French Bistro Recipes You Can Cook at Home

Why wait until you visit a bistro to enjoy this specialité? You can make it yourself easily; be sure to buy best quality and freshly cut beef, and chop it just before serving.

This classic salad with a basket of bread and a glass of wine is all you need for a light meal. Poaching eggs is simple if you follow the method in this recipe.

Unlike the French, we Americans can't help but play with tradition: This vegetarian take on the Niçoise salad in which roasted carrots take the place of the usual tuna is no exception.

This soup is the best way to shake off the chill of a damp winter's day. Homemade beef stock really will make all the difference, but if using store-bought, go for low-sodium version so you can adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Rillettes can be made with meat, poultry, or fish. This smoked salmon version makes a great a starter. Try it spread on toast points or crackers.

Some bistro salads are light on greens and heavy on protein; in place of herring or other cured fish, this recipe features smoked mackerel.

Classic French soups such as leek and potato can work for summertime meals, too. Small servings of this chilled version make an elegant lunch starter.

The creamy grilled cheese sandwich called croque monsieur is the kind you cut with a knife and fork. Put an egg on it and it's called a croque madame.

Making confit of duck and other meats is a simple preservation method used in Southwestern France before refrigeration. Now we choose to do it because it gives meltingly tender and absolutely delicious results.

Traditionally an older bird was used for this most famous of French stews, but we make it with chicken today. It still benefits from a long soaking in red wine, and a dash of cognac.

This is the classic, much loved potato dish we save for special, rich dinners. But why? It's simple as can be to assemble—a mandolin helps slice the potatoes evenly.

Take it from a French maman and try her version of ratatouille. Late summer and early fall are the season when all of these vegetables for this classic are at their very best.

Celery root (also known as celeriac), thinly sliced and raw, dressed in a mustardy dressing is one of the great French salads. Look for celery root in the fall and winter months, and make this classic dish during those seasons. A mandolin is useful for making the julienne cuts.

Here's a tweak of the traditional bistro dish of moules frites; this sauce has tomatoes and the mussels are served with roasted wedges of fingerling potatoes instead of fries.

Make this favorite dish of tender beef that has been stewed in red wine and share it with those you love. You'll be glad to add it to your repertoire.

Bouillabaisse, from the city of Marseilles, is chock full of crustaceans, bivalves, and fish. It's a love note to seafood, saffron, and summertime.

Couscous has become a staple ingredient in France and in much of the world. Here it's served with a homey chicken and mustard pan sauce—it's a bistro classic.

Not much shows the bistro knack for simple and delicious flair more than this pan-fried steak au poivre.

Gather all the ingredients for this traditional Southwestern French casserole and you will be pleased you took the time. You can either use our duck confit recipe or buy the legs already confited at many specialty butchers and other markets.

Here's a quick dinner of sautéed lamb loin chops, which are less expensive than rack of lamb. But you'll still feel like you're dining out à la Française.

In this recipe two simple tricks—using the broiler and making a simple almond-lemon butter—are clever ways of recreating bistro flavors.

The New York bistro Buvette honors the best of French desserts with this recipe for a decadent chocolate mousse with Chantilly cream.

One of the best ways to end a meal is with a crème brûlée. Use a blowtorch for the crackling sugar shell or put it under the broiler.

Traditionally, tart Tatin is made with apples but this pear version, complete with a puff pastry crust, is a lovely variation.

The ultimate in bistro simplicity, these poached pears are a truly perfect way to end a comforting meal.

These parfaits are decadent yet light, and they're made all the more delicious thanks to a topping of gently whipped cream. They have a hint of espresso, too.