Warming spices and chocolate transform this tomato soup into a memorable meal.
Try taking this soup recipe as a base idea and making it your own by switching out the can of diced tomatoes for another unique complementary chocolate pairing such as carrots or beets. Just note that you’ll need to add some extra water, and cooking time will take longer.
Per serving:
In stockpot over medium-high, heat oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, carrot, celery, and sun-dried tomatoes. Continue to cook, stirring often, until carrots have softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, coriander, ground cayenne powder, and cocoa powder. Cook for 1 minute to toast spices before adding white wine. Cook, stirring constantly, until white wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, water, and pear. Bring soup to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let soup simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove stockpot from heat and stir in unsweetened chocolate until chocolate is fully melted and well incorporated into the soup.
Working in batches, in blender, blend soup until smooth (immersion blender will also work). Return to clean stockpot over low heat to warm gently.
To serve, divide soup among serving bowls and garnish with diced avocado and tomato, then a dusting of cocoa powder, if desired. Enjoy while warm.
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.