Buckwheat pancakes (Galettes de sarrazin) - Plain

Food of my people immortalized by the character Séraphin Poudrier in Claude-Henri Grignon's "Un homme et son péché", published in 1933. Séraphin's beleaguered child-bride Donalda was forced to only eat these with molasses to satisfy her husband's avarice. Myself, I quite like them but, then again, I choose to eat them. They can be eaten with sweet toppings or there are classic savory versions that are equally delicious. This is the basic recipe for the pancake.

1 cup (120g) buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup+ (250 ml+) milk of choice

2 eggs

Butter for frying

1. Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until uniform.
2. Let the batter rest for 30 to 40 minutes.
3. Beat again before using. 
4. The batter will likely be a bit thick. Add more milk until you get the consistency of light cream.
5. Heat an empty 8 to 10" fry pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until it's very hot.
6. Melt some butter and pour in ⅓ cup of batter, swirling the pan to get an even distribution; you may also use a palette knife or pastry scraper to smooth it out with a deft turn of the wrist. The bottom of the pan should be completely covered.
7. When the bubbles pop and the surface dries out a bit, flip to cook the other side; this should happen within 30 to 60 seconds, if not, adjust the heat. The bottom should be a light golden colour, not too dark since the galette will be re-heated with the filling of your choice.

Quick Sautéed Kale Side Dish

1 large bunch of kale, sliced in thin strips

1 tsp oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

¼ to ½ tsp red chilli flakes

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

3 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)

Juice from 1 lemon or lime (OR serve with lemon or lime wedges)

Salt to taste

1. Cook the onion, garlic and chilli flakes in the oil until starting to soften. 
2. Add the kale and vegetable stock; cover and lower the heat to obtain a simmer.
3. Cook at least until the kale has wilted; kale can take a lot of cooking and, in fact, cooking for a long time helps with the texture. The trick is to make sure you haven't lost too much moisture from the sauce. 
4. Uncover and sauté while the stock reduces and thickens into a bit of sauce.
5. Add the lemon juice (if not serving with wedges) and season with salt. Cover and let steam while the rest of your meal finishes cooking.
6. (Optional) Garnish with red pepper flakes and lemon wedges before serving.

Curried potatoes and beans

This is a relatively simple addition to any Indian-themed meal and has always been received with enthusiasm. It's a dry curry, and I like it matched with something creamy like a dahl.

8 to 10 oz green beans, cut into 1" lengths
1lb to 1lb 6oz potatoes, cut into wedges
2 Tbsps oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
Salt to taste
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp + lemon or lime juice

1. Pour the oil in a saucepan and add mustard and cumin seeds. Turn on the heat to medium-high and, when the mustard seeds start to pop (this is unmistakable), add the potatoes and sautée 10 to 15 minutes, or until just starting to brown on all sides and getting soft. Keep covered when not actively sautéeing.
2. Add the beans along with the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt. Mix well and sautée another 8 to 10 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
3. Add the garam masala and the lemon juice, all to just heat up, about 1 minute, and serve. A light drizzle of more citrus juice would not go amiss.

Brown Rice Mujadara Bowl with a Fried Egg

A 'mujadara' is a classic Arabic dish. Apparently, the word translates as 'pockmarked'. A bit of a strange reference to food, but the lentils make the dish look like it has pimples, or so it did to those who named the dish. For me, it's a delicious accompaniment to eggs and harissa.

Serves 4

For the mujadara:
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup French lentils
4½ cups vegetable broth
2 + 1 Tbsps olive oil
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
½ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt

For the bowl:
Olive oil
4 large eggs
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Paprika
2½ Tbsps harissa (spicy or mild)
(optional) ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

1. In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the brown rice, lentils, and a hefty pinch of salt. Reduce the flame to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, uncovered, or until the rice and lentils are cooked through (add more liquid as needed). Once the rice and lentils are fully cooked, turn off the heat, put the lid on and set aside. Let sit for another 10 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsps of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the sliced onions until deeply browned and beginning to caramelize, about 20 minutes (TIP: add small amounts of water when you feel the need, to prevent the onions from burning; you can also continue cooking the onions for as long as the rice and lentils cook for a deeper caramelization). When the onions are nicely browned and almost finished, add in the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. When the rice and lentils have finished cooking, gently mix in the cumin, parsley, half of the onion mixture and the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Reserve the rest of the onions for serving.
4. Wipe clean the skillet used to cook the onions, lightly grease with olive oil, and return to medium heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook to your desired doneness. Sprinkle the tops of the eggs with salt, pepper, and a dash of paprika.
5. Divide the mujadara equally between 4 bowls and place a fried egg into each bowl. Garnish with the remaining caramelized onions, harissa, and toasted pine nuts.

