You need a large food processor for this recipe, which can be doubled if you need extra dough.
1/4 cup (60 mL) warm water
1 Tbsp (15 mL) whole wheat flour
1 package (8 g) or 2 1/4 tsp (11 mL) traditional active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water
1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Up to 1/4 cup (60 mL) additional whole wheat flour (if needed)
Using either a mini-whisk or fork, whisk together water, flour, and yeast. Cover and place in a warm place for 5 to10 minutes, or until foamy.
Place flour and salt into bowl of the food processor. Pulse three times. When yeast mixture is foamy, stir and pour into flour and salt mixture. Add warm water and oil. Replace lid and pulse several times till dough starts to come together. Process for 1 minute. Add 1 Tbsp (15 mL) flour and pulse for 20 seconds. Add another 1 Tbsp (15 mL) flour and process for 1 minute. The dough will have formed into a ball. If the ball of dough is very sticky, add up to 2 more Tbsp (30 mL) flour and process for 1 minute.
Remove dough from food processor and knead on lightly floured counter for about 2 minutes or until the dough looks smooth. Place dough back into bowl of the processor, cover and place in a warm spot. Proof (the baking term meaning to let rise) for 1 1/4 hours. When dough has risen, remove from bowl and stretch into size.
Tip: Microwave 1 cup (250 mL) water on high power for 90 seconds. Place dough in the bowl of the food processor, uncovered, into the microwave and close the door. This way, the microwave acts as a mini proofing oven.
While the dough is proofing, preheat the pizza stone (see Pizza toys sidebar in main article). If you aren’t using one, preheat oven to 450 F (220 C) for at least 10 minutes before baking to make sure the oven is really hot.
source: "Homemade and Wholesome Pizza", alive #329, March 2010
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.