Splake is a hybrid species of brook trout crossed with lake trout; it has a mild, slightly buttery flavour. As a cold-water fish in the trout family, it also contains some of the same heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Pair it with this highly flavourful beet sauce and tender-crisp carrots and you have a dish with a fetching presentation worthy of even the fanciest restaurants.
Outside of Ontario, splake can be hard to come by, so consider fillets of arctic char, rainbow trout, steelhead, or wild salmon as great substitutes.
Extra pesto can be stirred into pasta. It also makes for a standout sandwich spread.
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Toss beets with 1 tsp (5 mL) oil. Place on sheet of parchment paper and wrap tightly to seal. Place on baking sheet. Place in oven and heat until beets are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from sheet and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel, then chop into 1/2 in (1.25 cm) pieces.
Blend cooked beets in food processor container with dill, horseradish, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Wipe down sides of container and then, with machine running, pour 3 Tbsp (45 mL) oil in through feed tube until incorporated. Set aside.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper large enough to hold fish and carrots in a single layer. Toss carrots with 2 tsp (10 mL) oil and place on sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until they begin to colour and are starting to slightly golden. Remove from oven and slide carrots to the side using a spatula. Place fish on pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Return pan to oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through in the centre and carrots are tender.
Place fish and carrots on serving platter and scatter with beet pesto and almonds.
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.