Back to School Recipes

Hi, Bienvenue to La Marmite where you will find some great back-to-school French recipes.

Sorry to be so long between issues - I have been participating in the French ritual of a long summer vacation followed by a heated rush of frenzied activity come early September, known as La Rentrée.

To celebrate this time of back-to-school sprit, you will find below a few French recipes designed to please kids. They are so easy (and forgiving) that most 10 year olds should be able to follow them and make an entire meal.

La Rentrée et . . .

La Rentrée typically refers to the return of students to their schools, but it seems everyone in France participates in one way or another.

Politicians take advantage of this time of renewed activity to promote themselves with some "new" ideas, and businesses employ the overall frenetic feeling to market just about anything.

The news hour never grows tired of showing us just how much la rentrée is going to cost parents, what are the latest trends in back to school equipment (the list is vast), and how heavy are the kids' backpacks going to be this year.

. . . La Cantine

French school kids do not have the option of bringing lunch to school with them. Either they return home to eat or they eat at the cafeteria, called la cantine.

Fortunately, most school cantines make a considerable effort to present healthy, balanced meals. Here is an actual week's worth of menus from our local school district. Worth having a look at for a little inspiration when feeding your own students.

Lundi Pastèque Paëlla au poulet Camembert Fruit de saison	Monday Watermelon Chicken paella Camembert cheese Seasonal fruit
Mardi Salade iceberg et maïs vinaigrette Rôti de boeuf avec mayonnaise Pommes noisettes Edam Compote pommes et ananas	Tuesday Iceberg and corn salad Roast beef with mayonnaise Potato balls Edam cheese Apple and pineapple compote
Mercredi Salade de lentilles aux échalotes Filet de lieu sauce « bonne femme » Carottes braisées Petit suisse avec sucre Fruit de saison	Wenesday Lentil and shallot salad Fish filets with white sauce Braised carrots Fresh cheese with sugar Seasonal fruit
Jeudi Melon Paupiette de veau Salsifi braisé "Samos" Mousse au chocolat	Thursday Melon Veal roll Braised salsify Cream cheese Chocolate mousse
Vendredi Salade harmonie (choux rouges, carottes, maïs, vinaigrette) Filet de poisson pané avec citron Gratin dauphinois Mimolette Ile flottante	Friday Harmony salad (red cabbage, carrots, corn, vinaigrette) Breaded fish filet with lemon Scalloped potatoes Mimolette cheese Floating island dessert

Sometimes the kids are home for lunch and sometimes they're not. It helps to have a number of quick to prepare lunches in mind for those days when there are no leftovers and another sandwich is just not going to please.

The recipes here are easy enough that my kids could make them for themselves. (That's a big hint guys, even though I know it's unlikely you'll be reading La Marmite.)

Oven French Fries

I have not done an official survey , but I have noticed that the quality of cantine food seems to be judged by kids on the basis of how often French fries are served. For hungry students everywhere, here is a healthy and quick alternative to the traditional method of deep fat frying.

Frites au Four

2 pounds potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt (fleur de sel is great for this)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
other seasonings to your taste (optional): cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, herbes de provence

Preheat oven to 425° F.
If you use thin skinned potatoes for your fries, you won't have to peel them! Just give them a scrub and slice them up. Otherwise, peel them before slicing.
You can slice the potatoes however you wish. Slender fries like what you get using a French fry cutter will cook faster than chunky wedges, but either will work with this recipe.
Once they are sliced, place the potatoes in a large bowl. Pour on the vegetable oil and sprinkle on the seasonings. Use a large spoon to completely mix and evenly coat the potatoes with oil and seasonings.
Spread the potatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet. Make sure that none of the slices are touching each other. You may need two cookie sheets to fit them all.
Place them in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Stir and turn the fries once as they are cooking. (Watch out when you open the oven door the first time - a lot of steam will come out.)
If you are using thicker slices, you may need to bake them a bit more. Just keep testing.
When they are cooked through, turn the heat up on the oven to 450° F and bake them for another 5 minutes. This final blast of heat will help make them a little crispy.
Remove from the oven and enjoy.

Makes 4 servings.

Print Recipe

Baked Salmon

When you wrap up your meal in parchment paper and bake it in the oven, you are cooking en papillote. The food is steamed perfectly in its little package and fish in particular comes out moist and flavorful. You needn't worry about the somewhat fussy method of cutting parchment paper in a particular shape and folding it just so - a good sized rectangle of aluminum foil, folded any which way, will do the trick as well.

For this recipe, you can bake the salmon at the same time as the French fries. Just be sure to remove the fish from the oven before you give the French fries their final crisping at a higher temperature.

Saumon en papillote

4 (6 ounce) salmon filets
1 medium sized zucchini
8 ounces cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or substitute about 1/4 cup heavy cream)
1 lemon
handful of fresh dill
salt and pepper
aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 400° F (425° F will work too, if you are making the French fries at the same time).
Slice the washed zucchini in thin (about 1/8 inch) rounds. Cut the washed cherry tomatoes in two. Chop the fresh dill.
Place each of the salmon filets on a large rectangle of aluminum foil.
Arrange the zucchini and tomatoes on top of each filet. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Squeeze on a little lemon juice.
Top this with a dollop of crème fraîche or a drizzle of cream. Sprinkle on the dill.
Wrap each piece of fish in its aluminum foil, making sure there are no gaps or tears that might leak. Place the bundles in an oven proof baking dish and then in the hot oven.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through - you can peek.
To serve, you can either allow everyone to open their own papillote or open them yourself and arrange the contents on a plate.

Makes 4 servings.

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After School Chocolate Cake

This very easy kid recipe features Nutella, the superstar of after school snacks in France. If you haven't tried this outrageously chocolaty spread, I know your kids want you to. Because it contains a fair amount of oil and sugar, it's all the shortening and sweetening needed to make this simple cake.

In France, this sort of unfrosted chocolate cake would probably be served with a vanilla custard sauce known as crème Anglaise. However, it would be just as good with a tall glass of cold milk.

Gâteau au Nutella

1 13 ounce jar Nutella
1 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour and baking powder together.
Spoon all of the Nutella into the mixing bowl. Use the spoon to scrape the sides of the jar and get every bit you can.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the ingredients together until they are just mixed.
Scrape the batter evenly into the greased baking pan.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes or just until a toothpick comes out clean when you test the center of the cake.
Allow to cool completely before slicing in squares.

Makes 16 2-inch square pieces.

Print Recipe

Something Different

Just so you don't think that life in France is nothing but foie gras, frites and Champagne, I thought you might like to have a look at what I like to cook when our cravings have us peeking over the border.

Italian food, like French food, is based on using the best ingredients you can find. And just like French food, the mingling of these ingredients needn't be a complicated affair. That's where my friend Matt comes in. Not only does he have a spectacular website called Pasta Recipes Made Easy, he has recently come out with his own cookbook - Pastastic - The Perfect Cookbook for Italian Food Lovers.

For easy Italian food, Matt's new ebook can't be beat.

Next Issue

That's it for la rentrée, so until next month kind readers I wish you happy cooking and great eating.

For the next issue, due out in early October, celebrate the fall harvest with some fabulous French squash recipes.

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A bientôt and remember to enjoy your food!

Your friend in France,

Kim