A few of my favorite French foods

My list of things worth trying

Dec 10, 2023

Who doesn’t love to talk about food during the holiday season? It’s all about the food, whether we like it or not. I figured December is a great month to start talking about my favorite French foods, especially since I’m wrapping up my trip to Paris.

Hello lovers: pâté de foie gras and rillettes d'oie

starters

Foie gras - yes, yes: the way some goose liver pate is produced is unethical. But in France it’s a delicacy and my god, do I love it. If you like liver, this one’s for you. It’s usually served with toast points, jam (like fig) and sea salt to bring out its rich flavor. It’s very fattening, so best if shared.

Rillettes d’oie - (pronounced ree-ETT dwAH) this one is amazing. It’s not considered in the same upper class as foie gras, but it’s damned delicious. It’s basically a goose meat slowly cooked in its own fat. It’s a charcuterie favorite over here and can be found at the butcher’s (la boucherie). Before you say ‘ew’ please try it first. To me it tastes best slathered on a nice crusty baguette.

Pâté en croute - I first tried this when visiting my friend Magali and her family in France. I loved it so much, her parents bought me one to take back to the US, wrapped in foil and ready for the plane. I was so excited to eat a little piece of France when I got home. There are many mixes of pate like pork, duck, goose, a mix of poultries (‘volailles’).

mains/sides

Confit de canard - or duck cooked in its own fat. Usually it’s a duck leg served with potatoes and a salad. I love this dish so much. I didn’t grow up eating duck, so it’s a delicious meat that I have to have once in a while.

Aligot - this is actually a side dish, traditional in the d’Aubrac region of France. I first had it in Paris at a restaurant that served regional dishes. Beware, this could be highly addicting: it’s mashed potatoes with a sh*tload of cheese. It’s cooked in a metal pot and stirred endlessly to create a creamy, gooey piece of heaven.

Cassoulet - I mentioned this before in my article about Carcassonne. Cassoulet is a bean stew traditional in the southwest of France (Toulouse to be specific). It also has several different meats, like pork, mutton, and/or duck. It’s delicious and a perfect meal for late-fall or winter. And yes, be careful who you sleep next to after eating it. It has a lot of beans…

hearty eats: confit de canard, aligot, cassoulet

dessert

First let me say it’s hard to go into all the delicious desserts France has to offer. I have my own tastes, we all do. Me, I prefer a good rhubarb crumble tart. But I reckon you can get that back home. So here are a few things that I like that are specifically French:

Crème brûlée - I have seen this on restaurant menus back home, but I would argue that having a crème brûlée in France is a singular experience. The name of the dessert actually refers to ‘burnt cream’ and is a simple concoction of cream topped with sugar that is hit with fire to create a caramel crust. (One of Amélie Poulain’s favorites.)

Éclair - it comes in coffee, chocolate or the traditional choux cream flavors on the inside, and a gorgeous strip of chocolate or coffee-flavored icing on top. They get even fancier with flavors, but that veers away from tradition. With an éclair, you cannot go wrong.

Madeleine - let’s say you stuffed yourself at dinner, but you’d still like to cap it off with a little sweet something. This is where a madeleine is just right: it’s a small sponge cake that is baked in a special form that creates its signature scalloped shape. One madeleine takes about two bites for the average person, that’s how small it is.

one to warn you about

There’s something called andouillette. We have something called andouille sausage in the U.S.; this is not the same thing. It’s basically pig intestines cooked up with onions and other seasonings and stuffed into sausage casing. It smells horrible, like a teenage boy’s smelly sock (before you ask, no, I don’t actually know what that smells like). Many French people love it, and it’s also a traditional food. In doing a little research there is even an andouillette appreciation society! This goes to show how sacred this meat is. But to me, it is absolutely disgusting. However, if you like innards or you’re up for a culinary challenge, it might be for you.