Transform your morning oatmeal into something more special with these gluten-free pancakes. Warmed up with cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, they’re a sweet and stackable way to promote good health.
Oat flour can be purchased or made at home by blending 2 cups (500 mL) quick-cooking rolled oats in a blender or food processor until a fine flour forms. For the pancakes to be gluten free, the oats or ready-made oat flour must be certified gluten free.
1 3/4 cups (435 mL) gluten-free oat flour (See "Oat flour" tipbox)
2 Tbsp (30 mL) coconut sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground allspice
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened plain almond milk or unsweetened plain coconut milk beverage
1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup (60 mL) sour cream or plain yogurt
1 large organic egg
1 Tbsp (15 mL) coconut oil
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 200 F (95 C). Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, applesauce, sour cream or yogurt, and egg; add to flour mixture and whisk together.
Preheat large skillet or griddle pan to medium. Add thin layer of oil (donu2019t use it all). Ladle pancake batter into pan to make pancakes of desired size; cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and keep warm in oven until ready to serve. Repeat with remaining batter and oil, adding thin layer of oil with each batch for cooking.
Serve warm with maple syrup, if desired.
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.