Food

We’ve adapted this delicious vegetarian soup and added a little barley to the angel hair noodles to make it a meal unto itself. The combination of fresh herbs makes it come alive. Top with dollops of plain yogurt and serve lavash (crisp flatbread) on the side.

The great thing about these whimsical egg rolls is you don’t have to hover over the stove to make individual omelettes. Serve them for a weekend brunch or to add a little joyfulness to dinnertime. Kids will love them too. A dollop of salsa or a sprinkling of chives on top never hurts either.

Not just for sushi, sheets of nori and their umami deliciousness are perfect for rolling up all sorts of fillings, such as this powerful combo of avocado sauce, poached salmon, and Chinese black rice, a guise of rice particularly awash in antioxidants. If you can’t locate black rice, brown rice is a good alternative. You can also use cayenne powder or prepared horseradish to add a kick to the avocado sauce in lieu of wasabi.

Greens such as romaine that are sturdy enough to welcome savoury fillings are a great way to keep wraps fresh, and trim some calories to boot. If desired, you can swap out romaine lettuce for collard greens or Swiss chard. Also consider stuffing in some microgreens. Extras of the fibre-packed spread are excellent strewn over crackers.

Not just for slaw, red cabbage gives wraps visual appeal and crunchy texture, and ups their health ante. However, you could also use green or savoy cabbage. Toasting quinoa first imbues the grain with a tantalizing nutty flavour, while goat cheese adds tang and creamy texture to these wraps. They can be assembled ahead of time and brought along to the office for a nutritious way to break out of the lunchtime sandwich blues.

These crunchy rolls are sure to bring smiles to any table craving fresh flavour in the tail end of a long winter. The mango sauce provides a sweet finish. The rolls can also be made two days in advance if refrigerated. For vegetarians, the chicken can be swapped out for firm tofu sliced into matchsticks. Look for low-calorie rice paper wrappers at any Asian market and in the Asian food aisle of many large supermarkets.

Five spice powder is one of the essential seasonings for much of Chinese cooking and infuses broths with a balanced mixture of sweet, savoury, and peppery flavour.

In simple terms, Japchae is a Korean dish consisting of plenty of vegetables served with springy sweet potato noodles. Long, slender enoki mushrooms provide a fanciful garnish. If you can’t find these noodles or the Korean hot pepper paste called gochujang, you can use soba noodles and a different Asian chili sauce, such as Sriracha. This dish is equally good hot or cold.

Classic Japanese flavours come together to create a quick and easy noodle dish that you can have on the table in no time. Made from fermented rice, mirin is a sweet-tasting seasoning that works well in dressings and sauces. It’s a worthwhile addition to a pantry collection. Shrimp, salmon, or chicken can also be added to this noodle bowl. If preparing ahead of time, be sure not to toss the sauce with the noodles until just before serving.

While still under the culinary radar, cuisine from Myanmar (formerly Burma) is poised to become the next “hot” Asian culinary trend. Chickpea flour gives this traditional soup from the Shan people of Myanmar a velvety thick texture that is a wonderful change of pace from other Asian soups.

You’ll be bowled over by this delightful sweet, sour, and salty flavour profile that screams Thai street food. If available, be sure to use tamarind; it infuses the sauce with its remarkable tangy personality. You can find it at most Asian and Indian markets.

This nutrient-dense salad delivers great taste that is sure to please banana lovers’ palates. Although it may seem unconventional to feature bananas in a savoury salad, the interplay of sweet and tangy will make your taste buds sing. Pecans add a crunchy texture and heart-helping fats to the mix.

The rich, tropical taste of macadamia nuts adds more than deliciousness to this fish dish. Macadamia nuts are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, making this dinnertime concoction one ticker-friendly meal.

The sweet, mild flavour of bananas is a natural complement to hot, spicy curries. Once you try the combination, you will never want a banana-less curry again. Although dates work well in this recipe, raisins or other dried fruits (such as organic apricots) make a suitable substitution.

This tasty vegan meal takes only minutes to prepare, but its unique flavour combinations and exotic appeal will have your family thinking you’ve fussed for hours.

Each bite of this pizza is packed with fresh Asian flavour. For a vegetarian pie, you can leave off the shrimp or place it on half of the pizza if only some eaters are averse to seafood.

With the flavours of tomato, beans, and avocado, this pizza tastes like an open-faced quesadilla. The mole sauce adds fiery richness that elevates each slice.

A rich tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, briny olives, and a whisper of basil team up to create a Mediterranean-inspired pizza worthy of a resounding Mamma Mia!

Oh, Canada! Maple syrup and apple give this pizza definite homegrown appeal. But it’s the caramelized onions that really put it over the top. Creamy and slightly pungent camembert cheese is often overlooked for pizzas, but you could also use brie, goat, or shredded aged cheddar on this pie.

Here’s proof that pizza doesn’t need cheese to be great! Chickpeas, eggplant, curry-infused yogurt, and garam masala—an aromatic blend of spices including cumin, pepper, and cinnamon—give this pizza quintessential Indian flavour.

Similar to a large flatbread but crispier, this surprisingly easy gluten-free crust will surely appeal to those avoiding wheat. Best of all, it uses two power flours.

Pizza is only as good as its crust. Start with this no-fail recipe for dough that produces a wonderfully thin and crispy crust. If available, use organic bread flour—it has higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which contributes to better fermentation, structure, and elasticity of your pizza dough.

4 firm pears such as Anjou
1 Tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp (30 mL) liquid honey 
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon 
Freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup (180 mL) sweet white wine such as Muscat or Viognier
1/4 cup (60 mL) crème fraîche

Sauce
1/2 cup (125 mL) sparkling white wine
1/4 cup (60 mL) coconut sugar
3 large free-range egg yolks
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla or almond extract 
1/4 cup (60 mL) crème fraîche or plain yogurt