What are we eating ? | Ode to cheese

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: tomato tartare with sunflower seeds and fresh cheese

Spectacular, this tomato tartare (which therefore contains no meat) is a nice way to impress mom for Mother’s Day brunch. Or to start a more elaborate meal with freshness. Chef Jean-Benoît Courcoul also uses fresh curd cheese from Suisse Normande for this recipe.

For 4 people

Ingredients for the tomatoes

• 8 plum tomatoes or 6 beefsteak red tomatoes, very ripe
• 1 C. tablespoon unsalted shelled sunflower seeds
• The leaves of 4 or 5 stems of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 gray shallot, chopped
• 1 C. chopped capers
• 1/4 English cucumber, finely diced, with the skin on, but without the core (seeds)
• 1 1/2 tsp. tablespoons oil (the chef recommends organic flaxseed oil)
• 2 drops of Tabasco (to taste)
• 2 drops Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• White or black pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the cheese

• 320 g fresh curd cheese from Suisse Normande
• 30 ml milk (2%, 3.25% or coffee cream, 10% fat)
• 6 stalks of lovage, stripped and chopped (use, if not, the leaves of 6 stalks of tarragon)
• 120 g frozen sea buckthorn berries
• 30g of sugar
• 30 ml of Rubicon (spicy cider vinegar produced by the Verger du Clocher or, failing that, cider vinegar)
• 15ml water

Preparation

• 1. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, deseed, then cut into half-centimeter cubes. Roast the sunflower seeds in a dry pan, stirring constantly to prevent them from burning, then remove from the heat as soon as they turn brown. Coarsely chop with a knife after cooling. Mix, in a small bowl, the capers and the chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, the cucumber and tomato cubes, the sunflower seeds, the flaxseed oil, the Tabasco sauce, the Worcestershire sauce. Salt and pepper.
• 2. Mix the cream cheese and the milk in a bowl to obtain a smooth mixture. Add the herbs. Salt and pepper.
• 3. Prepare a sea buckthorn coulis: bring the berries to the boil with the sugar in a saucepan, mix, then pass through a sieve. Add the cider vinegar, then adjust the acidity by adding water as needed.
• 4. Mount the tartare (if possible with a cookie cutter or a circle, oiled, for a better effect). Divide tomato mixture among 4 plates, top with cheese mixture, smooth, then remove ring. Refrigerate the plates, then add a dash of Rubicon sea buckthorn vinegar before serving.

Published on lapresse.ca on Saturday, May 16, 2017.

Quickly done well: warm Péribonka cheese with dried fruits and apricot jam from Anny Osumi

“We love baked cheese,” says Anny Osumi, co-owner of home chef service ChezAnny, with her husband Antonio Vargas. This recipe has a “wow” effect, it is delicious and versatile. »

Ingredients

• 1 Péribonka cheese (or any other similar soft cheese)
• 50g sliced ​​dried figs
• 50g dried cranberries
• 50g golden raisins
• 3 tbsp. (45 mL) Kalamata olives
• 60g walnuts
• 60g pistachios
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) honey
• 5 c. (75 ml) apricot jam
• 60g water
• 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• 2. In a small saucepan, lightly melt the apricot jam with the water and honey. Add the lemon juice, all the nuts, olives and dried fruit. Mix and reserve.
• 3. Carefully cut off the top layer of cheese and save it (to eat grilled-cheese later, suggests Anny Osumi). Place the bottom part of the cheese on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Crush the garlic clove with your hands and place it in the center of the cheese, with the thyme.
• 4. Cook for approximately 10 to 12 minutes. The center of the Péribonka should be soft and creamy, but the cheese should hold its shape.
• 5. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the dried fruit mixture.
• 6. Serve with fresh fruit, apple slices, crackers or bread.

Note

Warm Péribonka cheese with dried fruit and apricot jam can be served with fresh fruit, apple slices, crackers or bread.

Posted in The Press+ on November 30, 2019.

Call me boss! : the “half and half” fondue

At Le Léman restaurant, Olivier Schlegel serves the “half and half typical of French-speaking Switzerland” fondue. He provides us here with the classic recipe, which we will have plenty of time to adapt according to the cheeses we have on hand or that we find in his region. “Strictly speaking, you can make it with any cheese,” says Olivier Schlegel. When we were kids, at my grandfather’s, we used unsold pieces of cheese. We grate that, and then in the car! »

For 4 people

Ingredients

• 400 g of Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP in small cubes
• 400 g grated Swiss Gruyère AOP
• 600 to 800 g bread, cut into large cubes
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed to rub the caquelon
• 300ml dry white wine
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 small glass of kirsch
• 1 knife point baking soda
• Pepper, nutmeg

Preparation

• 1. Crush the garlic clove and rub the caquelon with it.
• 2. Sprinkle cornstarch over cheese mixture.
• 3. Heat the white wine just before the boiling point.
• 4. Add the Gruyère Suisse and the Vacherin Fribourgeois and melt over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula.
• 5. Season with pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
• 6. As soon as the fondue is creamy, add the kirsch mixed with the baking soda and stir to make it foam.
• 7. Serve immediately.
• 8. Maintain the temperature of the fondue on the stove.
• 9. Enjoy with pieces of bread, pricked on a fondue fork and immersed in the fondue pot, stirring regularly to maintain the homogeneous texture of the fondue.
• 10. Also serve with button mushrooms or baby potatoes, to taste.

Published on lapresse.ca on 1^er February 2017.

Update: Le Léman restaurant is now closed.

Guilty Pleasure: Easy Plum Tarts

These tartlets are sure to impress your office neighbors as they are so beautiful. Plus, they’re super easy to prepare. The height of happiness, this recipe brings together all the ingredients of a perfect dessert: crispy dough, slightly sweet cheese and cooked fruit on top!

For 32 tartlets

Ingredients

• 1 package of 250 g cream cheese
• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) vanilla essence
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
• 2 sheets of puff pastry 25 cm x 25 cm (10 in x 10 in)
• 10 plums, pitted and thinly sliced

Preparation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
• 2. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar.
• 3. Unroll the puff pastry sheets and roll out if necessary.
• 4. Cut each of the two sheets of puff pastry into 16 squares.
• 5. Using a fork, prick each square of puff pastry twice.
• 6. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the squares. Cover with plums.
• 7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Posted in The Press+ June 11, 2015.