Originally consumed as part of New Year’s celebrations marking the arrival of the spring season, spring rolls are now one of the most popular snack foods in the world. This healthy version uses plenty of colourful and delicious vegetables and is baked rather than deep-fried.
8 - 8 x 8 in (20 x 20 cm) spring roll pastry sheets
2 Tbsp (30 mL) grapeseed oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh ginger, minced
2 green onions, sliced in thin rounds
1 cup (250 mL) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled, thinly sliced julienne style
1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced in strips
1 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil
1 tsp (10 mL) dulse flakes
1 cup (250 mL) bean sprouts
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wrappers under a damp towel.
Heat 1 Tbsp (15 mL) grapeseed oil in wok. Add garlic, ginger, green onion, and shiitakes. Cook until lightly coloured; transfer to bowl. Add carrots, peppers, sesame oil, and dulse flakes; combine.
Drain off any excess liquid from vegetables. On a flat, dry surface place one wrapper in a diamond shape. Lay a small portion of cooked vegetables across the bottom half of the wrapper. Top with some bean sprouts, then lift bottom tip of wrapper up and over filling. Fold in sides and roll away from you into a tightly formed tube.
Brush with grapeseed oil; place on baking sheet seam-side down. Repeat with other wrappers.
Bake for 10 minutes; turn over; bake 5 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.
Makes 8 rolls.
Each roll contains: 146 calories; 4 g protein; 5 g total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat);
22 g carbohydrates; 2 g fibre; 191 mg sodium
source: "Celebrate the Lunar New Year", alive #340, February 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.