The contrast of colour makes this an eye-appealing meal for all ages. With slightly crisped lentils, kale, and nuts, it delivers on all textures as well. Topped with a creamy, lemony mayo, it’s pucker-y delicious.
Our roasted veggies are mild flavoured for young eaters. If serving to an “adults only” crowd, jazz up the squash and broccoli with some harissa paste, curry powder, or a generous dusting of chili powder before roasting.
Per serving:
Have all vegetables prepped and ready to cook before commencing.
In fine-meshed sieve, rinse lentils, removing any tiny stones and possible debris. In large saucepan, bring 4 cups (1 L) water to a boil. Add rinsed lentils, 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt, and garlic clove. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, or just until lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Itu2019s best to be slightly undercooked. Drain well, reserve garlic clove, and set lentils aside.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Lightly oil rimmed baking sheet or line with parchment. In large bowl, toss squash and broccoli with oil to lightly coat. Spread out on baking sheet and sprinkle with flaked garlic. Bake in centre of preheated oven for 25 minutes, stirring with spatula a couple of times so they bake evenly.
While squash and broccoli are roasting, use your fingertips to rub a little oil and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt into kale. When squash has roasted for 25 minutes, scatter cooked lentils and kale overtop and roughly stir in. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Return baking sheet to oven and continue to roast for 10 more minutes, or until kale is crispy and vegetables are slightly caramelized.
To make Creamy Vegan Mayo, in small high-powered blender, combine all ingredients. Add softened garlic from cooked lentils. Alternatively, add generous pinches of flaked dry garlic. Whirl until smooth and creamy. Add more seasonings, to taste, if you wish.
To serve, place roasted veggies and seeds on platter. Drizzle with Creamy Vegan Mayo. Add more seasonings, to taste, if you wish.
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.