Bouillabaisse basically translates to seafood stew. Fish and shellfish go in a pot with vegetables, white wine, olive oil and herbs. Producing the stew requires a long cooking time and several pounds of fresh seafood. The extended cooking time brings out the flavors of the simple ingredients in this dish.
Like other simple foods, this dish can easily be adapted to the local seafood on hand, but in France, it is best known for its region of origin, the coastal province of Marsaille, according to Amy Trubek in "A Taste of Place."
Coq au vin translates to "rooster in wine," according to Simple Cooking Tips. This dish consists of a chicken cooked for a long period of time in wine. Originally, the chicken in this dish was a rooster, which has tougher flesh and benefits more from the extended cooking, but cooks today can use any type of chicken available.
Like coq au vin, beef bourguignon relies heavily on long, slow cooking. Essentially, this dish is a beef stew using beef and regional vegetables. Though appearing in modern haute cuisine restaurants, this beef stew originated in the French countryside.
Potatoes and butter create the side dish known as potatoes Anna. Thin slices of locally grown potatoes are layered in a casserole dish with butter and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. The cook bakes this until the top becomes crunchy and the potatoes on the inner layers have cooked to tenderness. Part of the appeal of potatoes Anna is in the texture of the potatoes. Like perfectly made French fries, the potatoes in this dish emerge from the oven crisp and golden on top and warm and tender inside, but you will not need any ketchup or cheese to flavor this simple side, just salt and pepper to taste.
