Vive le 14 Juillet

It’s France’s national holiday this week, writes Rachel Allen, who suggests celebrating the day on Irish soil with some delicious French classics

Tuesday marks France’s national day, Bastille Day, where Francophiles worldwide celebrate the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and a turning point in the French Revolution. A public holiday, July 14 is as celebrated as enthusiastically as St Patrick’s Day is here, with carnivals, parties, parades, feasts and fireworks.

Many of us will be staying in Ireland this summer, so why not bring a little bit of France here and celebrate some of the classics of French cuisine on Irish soil?

One of my favourite summer salads has to be the salade Nicoise, which is originally from the city of Nice on the French Riviera. There are many different versions of this colourful dish, but most will contain haricots verts (green beans), hard-boiled eggs, tuna, olives, lettuce and a French dressing.

This version, right, uses pan-fried mackerel instead of the classic tuna, but feel free to be purist about it and leave out the mackerel. Either way, make sure to make a really good, gutsy French dressing that serves as the backbone to this deliciously substantial summertime salad, and only use the best red, ripe tomatoes.

A delicious and very French way to

“It’s celebrated with carnivals, parties, parades, feasts and fireworks”

start the day is with brioche. I adore it with a strong, milky coffee. This recipe, far right, which we teach at the cookery school, is a great version, and happily it rises overnight in the fridge so just needs to be shaped, proven and baked the next morning.

Serve it warm with some butter melting on top and for that extra je ne sais quoi, top with a little confiture a la fraise — strawberry jam. My recipe here is simple and delicious.