Tips for easy dinners from French supermarchets

[vincettenoir]

I felt like we did too much cooking on our last holiday so I’m looking for some advice to make self catering in France easy. How does the traiteur hot counter work? What can you get and do you need to speak good French to use them? I’d rather eat things that are more typically French without much prep rather than pasta and sauce (although we will defo have that too). Can you buy things like coq au vin ready made?

Erm, in France we mostly eat cheese, baguette, salad and red wine.

Also moules (with white wine).

For us self catering in France looks like:

Croissants and jam for breakfast
Bread, cheese, meat, salad and those little bottles of lager for lunch or tea whichever we aren't eating out for.
The other meal we will eat out or get some Paella etc from the market.

Keep it simple.

Baguette (and other breads)
Cheeses
All of the salad
Fruit
Pastries/cakes/baked goods

Eat out in the evening (or have more of the above).

Fresh Tortellini with crème fraiche or cream for the sauce and salad. I know you said other than pasta but this is so quick and easy compared to other pasta dishes.

I would have thought French supermarkets are remarkably like UK supermarkets, the bigger ones anyway, and have a wide range of stuff. We usually go to Spain and just do our weekly shop in a similar way, I say similar if one were to live for a week on bread, cheese, nuts and olives. And wine.

Rotisserie chickens and boxes of paella from local markets are a great dinner
merguez and bavette steak on a BBQ

Fresh crusty baguette, salty butter and gorgeous cheese. I could live on that. 😋

The fruit and veg are usually very good and yes to ALL the charcuterie.

Steak hache frozen pomme noisettes canned ratatouille with knorr pepper sauce

Roast chicken and salad.
Markets or butchers often sell big jars of coq au vin or bourgignon
Cheese obvs

I mean I could survive on baguette, fromage and bolognese flavour crisps but we do like to try out the pasta sauces, have chicken, salad and bread.
But I’m here for more ideas as well be back in France soon!

And we always buy a big apple tart from the supermarket on the first day for desserts and occasional nibbling.

Yes me too. And exciting ice cream flavours and double cones.

local yoghurts. I like the pre made coleslaws, cous cous etc section. Riste aubergine on toast (in jars, near the ratatouille). Use yesterday’s baguette and make croutons for salad. Lovely Dijon mayonnaise. Cheese cheese cheese. Salads and fruits. Crème fraiche on the long rectangular madeleine cakes. Vive la France 🇫🇷

Oh I also love celeriac remoulade, carrotte rappe and the various preprepared salads you can get from the deli.

Tins of confit duck!

Second the confit duck, also the supermarkets in France often do good pizza and rotisserie chickens. I also like their maxi packs of gnocchi which I fry and sprinkle cheese on.
Their deli will also have salads such as celeriac remoulade, couscous and other prepared side salads which are substantial and make a great accompaniment to gnocchi or chicken.

(Just seen a PP also recommended too!)

Have a look at the supermarket fish counter, you'll be able to put together a lovely seafood platter from the cooked shell fish available, prawns, lobster claws, shrimps etc. Just add green salad, bread and lashings of mayonnaise.

The meals at the traiteur counter are sold by the number of people you want to feed, so ask for enough for two or enough for four etc.

Have a fantastic time!

Oh jeepers… cheese, cheese, bread, olives, delicious wine for 6 euros… spent a week in Paris with a friend … just heaven.
Oh also apple tarts from bakery
I am in Southern Hemisphere and this thread makes me want to book a very expensive flight asap .

I wouldn't buy too much ready made stuff. Even French UPF is nothing like fresh food. I'd just have sandwiches (bread, ham and cheese) for lunch and eat out for dinner (or vice versa if young kids).

Hot food in supermarkers isn't unheard of but it would only be in bigger supermarkets, not worth hunting around or walking miles to get to. And fresh, ready to heat food or ready made salads also exist but it's cheaper and nicer to just make your own couscous salad honestly.

The only thing I'd potentially recommand, if you're feeling lazy and need something quick and easy, is the canned ready meals like sausage with lentils, ravioli, etc. It's cheap and okayish to eat. You can also find frozen ready to eat savoury pies and such.

In many French supermarkets there is a section of the charcuterie section which has precooked dishes which you can buy as much or as little as you want , there are classic dishes such as boeuf bourgignonne , coq au vin, cassoulet, couc cous etc. Just say how many people you are feeding. Also some butchers descibe themselves as 'traiteurs' and offer something similar.

Look out for jars of soupe de poisson in supermarkets. Serve with croutons made from baguette, spread with rouille, and a hearty sprinkling of grated Gruyère cheese.
You could add a few prawns or shrimps for garnish if liked.
If you can't find ready made rouille and don't want to make your own, use garlicky aioli with a little added cayenne pepper or paprika instead.

Thanks that’s exactly the kind of thing I’m after. That with some baguette and salad would be super easy.

Does it come chilled and you heat it up?

Yes, that's the way to go. The staff on these counters are usually very helpful and will try out their rudimentary English. Meals are packed carefully in plastic containers. They will usually weigh the meat content and then ask you if you want extra sauce/ vegetables - which of course you do, of course.

Yes you do heat it up. There may be cartons in the chilled cabinets, but the jars will be on the ordinary supermarket shelves, probably near the tinned and boxed soups.

If you're planning on things like frozen paella or pizza, Picard is a reliable brand to look out for.