This vibrant Spanish-inspired casserole is sure to get a rousing olé from around the dinner table. To round out the meal, serve with a leafy green salad dressed in a simple lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette.
This casserole is best eaten the day it’s made. However, to assemble this casserole in minutes, softened tomatoes, red pepper, flavourings, and stock can be mixed together and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Chicken may also be marinated and refrigerated for up to 1 day. When ready to bake, add rice and tomato mixture, bringing to a boil before adding chicken and baking as directed in the recipe.
Saffron is actually the stigmas produced by a species of crocus flower. Each flower only produces three stigmas, which are picked by hand at dawn, before the flower opens, in order to preserve its aroma and flavour properties. The stigmas are dried to create saffron.
Read the label when buying seafood, especially shrimp. Look for wild, or sustainably farmed or harvested options. Ask your fishmonger or opt for wild-caught shrimp from North America and avoid imported shrimp, which may not be held to the same environmental standards.
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C).
In medium bowl, whisk together oregano, paprika, chili flakes (if using), salt, and pepper. Add chicken and coat in spice mixture. Refrigerate, allowing chicken to marinate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm oil in 3 1/2 quart (3.3 L) Dutch oven over medium heat. Add tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tomatoes burst. Stir in rice, red pepper, saffron (if using), rosemary, and stock. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Nestle marinated chicken into rice mixture before covering and placing in oven for 10 minutes.
Stir in prawns and green olives before returning covered casserole once again to oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until rice is tender and chicken and shrimp are cooked through. Garnish with parsley and serve lemon wedges alongside.
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.