What are we eating ? | Spring inspired recipes

Just before the weekend, all readers who cook ask themselves this eternal question: what are we going to eat? In order to inspire you, The Press suggests some suggestions for seasonal recipes that will make your mouth water.

Snack: radish leaf soup

For 4 people

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter
• 4 French shallots, sliced
• 1 leek, white part, sliced
• 1 medium sized potato, peeled, diced
• 2 L of vegetable broth
• 1 C. salted herbs from Bas-du-Fleuve
• 4 cups radish leaves, washed
• Zest of two lemons

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Sauté the shallot until it just begins to caramelize.
2. Add the leek and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add the diced potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add the broth and simmer over medium-low heat until the diced potatoes are tender.
4. Add the radish leaves and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and puree very smooth.
5. Add the lemon zest and taste the soup. Adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
6. Serve.

Note

For the photo, this soup was served with marinated rhubarb, fresh cream, fried strings of rhubarb, fresh radish and sorrel.

Source: recipe by Marysol Foucault.

Published on lapresse.ca on June 29, 2017.

Quickly done well: lobster bruschetta

For 8 people

Ingredients

• 454 g cooked lobster meat (about 2 medium-sized lobsters)
• 60ml mayonnaise
• 1 C. fresh lemon juice
• 2 green onions, minced
• 125ml diced avocado
• 125 ml diced cantaloupe or ripe honeydew melon
• Sambal oelek (or other hot sauce) to taste
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh tarragon
• 125 ml arugula

Preparation

1. In a bowl, gently combine the lobster meat, mayonnaise, green onions, tarragon, sambal oelek, lemon juice, cantaloupe and avocado.
2. Salt and pepper.
3. Serve on bread croutons with a few rocket leaves.

Source: recipe by Joanne Vigneau, chef and owner of the restaurant La table des Roy and the Gourmande de nature boutique, in the Magdalen Islands.

Published on lapresse.ca on May 16, 2018.

Call me boss! : roasted radish salad

For 4 people

Wild garlic aioli ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
• 1 C. wild garlic soup
• 1 C. salted herbs from Bas-Saint-Laurent

Ingredients for the salad

• 15 fingerling potatoes
• 1 bunch of asparagus (from Quebec!), broken stems
• 1 cup pancetta, diced
• 1 pinch of fresh parmesan
• 1 bunch radishes, quartered
• 1 cup small kale leaves
• 4 poached eggs
• 1/4 cup duck fat
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Preparation of wild leek aioli

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the egg yolks, sherry vinegar, wild garlic and salted herbs.
2. Slowly add a thin drizzle of oil and observe the aioli, the preparation should slowly pale and thicken.
3. Add the whole cup of oil, in a drizzle. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste (salty herbs are quite salty though, so beware!).
4. This preparation can be kept for three days in the refrigerator.

Preparation of the salad

1. Blanch the potatoes in salted water until tender. Cool them well and slice them in half lengthwise. Set aside until ready to serve.
2. Prepare a small basin of very cold or icy water that can accommodate the asparagus. Blanch the asparagus in salted water until just tender. Remove immediately and place in the basin of ice water. Remove asparagus when very cold. Set aside until ready to serve.
3. When ready to serve, have a pot of boiling water with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar — this will be for the eggs.
4. Preheat a fluted skillet. Coat it with vegetable oil and place the radish quarters on it. Do not touch for 1-2 minutes to ensure nice grill marks. Set aside until ready to serve.
5. In a large skillet, brown the potatoes in the duck fat until they begin to brown. Add the pancetta, sauté for an additional 3 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, crack the eggs directly into boiling water with vinegar. Have a slotted spoon and a plate with a clean napkin nearby. After about 2 minutes, your eggs should be poached perfectly! Remove with the slotted spoon and place on the clean cloth.
7. Add the asparagus to the potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes to heat through. Add the radishes to warm through. Salt to taste.
8. When preparing the plates, make a generous line of aioli at the bottom of each. Add the potatoes, asparagus, radishes and kale. Top with poached egg and, using a microplane, sprinkle with fresh parmesan. Finish the plate with a finishing salt such as fleur de sel or Maldon and fresh ground pepper.

Note

Some of the ingredients in this dish can be made ahead, such as the aioli, potatoes and asparagus.

wild leek

Trade in wild leek, a vulnerable species, is prohibited in Quebec, but a modest personal harvest (up to 50 plants) is nevertheless permitted, except in protected territories. It is also recommended to pick only one leaf per plant to protect the species. In this recipe, you can replace wild garlic with garlic chives or green onions.

Source: recipe by Marysol Foucault.

Published on lapresse.ca on June 20, 2017.

Guilty Pleasure: Chocolate Pudding

This healthy snack is perfect to satisfy a chocolate dessert craving, while having a good protein content. You can serve the pudding with fruit, nuts or white or dark chocolate shavings. For people who are not used to silken tofu (also called soft tofu): it can be found in all supermarkets.

For 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 1/2 cup silken tofu
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 very ripe banana
• 2 tbsp. tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Preparation

• 1. Soak the cashews in water for one hour, then drain well.
• 2. In the food processor, mix all the ingredients until you get a very smooth texture. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, then enjoy.

Source: recipe by Sophie Ducharme.

Posted in The Press+ on March 2, 2017.

Health ! : pineapple green juice

For one person

Ingredients

• 250 g (1 1/2 cup) ripe pineapple
• 60 g (2 cups) spinach with stems (preferably organic)
• 60 g (2 cups) lettuce leaves
• 1/2 lime
• 10 fresh mint leaves

Preparation

1. Peel the pineapple. Peel the lemon and remove the seeds. Wash all the ingredients and cut them into pieces (small enough to fit into the juicer).
2. Pass all the ingredients through the machine piece by piece, alternating the most fibrous (spinach, lettuce, mint) with those that are rich in water (lime) and using the toughest (pineapple) to push everything.
3. Taste and possibly add one or the other of the ingredients according to your taste.

Note

Not having specialized equipment, we made this recipe in a blender and then passed the juice through a sieve. Result: practically no loss and a ma-gni-fi-que juice!

Source : Green Kitchen – Smoothies by David Frenkiel and Luise VindahlEditions de l’Homme, 160 pages.

Posted in The Press+ June 8, 2017.