Cucina DiBella

Kouign Amann - Breton Butter Cake

It doesn't get much more simple than mixing yeast, flour and an obscene amount of butter to form a cake.  That's essentially what goes into Kouign Amann, the traditional butter cake from Bretagne.  The cake is moist and delicious.  Just enough butter dotted on top creates a carmelization that is to die for.  A little extra sugar on top, and you have a perfect after dinner cake.  I used powdered sugar on mine, but I think granulated sugar would work even better, and so I recommend that below. An extra benefit - baking this cake will make your home smell divine!

Kouign Amann - Breton Butter Cake

Adapted from The Barmy Baker

Ingredients:

1/4 ounce (one packet) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup warm water

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter - cold

1/4 cup granulated sugar

extra sugar for dusting (or confectioners sugar)

Process:

1. Combine the yeast in a bowl with 1/4 cup warm water.  Once the yeast is dissolved and foamy, add 1/2 cup of the flour.  Form the dough into a ball and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Add the remaining sugar and salt to the yeast mixture.  Combine everything together and add the warm water slowly until a firm ball of dough forms.  You may need more or less water, so be sure to add the water slowly.
3. Knead the dough about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towel.  Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Put the dough on a floured surface.  Roll the dough out to a rectangle about the size of a sheet of paper. Take the butter and cut into pats.  Arrange the pats to cover two-thirds of the dough.  Sprinkle the top of the butter with the 1/4 cup granulated sugar.  With the shorter end of the dough facing you, fold the top third of the dough down towards you as if folding a letter.  Fold the bottom third up. (Note: the dough may be difficult to roll because of the butter, but try to add only enough flour so that you can roll the dough out.  When the dough cooks you want it to be buttery, and don't want to offset the butter with too much flour.)
6. Roll the dough into a paper sized rectangle again.  Fold the same way you did in the last step.  Repeat the rolling and folding process one more time. Finally, roll the dough into a circle about 10 inches in diameter.
7. Butter and flour a round cake pan.  Put the dough into the pan.  Fold the excess into the dough so that it fits evenly in the pan.  Use a knife to cut a cross hatch pattern in the top of the dough.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.  Two or three times during that 20 minutes, brush the top of the cake with the butter that oozes out of the top of the cake.  Sprinkle the cake with sugar and bake for another 10 minutes.

Ryan's rating of Kouign Amann - Breton Butter Cake - 3.

Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider

One of the products that Brittany is known for is their amazing cider.  In the United States, cider lacks alcoholic content unless specifically noted as hard cider.  In Brittany, however, alcoholic cider is the norm.  Aside from being served in many cafes and along with meals, cider in Brittany is also used in cooking (and not just as a drink for the chef!). 

One of the traditional recipes that features Brittany's cider is Poulet au Cidre, or Chicken in Cider.  Chicken is cooked along with apples and onions in cider.  The cider is then mixed with cream and reduced to a delicious sauce.  The contrast of a sweet sauce in a savory dish reminded me a lot of the Pork Chops with Blueberry Sauce from Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy.  It was a great way to mix up the regular old chicken dinner!

Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider

Adapted from FrenchEntree.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 large apple (whatever kind is your favorite!)

1 large onion

1.5 cups cider (hard if possible, but regular cider will work just fine)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon flour

Process:

1. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter to a large frying pan.  Add the chicken and brown about 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken to a plate.
2. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, and then cut into thin strips (they should be half circles).  Dice the apple into small cubes.
3. Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and apples to the pan and cook about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan with the apples and onions.  Pour the cider over the chicken.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Simmer the chicken for about 40 minutes, flipping the chicken about half way through.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.  Add the cream to the cider and stir for several minutes.  Add the flour and whisk in to thicken the sauce.  Salt the sauce to taste.
6. Pour the sauce, apples and onions over the chicken and serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider - 5. 

Coquilles St. Jacques - Breton Scallops

If you look at the map on the right hand side of the blog, Bretagne is the orange region that juts out of the north west coast of France.  It's no surprise then that seafood is such a staple in the region's culinary identity.  There are Palourdes Farcies, which are clams stuffed with garlic, herbs and shallots.  I considered making these, but they seemed a little similar to the Stuffed Mussels that I made from Liguria in Italy.  There are also several fish stews that the region is known for, but I was really looking for an appetizer.  And of course, there is the famous Homard a l'Americaine, which is a dish of lobster cooked in a garlic tomato sauce.  This sounded absolutely delicious, but all of the recipes that I found insisted that you must use raw lobster meat, and I couldn't quite stomach the idea of killing a live lobster myself with a butcher knife. I guess my chef skills aren't quite there!

