There seems to be a prevalent misconception that French cooking requires a larder stocked with only ingredients a millionaire could afford - Perigord truffles, Beluga caviar, sixty-year-old collector wines. While these types of raw ingredients certainly lend a certain panache to a finished dish, the truth is they’re not critical to success. They’re not even necessary in most cases to create a delicious, sumptuous meal.
So what do you need to cook a great French meal? There are actually five staples that will get you well on your way to cooking most French recipes. And you might be surprised to learn that you likely already have all of these key items in your pantry right now. At the very least, you won’t need to head over to a specialty grocer or website to purchase them.
- Wine. One of the key ingredients in most French sauces, soups and stews is wine. If you’re already a wine drinker, you’ll have a few good bottles at home to choose from. If you’re not, choosing a basic wine is easier than it looks. It’s important to select a dry table wine for cooking. I like to have an all-purpose red and white available for cooking - either a cabernet sauvignon or merlot for the red, and a dry chardonnay for the white. It’s important to use a wine that you’d be willing to drink - it will only taste as good in the finished dish as it does in the glass. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a good bottle; there are many good wines available for under $20.00, and even under $10.00. And whatever you do, stay away from the “cooking wine” - it’s loaded with sodium and preservatives and will positively ruin your well-crafted coq au vin or beef bourguignon. You’ve seen it on the supermarket shelf next to the oil and vinegar - avoid it like the plague.
- Wine Vinegar. Acids, like vinegar and citrus, brighten and add depth to what otherwise might be dull, ordinary fare. Nearly every kind of dish benefits from a little tang. I don’t often have a bowl of fresh lemons sitting on my counter, and I find the bottled stuff to be less than ideal. But what I do always have on hand are two kinds of wine vinegar. Like wine itself, I like to have one red and one white, to be used in different applications. You can get basic “red wine vinegar” or “white wine vinegar”, but you can also find more elaborate versions like cabernet sauvignon or champagne vinegar, without breaking the bank. I love the versatility of vinegar as both a condiment and an ingredient. From vinaigrettes for salads or dressing fish, to the final note in a rich pasta sauce or soup, wine vinegar will earn it’s keep in your pantry.
- Olive Oil. The oil of choice in most cuisines these days, but especially French, is olive oil. You can sauté in it, use it to whip up salad dressing, or swirl into a soup. There are many different types of olive oil on the market, and it’s really just a matter of personal taste what you choose. The important point in choosing a good olive oil is to choose one that has been cold-pressed instead of chemically pressed, as the flavors will be more vibrant. And be sure to purchase your olive oil in small qualities - oil can go rancid, and unlike wine, does not improve with age.
- Stock. Another key ingredient in sauces, soups and stews, stock is a pantry must-have. You can make stock out of nearly anything - vegetables, fish, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, pork, etc. While each kind of stock has its own merits and place in the kitchen, I find that you can generally get by with two - chicken and beef. Making your own stock is an easy project for a Saturday afternoon, especially if you save your chicken carcasses or beef bones in the freezer until you’re ready to make a batch. But you shouldn’t feel like you can’t make a quality meal with the store-bought stuff - I certainly don’t. You just have to buy the right store-bought stuff. You really need to try a few different brands to see what you personally like, but two that I have found to be extremely reliable are Emeril’s or Imagine.
- Shallots. A part of the allium family, shallots are in the same group as onions, leeks and garlic. They hold a place of honor in the French kitchen. They are milder than onions but texturally similar, making them perfect for use in dishes where the bite of raw onion would come across as too strong - vinaigrettes are a perfect example. The most common type of shallot available in the market is the larger copper-skinned variety, but you can also find the smaller grey shallot in specialty stores or at some farmer’s markets.
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