Bannock - The Aboriginal Way

Bannock and Salmon Salad

Cooked Bannock

Bannock is a wonderful bread that is easy and fun to make. Deep fried on the side burner of your BBQ, leaves the little bit of mess out of the house.

It tastes fantastic, and in my opinion is best served with Salmon Salad.

We got this recipe from the local aboriginal people that attended the Cortes Day Festival here on Cortes Island.

They only gave us approximate measures on everything, but we made these bannocks yesterday and they were fantastic.

Here are the ingredients for 8 bannocks:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1.½-2 tbs of sugar
• ½ tsp of baking powder
• 1tbs of Kosher salt (if regular salt, use less)
• 1 cup of water (best cold)
• Canola oil

Bannock deep frying

Pour oil in a wok, pot or deep fryer, you should have at least a good inch of oil.

Mix all the dry ingredients, but only stir in the water when the oil is up to heat.

The mixture will be sticky (it's OK). The way I do it, I use a spoon and put an 1/8 of the dough in the hot oil, then use a large serving spoon to push it out to a paddy, be careful the oil is hot.

What our local Natives people did was to work the dough into patties with the help of some flour and that might be easier for some people. The patties should be about ½ inch thick. They will puff up once cooked to about 1 inch thick.

Turn the bannocks once to get them nicely browned on each side. It will take approximately 3 minutes to cook on each side with the oil good and hot. This mixture should make 8 bannocks. Still warm, slice them in half and fill them up with Salmon Salad. The best burger you ever had...got to luv it.

Wine Pairing and Recommendations:

Salmon BBQ The Traditional Way

A nice Chardonnay would be in order here, try a  wine from Blasted Church, like their Chardonnay Revered Series.

This is a very pleasant wine and quoting Blasted Church” The Bouquet: Citrus, apple and gooseberry with vanilla. Layers of butterscotch, cinnamon and pineapple follow with hints of honeyed perfume."

As for a red wine, try a Pinot Noir also from Blasted Church. The Pinot Noir pairs well with the salmon.

If in doubt, you can also serve a nice Rosé, a Rosé goes with everything.

Kiss the cook,

Anders