Gâteau d’Alsace by The Careless Cook

 

A Savory Cake from the Alsace Region in France

A cake version of Quiche, with cheese, onion, and bacon

By The Careless Cook

 

For the few who don’t know, Alsace in on the border of eastern France and western Germany.  

Very historic and has been passed around more than a lady of the night with sailors in town.  In the War of 1870, also called the Franco-Prussian War, France invaded Prussia and Prussia not only returned the favor, they kicked some French fanny.  With the Prussian victory, Alsace and parts of Lorraine suddenly become Prussian.  Biggest thing to remember:  As a result of the Prussia victory, the Germanic states united and became Germany!  Yep, Germany as a country is younger than the United States!

Street scene in a town in Alsace

What the heck does that have to do with cooking a savory cake? Alsace and Loraine.   Cuisine! A wonderful mix and match!  And Le Gâteau d’Alsace is a wonderful example. Savory and delicious!

 

Time to git in the kitchen and git cookin’!

 

Gâteau d’Alsace

(My recipe differs slightly from tradition, but so does The Careless Cook!)

 

Ingredients

 

5 tablespoons salted butter, melted

8 oz of either chopped bacon or 2 packages of lardons (bits of either French or Italian fatty ham, available in packets in the deli section of most grocery stores)

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 cup full fat buttermilk

1 good slosh of olive oil, a tablespoon or two

2 large eggs

2 ½ all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder (I don’t measure this exactly.  I prefer to give it my best guess)

¾ teaspoons table salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon, more or less, black pepper

8 oz (2 cups) grated or finely diced baby Swiss cheese. Tastes much like Gruyère cheese at half the cost

Heaping teaspoon Italian seasoning (the only one I use is The Spice Lab’s Italian Rustica.  Far superior. Available on Amazon)

Puttin’ It Together

 

Oven at 350ºF 180ºC

Butter and flour a 12 x 8 Teflon baking pan

 

Fry the lardons in a skillet over low heat and cook until crispy and the fat is rendered.  Takes about 15 minutes.  Scoop them out of the pan and place in a small bowl.  Set aside.

 

Add the onion to the fat in the skillet.  Medium heat.  About 10 minutes or until turning golden.

 

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and pepper.  Stir in the cheese, Italian seasoning, and lardons.  Stirring these  into the flour keeps cheese and lardons from sinking to the bottom of the pan when you bake.

 

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and melted butter.

 

Important:  USE A SPATULLA (I dip mine in cold water) to blend the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture.  This doesn’t happen immediately, but have faith and stick with it until all is sticky and blended.

 

Scrape the dough into the oil/floured pan.  Smooth it out and bake for 45-50 minute, or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Wait 10 minute or longer to make sure the cake is cooled enough to be easily removed from the pan.

 

Serve warm.

 

Past time to pour the wine, or if you make this for breakfast, pour a nice cup of café au lait.  You might want to renew you high school French or at least practice the accent.  Zeez is un gateau with zee goo-d fla-vor, n’est pas?  Help your French friends to forget the Franco-Prussian War.  Vive la France!

 

 

Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Like crab?  Me, too.  BUT, I get tired of recipes doing everything to turn such a wonderfully delicious protein into goop that absconds with the flavor and adds calories like a farmer stacking hay!

 

The Very Careless Cook has a delicious answer.  How about adding a pile of crab to vegetable soup? I asked myself.

 

As I’ve said many times, when you make one of my recipes, you are the cook, the chef, the ruler of your kitchen. This recipe is no exception.  Don’t like one of the vegetables I savor?  Make some changes.  But, please don’t forget the crab.  It makes the meal.

 

Now let get started….right after you pour yourself a nice dose of a chilled white wine, or perhaps you already have some prosecco waiting in the fridge?

 

Surely you know the unavoidable temptation of chilled prosecco. If you haven’t tasted it, I shan’t spoil the elegant surprise.

 

Soon as you see the word, shan’t, you know I’ve spent a good deal of time in Britland. I’ve also noticed the Brits don’t hold the French in the high esteem that we Americans favor, especially in the kitchen.  The blokes hasten to tell us that herb has an H in it, and should not be neglected when pronouncing it.  Same with ‘fillet.’  Yes, they again use all the letters. Instead of fill-a, they say fill-it.

 

Had enough? I sympathize.    Take another sip and let’s go!

 

Crab and Vegetable Soup from the kitchen of The Careless Cook

 

Ingredient suggestions!

 

1 pound can of pasteurized crab claw meat

12 oz Brussels sprouts, cut in halves

14 oz shredded green cabbage

1 can chickpeas (I prefer to use those in a jar)

8 oz broccoli flowerets

2 stalks celery, split and sliced thinly

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then sliced ¼ inch wide crosswise

1 onion, peeled and chunked

1 package sliced various colored bell peppers

2 generous handfuls of small, unpeeled  potatoes, cut in half

3 or more slices of preserved lemons, diced (you can go to stores or Amazon or make them yourself – see Special Note)  Believe me, once you’ve used some, you won’t be without them

2 quart boxes of vegetable stock 

4 cups boiling water

4-6 large cubes of vegetable stock

2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste.

a good spay of olive oil

Puttin’ It Together

 

Spray a deep soup pot with olive oil.  Add the celery and onion and stir from time to time until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers, zucchini and allow to cook a little longer.  

 

Mix in the Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chickpeas, and Italian seasoning. 

 

Pour in the stock, salt and pepper.  

 

Add the potatoes.

 

Let the soup come to a boil.

 

Add the water and the vegetable stock cubes to cover the vegetables.

Cook until all vegetables are soft. Add the preserved lemon and stir well.

Lastly, add the crab meat, stir and serve.

 

Voila! 

 

Short work, high flavor!  We made a pot and ate it for supper three days running.  No complains! Just calls for more!

 

Special Note:

Preserved lemons.  Why?  Preserved lemons have a smoother flavor than raw lemons and add a bright taste.  I use them in stews and salads and anything else that suits my fancy.

Recipe:  five lemons washed and ends cut off (save the ends). Slice the lemons thinly and put them in a clean jar adding some salt with each layer.  Now use those ends and squeeze the juice into the jar.  Take any blunt kitchen tool and lightly mash the jarred lemons just enough to release the juice.  When you’re finished, make sure the jarred lemons are fully covered in juice.  If not, add more lemon juice.

 

Put a top on the jar and put the jar in the refrig for a month!