A Bistro Table in Three Courses | Salade Lyonnaise, Poulet Basquaise & Clafoutis aux Cerises

A Bistro Table in Three Courses

Trivia Question❓

In Lyon, what name is given to the small, traditional eateries known for hearty, local dishes?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

A Bistro Table in Three Courses

Greens and bacon, Basque warmth, and cherries baked into silence

Some dinners feel like a plan. Others feel like a place.
This one lands us in a warm French bistro, the kind where coats hang heavy by the door and the plates arrive without ceremony

We start with crisp greens and bacon, move into peppers and paprika with Basque comfort, and finish with fruit baked into a quiet custard.

Salade Lyonnaise

Frisée, warm bacon, a sharp little dressing, and an egg that breaks like a sauce. This is a salad that eats like a meal, but behaves like a beginning.

Wine

A crisp Loire white such as Muscadet or a dry Chenin (Saumur). Bright acidity keeps the bacon honest.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 large head frisée (or curly endive)

200 g lardons or thick-cut bacon | 7 oz

4 eggs

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

1 small shallot, finely chopped

Salt, black pepper

Optional: 4 slices rustic bread, toasted

Preparation

Wash and dry the frisée. Fry lardons until crisp, keeping a little of the warm fat. Whisk mustard and vinegar with the shallot, then stream in the olive oil and one spoon of the warm bacon fat. Toss the salad lightly. Poach the eggs for about 3 minutes, then set one on each portion so the yolk can become the sauce.

Add toast if using, season generously.

Poulet Basquaise

Chicken simmered in peppers, tomatoes, and a gentle paprika warmth. This is the Basque coast translated into a pot, bright and comforting at once.

Wine

Go regional: Irouléguy red if you can find it. Otherwise a juicy Côtes du Rhône or a light, peppery Grenache blend.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces | about 1.6 kg | 3.5 lb

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

3 bell peppers (red, green, yellow), sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

400 g canned tomatoes | 14 oz (or 5 ripe tomatoes, chopped)

150 ml white wine | 2/3 cup

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 bay leaf

Salt, black pepper

To serve: steamed rice or crusty bread

Preparation

Season the chicken. Brown in olive oil, then set aside. Soften onion and peppers in the same pot. Add garlic, paprika, and bay leaf. Add tomatoes and white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Return chicken, cover, and simmer 35 to 45 minutes until tender and the sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning and serve with rice or bread to catch the sauce.

Clafoutis aux Cerises

Cherries sink. Batter rises. The edges caramelise. It is half cake, half custard, and completely French in the way it refuses to perform.

Wine

A lightly chilled Vin Doux Naturel such as Banyuls, or keep it simple with a small glass of Muscat. Soft sweetness, no heaviness.

Ingredients (serves 6)

500 g cherries | 1.1 lb (pitted, or traditional with pits)

3 eggs

100 g sugar | 1/2 cup

100 g flour | 3/4 cup

300 ml milk | 1 1/4 cups

60 ml cream | 1/4 cup (optional, replace part of milk)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Butter for the dish

Powdered sugar for serving

Preparation

Heat oven to 180°C | 355°F. Butter a baking dish. Scatter the cherries. Whisk eggs and sugar, then whisk in flour and salt. Add milk (and cream if using) and vanilla. Pour over cherries. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until puffed and golden.

Dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm or just set.

At the Table

The best bistro meals do not feel planned. They feel discovered. A little mustard on the tongue, paprika in the air, cherries baked into the last quiet minutes of the night.

Whenever you cook this, let the table stay messy. It means it was real.

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Bouchons

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