Garlic Pasta Boiled in its own Sauce

This is a magical little number, where the pasta is cooked in the milk broth, releases is starches and thickens the sauce. All in a single saucepan. It's easily doubled. If you want to control the amount of garlic flavour in the sauce, I recommend weighing the garlic - stores rarely care which varietal they sell, some cloves are huge, others quite small.

Servings: 2

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter

2 cloves garlic (8gr), minced

2 cups mild broth such as chicken 

1 cup milk, or more, as needed

8 oz uncooked fettuccine or spaghetti

Salt and pepper, to taste

OPTIONAL: 4–5 oz (115–140 g) Swiss chard leaves, ribs removed, sliced into strips

1 oz (28g) Parmesan cheese, grated, + 1 oz (28g) for garnishing

2 Tbsps fresh parsley leaves, chopped 

1. Have your broth at the ready to stop the browning of the garlic.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Just as the butter melts, put in the garlic. This next part is really quick, just a minute or so. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and just starting to lightly brown.
3. Immediately stir in the broth, milk and pasta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked through, about 18 to 20 minutes. 
5. If using Swiss chard, stir in a couple minutes before it's done.
6. Stir in the Parmesan. 
7. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed until the desired consistency is obtained.
8. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley.

Cheesy Grits

A creamy and relatively quick and simple, this gift from the American South goes very well with eggs for a nice lunch. Not true grits since I use regular cornmeal, but adaptable in my opinion to any kind of ground dry corn you have on hand (made it polenta and it was just as good). A crisp salad with that doesn't go amiss. If there are any leftovers, there's a recipe below to make fried patties the next day.

2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1½ tsps salt
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter
4oz sharp Cheddar, shredded

1. Bring the milk, water, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Gradually add the cornmeal while whisking continually. Once all the cornmeal has been incorporated, decrease the heat to low and cover. Every 3 to 4 minutes, remove the lid and beat with a wooden spoon to prevent grits from sticking or forming lumps; make sure to get into the corners. 
3. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture is creamy.
4. Remove from the heat, add the pepper and butter, and beat with a wooden spoon to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually beat in the cheese a little at a time. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Leftover Cheese Grits Patties
Weigh or measure the quantity of grits you have to work with.
Add ⅛ of the total weight-or-measure in flour and mix thoroughly.
The dough will be very sticky. Form into patties (I take a heaping soupspoonfull and plop it in the hot pan, let it cook a bit enough to flip it over, then flatten it and cook both sides until they brown nicely) of about 80 to 100 grams.
Heat a fry pan for a couple of minutes before melting butter in it.
Fry the patties until browned on both sides.

Pouding Chômeur (transl. "Tramp's pudding")

This is a traditional French-Canadian recipe that is very common in Quebec. I continue to be amazed at the strange summersault kind of effect of pouring the boiling sauce on top before baking, and it ends up on the bottom after baking. Oh, and what lovely, taffy-like gooeyness ends up on the bottom!

 

CAKE

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter

⅔ cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup milk

1½ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

MAPLE SAUCE

1 cup maple Syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

¼ cup (2oz/58gr) butter

1. Cream the butter until it becomes pale, then gradually add the sugar. Continue beating until you get a smooth consistency.
2. Alternately add the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
3. Grease a square baking dish with a little oil and dust with flour. Pour in the batter and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F while making the sauce.
5. To make the sauce, mix together all the maple sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on it! You're boiling sugar, so it will want to boil over. Boil for a less then a minute (I've boiled it for exactly a minute once, and the effect of the sauce was more of a taffy than a sauce. A tasty variation).
6. Pour the sauce over the batter. DO NOT mix. As the cake bakes, the batter will swell and float to the top.
7. Bake for 45 minutes.