Bouketes y choucroute in Legia.

Bouketes y choucroute in Legia.

On Christmas day the inhabitants of the city on Legia, Belgium, head to the bakeries to buy a delicious Bouketes, then head to the shops to buy the famous spiced wine. During Christmas day Belgians eat the bouketes and accompany it with a delicious glass of mulled wine. Due to the high comsumption of traditional Belgian bread, bakers have the longest working hours of the whole year since the amount of bread they must make must supply the vast majority of the inhabitants.

"Boukete"means buckwheat. "Boukete" is somewhat similar to "bockouite", used by the Acadians in the Upper St. John Valley of Maine. The actual French word of buckwheat is "sarrasin". The full name of this pancake is "Boukete a retchon". "Retchon" means to spit and refers to spitting into the pan to see if it´s hot enough. In modern times the practice isn´t to use the full name because it tended to discourage people from eating them and it became traditional to serve Bouketes on Christmas or Christmas Eve with a glass of mulled wine.

The bouketes are made from wheat flour, buckwheat flour, milk, water, yeast, salt. Some recipes add eggs. The raisins are first soaked in water or rum. Some recipes call for you to soak the apple slices in apple cider first. Melt the butter in the skillet, spoon in a ladleful of batter, sprinkle on some raisins or place an apple slice or two, and let cook, turning. In the Herve area, it´s served smeared with a thick syrup made from apples and pears. The ingredients to make a mulled wine are: red wine, brown sugra, bay leaf, cardamom, a cinnamon stick, star anise, nutmeg, a lemon and an orange.