For lovers of all things smoked, this spread is heavenly on crisp raw veggies, crusty bread, or whole grain crackers. To turn it into a dip, simply stir in commercial tofu sour cream to taste.
8 oz (225 g) light extra-firm silken tofu
4 oz (115 g) smoked tofu, diced into small cubes
2 Tbsp (30 mL) miso
2 Tbsp (30 mL) tahini
1 Tbsp (15 mL) nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
3 Tbsp (45 mL) smoked almonds, chopped
1 Tbsp (15 mL) chives or green onions, chopped
Crumble silken tofu into food processor and add diced smoked tofu, miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and garlic, if using. Process mixture for several minutes, stopping and scraping the sides of processor a couple of times, until mixture is as smooth as possible.
Scoop mixture into serving bowl, smooth top, and sprinkle with chopped almonds and chives. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Makes 2 cups (500 mL).
Serves 8.
Each serving contains: 79 calories; 6 g protein; 5 g total fat (0.5 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 4 g carbohydrates; 1 g fibre; 214 mg sodium
source: "Versatile Tofu", alive #356, June 2012
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.