What are we eating ? | Comfort on our plate

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.

Call me boss! : sublime onion soup au gratin

“At home, we like our very ‘British’ onion soup, with cheddar cheese and beer! Don’t hesitate to double the portions and freeze the onion soup base, because for the next uses, all you have to do is brown it,” says our columnist Chantal Guy.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: about 1 hour

Ingredients

• For more flavor, choose different types of onions (red, white, yellow), a leek, two cloves of garlic and French shallots.
• Butter and olive oil
• 1 cup of your homemade broth (or store-bought)
• 2 cans of beef broth
• 1 black beer
• A few sage and bay leaves
• Worcestershire Sauce
• aged cheddar
• 1 loaf of bread

Preparation

• 1. Cut the onions, the white of the leek and the French shallots into thin rings.
• 2. Put a square of butter in a little oil in a fairly large saucepan.
• 3. Sweat the onions over high heat, add the sage, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, mix, then reduce the heat to low and cover three-quarters. The trick is to let the onions caramelize for a really long time, so they get sweet, stirring them once in a while – a good 45 minutes.
• 4. During this time, if the baguette is too fresh, cut a few slices to grill on a baking sheet to harden them and make croutons.
• 5. Add the cup of homemade broth, the beef broth and half a black beer to the saucepan with the onions. Let simmer for the flavors to blend for about 15 minutes. Cool.
• 6. Grate the cheddar.
• 7. In ovenproof bowls, pour the onion soup mixture. Gently arrange croutons to cover everything. Add the grated cheddar generously on top.
• 8. Put the bowls in the oven and gratinate at 400°F to your liking – watch carefully so as not to burn the gratin!
• 9. Serve with a green salad or an avocado spread.

Source: recipe from our columnist Chantal Guy.

Published on lapresse.ca on April 18, 2020.

Quickly done well: recipe for express cretonnade

Here’s an easy recipe for fake vegetarian cretons – that’s why the term “cretonnade” is used. It is taken from Come eat ! Vegetarianism made easydesigned by students under the direction of Marie Marquis, professor in the nutrition department at the Université de Montréal.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 seconds

Chilling time: 1 hour

Yield: 250 ml (1 cup) cretonnade

Ingredients for the express cretonnade

• 60 ml (1/4 cup) quick-cooking rolled oats
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) of water
• 250 ml (1 cup or 1/2 540 ml can) lentils, drained and rinsed
• 5 ml (1 tsp) onion powder
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) 4 spice mix

Preparation

• 1. Place oats and water in a bowl and microwave for 45 seconds, checking to avoid boiling over.
• 2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Using a blender, grind coarsely.
• 3. Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve on bread of your choice. Taste.

Source : Come eat ! Vegetarianism made easyunder the direction of Marie Marquis, Department of Nutrition, University of Montreal.

Published on lapresse.ca on February 1, 2020.

Indulgence: pesto with carrot tops, on roasted carrots

When carrots are fresh from the ground (or purchased from the grocery store), the tops are usually quite vibrant. It’s such a shame to send them directly to the compost, when it’s not in the trash. Combine them with basil and their slightly grassy side will disappear.

Ingredients

• The tops of a small bunch of fresh carrots
• 12 to 15 large fresh basil leaves
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 C. tablespoon honey (Nick uses that of his friend Anicet)
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Carrots without tops
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 or 6 thin slices of a tasty cheese (Nick used a firm paste from the Saint-Benoît-du-Lac cheese dairy)
• 2 tbsp. chopped pecans

Preparation

• 1. Place the tops, basil, lemon juice, honey, pecans, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and chop finely. To taste. If the pesto is a little too “green”, add a few basil leaves.
• 2. With motor running, drizzle oil over greens and continue blending until desired consistency, which may be more or less smooth.
• 3. Nick serves this pesto with roasted carrots, which he first bakes in a 350°F oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, for 30 minutes. Finish broil for 5 minutes.
• 4. In a bowl, mix the carrots with two good spoonfuls of pesto. Place the vegetables back in a baking dish and cover with the slices of cheese. Bake for a few minutes at 350°F, until the cheese is melted.
• 5. Add a few small spoonfuls of pesto on top and around the gratin, sprinkle with some chopped pecans and serve.

Good to know: you can also eat this pesto on pasta, in sandwiches, in a minestrone-type soup, with chicken, etc.

Source: Recipe by Nick Hodge, chef and co-owner of Icehouse Restaurant and Sugaree Farm.

Published on lapresse.ca on September 7, 2017.

Guilty Pleasure: Brownie Cookies

Decadent and chewy…everything you love about brownies, in cookie size!

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 6 minutes

Yield: about 15 cookies

Keep for three days at room temperature or two months in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) or about 125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped dark chocolate
• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) butter
• 1 egg
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) brown sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) cornstarch
• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) cocoa
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) baking powder

Preparation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Put the grill at the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a reusable baking sheet).
• 2. Roughly chop the chocolate. Place in a medium microwave-safe bowl and add the butter. Heat 45 to 60 seconds or until chocolate is melted. To book.
• 3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer (mixer), at maximum speed, whisk the egg and brown sugar for 3 minutes or until the mixture has doubled in volume (see notes).
• 4. On low speed, gradually stir in the melted chocolate.
• 5. Sprinkle the mixture with starch, cocoa and baking powder. Whisk on low speed to incorporate.
• 6. Using a 15 ml (1 tablespoon) spoon, spread the dough on the baking sheet to form about 15 cookies.
• 7. Bake for 6 or 7 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are well cracked. Avoid overcooking. Let cool for a few minutes and serve.
• It is important to whisk well to dissolve the brown sugar in the eggs and fluff the mixture to achieve the crackle effect on top of the cookies. The electric beater is required to obtain the desired result! These cookies do not contain flour, a benefit for people who have a wheat allergy or who need to avoid gluten.

Source: recipe by Geneviève O’Gleman.

Published on lapresse.ca on March 27, 2021.