Of Buckwheat and Mussels

Well, I said I was going to make menus and this is certainly just that! Five components make this meal a daunting task, but I have to say, it was well worth the time I spent in the kitchen. David Tanis, the author of Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys, spent some time in France, specifically off the coast of mainland Brittany, on the Ile de Brehat. Buckwheat is grown, and ground, here in this area. The French call it ble noir, which is usually translated incorrectly to black wheat, but buckwheat comes from a leafy plant, rather than a grass at all. In this region, chefs use the buckwheat to make galettes, similar to crepes, but usually filled with savory ingredients rather than sweet. Mussels in French cuisine are somewhat like fast food, according to David Tanis. However, if a tourist strays from the regular track, they will find small, local restaurants who prepare their mussels as they are best, a la mariniere, with white wine and just a few aromatics.

The first component of this meal are Buckwheat Galettes with Ham and Cheese. I had a bit of difficulty making these "galettes" without them sticking to my pan. I finally switched to a non-stick pan and used non-stick spray as well, and was able to obtain some sort of results, but this one might take some practice. I managed to get two of them that worked well. The batter for the galettes consists of buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, eggs, whole milk, salt and some roasted buckwheat groats, ground to a fine powder. After 2 hours in the fridge, the batter was a bit thicker then when it went in. I ladled a small amount of the batter into the well-oiled pan and spread it around, allowing it to brown on one side. With a spatula, I flipped it over and allowed it to brown on the second side as well. Once the galettes were cooked, I used some ham and grated gruyere cheese to layer one half of the galette, and flipped the other side over, like a quesadilla. I allowed them to heat in a 400 degree oven until the cheese was melted and the outsides were crispy.

The next component of this menu is a Mache Salad. I have seen mache rosettes in the grocery store in the past, but I couldn't find any today, so I opted for baby greens with herbs instead. To dress the greens, I used a mixture of diced shallots, sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dijon mustard, olive oil, and walnut oil. The salad also had some crumbled hard-boiled egg in it, which was a really nice touch. This was the easiest of the components and the one that I completed first, so that it was done and out of the way.

Now, for the main course in this fabulous menu: Mussels Mariniere, Brittany-Style. In this recipe, butter is melted in a hot pan, and diced onions are added, allowing them to soften in the butter for about 5 minutes. Some salt, pepper, garlic cloves smashed into a paste with some salt, a thyme sprig, a bay leaf and 2 cups of dry white wine are added to the pan, and then the mussels are added as well. After about 10 minutes of allowing the mussels to steam, I threw in a large handful of parsley and mixed everything well. Dinner was finally ready!

While I was making all of the above, I was also working on the last two components of this dish...the dessert components. The Apple Compote was simple to make, and really delicious. I don't usually like applesauce but this was like nothing I've ever tasted before! Using only four ingredients (apples, sugar, a lemon slice, and water) made this a brilliant little gem that I will definitely be making again. The lemon slice really made this dish unique - the bit of tartness among all of the sweet was just pure yumminess.

Finally, I also made some dough for butter cookies! The dough had to sit in the refrigerator for an hour before I could safely slice it for baking, so I did that at the beginning of the process, right after making the galette batter. 2 sticks of butter (they are butter cookies, after all), sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla extract and flour made this crumbly cookie dough. I was able to make two logs of dough for the fridge so I saved one for later in the week. I did make about 16 cookies though, and enjoyed one with my apple compote. It was very sweet end to a truly delicious meal!