Swiss Miss

In keeping with the theme of yesterday's blog, I decided to share a recipe for a Swiss dish, probably my favorite from over there.

Not much to Swiss food, sort of an amalgamation of French, German and Italian cuisines. They like meats, like charcuterie (sliced cooked meats and sausages), veal, lamb, beef, and they also eat horse. Yes, horse. I ate it accidentally cause I thought it was pastrami or something, but it tasted odd the way lamb tastes sort of odd, gamey, and its color was a alien purplish-red. So I asked what it was, and the woman who I worked for said it was horse. She couldn't understand why we didn't eat it in America.

The Swiss eat a lot of fresh water fish like trout, and a provencial specialty is "blue trout," in which the trout is killed just before it is cooked. A chemical in the fish is released when it dies that turns its skin blue, a color retained if it's cooked right away. I never tasted it, not sure I want to.

Of course, they also eat fondue, and another gooey cheese dish called Raclette. They eat a lot of pasta, borrowed from Italy, and polenta, Italian style cornmeal mush.

My digestion took a hit when I lived there in the 90s for a few months. My body just isn't accustomed to so much dairy and fat-laden dishes. Surprisingly, the Swiss are a pretty svelte, fit folk, so I was surprised at their rich diet. Alas, I gained ten pounds when I was there.

Ok, here's the recipe. It comes from Luzern, Switzerland, and they think it was created in the 1700s. Its really yummy, easy to make, yet appears to be a very fancy, time and effort intensive meal. A great meal for guests.

Chicken Pastetli

One-two packages of puff pastry shells
(in the freezer aisle, Pepperidge Farms makes them)
2 Tbls butter
1 minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbls Worcestershire
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
(about 3-4 smallish chicken breasts)
1/2 cup white wine (cooking wine ok)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp curry powder (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
a pinch of nutmeg and/or cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven according to puff pastry package (probably to 350 degrees). Make sure to also check if you need to defrost your shells beforehand. Bake the shells according to package, 15-20 minutes, while you prepare the chicken stuffing.

Saute chicken in butter or oil until fully cooked, dice and set aside. Saute shallots and garlic in butter until they are translucent. Add wine and mushrooms, stir then cover and simmer for five minutes. Increase heat to medium simmer and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add chicken bits, sour cream, and the heavy cream, Worcestershire and the spices. Fill puff pastry shells with the mixture.

This dish can also be made with beef. It goes well with rice or potatoes, and vegetables.

Bon appetit!