MasterChef: The Professionals judge Marcus Wareing on how to make simple French classics

“A classic coq au vin, while utterly delicious, is quite a stagey recipe to prepare. There are lots of different elements that are cooked separately before being added at different times to a casserole dish,” explains Marcus Wareing.

“With this recipe I’ve taken out as many of the stages as possible, while ensuring that the end result is just as tasty as the original. It’s good enough for a dinner party, but easy enough for a weeknight family dinner.”

Serves 4-6, prep time 20 minutes, cooking time 2 hours and 20 minutes. Ingredients: 4tbsp duck fat or butter; 2 celery sticks, quartered; 1 onion, chopped; 2 carrots, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely grated; 4tbsp plain flour; ½tsp table salt; ½tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 whole large chicken, jointed into 8 pieces; 250g smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm lardons; 250g button mushrooms, halved if large; 200g small shallots, halved if large; 2tbsp brandy; 750ml white wine; 3 bay leaves; ½ bunch of fresh thyme; 500ml good-quality chicken stock; 2tsp cornflour (optional); ½ bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.

Heat two tablespoons of the duck fat or butter in a large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the celery, onion and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or two. Remove from the pan and set aside in an ovenproof casserole dish.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper, then dust the chicken pieces all over with the seasoned flour. Add the remaining two tablespoons of duck fat to the frying pan and fry the chicken pieces in batches until golden brown – each batch should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to the casserole dish.

Add the bacon, mushrooms and shallots to the pan and fry for five to seven minutes until well-browned, then add to the chicken in the casserole dish.

Deglaze the pan with the brandy then pour this over the ingredients in the casserole dish. Place the casserole dish over the heat, add the wine, bay leaves and thyme (tied together with string) and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly for about 15 minutes, then add the chicken stock and simmer gently for a further 15 minutes. If needed, mix the cornflour with a little water and stir into the sauce to thicken.

Cover and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when a chicken thigh is pierced with a knife in the thickest part. Remove the herbs tied with string, stir in the parsley and serve.

Apple tarte tatin with nutmeg cream

“My first ever attempt at making an apple tarte tatin was in a competition at The Savoy hotel in London – talk about being thrown in at the deep end! It did not go well,” admits Marcus Wareing.

“I had no idea that the apples needed to be caramelised, which I soon realised is the key to a perfect tarte tatin. I’m happy to say that I’ve mastered the technique since then and this recipe is both foolproof and delicious.”

Serves 6-8, prep time 20 minutes, cooking time 50 minutes. Ingredients: 1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry; Plain flour, for dusting; 100g cold butter, softened; 100g golden caster sugar; 2 cardamom pods, bashed gently with a rolling pin to release the flavour; 1 cinnamon stick; 6-7 Braeburn apples, peeled and quartered. For the nutmeg cream: 200ml double or whipping cream; A grating of fresh nutmeg

To make the tarte tatin, roll the puff pastry on a floured work surface out to about three millimetres thick and cut around a plate to make a large circle, just bigger than the pan you’re going to use to make the tart. Cut three small slits in the pastry for the steam to escape and move to a baking parchment-lined tray. Place in the fridge to rest while you make the rest of the tart.

Spread the softened butter in an even layer over the base of a 20-24 centimetre ovenproof frying pan. Cover with the sugar and spices in another even layer. Arrange the apples on top in a spiral, overlapping one another.

Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 7.

Place the pan on the hob over medium-high heat and cook until the butter and sugar start to bubble and form a caramel, this will take around 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and then place the pastry circle over the apples, using a spoon to tuck the pastry in around the edges of the pan. Be careful, it will be very hot!

Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes.

Meanwhile, make the nutmeg cream by whisking the cream until it reaches soft peaks. Spoon into a serving bowl and grate some fresh nutmeg over the top.7. Run a small knife around the inside of the pan to ease away the caramelised pastry. Put a large plate over the tarte tatin in the pan and carefully flip both pan and plate over. Slowly lift the pan off to turn the tarte out. Serve with the nutmeg cream on the side.

Croque madame

Serves 2, prep under 10 minutes, cooking time 20 minutes. Ingredients: 100g Gruyère cheese, grated; 4 slices of sourdough; 4 slices of prosciutto; 1tbsp butter; Vegetable oil, for frying; 2 eggs; Watercress or lamb’s lettuce, to serve; For the roux sauce: 200ml milk; 2tsp fresh thyme leaves; 2tbsp butter; 2tbsp plain flour; 1tsp Dijon mustard; 2tsp wholegrain mustard; 100g Cheddar cheese, grated; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by making the roux sauce. Put the milk and thyme into a small saucepan. Gently bring to a simmer over low heat. Melt the butter in another small saucepan, then add the flour and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for about one minute to get rid of the floury taste but avoid letting it brown. Gradually whisk in half of the hot milk, then add the remaining milk and cook for a further five minutes over low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat, add the mustards and cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Divide the grated Gruyère between two slices of the sourdough, then top with the prosciutto. Finish with two-thirds of the roux sauce then top with the other slices of sourdough. Spread the remaining roux sauce on top. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the butter then carefully add the sandwiches and toast them for three to five minutes. Gently turn the sandwiches over and brown the other side for another three to five minutes.

Transfer to the lined baking tray and bake in the oven for four to five minutes until the cheese has melted.

While the sandwiches are baking, heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and crack both eggs into the pan. Fry for two to three minutes, or until the white is set and the yolk is still soft.

Place the sandwiches on two separate plates and top each with a fried egg. Serve with watercress or lamb’s lettuce on the side.

Marcus’s France by Marcus Wareing is published in hardback by Harper NonFiction, priced £22. Photography by Matt Russell (2024). Available now.