Is French cooking ever fuss-free?

Michel Roux’s latest book takes French cooking back to basics. From seafood taglioni to frangipani tart, Prudence Wade sees what all the fuss is about (or rather, if there’s any fuss at all)

‘Michel Roux At Home’ is dedicated to simple French cooking (Cristian Barnett/PA)

Here we have a great French classic made into a vegetarian treat,” says Michel Roux.

“I’ve suggested a selection of vegetables, but you can vary them according to the season and spice them up with more chilli if you like a bit of heat.

“Delicious as a main meal or as an accompaniment, this can be made in individual portions as well as a large tart. It’s fine to use shop-bought puff pastry – I do!”

Vegetable tart tatin

An easy, yet impressive, vegetarian dinner (Cristian Barnett/PA)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 small heads of red chicory

3 small heads of yellow chicory

200g slender carrots, halved lengthways

300g kohlrabi, cut into batons

100g cauliflower florets or sprouting broccoli, halved

1 large onion, cut into wedges

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

Leaves from 1 thyme sprig

350g puff pastry

Flour, for dusting

Salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Cut the heads of chicory in half (or if they are large, into quarters) and put them in a bowl with the other vegetables. Add the oil and toss, then season with salt and black pepper. Spread the vegetables over a baking tray and roast them in the oven for eight to 10 minutes. The vegetables should be partly cooked and have a little colour.

2. Melt the butter in a large (28cm) ovenproof frying pan, then sprinkle over the sugar. Place the cooked vegetables, sliced chilli and thyme on top, making sure to pack the vegetables tightly.

3. Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to three millimetres thick. Place the pastry over the vegetables, tucking it in around the edges. Make a few holes in the pastry with the point of a knife, then bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool a little, then place a plate over the pan and carefully turn the pan over to invert the tart on to the plate. Serve warm.

Tagliolini with seafood

A quick pasta dish with notes of fennel (Cristian Barnett/PA)

“I love seafood, and pasta and shellfish are always a great combination,” says Roux.

“Keep this simple with mussels and clams, or if you want to go to town, use other shellfish, such as razor clams or cockles, when they’re in season. The fennel seeds and pastis bring that lovely aniseed flavour that works so well with seafood.”

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

400g clams

500g mussels

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 garlic cloves, chopped

50ml pastis

150g shelled raw prawns

4 tbsp crème fraiche

300g fresh tagliolini or 180g dried tagliolini or tagliatelle

Handful of herbs (parsley, chives, chervil), finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Wash the clams and mussels well in cold water and discard any that are broken or don’t close when tapped. Remove any beards from the mussels.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the shallot, fennel seeds and garlic and sweat until they start to colour. Add the clams, then the mussels. Pour in the pastis, cover the pan and cook for five to seven minutes until all the shells have opened. Take care not to overcook the shellfish.

3. Tip everything into a colander placed over a bowl, then pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve or a strainer lined with muslin. Pick the flesh from the mussels and clams, leaving a few in the shell to use as a garnish. Tip the cooking liquor back into the pan, bring it to the boil and boil for five minutes. Add the prawns and crème fraiche, then, when the prawns have turned pink, add the picked mussels and clams.

4. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add two tablespoons of salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain. Add the drained pasta to the pan of shellfish and stir well. Add the chopped herbs and garnish with some mussels and clams in shells. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper, then serve at once.

Almond and raspberry frangipani tart

You can sub out the raspberries for whatever fruit is in season (Cristian Barnett/PA)

“I adore almond puddings and this French version of a Bakewell tart is one of my favourites,” says Roux.

“It’s rich and indulgent but there is some fruit in there as well! Raspberries work perfectly with almonds but cherries would also be good here.”

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

150g butter, softened

90g caster sugar

2 free-range eggs

Pinch of salt

240g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

75g ground almonds

For the almond cream:

200g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

2 tbsp plain flour

4 free-range eggs

1 tbsp dark rum or Ratafia (fruit-based liqueur)

For the jam and fruit:

60g raspberry jam

250g raspberries

To serve:

Icing sugar

Ice cream or chantilly cream

Method:

1. For the pastry, mix the softened butter with the caster sugar until combined. Mix in the eggs, then add the salt, flour and ground almonds and bring everything together into a dough. You can do this by hand or in a food processor or stand mixer.

2. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill it in the fridge for about two hours. Dust your work surface with flour, roll out the pastry and use it to line a tart tin or flan ring measuring about 24 centimetres in diameter. Chill again until needed.

3. For the almond cream, whisk the butter and sugar until pale, then add the ground almonds and flour and whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then add the rum or Ratafia.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Remove the tart case from the fridge and spread a thin layer of jam over the pastry. Add the almond cream and arrange the raspberries evenly on top.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes until the tart is golden and cooked through. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with ice cream or cool with chantilly cream. Don’t put this tart in the fridge.

‘Michel Roux At Home’ by Michel Roux (Seven Dials, £26).