November 16, 2007

Swiss Chard Fritters from Laguiole




When last we met, I was telling you a little story about the road trip to Michel and Sebastian Bras joint. I got waylaid at the minuscule Saturday Morning market at Laguiole. I promised a little recipe for these savory Aveyronnais 'swiss chard' fritters called farcoux or farçous. After referencing a few old books, the fab internet and my own ideas, I plotted out a simple rule of thumb by asking a simple question:
  • How many people eating? how many things?
Since I'm on my own this week and know my own capacity for hot fried savory things is quite expansive, I opted for the 'one person/one egg 'rule of thumb. It's the same one I use for making pasta, crepes, clafoutis, creme Catalan and other egg based recipes.

Next I realized there was no milk in the house or boat. So I substituted fromage blanc. This is what happened:


one egg-
1/2 cup greens from Swiss chard- finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley- finely chopped
1 slice onion- finely chopped
one tablespoon fromage blanc
one tablespoon flour
salt
lots of pepper


Mix all of the above in a little bowl with a fork.
Heat some oil in a pan until very hot.
Drop the farcoux in the pan by tablespoon.
Cook until golden then turn.
When cooked remove to paper to drain; dust liberally with salt and pepper.
Eat while hot. Take the dog for a walk.
See, French food is easy!



Sometimes it just as simple to make something for one as it is for a group.
With one egg and a tablespoon of milk, flour, sugar, you can spoil yourself silly.
Et voila!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Kate, that looks yummy! I love chard and it grows year round here.

divinacucina said...

yeah!
I got chard today too.. and am carving some fried food!

Jennifer said...

YUM! I love fritters in all forms. Merci for the recipe!

Betty Carlson said...

We're eating farçous (I was sure it was pluralized with an s, but now I have my doubts) this very evening, albeit readymade by the Manoir Alexandre in Espalion. Darn good anyway...and I think they'll go well with Gaillac nouveau!

winedeb said...

Thanks for the word of encouragement to make something great for "yourself"! So easy and so special - Yum!

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious! I love chard... I love fried food... and I love that this is a guilty pleasure I can claim is "good for me." :-)

Kate Hill said...

Chard is such an under-used vegetable and easy to incorporate in lots of other dishes. and yes, Deb, it's good to make something yummy, just for yourself sometimes...