Borlotti Pottage

Loosely based on a medieval dish. 

LHSS Score 9.0/10

1½ cup (280gr) dry Borlotti beans (see NOTE)

3 Tbsps olive oil

3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed (not chopped)

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs oregano, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1lb 8oz (3 cups, or 1x796mL can) tomatoes, diced

3 cups chicken broth (to start)

4 to 6 oz julienned greens

Fruit vinegar (either, red wine, white wine, plum, apple cider, raspberry, etc)

Parmesan

1. Soak beans overnight but do not cook!
2. Next day, sauté garlic in the oil, add oregano and bay leaf, stir in for about a minute more.
3. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper.
4. Add tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. 
5. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 hours, replenishing the stock if necessary. Stir occasionally.
6. When beans are cooked, leave uncovered and cook at a rapid simmer until most of the broth has evaporated. It is at the beginning of this rapid boil that you can add the greens.
7. Add the fruit vinegar, serve on plates and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan, fresh ground pepper and chopped fresh oregano. Accompanies well with crusty bread.

NOTE: Can easily substituted with Cranberry beans, Red Mexican beans, Black Turtle beans, or any bean that will remain firm and hold its shape when cooked.

Italian Sausage and duPuy French Lentils

This is a lovely, hearty comforting dish, perfect for cold, snowy and rainy days. The trick to its success is not letting the sausage cook too much once sliced because they'll become tough.

1 cup duPuy lentils
3 cups chicken stock
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half (use the part of the onion with the root basal plate and leave it intact to make it easier to take out the onion afterwards)
2 to 3 sprigs fresh oregano or a generous pinch dry marjoram
1 bay leaf
3 mild Italian sausages
½ cup white wine
2 Tbsps olive oil
1 shallot, minced (or small onion)
¼  to ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper

1. Put the lentils in a saucepan with the stock, onion, and oregano (or marjoram) and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Continue to simmer the lentils, uncovered, until al dente, approximately another 20 minutes. Pluck out and discard the aromatics.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet and prick the skins of the sausages. Brown the sausage on all sides in the oil. Remove from the pan and set aside. 
3. Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until translucent, adding a splash of oil if the pan is too dry. Add the wine and bring it to a simmer scraping up any fond. Continue simmering until the wine has mostly evaporated. Add the sausages, the parsley and the lentils, simmering until the desired sauciness is achieved, the lentils are tender, and the sausage has cooked through (internal temp should be 160°F).
4. Remove the sausage and stir in the salt and pepper.
5. Cut the sausage into sixths and reintroduce to the lentils, stirring to distribute.
6. Serve. with crusty bread.

Tomato Chèvre Omelette

As Dorothy Hartley says, an omelette is a friendly dish. I've tried, every so often over the years, to make the perfect folded omelette only to have it split along the side when I'd try. I'm not sure where or how, but I made the connection between omelettes and antique cooking salamanders, which are a device heated over the fire and placed over the dish to finish cooking from above, which in modern North American ovens is called the broiler. And voila, the recipe below describes how to make the perfect omelette, where the bottom isn't overcooked and the top is just cooked enough to allow for perfect folding.

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 eggs
A generous pinch of salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
⅓ cup (2.7oz/76gr) chèvre cheese
5 large cherry tomatoes (100g) in thick slices (approximately 4 slices)
1 Tbsp minced fresh Oregano
½ cup (1 to 2oz or about 30-50g) grated Gruyère cheese

1. Melt butter with oil in a 10" oven-proof fry pan or omelet pan.
2. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper until frothy.
3. Pour eggs into hot pan and start cooking at medium heat. Lift the egg and tilt the pan to let uncooked egg get underneath.
4. With the oven rack at the mid-way setting, start the grill (or use a salamander if you're so lucky to have one).
5. Crumble to chèvre across the surface of the omelette, then do the same with the tomato.
6. Sprinkle the oregano over all of this, followed by an evenly distributed layer of Gruyère.
7. With the egg still uncooked on the surface, (not just slithery but actually jiggly), slip the pan into the oven and broil.
8. When the egg is set and the edges puff up a little, take it out of the oven and carefully fold the omelette (I do this by first cutting the segments and then folding - more manageable size).

Poulet à la bière avec herbes de Provence (Chicken cooked with beer and herbes de Provence)

A lovely single-pot meal (unless you make some sort of pilaf to go with it, although a slice of crusty bread works just as well). It's simple, delicious, and kind of impressive in a rustic sort of way. When serving, I always slice up the meat and ladle some of the richly flavoured cooking juices over it.

1 chicken cut into pieces
2 cups stout or dark beer
3 carrots, cut into cut into chunks
2 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 white onion, cut into thick slices
2 tsps Herbes de Provence seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper
2 stems fresh thyme
2 stems fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Massage the chicken pieces with olive oil and cover with herbes de Provence and salt.
2. Arrange the onions, carrots, and potatoes in a baking dish and lightly season with more herbes de Provence and salt&pepper. Place the chicken amongst the vegetables with the stems of fresh thyme and oregano tucked in between.
3. Pour in the beer - don't worry about it washing off the herbs, the olive oil should make them stick. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 450°F. 
4. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes to let the chicken brown on top.
5. The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. You could also service with rice or quinoa pilaf.

Socca

These are very quick and delicious snacks. The part of the recipe that takes the longest is heating up the oven. I've only read about socca, and know that it's a food commonly eaten in the region of Nice in France.

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup + of water
½ to ¾ tsp salt
2 Tbsps olive oil + more for baking
1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh herbs (your choice, have fun!)
OR 1 tsp dry herb or spice

1. Place the grate in the oven to the second-to-closest level to the broiler element. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Put an empty metal cooking pan to heat up. It should be about 10 inches wide (I use a stainless steel sauté pan, but a fry pan or cake pan or even pizza dish would do just fine)
2. Using a whisk, combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix until well combined. The desired consistency is of whole milk, which means it should be runny but with a bit of body - add water if it's too thick, or add chickpea flour if it's too thin.
3. Into the hot pan, put in 1 or 2 Tbsps olive oil, swirl to cover the pan, then pour in 1 cup of the mixture. You can tell the oil is hot enough if the mix sizzles when it hits the oil.
4. Put the pan back in the oven and cook for 2 minutes, then turn on the broiler. When you see dark brown patches form on top, it's done. In my oven it takes about 4 minutes.
5. Lift it out of the pan with a spatula onto a wide plate and eat it right away while it's piping hot. Wow!!!

Gyro made with fresh herbs

I have an oregano plant growing way beyond its bounds in the garden, and don't want to just throw away the excess. In trying to figure out what to do with it other than drying, I decided to make this classic dish using fresh oregano instead of dried. They're awesome with Tzatziki.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
⅔ cup fresh oregano
½ onion, fine mince
4 to 6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp ground dried rosemary
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground pepper (or more)
1 Tbsp fresh Thyme
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 390°F.
2. Mix all the ingredient together. Mix it up real good.
3. Make meatballs about 2 oz each.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°F.