These tiny egg pies puff up like muffins when baking. They are delicious warm or at room temperature and are the perfect size for eating out of your hand.
1 tsp (5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
5 eggs
1/4 tsp (1 mL) dried tarragon
Pinch of salt
2 small baby potatoes or fingerlings, boiled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbsp (30 mL) crumbled goat cheese
Generously brush 4 muffin cups with oil. Whisk eggs with tarragon and salt. Pour a little into each muffin cup. Divide potatoes, peas, and cheese among cups, then pour remaining egg mixture over top. Cups will be very full.
Bake in preheated 300 F (150 C) oven until eggs are very puffy and set when pan is jiggled; about 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then run a knife around inside of each popover and using a spoon, scoop out.
Makes 4 servings.
Each serving contains:
154 calories; 10 g protein; 9 g fat (3 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 9 g carbohydrates; 1 g fibre; 124 mg sodium
JUMP-START: Using frozen peas makes for minimal vegetable prep. Boil a few extra potatoes during dinner prep; then bake the egg pies while you eat.
source: "Nutrition in No Time", alive #329, March 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.