Serves 4
Avocado, nori, spinach and asparagus are green nutritional heavy-hitters in these rolls, which are equally delightful for lunch or dinner. If not using wasabi, you can give the avocado sauce a little kick using cayenne pepper.
2/3 bunches asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1 ripe avocado
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp (2 ml) wasabi powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) sea salt
1 1/2 Tbsp (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
170 g smoked wild salmon
3 cups (750 ml) baby spinach
8 nori sheets
Slice asparagus spears in half widthwise and steam until tender.
Meanwhile, to make avocado sauce, place avocado flesh, lemon juice, garlic, wasabi powder and salt in blender or food processor container and blend until smooth. With machine running, drizzle in olive oil until combined.
Lay nori sheet, rough side up, on cutting board. Place 1/8 of smoked salmon over the bottom third of nori sheet and top with 1/3 cup (80 ml) spinach, 5 to 6 asparagus pieces and 2 generous spoonfuls of avocado sauce. Fold nori sheet over filling and roll sheet away from you as tightly as possible. Moisten top edge of sheet with some water to help seal roll. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Slice in half to serve.
Each serving contains: 971 kilojoules; 15 g protein; 16 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 10 g total carbohydrates (2 g sugars, 5 g fibre); 497 mg sodium
source: "Colour Your Plate", alive Australia #18, Summer 2013
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.