Heart-healthy ingredients such as whole grain flour, oats, and olive oil easily replace the typical white flour, refined sugar, and butter often found in this classic cookie.
Try making your own chia jam by mixing 2 cups (500 mL) cooked berries with 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chia seeds and some lemon and maple syrup, to taste.
Per serving:
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grind oats in blender until coarse flour is formed. In medium bowl, combine oat flour with spelt or gluten-free flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In separate bowl, add vanilla, oil, and maple syrup. Add wet ingredients into dry, and stir until combined.
Form balls out of 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sized scoops and roll in ground walnuts. Place balls on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and gently, with the tip of your finger, create a divot. Spoon about 1/2 tsp (2 mL) jam into centre of each cookie, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
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.