Keep summer | Bite into the beautiful season all year round

Of course, you can make strawberry jam. But why not dehydrate your berries instead? Pickles are good, but have you thought about marinated asparagus tails? Almost ANYTHING that grows in the summer can be stored so that we don’t just have celeriac and imported fruit to eat in February. We asked experts Angèle Gauthier and Joanne Geha, from Le Candide, to reveal their tips and inspirations.

Locavore thanks to preserves

When the restaurant opened in late November 2015, founder John Winter Russell had gone straight for the reserves. The winter had not been easy, under the sign of edible roots. But the chief recovered the following summer and fall, and all subsequent years. Candide has become one of the first and rare 100% locavore tables in Montreal (with the exception of part of the wine list), even at the height of the cold season, and a reference in the matter. Yes, by being very far-sighted and creative, we can feed exclusively on our food from here all year round. It was the demonstration that the chief wanted to make.

Today, Angèle Gauthier and Joanne Geha, the former sous-chefs who have become chefs, have taken over the cooking and conservation, while their boss is enjoying a well-deserved sabbatical.

“Last summer, we knew that John wouldn’t be there, so we really gave it our all. We were afraid of running out of reserves. But we still have pears, quinces, tomato sauce, among others. It’s better to have too much than not enough,” says Angèle, who arrived in the church basement kitchen for her ITHQ internship in 2018 and never left!

Imagine the workload, in the middle of the high season: in addition to having to set up and cook for around sixty people, five evenings a week, the team has to work extra hard to transform everything for the season. lean. First come fiddleheads, rhubarb, asparagus, chive flowers, then there are the first strawberries (from June to September, Candide receives 50 kg per week), radishes, zucchini, leeks and finally tomatoes, beans, peppers, pears, Ontario apricots, quinces, to name a few.

Gourmet reserves

Today, ordinary mortals no longer make preserves to survive the winter, as in the “old days”. He does this to make the most of summer and autumn abundance, to eat better while spending less, to “buy local”, above all to enjoy himself! Preserves have therefore gained in popularity, but also, if not above all, in originality.

Restaurants that pride themselves on practicing locavore cuisine cannot help but put in pots and in the cellar. Quebec chefs have armed themselves with dehydrators, cellars, freezers and other autoclaves.

“At Candide, we do things pretty much like people would do at home. We don’t have an autoclave. Sometimes people are afraid to make cans because of the risk of contamination or the pot exploding,” confides Angèle.

The management of losses and the fight against food waste are taken into account in the conservation plan of the Little Burgundy restaurant. “We transform quite a lot with zero waste,” explains Joanne. Strawberry is all used up. The stems and the cap are macerated to make a water which is used afterwards to rehydrate the fruits. »

There are also all those fine asparagus tails which, instead of going into the soup (or straight into the compost), are put in pots with oil, to be added to salads for the cold season.

Among Candide’s favorite preserves are the famous salted cherry tomatoes, daisy buds like capers, dehydrated zucchini and apricots. Joanne is already salivating thinking about the delicious stone fruit ice cream she prepares with her precious food when many other chefs struggle to find a bit of freshness to serve as dessert to their customers. The little working ant always wins!

Some canning ideas

Canned saskatoon berries

If you live in Montreal, learn to identify the serviceberry. The tree is abundant in a host of public places and its fruit is delicious, especially in jam. In short, towards the end of June, walk around with an empty container in your bag and do some urban picking (not on private land, unless you ask permission!). Plus, it’s free !

Dehydrated corn

When all their water is removed, the corn kernels become really tiny! Just one mason jar and you’ll have enough for your soups and stews all winter long.

Also consider herbs and spices

“We dehydrate the baby ginger from Quebec and we make vinegar with the ginger leaves. We also sometimes dehydrate the ginger leaves that we powder to make our ginger ice cream in winter. Turmeric and its leaves are also underutilized. It’s very aromatic,” reveals Joanne Geha from Candide.

Leathers of all kinds

Think of fruit leathers, which you make from a puree. Children love it. Seed producer Patrice Fortier (see the article on the following screen) even makes tomato leathers. “You can eat them as a snack, but they also act as a flavor concentrate when you dilute them like a stock cube. »

Be creative

“Sometimes we rehydrate fruits in the juices of other fruits,” reveals Joanne.

Dehydrated strawberries and strawberry stem juice

Rehydrated strawberries can be used in many simple preparations: lightly warmed as an accompaniment to a cake and whipped cream, as a base for a sorbet or ice cream, in compote with granola or with a crumbled biscuit.

Ingredients

Strawberries at will!

Preparation

1. Hull the strawberries and set the stems (with some flesh) aside.
2. Place the strawberries on parchment paper, taking care to keep a space between each one.
3. Put in the dehydrator at 55°C for 24 hours depending on the size of the strawberries or in an oven with the light on. To the touch, the strawberries should be completely dry.
4. Place the stems of the strawberries in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let steep for at least an hour. Filter.
5. Return the strained liquid to the heat and bring to a boil.
6. Pour the boiling liquid into a sterilized jar, close and leave to seal.
7. To rehydrate strawberries, simply pour the preserved juice over the strawberries. Add maple syrup to taste. Leave to rehydrate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
8. Rehydrated strawberries keep refrigerated for a week. Dehydrated strawberries and sealed strawberry stem juice will keep for up to one year.

Pickled asparagus stalks

You can use this vegetable in a fresh herbaceous gremolata-style salad (asparagus, basil, chopped chives, oil, vinegar, salt), a perfect accompaniment to white-fleshed fish, grilled lamb or pork.

Ingredients

• Asparagus at will
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Break the asparagus stalks. Eat the spikes!
2. With a knife, cut them into even-sized slices.
3. Blanch the asparagus in well-salted water made from a 2:1 vinegar/water ratio.
4. Cool the slices in ice water. Drain, dry well and pour into a sterilized jar.
5. Add canola oil until the asparagus tails are completely submerged, but not filling the mason jar to the rim.
6. Close the jar completely, then open it a quarter turn (the air must be able to escape from the jar when sealing).
7. Seal the jar for 10 minutes by submerging it in boiling water. The water should not exceed the collar of the pot. Do not completely close the pan.
8. Once the 10 minutes have elapsed, remove the pot from the water with tongs, place it on a wire rack. Let cool.
9. Canned asparagus stalks keep for up to a year.