Chilled soup is perfect for those hot summer nights and this is a refreshing change of pace from more traditional gazpachos. The acidity and sweetness of the soup is beautifully balanced by the rich warmth of the scallop.
Soup
8 cups ( 2 L) seedless watermelon, hulled/cubed
3 cups (750 mL) cucumber, peeled/cubed
1 honeydew melon, hulled/cubed
1/4 cup (60 mL) cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup (60 mL) dry white wine
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
2 Tbsp (30 mL) grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until thoroughly combined. If you prefer more texture, pulse rather than puree. Add water as needed if blending proves difficult.
Scallops
6 fresh large jumbo scallops
3 Tbsp (45 mL) canola oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil (reserved)
Heat a cast iron pan until slightly smoking. Toss scallops, canola oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Remove pan from heat and quickly place scallops in pan before replacing pan immediately back on high heat. Cook for 1 minute or until seared golden around the sides. Add olive oil and allow it to spread across pan before quickly turning all the scallops and cooking for no longer than 1 minute.
To serve, pour chilled soup mixture in wide-based bowls to no more than 1 1/2-in (3.75-cm) depth. In the centre of each, position a seared scallop while still piping hot for delicious contrast and aroma.
Serves 6.
source: "Glowbal Thinking", alive #297, July 2007
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.