bienvenue en acadie

"Bouilli Acadien! Chaudrée de palourdes! Fricots de Poulet!" French was never my best subject in school and I don't speak much of it now, but these are the familiar words that my French Acadian grandmother tosses around her kitchen. "Acadian Boil! Clam chowder! Chicken Fricot!" While the Acadian culture isn't widely known or celebrated, my grandmother manages to keep our Acadian heritage and the spirit of our ancestors alive in the dishes she creates. And I get to enjoy said dishes every time I visit her on Prince Edward Island!

The Acadians were settlers from France, who made Eastern Canada and parts of the US (mostly Maine and Louisiana) their home. This explains why Acadian cuisine combines French influences, Atlantic seafood and cajun spices (courtesy of the Louisiana Acadians), with meat, potato and vegetable staples. A great example of this would be Chicken Fricot [frick-oh] (Fricots de Poulet), which is essentially a stew with chicken, potatoes and dumplings. This was a staple in my grandmother's house growing up and she has since blessed our taste buds with this dish.

Since we live on opposite sides of Canada, my grandmother likes to walk us, the grandkids, through her recipes over the phone:

"You start by cooking diced chicken breast in a large pot with butter," she instructs. "Once the chicken is golden brown on all sides, set aside and sauté onions, carrots and celery in the same pot." The phone makes her voice crackle, like the hot butter in the pan. "Next, put the chicken back in the pot and add water, salt, pepper, and summer savoury. You can add other spices to your taste and liking. Let this simmer until the chicken is nice and tender. Next you will want to the add diced potatoes and cook for an additional twenty minutes." Now it is time for my favourite part, the dumplings! "Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Gradually add cold water until the texture matches that of bread dough. Then 7 minutes before the fricot is ready, add the dumpling mixture to the pot, one spoonful at a time. I know you want to peek, but you MUST leave the pot covered during this time so that no steam can escape and so that the dumplings will become fluffy! Aaaaand voilà! A traditional Acadian Chicken Fricot."

My grandpa loves my grandma's cooking, so I can almost guarantee that he wishes he were on my side of the country, tasting this hearty fricot!

Grandma has yet to fail me with any of her food creations, so I highly recommend this dish. The flavours are bountiful and exciting, something new yet familiar and comforting on the palate. It's an excellent autumn meal, but can be enjoyed year round. This meal pairs nicely with some Acadian music. Trying this dish is a great way to introduce and expose yourself to the incredible Acadian culture.

Acadian cuisine has some scrumptious desserts, so I thought I would include some to enjoy after eating your Chicken Fricot! My favourite, perhaps, are beignets [ben-yays], delicious fluffy doughnuts covered in icing sugar. These are popular in New Orleans thanks to the Louisiana Acadians (now known as Cajuns). Another Acadian dessert is syrup cake. The main ingredients include cane syrup, cinnamon and ginger. It can be enjoyed plain or with fruit, such as pears and maple syrup. The Acadians also have their version of a cinnamon bun, which is a "pets de soeur". It's direct translation is a bit distasteful, (you can look it up if you are curious) but it's a delightful treat nonetheless!

Thank you for joining me on this journey through Acadia and I hope you were able to learn some new things!