I cooked French a few times, but this was the first time I cooked an entire French meal. I wanted authentic recipes, so I looked on a cookbook by Michel Roux – The Essence Of French Cooking. It’s a great book, I’m recommending it. After browsing I’ve decided to make Onion soup, Ratatouille and Michel Roux’s favourite dessert: Mousse au chocolat with dark chocolate. I loved the flavours of the dishes, they were superb.

I also understood why knowing how to cook French is so important for a Chef. I had to postpone the making of the chocolate mousse as I have a “basic” cooker with only 4 zones on the hob, all used at the same time. French cooking is complicated, takes more time and there are lots of processes. The taste is so good that it is worth the effort. There are multiple layers of flavours, it’s spectacular.

The French Onion Soup was a little different than the original recipe as I used water instead of meat stock, as I obviously wanted a vegetarian dish. Hubby loved it too, so it will be again on our menu.

As main I made Ratatouille. I was a little unsure. It looks like a stew, it didn’t sound fancy enough. I could taste every single veggie, it was amazing. I’ve read it in Michel’s Roux book, but it sounded strange as the veggies are cooked together for the last 25 minutes. The secret is in knowing the ingredients and how to extract flavour from them. It made me realize I have so many things to learn and this is amazing, I can never grow tired of learning.

Mousse Au chocolat is simple, takes only 15-20 minutes to make. The only downside is the waiting of at least 4 hours before indulging. The taste is amazing, it’s bitter and smooth and rich but not too rich… a chocolate dream for a chocolate lover.

Other French recipes on my blog: Creamy leeks, Confit D’Oignon, Baguettes and Religieuse a l’ancienne.