This soup is ready in 15 minutes and really packs a punch, providing 189 percent of your recommended daily dosage of vitamin C with each serving. It’s also loaded with beta carotene from the peppers, tomatoes, and orange juice. Tomatoes also contain lycopene, which has been shown to have protective effects against prostate cancer. The extra-virgin olive oil helps in the absorption of this important phytochemical. Seasonings such as cayenne pepper and cinnamon also help with heart health. Enjoy this soup for lunch or dinner along with fresh whole grain bread or dinner rolls. To save time, use a food processor to chop garlic, ginger, onions, and bell pepper.
4 tsp (20 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp (15 mL) grated ginger root
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups (500 mL) vegetable broth or water
1 28-oz (796-mL) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp (5 mL) ground coriander
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
2 cups (500 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice or orange juice with pulp
Sea salt, to taste
Heat oil in medium soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper and sauté 5 to 8 minutes. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Add orange juice, warm through, season with salt to taste, and serve. Freeze remaining servings and reheat on stovetop. Serves 4.
source: "Suppers for Savvy Seniors", alive #276, October 2005
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.