Serves 4
Turmeric turns the tofu a fetching yolk-yellow, while dried mushroom powder and vitamin B-rich nutritional yeast infuse this riff on scrambled eggs with a delicious dose of umami and cheesy flavour, respectively. If you like, you can serve this dish taco-style with corn tortillas and salsa.
1 block (1 lb/450 g) firm tofu
3/4 cup (180 ml) dried mushrooms
3 tsp (15 ml) grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large red capsicum, chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cumin
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground coriander
1/4 tsp (1 ml) chilli powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) sea salt
1/4 tsp (1 ml) black pepper
1/3 cup (80 ml) nutritional yeast (optional)
1 cup (250 ml) cooked or canned pinto or kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
3 cups (750 ml) baby spinach
1 avocado, thinly sliced
Place tofu on baking sheet or cutting board. Top with another baking sheet or cutting board and place heavy object on top. Allow water to drain from tofu for 20 minutes. Using fork, break apart tofu and scrape into bowl.
Using mortar and pestle, food mill or food processor, pulverise dried mushrooms into powder.
Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook until softened, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in red capsicum, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, salt and pepper; heat 1 minute. Add tofu and nutritional yeast (if using) to frying pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add pinto or kidney beans and baby spinach; cook until spinach is slightly wilted and everything is heated through. Stir in mushroom powder and remove from heat. Serve topped with slices of avocado.
Each serving contains: 1428 kilojoules; 18 g protein; 16 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 36 g total carbohydrates (4 g sugars, 12 g fibre); 180 mg sodium
source: "One-Frying Pan Meals", alive Australia, Autumn 2015
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.