26 French recipes for July 14, from buckwheat pancakes to festive strawberry cake

deleciousfood | July 13, 2024 | Cake | No Comments

Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1798, a pivotal moment in the French Revolution. In France, it’s celebrated the same way Americans celebrate Independence Day: a time to savor summer with friends and family over a casual but delicious seasonal menu. To get in on the festivities, start your morning with a slice of buttery toasted brioche or buckwheat crepes stuffed with ham and cheese. You can also pack pan bagnat for a picnic along with a variety of dips and spreads. For dinner, keep it simple with air-fryer steak fries or quick-cook branzino fillets. And to finish, try an easy plum galette with ice cream or opt for a large strawberry cake studded with strawberries. Here are our top Bastille Day recipes for a delicious celebration.

Pan bagnat

Aubrie Pick

Bastille Day is a perfect time for a picnic, and this Niçoise specialty is just the ticket. Essentially a Niçoise salad in sandwich form, the real beauty of the pan bagnat is that it can be made ahead of time and given a few hours to rest so the vinaigrette can soak into all the layers.

Chicken liver pate

Diana Chistruga

Jacques Pépin’s creamy chicken liver pâté is simple to prepare. Also ready for a picnic, it is perfect with a cocktail or a glass of wine before a meal.

Grilled Onion Lyonnaise

Victor Protasio / Food styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Accessories styling by Shell Royster

This twist on the classic Salade Lyonnaise takes this iconic dish from great to even greater. Top the finished salad with frisée, crispy, meaty bacon lardons, grilled red torpedo onions, and a mustard vinaigrette with poached eggs.

Air Fryer Steak and Fries

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey

Yes, you can absolutely use your air fryer to make restaurant-quality steak fries with herb compound butter. The tender steak browns on top as it cooks, while the fatty bits on the edges sear into irresistible bites. While the steak rests, cook the fries, then top everything with herb compound butter.

Buckwheat pancakes

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Accessories Styling by Christina Daley

Why not start the Bastille Day with these tasty Brittany walnut crepes? They are filled with ham, Gruyere cheese and a fried egg. To make things easier in the morning, prepare the batter the night before or cook and freeze the crepes without decoration in advance.

Vichyssoise

Photography by Victor Protasio / Food styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Accessories styling by Thom Driver

Topped with crunchy garlic croutons, grated pecorino Romano cheese, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions, this chilled potato and leek soup deserves a spot in your summer rotation.

Socca with zucchini and olives

Photography by Greg DuPree / Food styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Accessories styling by Claire Spollen

Socca, also called farinata, is a crispy, tender crepe made with chickpea flour. Unlike the Niçoise versions, which are cooked in copper pans, this one is cooked in a cast iron skillet before being topped with a summer salad of marinated squash.

Strawberry Cake

Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Prop styling by Christina Daley / Food styling by Julian Hensarling

If you’re looking to go all out for Bastille Day, this classic French cake is for you. It typically consists of a sponge cake, mousseline cream, strawberries, and a marzipan filling. In our version, we skip the marzipan and let the mousseline cream take center stage. With its moist, creamy texture and vanilla flavor, this cake is the perfect complement to sun-ripened strawberries.

Ratatouille Pie

Photography by Johnny Autry / Food styling and accessories by Charlotte Autry

The beautiful latticework of this spectacular vegetarian dish encloses brightly colored summer squash, eggplant, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Pre-cooking the vegetable filling is essential to concentrate the flavor and release moisture that might otherwise result in a soggy crust.

Radish toast with green butter

Photography by Christopher Testani / Food styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop styling by Kathleen Cook Varner

Radish and turnip greens are whipped with unsalted butter, garlic and lemon zest to create a delicious silky spread for these tartines, while spicy, paper-thin radishes and turnips make the perfect topping. Finished with crunchy sea salt, they make a great appetizer or light lunch.

Branzino with mesclun and tomato-herbs of Provence vinaigrette

Photography by Greg DuPree / Food styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Accessories styling by Claire Spollen

Branzino’s sweet, delicate flavor pairs beautifully with a summery tomato and mixed herb vinaigrette for a meal that comes together in just half an hour.

