Flavordul pancakes from South France, with fresh herbs (parsley and chives) and green vegetables, to serve as a side, a starter or even an appetizer.
This traditional recipe originates from Aveyron, a department located in the Southern French Occitany region. Less known abroad than South France Provence, Aveyron is located between the Southern edges of the Massif Central and the ouestern part of the Medditerranean riviera (not touching the Medditerranean sea though).
This region’s rustic cuisine is authentic and flavorful.
In traditional Aveyron cuisine, pascadou pancakes are served after Easter, at the end of Christian Lent. Sweet or savory, these pancakes have many adaptations. Adding fresh chopped herbs and swiss chards is quite common. In French we call those fried pancakes “beignets”.
So here is a simple recipe that you can serve, ideally hot or lukewarm as a side or part of a starter (part of a mixed salad for example), or even to grab with a drink as an appetizer treat. Today’s recipe is with chard leaves which are minced and mixed with fresh herbs: parsley and chives. Sorrel could also be a good choice. You may replace swiss chard bu kale or spinach.
Pascadou, French Swiss Chard & Herbs Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancake / pascadou batter
- 250 gr flour ideally all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 10 cl milk
- salt
- pepper
- oil
Filling
- 5 chard leaves 5 large (or 10 small)
- ½ bunch parsley
- ½ bunch chive
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Prepare the pancake batter
- Pour flour in a large bowl, make a hole in the center and crack in the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk.
- Continue mixing pouring in the milk little by little. The batter should become smooth and homogeneous.
Prepare vegetables
- Rinse and dry swiss chard, cut the stalks off and set them aside for another recipe. Coarsely chop swiss chard leaves by cutting strips.
- Finely chop the garlic, onion and the fresh herbs (parsley and chives).
- Combine those vegetables in the pancake batter, ideally refrigerate for 1 hour so that the batter won’t be too liquid.
Bake pancakes
- Heat oil in a frying pan.
- Use a large spoon as a scoop, and fry small galettes, without flattering the batter. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until they get a nice golden color. Then flip and continue cooking on the other side more or less the same amount of time. The cooking time depends on the thickness of your pancakes.
- Once cooked, set aside on paper towels to absorb any excess of fat.