farçous

farçous

Swiss Chard Pancakes from france

These make a great side, or a first course, or even a light supper when combined with a salad. Tonight, I’m making these as a side for my Beluga Lentil Stew.

Like any homey, regional dish— this one hails from Aveyron in central southern France—there are probably as many versions of this recipe as there are grand-mères who make it. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, they’re positively addictive. They’re most commonly served with fruit jam, preferably one that has a touch of tartness to it (a good citrus marmalade is a great choice), but some people serve them with crème fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt.

The proportion of egg, milk, and flour varies from one recipe to the next—baking soda or no baking soda, parsley, or only chard—but what they all have in common is their bright green color and the fresh taste of sweet chard leaves. After playing around with it, these are the proportions that work best for me.

You’ll want to remove the center stems of the chard and only use the tender leaves, which should be finely chopped.

Ingredients:

1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed (about 1 pound)

1 small onion, peeled

2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated (a garlic press works well here)

3 large eggs

½ cup whole milk

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Good neutral oil, such as avocado, for frying.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 170° (to keep the pancakes warm as you continue to fry them in batches).

• Set a rack (such as the kind you use for cooling cookies and cakes) in the middle of the oven. You’ll transfer the pancakes to this rack rather than putting them on a baking sheet, to keep them crisp.

• Chop the onion and the chard very finely. You can pulse them in a food processor if you want to, but be sure to stop before you reach the purée stage.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together with a fork until they’re well combined and frothy. Stir in the onion, chard, and garlic.    

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper.

• Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.

• Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is sizzling, use a small ladle to pour some batter onto the pan—make as many at a time as will fit, without crowding the pan, and cook them for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. As you make each batch, remove them to the oven rack.

• When you’ve used all the batter, sprinkle the farçous lightly with kosher salt and arrange them on a serving platter. Serve with fruit preserves and/or crème fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?