This is a quickie to make and throw in the oven as you’re gathering gear and getting ready. Or bake ahead and dish up cold. Wrap up like a slice of pizza to go.
1 medium-sized potato, skin on, thinly sliced
2 cups (500 mL) broccoli florets, chopped
2 cups (500 mL) baby spinach
10 eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano leaves
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp (5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup (80 mL) feta cheese, crumbled
Place potato in large, nonstick frying pan with an ovenproof handle and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broccoli and cook until bright green and tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
Place spinach in a colander. Drain potatoes and broccoli in colander.
Preheat broiler. Whisk eggs with oregano and season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in frying pan and set over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour in eggs and add potato, broccoli, and spinach. Using a spatula, stir a few times to evenly distribute vegetables. Cook, without stirring, until eggs are well set around edges, about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese; broil until eggs are set and cheese melts and starts to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
Cut into wedges and serve.
Serves 6.
Each serving contains: 173 calories; 13 g protein; 11 g total fat (4 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 6 g carbohydrates; 1 g fibre; 230 mg sodium
source: "Family Dinner on the Run", alive #335, September 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.