A double shot of seaweed—nori and wakame—lends this dish a salty flavour without an excess of sodium. The nori garnish is a version of furikake, a Japanese condiment typically sprinkled over rice. If desired, rainbow trout or Arctic char can be used in lieu of salmon.
1 cup (250 mL) brown rice
1 lb (450 g) wild salmon, cut into 4 equal-sized pieces
2 nori sheets
1/4 cup (60 mL) sesame seeds
1 tsp (5 mL) sesame oil
1/2 oz (14 g) dried wakame seaweed
1 English cucumber
2 medium carrots
2 green onions, white and green parts only, thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Place rice and 2 cups (500 mL) water in medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain excess water.
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Place salmon on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake until just cooked through, about 12 minutes.
Using kitchen shears, cut nori into small pieces and combine with sesame seeds. Heat skillet over medium heat and toast nori mixture for 3 to 4 minutes, or until fragrant and sesame seeds have browned. Stir in sesame oil.
Place wakame in large bowl, cover with water, and let rehydrate for 10 minutes. Drain, squeeze out excess moisture, and chop into small pieces. Slice cucumber in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds, and thinly slice horizontally. Slice carrots into thin matchsticks.
Toss together rice, wakame, cucumber, carrots, and green onions. Divide rice mixture among serving plates and top with salmon. Squeeze lemon juice over salmon and garnish with nori mixture.
Serves 4.
Each serving contains: 346 calories; 33 g protein; 15 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 20 g total carbohydrates (3 g sugars, 4 g fibre); 124 mg sodium
source: "5 Flavour Surprises", alive #380, June 2014
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.