This side salad only needs a light dressing to let the sweet melon and earthy herbs shine through. It also makes an excellent accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish.
Dressing
1/4 cup (60 mL) cider or tarragon vinegar
1 Tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup or honey
1/4 tsp (1 mL) sea salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp (45 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
2 cups (500 mL) diced watermelon
16 cherry tomatoes, cut in half (or quarters, if large)
3 Tbsp (45 mL) each of coarsely chopped cilantro, mint, and parsley
1 cup (250 mL) julienned iceberg lettuce
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
To make dressing, whisk vinegar with syrup or honey, salt, and cayenne. Whisk in oil until emulsified. Recipe makes a generous 1/4 cup (60 mL) dressing.
Place all salad ingredients together in bowl. Drizzle with dressing, then toss to mix. Let stand 5 minutes to let flavours blend, then arrange on platter or in shallow bowl.
Serves 6 as a side dish.
Each serving contains: 101 calories; 1 g protein; 7 total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 10 g carbohydrates; 1 g fibre; 105 mg sodium
source: "Fresh Summer Salads", alive #357, July 2012
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.