the edges.
3. Add the remaining thyme and cook for 30 seconds. Tip the mushrooms onto a plate. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the butter to the pan, swirling it until it foams.
4. Pour in the eggs and tilt the pan so they cover the base. With a silicone spatula, draw the cooked egg from the edges towards the centre for about 30 seconds, then let the omelette cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes until the base is set but the top remains softly glossy.
5. Scatter the mushrooms over one half of the omelette. Fold the other half over with the spatula and cook for 30 seconds more. Slide onto a plate, toss the leaves through their dressing, and serve beside the omelette.

Tip: For a tender omelette, remove it while the centre still looks slightly soft. Residual heat will finish the eggs during the short wait before eating.