Anne’s Crepes (Provided photo — Yvona Fast)

Paris. Olympics. Food.

This summer, we’re watching the Olympic Games in Paris, France. Paris is the center of French cuisine.

Parisian fare can be as simple as a fresh-baked baguette spread with butter and filled with ham — the Parisien — or more complex like France’s national dish, Pot-au-Feu (pot on fire), a basic meat and vegetable stew dating back to the Middle Ages.

Tartine is French for a slice of bread or an open-faced sandwich. It sounds a lot more elegant than an open-faced sandwich, doesn’t it? Bread is spread lightly with a quality creamy cheese, then piled high with fresh veggies. Their sophisticated, piled toppings make a nice display and they’re good for an appetizer, lunch, or supper.

Parisian cuisine is known for its style, skill and fresh, first-rate, locally-sourced flavorful ingredients. Fresh-baked breads and baguettes, tartines, quality cheeses, sweet or savory crepes, sauces, salads, and pastries like croissants and macarons, are some of its hallmarks.

France has many regional cuisines, too. For example, the Lorraine region in northeast France is known for its quiche. The Provence region in the south is famed for its traditional Provencal seafood stew, bouillabaisse, and the vegetable stew, ratatouille. Blanquette de veau (veal stew served over mashed potatoes or noodles), is traditional in Normandy. Choucroute garnie, common in France’s Alsace region which borders Germany, is a hot kraut and sausage dish. Another stew from France’s southern Occitanie region is cassoulet, a rich mix of beans and meats including pork, mutton, goose or duck.

In America, French cuisine was popularized by Julia Child (1912-2004). Though born in Pasadena, California, she lived in Paris in the late 1940s and 1950s, where she studied French cooking. Her two-volume best-selling cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” was published in 1961. The following year her cooking show, The French Chef, premiered on Boston’s PBS station and ran for 206 episodes. Julia advises, “Learn how to cook–try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.”

One classic Parisian dish is Boeuf bourguignon, or boeuf a la Bourguignonne.

This filling stew of beef braised in red wine and cooked with onions, garlic, mushrooms and carrots, was a favorite of Julia Child, who described it as “one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man.” Another Parisian dish, coq au vin (drunk chicken, or chicken cooked with wine) was also one of her signature recipes. Both recipes can be found in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Here are a couple simple recipes to get you started.

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Anne’s Crepes

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“Two” easy crepe batter — two of each ingredient, a.k.a. trop facile! (“Too easy!”) Makes 12 8-inch crepes.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour (or half buckwheat flour)

2 cups whole milk (or 2% for more lean)

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter — cooking butter until brown and “nutty” adds flavor

2 pinches of salt

Directions:

Pour into a hot, lightly buttered skillet and rotate to cover the bottom of the pan, pour out the excess. Two minutes to cook.

For sweet crepes, fill with fruit — like blueberries or peaches — and a sweet sauce. (Greek yogurt thinned with maple syrup makes a great sweet sauce).

For savory crepes, spread with bechamel and cheese. See recipe below.

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Bechamel

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White sauce–good for mac and cheese!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter

4 tablespoons flour (1/4 cup)

2 cups milk

Directions:

Melt the butter — cooking butter until brown and “nutty” adds flavor –then stir in the flour.

Whisk in the milk and stir until thickened.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Note: For a lighter sauce, place whole milk and flour in a jar and shake well to combine; pour into saucepan and cook, stirring, until thickened. (But the butter does add flavor.)

Add veggies, like mushrooms and zucchini, spinach or kale, or meat like diced ham. Use your imagination!

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Greens and Ham Tartine

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Ingredients:

French baguette

Fresh chevre or another soft, spreadable artisan cheese

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch greens (arugula, radish tops, kale, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, etc.)

¼ teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon prepared mustard (such as Dijon)

2 Tablespoons yogurt

Directions:

Cut the baguette into four to six sections and slice each in half through the middle. Spread lightly with cheese and set aside.

Wash greens and chop coarsely. Drain, spin-dry and set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet. Peel and mince the garlic, add and cook one minute. Add greens, sprinkle with salt, and saute. If using tougher greens, add a half cup of broth, water or wine, cover and braise until tender.

While greens are cooking, mix together mustard and yogurt. Stir into cooked greens.

Top each baguette portion with a couple tablespoons of the greens mixture. Place in broiler or toaster oven and broil, watching closely, until bread crisps and cheese melts. Place diced chop ham or a thin slice of ham on top and serve.

Serves 6 – 10.

You will probably have greens leftover — use them in another meal, as a side with meat, or stir into pasta or grain salad along with diced tomatoes.

Option: Caramelize one onion in 1 teaspoon butter and a half teaspoon salt and stir into greens before toasting. You can also add a little shredded cheese to melt on top of the greens.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook “Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market,” Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: Writing and cooking. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite@yahoo.com or on X: @yvonawrites.