Mid-summer fruit tart

Greg Dupree / Food styling by Kelsey Moylan / Accessories styling by Josh Hoggle

Celebrate the Fourth of July with summer’s best fruits in this pie from Julia Child. Its sugar cookie-like base and tangy, creamy cheesecake filling make it the perfect way to showcase whatever seasonal fruit you’re craving.

Bacon, Cheddar and Onion Quiche

Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Accessories Styling by Lydia Pursell

While bacon, onions, and cheddar aren’t exactly surprising ingredients in a classic quiche, the addition of crème fraîche and chopped dill gives this recipe from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten a refreshing and downright elegant feel.

Salmon Niçoise Salad

Photography by Greg DuPree / Food styling by Torie Cox / Prop styling by Missie Crawford

Tender salmon, briny olives, crisp green beans, and hearty potatoes are all soaked up by the tangy, perfectly balanced vinaigrette in this twist on classic tuna Niçois. Don’t skip the anchovy garnish: it adds a touch of umami saltiness that makes this salad a standout.

Scallop Grenoble

Photography by Victor Protasio / Food styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop styling by Audrey Davis

Beautifully seared scallops with a golden crust are served in a classic French sauce bursting with acidity from lemon, brininess from capers and slight heat from slightly spicy jalapeños.

Ham and Jam Sandwiches

Victor Protasio

Full of concentrated fruit flavors and bright acidity from Gamay grape wine, homemade blueberry and Beaujolais jam is the perfect contrast to goat cheese and butter. Spread on a baguette and topped with ribbons of salty prosciutto, this summer recipe is both simple and elegant.

Plum Galette

Carson Downing / Food styling by Annie Probst / Accessories styling by Addelyn Evans

Embrace the rustic charm of a galette to showcase seasonal fruits. The dough for this recipe is creamy, flaky, and very pliable—and it can be made in 10 seconds in a food processor. Don’t forget the ice cream!

Blackberry Kir Royale

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food styling by Lucy Simon

It’s not a party until the champagne flutes come out. With just two ingredients and a garnish of fresh blackberries, this party-ready cocktail comes together in minutes.

bouillabaisse

Chloe Crespi Photography

Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s bouillabaisse starts with a quick-cooking but deeply flavored seafood broth. Layering an aromatic base with fresh snapper, scallops, shrimp, and a blend of Pernod and dry white wine creates a long-simmered flavor in less than an hour.

The Grand (Saffron) Aioli

With Poulos

This make-ahead poached vegetable and shrimp spread is both delicious and refreshing on a summer day. The saffron-infused garlic aioli adds a pop of flavor and color as a delicious dip for these tender-crisp vegetables and succulent shrimp bites.

Almond, Elderflower and Lime Travel Cakes

These sweet treats are easy to take to parties and picnics. Enriched with almond paste and drizzled with a lime glaze enhanced with St-Germain, pastry chef William Werner calls his creation “refined pound cake.”

Extra rich brioche

A slice of brioche is satisfying any time of day. Enriched with buttermilk, eggs and lots of delicious butter, this tender brioche is pure luxury. Enjoy it on its own, spread with butter and jam, or use it to make French toast or sandwiches.

Chicken in Vinegar Sauce

Greg DuPree

Chef Paul Bocuse’s irresistible chicken is a dish with big, bold flavors that emphasizes overall lightness. It’s made with just a few ingredients and simple instructions. This version swaps out the fresh tomatoes for tomato paste, uses less acidic rice vinegar in place of red wine vinegar, and cuts down on the butter significantly.

Black olive tapenade with figs and mint

Jacques Pépin’s tasty tapenade combines two types of olives with dried figs and mint. It can be enjoyed as a sandwich spread, as an accompaniment to raw vegetables or as a topping for crostini.

Provençal vegetable soup

This vegetable soup from Michelin-starred chef Eric Ripert gets its exceptional flavor from pistou, the pesto-style basil puree that accompanies it. To make a vegetarian version, omit the ham and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

My pork merguez and grilled tortilla bread

“Like other North African dishes, merguez is very popular in France. This little lamb sausage is a classic at any barbecue or backyard picnic, as popular as the hot dog in the United States,” says Jacques Pépin. He forms his sausages into small patties to serve as an appetizer, but they can also be arranged on a toasted baguette with peppers and onions for a typical Bastille Day dish.