Rustle up a big pot of this hearty chowder, and you’ll be spooning up a nutritional windfall all week long. Canned salmon may seem like a step-down ingredient, but it holds up better in leftovers than fresh fish. And canned wild sockeye or pink salmon are sustainable catches of the day that are chock full of heart-healthy omega-3 fats.
The chowder will keep for 5 days if chilled, and serving leftovers is as easy as warming up the chowder in a saucepan until liquid is steaming—don’t let the mixture boil, or the quality of the ingredients will degrade.
One way to make leftovers as desirable as fresh-prepared is to elevate their presentation. When plating that second-day stew, use bowls and cutlery that you’d proudly display on social media and then make sure to adorn the dish with something lively, such as chopped herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, or some toasted nuts.
Per serving:
In 4 L large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion and salt; heat until onion has softened and turned golden, about 6 minutes. Add sweet potato and carrots; heat for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, celery, and garlic; heat for 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes; heat for 30 seconds. Pour wine into pan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until potato and carrot are tender.
Break salmon into chunks and add to pan along with evaporated milk, green peas, and lemon zest; heat for 3 minutes, but do not bring to a boil. Stir in dill. Serve chowder topped with freshly cracked black pepper.
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.