My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Using a peeler, peel three strips of lemon zest from the lemon; set aside. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water.
Gently pick off the first layer of the outer leaves from each artichoke. Using a sharp paring knife, cut off the stalks about 3/4 inch (2 cm) from the base, and cut 3/4 inch (2 cm) off the leaf tips. Turn each artichoke by cutting around the outside of each one to remove any green parts, trimming the leaves a bit at the top and removing any woody parts at the base. Using a melon baller or a small spoon, scoop out each furry choke, found in the centre. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and immediately put them in the lemon water to prevent oxidation.
In a medium pot on medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the oil. Sauté the bacon lardons, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until nicely caramelized. Add another 3 tablespoons (45 mL) of the oil, and stir in the pearl onions, garlic, celery, carrot, fennel, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened but without colouration. Stir in the artichokes and lemon zest. Deglaze the pot with the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until you can just pierce the artichokes with slight resistance to the tip of your paring knife. Discard the bay leaves. Toss in the parsley leaves, salt, pepper, and the remaining oil. Taste for seasoning.
Serve the artichokes with all the vegetables and broth in a bowl. If you prefer a more intense flavour, use a slotted spoon to transfer the artichokes and vegetables into a bowl and reduce the cooking liquid by half on high heat. Pour the reduced liquid over the artichokes and serve either warm or cooled to room temperature.
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.