Top 30 French Pies

Mushroom quiche is a delicious French pie that was greatly popularized by Julia Child in her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The quiche is made with a pastry shell that is filled with a combination of mushrooms, shallots, port, eggs, whipping cream, and Swiss cheese. It is additionally spiced with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg that creates a unique warmness. Baked until puffy and browned, mushroom quiche is ready to be consumed as soon as it is taken out of the oven, but it can also be consumed chilled.Expand

This baked dessert is made with a base layer of shortcrust pastry that is topped with lemon custard and fluffy meringue. The custard is usually made with a combination of lemon zest and juice, sugar, egg yolks, and (sometimes) starch. The origins of this sweet treat are murky and mysterious – some credit Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow of Philadelphia as the inventor, but her 18th-century recipe mentions lemon pudding, while the meringue is used in minimal amounts, as an accent. Other sources say that the first recorded recipe was written by Alexander Frehse, a Swiss baker, and some suggest that the botanist Emile Campbell-Browne had a similar recipe in Wigbeth, Dorset, in 1875. Regardless of the origins, lemon meringue pie has been the favorite of presidents, and it even has its own day – August 15, known as National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.Expand

Although quiches can be made with nearly anything, from meats and vegetables to seafood, herbs, and cheeses, the king among these delicious baked tarts is still the original quiche Lorraine, consisting simply of a shortcrust dough base that is filled with bacon, eggs, cream, nutmeg, and a dash of salt and pepper. The word quiche is thought to have been adapted from the German word küchen, meaning cake, as the first Lorraine quiches were made with bread dough instead of shortcrust dough. In the French region of Lorraine, it is traditionally served on May Day as an accompaniment to roasted suckling pig. Any other day in the year, it is served as an appetizer, usually with a green salad on the side, and it is typically consumed either at room temperature or warm, while the golden-brown crust is still crunchy.Expand

Quiche Florentine is a French dish with Italian influences–a pie consisting of a pastry crust that is filled with eggs, milk, cheese, spinach, and fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme. The pie can be additionally seasoned with black pepper and nutmeg. Quiche Florentine is usually served for breakfast, brunch, or festive gatherings, and it is recommended to let it rest for at least ten minutes before serving for best results.Expand

This savory, baked French delicacy consists of a thin flaky pastry crust topped with a delicious cheese mixture. The traditional open tart usually makes use of classic cheese varieties such as Gruyère, Camembert, or Roquefort, which are blended into a luscious custard of eggs and milk or crème fraîche. The creamy filling is often adorned with a variety of fresh herbs or a sprinkling of freshly-grated nutmeg. The baked quiche is a delightful combination of crispy crust, a velvety center, and a perfectly browned top. Quiche au fromage is a staple dish found at French markets or on the menus of traditional French restaurants. It can be enjoyed as a light main course or as a filling snack.Expand

This popular French pie consists of a pastry crust filled with eggs, cream, and anything from bacon, cheese, and leek to mushrooms and seafood. Quiche is usually very filling and high in calories, making it a frequent choice for parties and buffet tables. It can be served either hot or cold, and is traditionally cut into slices. Numerous varieties of quiche exist today, the most popular of which are quiche Lorraine, quiche Florentine, and quiche Provençale.Expand

This variety of the French quiche is suitable for vegetarians, as it utilizes a variety of fresh vegetables such as zucchini, tomatoes, onions, or bell peppers. The choice of vegetables is left to the cooks, but tomatoes are usually a staple of quiche Provençale. The vegetables are combined with cheese, eggs, and seasonings such as Herbes de Provence. A pastry shell is then filled with this savory combination and baked until puffy and browned, when it is ready to be consumed.Expand

Pithiviers is a classic French pastry pie that's traditionally decorated with spiral markings coming from the center of the dish. It originated in the eponymous French town. The dish is made from puff pastry, and it can be filled with sweet or savory ingredients. For the dessert pie, pithiviers is often filled with fruits such as plums and cherries or almond cream. The sweet versions are usually served with coffee on the side. The savory versions are commonly filled with cheese, vegetables, and meat such as beef, chicken, or pork. What characterized pithiviers is its distinctive, shiny top crust, a result of eggwash or caramelized sugar at the end of baking.Expand

This hearty, meat-studded entrée is often confused with pâté Lorrain, another classic French meat pie. But unlike pâté Lorrain, cream and egg custard is added to the filling of Tourte Lorraine. Apart from this, according to Larousse Gastronomique, one of the prime reference books on French cuisine, both are baked in pastry and include a chunky pâté of pork and veal marinated in an aromatic bath of wine, shallots, cloves, and flavorful Herbes de Provence – a classic blend of dried thyme, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, chervil, tarragon, lovage, savory, sage, bay leaf, and fennel. Best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, Tourte Lorraine is traditionally served as an appetizer with a side of green salad, and is typically paired with a chilled glass of wine. In Lorraine, it is also particularly popular among the working class as an early morning meal.Expand

Flamiche is a traditional pie that is filled with chopped leeks, a small amount of butter, and either milk or crème fraîche. The dish has origins in the French region of Picardy, and it is considered the Picardy equivalent of the popular quiche Lorraine. The first known recipe dates back to the late 18th century, and it has been found in a French soldier's notebook. Today, there are numerous variations of flamiche, with added cheese, nutmeg, bacon, and different vegetables. Flamiche can sometimes be used as an accompaniment to heavier meat dishes.Expand