This soup gives you a burst of energy, as all ingredients keep their nutrients. When I serve this soup to my friends, I watch them make a funny face when I mention parsnips, until they take their first mouthful ... and then they get it! Yum!
1 Tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups (500 mL) chopped carrots
1 cup (250 mL) chopped parsnips
1 medium potato, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) grated nutmeg
3 cups (750 mL) low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (250 mL) 2% milk or almond milk
2 Tbsp (30 mL) toasted sliced almonds, for garnish
Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, or until onion begins to soften. Add carrots, parsnips, potato, pepper, nutmeg, and chicken broth. Lock lid in place and cook for 10 minutes. Quick-release pressure and open lid. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt if required.
Pour soup into blender and purée until smooth. Return to pressure cooker, add enough milk to achieve desired consistency, and reheat without bringing to a boil. Serve garnished with toasted sliced almonds.
Serves 6.
Each serving contains: 126 calories; 3 g protein;
4 g total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 20 g total carbohydrates (6 g sugars, 3 g fibre); 221 mg sodium
source: "Pressure Cooking", alive #372, October 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.