This is a great vegetarian dish, or it can be paired with meats such as lamb, rabbit, or poultry. Israeli couscous is a small, round, toasted semolina pasta that should not be confused with the tiny yellow North African couscous. Sauces stick to it perfectly!
1 cup (250 mL) Israeli couscous
2 cups (500 mL) vegetable stock
2 large organic carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp (10 mL) unsalted butter
1 cup (250 mL) prunes
1 tsp (2 mL) honey
1 cardamom pod
2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tsp (5 mL) ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cumin seeds
1 pinch dried chilies
Salt and pepper
Cilantro to garnish
Toast couscous in a 325 F (160 C) oven until lightly browned.
Heat vegetable stock to a simmer.
In small saucepan add carrots, butter, pinch of salt, and just enough water to cover carrots. Cook at high heat until carrots are soft enough to break easily with the back of a spoon, then purée and reserve.
Poach prunes in 2 cups (500 mL) water with honey and cardamom until soft.
In medium saucepan sweat onion, garlic, and ginger in olive oil (over low heat and covered with a tight-fitting lid). Add cumin seeds, chilies, and couscous. Add enough simmering stock to cover the couscous and gently simmer, stirring occasionally. As the liquid reduces, keep adding enough to cover and cook until just tender. Season to taste.
To serve, combine couscous and carrot purée. Top with poached prunes and cilantro.
source: "Prunes", from alive #342, April 2011
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.