Finally, I found some research on Coquilles St. Jacques, which are Breton Scallops.  There were several different variations on the recipe, as there generally is with any dish.  Most recipes agreed that the scallops should be topped with breadcrumbs and broiled.  Some create a sauce with mushrooms to top the scallops, while other top them with Swiss cheese.  This seemed to be a particularly interesting variation since often it isn't recommended to mix seafood and cheese. But, who am I to argue with the French when it comes to cooking? So, I went with a sauce of wine, shallots and garlic and also topped the scallops with some Gruyere cheese and breadcrumbs.  A dab of butter went on top to guarantee a golden crust.  I should note here, that if you look at my pictures (which unfortunately didn't come out so well - too bad this isn't my job, or I'd get a better camera!), you'll see that I used regular scallops. While they still tasted great, this dish would be much better with jumbo scallops, and so I adjusted the recipe to show that.  Enjoy!

Coquilles St. Jacques - Breton Scallops

Adapted from French Cooking for Dummies

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

8 jumbo scallops

1 shallot, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon flour

3 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese

3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

extra butter

Process:

1. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into a pan and melt over medium heat.  When hot, add the scallops.  Cook for about two minutes on each side, just enough so that the scallops get a nice golden brown sear on them.  Remove from the pan to a plate.
2. Add the diced shallot and minced garlic to the remaining butter in the pan.  Let cook about 3 minutes until soft.   Add the wine and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol from the wine.  Lower the heat to a simmer.  Add the flour and whisk to thicken the sauce.
3. Put the scallops on a baking sheet (or in individual ramekins for a nice presentation).  On top of each scallop put a spoonful of the sauce, followed by a pinch of the grated cheese.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the cheese, and finally, put a tiny dab of butter on top of the breadcrumbs.
4. Broil for only a few minutes until the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown.  Serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Coquilles St. Jacques - 5.   France is off to a pretty good start! 

Breton Galettes

One of the foods that most people think of when they think of French cuisine is crepes.  While at this point in time you can get crepes anywhere in France, Brittany, or Bretagne, in particular boasts crepes as a local favorite.  More than that, some sources even site Bretagne as the place where crepes originated.  In Bretagne, crepes are often made with buckwheat flour and are generally called Galettes. 

For me, the really interesting part came in learning about the filling for Breton Galettes.  I generally think of crepes as a delicious breakfast item filled with fruit, chocolate, or some other sweet food and dusted with powdered sugar.  However, Breton Galettes have a list of potential fillings that goes way past the realm of the sweet.  Savory ingredients reign in Galettes, such as ham, cheese, or egg.  I chose to make ham and cheese Galettes, and they were amazing.  My Galette came out a little thick, so I recommend in the recipe below adding a little more water than I did.  I also ate the leftovers for breakfast with some jam, fresh strawberries, and powdered sugar - also delicious.  Nothing like a recipe that can double as both dinner and breakfast!

Breton Galettes with Ham and Cheese

Adapted from The Global Gourmet

Makes about 12 Galettes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups buckwheat flour (whole wheat flour works as well)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups milk

2 cups water plus 1/2 cup extra to use as needed

1/2 cup butter

12 slices deli cut ham

1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere or Swiss work very well here)

Process:

1. Combine the flours and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in half of the milk.  Use a whisk to mix thoroughly.  The mixture will be very thick at this point.  Add the rest of the milk and whisk well.
2. Cover the batter and let it sit for about 30 minutes.  While the batter sits, clarify the butter.  Put the butter in a saucepan and melt completely.  Use a spoon to skim off the top layer that forms on the butter.  Let the butter cool completely.  When cool, there will be a milky sediment at the bottom of the pan.  Pour the golden melted butter into a bowl, leaving this sediment in the pan.
3. Going back to the batter, add 2 cups of the water, one cup at a time.  After each addition, whisk well, making sure no lumps remain.  Add up to an extra 1/2 cup water until the batter is a very thin consistency.  (You can also try making one Galette, and add water later if it is too thick.)
4. Whisk in half of the clarified butter to the batter.
5. To cook the Galettes, a griddle works very well.  However, a pan works as well if you don't have a griddle.  Heat your griddle or pan to medium heat.  Once hot, dip a paper towel in the remaining butter and wipe on the griddle or pan. 
6. Pour batter into the hot pan.  You can make the Galettes whatever size you would like, but I recommend making them about 12 inches in diameter.  The batter should set immediately in the pan.  Let the Galette cook for about 1 minute until lightly browned.  Flip, and cook about 1 minute on the other side as well. Remove to a plate.
7. Repeat this process with the rest of the batter, buttering the pan between each Galette.
8. When all Galettes are cooked, you can begin adding your fillings.  Put one Galette back on the griddle or pan.  Top with one slice of ham and sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese.  Let cook just until the cheese begins to melt.  Fold the Galette in half once, and then in half again.  Serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Breton Galettes with Ham and Cheese - 5.

Here's a reminder of Ryan's rating system:

1 - Awful. If you make this again I'll shove a fork in my eye.

2 - Meh. It's not my favorite, but I won't threaten self-harm if it shows up again.

3 - Good. I wouldn't feel forced to order a pizza behind your back. 

4 - Great! I will fight you for the leftovers.

5 - Love it! Make it again tomorrow. Or immediately and I will bathe in it.