My wife Lucy and I recently opened a neighbourhood French bistro in west London, inspired by and named after my grandmother Joséphine. It’s our first joint venture, and our most personal project to date, with the restaurant reminiscent of the bouchons typical of my home town, Lyon. We serve the food my grandma used to cook, and the menu features many dishes that are unique to Lyon, as well as a few familiar French bistro classics. Like Lyonnaise cooking, today’s recipes are rustic and hearty, as well as a great way to celebrate Bastille Day on 14 July.
Oeufs en meurette
This classic French starter features poached eggs in a rich, red-wine sauce with mushrooms, onions and bacon. It’s very rich, not least because it involves reducing an entire bottle of wine.
Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
250g thick bacon (ideally French, and even more ideally from Alsace), cut into lardons
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
400g button mushrooms, quartered
20 baby pearl onions, peeled
Salt and pepper
750ml red wine – go for a light or medium-bodied one, such as beaujolais or pinot noir
8 large eggs
300ml reduced dark meat stock
A little chopped parsley, to garnish
Put the oil in a large cast-iron frying pan or skillet on a medium heat. Add the lardons and fry, stirring often, for about five minutes, until they render their fat and turn crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the lardons to a plate, leaving the bacony fat in the pan.
Add the shallots and garlic to the hot pan and saute, stirring, for a few minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and whole pearl onions, season and cook for about five minutes, until they, too, are soft. Lift out the onion and mushroom mix and set aside.
Pour in the wine, then reduce to almost a glaze – depending on the size of the pan, this will take between 10 and 20 minutes. Stir in the stock, bring to a simmer, then cook for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce thickens – it should have a rich, deep flavour and be thick enough not to run off a plate.
While the sauce is reducing, poach the eggs in a pot of just-simmering water.
Put two poached eggs in the middle of each of four shallow bowls, season them with salt and pepper, then arrange the bacon, mushrooms and onions around them. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over the top, season again to taste and serve garnished with chopped parsley.
Sole Grenobloise
You don’t get much more French than these seared sole fillets in a tangy, brown butter sauce infused with capers, lemon, and parsley.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
Salt and black pepper
4 dover sole, about 500g each, cleaned and skinned – ask the fishmonger to do this for you, if need be
100g plain flour
350g unsalted butter
2 tbsp lilliput capers, drained
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 handfuls of 1cm croutons
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
Season the sole on both sides, then dredge both sides in the flour and shake off any excess.
Melt 150g butter in a large cast-iron frying pan over a medium-high heat, then lay in the sole and cook for two to three minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Lift the fish out of the pan, put on a warm plate in a warm spot and leave to rest.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 200g butter in the same skillet on a medium heat, then cook for about five minutes, until it turns golden brown and starts smelling nutty. Take the pan off the heat, then stir in the capers, lemon juice and croutons.
Put one sole on each of four plates, spoon the brown butter sauce over the top, garnish with parsley and lemon zest to taste, and serve at once.
Pommes duchesse
An old-school side dish made with mashed potato shaped into elegant rosettes and baked until golden and crisp on the outside, while remaining creamy and soft inside. They go well with just about anything you’d usually serve with mash or roast potatoes.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4
1kg desiree potatoes
Salt and pepper
100g softened salted butter
2 egg yolks
A pinch of grated nutmeg
Chopped chives, to garnish
Peel and quarter the potatoes, then put them in a pan of salted water. Bring to a boil, cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender, then drain well and leave for a few minutes to steam dry. Pass the cooked potatoes through a ricer or mouli, or mash them with a masher, until very, very smooth, then leave to cool slightly.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7, and grease a baking sheet or line it with greaseproof paper.
Put the cooled mash in a large bowl, add the softened butter and egg yolks, stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, then mix until it’s all well combined and smooth.
Spoon the potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip (or into a food bag from which you can cut off one corner), then pipe rosettes of the mash on to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Remove, garnish with chives and serve seasoned with additional salt and pepper if need be.
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Claude Bosi is chef/co-owner of Joséphine and Bibendum, and executive chef/partner of Socca and Brooklands, all in London
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