2 heads roasted garlic
Olive oil for drizzling over garlic
3 Tbsp (45 mL) sherry or red wine vinegar
1 shallot, finely chopped, soaked in ice water for 30 minutes and drained
2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
3 Tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
2 lb (1 kg) small potatoes
1/2 cup (125 mL) red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 bunch arugula, trimmed
Roast garlic: preheat oven to 350 F (180 C); slice pointed tops off two heads of garlic to expose cloves inside; place heads on tinfoil and drizzle oil over top; wrap heads tightly in foil; bake for 40 minutes or until garlic is soft; remove from oven, unwrap, and allow to cool.
Make dressing: squeeze garlic out of cloves into food processor. Add vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt, pepper, and olive oil and blend together. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Scrub potatoes well. Cut in half, if necessary, so they’re about 1.5 in (4 cm) in diameter. Place in large pot of water with vinegar and salt. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Combine dressing with hot potatoes. Cool for five minutes.
Arrange arugula in shallow bowl and spoon potatoes and dressing on top. Toss lightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Each serving contains:
198 calories; 4 g protein; 7.2 g fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 31.8 g carbohydrates; 2.7 g fibre; 420 mg sodium
Reprinted from HeartSmart Cooking for Family and Friends by Bonnie Stern with permission of Random House Canada. Bonnie Stern’s latest book is Friday Night Dinners (Random House, 2008).
source: "Nutritious crispy chicken meals", from alive #320, June 2009
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.