Friday, November 17, 2017

An Acadian Recipe by Diane Scott Lewis


In my novel, On a Stormy Primeval Shore, set in New Brunswick, one of my main characters is an Acadian man, which prompted me to research the history of these people.
Novel blurb:
In 1784, Englishwoman Amelia Latimer sails to the new colony of New Brunswick in faraway Canada. She’s to marry a man chosen by her soldier father. Amelia is repulsed by her betrothed, and refuses to marry him. She is attracted to a handsome Acadian trader, Gilbert, a man beneath her in status. Gilbert must fight the incursion of English Loyalists from the American war to hold onto his land and heritage. Will he and Amelia find peace when events seek to destroy their love and lives.



Available January 2018
Pre-order NOW (link below)
In the 1600's, when France conquered the eastern area of what is now Canada, they called it New France. The settlers were mostly soldiers, farmers and crafts people. They brought their food traditions from rural areas of France, and soon added the foodstuffs, such as corn, moose and black bear, found in this new land.

The staple of the Acadians, as the settlers became known as, was herring, cod, potatoes and pork. Eventually the French recipes disappeared into the local traditions, as purely Acadian. A typical dish is a one pot meal called Fricot, consisting of meat--usually chicken--potatoes, a hearty broth and dumplings (poutines).

For festive occasions, a Pâté à la Râpure or "rappie pie" is still popular in New Brunswick. Grated potatoes are layered with meat or fowl and broth all baked to a golden brown.

Recipe:
1 five pound fowl, chopped
3 medium onions
1 medium carrot
1 celery stalk
2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 pound finely diced salt pork
15 medium potatoes (about 8 pounds)

Combine ingredients, boil until tender, remove fowl's skin and bones, grate potatoes, layer fowl and potatoes and bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes, then at 350 until crusty brown (two more hours). Of course in the 18th century when my novel takes place, they'd have baked in an iron pot in the fireplace hearth.

For more detailed instructions, click link below for Acadian.org.

Source: Acadian.org

On a Stormy Primeval Shore Pre-order: click HERE

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the word with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.

For more info on my novels, please visit my BWL author page
or my website: Diane Scott Lewis

8 comments:

  1. Tasty. Did they use herbs and eat greens? I guess they must have or they'd have suffered from scurvy.

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    1. They did eat the Fiddlehead plant, very green and good for salads.

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  2. I don't cook so I can't imagine cooking back in the 18th century. I must say this looks tasty, altho...

    How did the American Indians or the Canadian Aboriginals NOT get scurvy?

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    1. I'm sure they ate fruits and vegetables. Dried fruit was popular in the winter.

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  3. Looks tasty might have to give it a try. But in a modern kitchen and not an open hearth. I did open hearth cooking at a living history museum for a good many years. I said catching myself on fire was a good interpretive tool to visitors, but period clothing department didn't like that idea and eventually they moved me to civilization aka a cookstove.

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  4. That's cool, Lisa. I need to work at a living history museum. I'll have to find one. You're right, many women had their clothes catch fire.

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  5. Ways to reduce an old hen to delicious eatable submission--all that boiling and baking w/veg. Rappie Pie sounds pretty good to me.

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  6. Nice blog.....appreciated.Keep sharing Thanks!
    Regards:

    Canadian Food

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