Nothing against romaine, but you’ve never met a better, brighter riff on the classic Caesar than with this raw broccoli and kale twist. They can stand up to the creamy dressing, so there’s no reason you can’t make this crowd-pleaser well in advance. Dare we say the salad gets better with time—the dressing will continue to tenderize the leaves without turning them soggy. Lacinato (dinosaur) kale is better suited for this salad than tougher and more fibrous curly kale, but the latter will work in a pinch. Crispy chunks of seeds offer an upgrade to croutons.
Since chicken thigh meat better resists drying out during cooking and also while sitting in your fridge, it’s better suited for use in make-ahead salads than chicken breast.
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). On parchment paper- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet, place chicken and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and heat for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C). When cool enough to handle, slice chicken. Alternatively, you can prepare chicken on an outdoor grill.
Cut off broccoli florets as close as possible to the dark green flowers and roughly chop; add to large bowl. Trim woody ends from broccoli stems, preserving as much stem as possible. With sharp knife, peel thick skin of stems to expose tender inner cores. Thinly slice stems and add to bowl with florets. Add kale to bowl and toss to combine.
In small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, Parmesan, mustard, garlic, anchovies (if using), salt, and black pepper. In slow stream, whisk in olive oil. Add dressing to bowl with broccoli and kale, and toss until everything is well coated. With your hand, massage dressing into vegetables.
In small bowl, combine honey, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) water. In dry medium-sized skillet over medium heat, toast sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds, stirring often, until sesame seeds are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add honey mixture and cook, stirring often, until seeds stick together in small clumps and they look glazed, about 2 minutes. Scrape seed mixture onto parchment paper; let cool to harden together. Break into small clusters.
To serve, divide vegetables among serving plates and top with chicken slices and seed clusters. Garnish with shaved Parmesan.
Dressed greens, cooked chicken, and seed clusters can be stored separately in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Combine just before serving.
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.