Bacheofe - Alsatian Meat & Vegetable Stew via Saveur

You hear a lot about my Irishness and love for all things potato, but that's only half of my DNA.  Another quarter is French...French Huguenot, to be exact.  So, since my Huguenot ancestors spent a good portion of their lives in the Rhine region of Germany as a means to escape persecution in France, it must be coded somewhere in my genetic tastebuds to love dishes from the Alsace region of France, because their cuisine is an incredible blend of French & German flavors.  So no dainty, delicate sauces over something poached.  No, this is good stick to your ribs food, and like all good traditional cuisines, it's comprised of what's local, seasonal and on the cheap.

Hands down one of my favorite Alsatian dishes is Bacheofe/Baeckoffe, and all you need to know is it's a giant casserole of warmth.  While I was musing over what fun thing to suggest for the Crop Share carrots this week, Saveur did the work for me and posted their recipe for Bacheofe.  Which reminded me I also had tucked away Alsatian chef, Hubert Keller's recipe for his family's version.  So I leave you with links to both versions, but do read the notes at the bottom of Keller's as there's really nothing quite like the phrase, "pig trotters add a gelatinous consistency."  Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm pretty sure Penny would have something to say about that.  Thankfully, pig trotters are entirely optional for this dish!  So use up those carrots from this week, and if you still have any leeks and potatoes leftover from last week, this will use those right up too.  The recipes are hyperlinked in each title, so click through to view them on their original pages.  But if a massive hearty stew of heavy meat & veg isn't the way you want to use your carrots this week, then enjoy another taste of my DNA (well not literally, as we do frown on cannibalism here at Nalls) with my Grammy Freer's Chicken In A Wine Sauce.  Remember two cups of white wine for the dish, and 3 cups for the chef.  ;)

Bacheofe - Alsatian Meat & Vegetable Stew via Saveur

Beef Lamb & Pork Baeckeoffe via Hubert Keller

There's no image of his version of Baeckeoffe, so I give you this photo of the silver fox himself, shaving with a kitchen knife.  I only have a slight food crush on this man.