What are we eating ? | Recipes to please students on vacation

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: smoked potato balls

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 1 cup smoked or sharp cheddar cheese
• 200ml sour cream
• 60ml melted butter
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 green onions thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

• 1. Wrap potatoes in foil and place over direct high heat for 30 to 45 minutes.
• 2. Remove from heat, unwrap foil and let cool.
• 3. When cooled, remove the skin from the potatoes and keep the flesh.
• 4. In a mixing bowl, coarsely crumble the flesh and stir in all the ingredients. Form 4 large, compact balls with the mixture.
• 5. Place the balls on a cedar plank and place over direct high heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the plank is profusely smoking and the flesh is lightly browned.

Source: recipe by Louis-Philippe Dupuis

Published on lapresse.ca on August 10, 2017.

Quickly done well: gnocchi, raw zucchini and garlic flower sauce

Summer is a good time to cook garlic scape, as well as zucchini, which are in season. With this raw sauce, your store-bought gnocchi will amaze all the guests! Be careful not to add too much salt, because feta cheese is already very salty.

For about 6 servings

Ingredients for pasta

• 2 packets of 500g potato gnocchi
• 1 large zucchini, diced small
• 1/2 cup garlic scapes, coarsely chopped
• 1 drizzle of olive oil
• Watercress sprouts (or other), to taste
• Salt pepper

Ingredients for the sauce

• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup garlic scapes, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
• A little salt, a lot of pepper

Preparation

• 1. Sauté the zucchini and garlic scapes in olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Season and set aside.
• 2. Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water until they start to rise to the surface. Drain and add to zucchini.
• 3. In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and blend until relatively smooth. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and add about 2/3 of the sauce to the pasta. Mix and add sauce as needed. Serve with the sprouts.

Posted in The Press + on August 17, 2017.

Call me boss! : Berry Farah chocolate tart

Here is a recipe for a divinely chocolate pie, which can be made by amateur pastry chefs – provided you have a scale and a thermometer on hand.

Ingredients for the chocolate shortcrust pastry

• 200 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 100 g + 25 g cold unsalted butter
• 40 g cold egg yolks (2 large yolks)
• 64 g + 25 g fine or super fine sugar
• 30 g Ocoa 70% chocolate from Cacao Barry*
• 18 g cocoa powder (preferably alkaline cocoa, dark in color that can tend towards brick red, such as Fry’s)
• 33g of water

Preparation of the chocolate shortcrust pastry

• 1. Mix the egg yolks and the 64 g of sugar with a whisk.
• 2. In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate, the 25 g of sugar and the 25 g of butter, the water and the cocoa powder.
• 3. Sand the 100 g of butter and the flour (i.e. mix the very cold butter and the flour to make sand).
• 4. Add the chocolate preparation, then the egg yolk preparation. Mix well to obtain a smooth paste. Depending on the type of flour, if the dough seems dry or crumbles, add a teaspoon of water. Chill to firm up the dough.
• 5. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and place in a 20 to 21 cm (8 in) diameter tart pan. Prick with a fork so that it does not puff up during cooking. Bake for about 15 minutes at 175-180°C (350-375°F), depending on your oven. Carefully monitor the cooking, which may vary depending on the oven.

Ingredients for the ganache

• 200g 70% Ocoa chocolate
• 80g 3.25% milk
• 205g 35% cream
• 9g sugar

(Note: sugar adds roundness, fudge, and balance, but those who don’t want sugar may skip it.)

Preparation of the ganache

• 1. In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream and sugar. As soon as the mixture begins to simmer (begins boiling), remove from the heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Cool to a temperature of approximately 50°C.
• 2. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave, only melt the chocolate for a few seconds at a time, so as not to burn it, stirring each time. Cool to a temperature of approximately 50°C.
• 3. Add the melted chocolate to the cream and mix quickly, with a spatula. Pour into the pie and chill.

*Available at France Décor, in certain IGAs, at vanillafoodcompany.ca, at La Guilde Culinaire, at Aubut Food Distribution, at Mayrand Food Warehouse, etc.

Published on lapresse.ca on February 8, 2020.

Guilty Pleasure: Double Chocolate Hummus from Stéphanie Côté

It is as nutritious as it is attractive thanks to its unique protein and chocolate content. The marriage of these two ingredients, although surprising at first glance, has made chocolate hummus so popular, which has become the snack of the hour. It must be said that there is something for everyone, both children who love its taste and parents, who see it as a snack that is as nutritious as it is easy to make.

So, if chocolate hummus is prepared in two steps, three movements, how do you eat it when it’s ready? Like regular hummus, the most obvious use is as a dip, which is enjoyed with fruit instead of carrot sticks. “With the strawberries at the beginning of the summer, it was really good! says Stéphanie Côté.

Ingredients

• 80 ml (1/3 cup) hot milk (or vegetable drink)*
• 30 g (1/3 cup) cocoa
• 1 can (540 ml) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) tahini
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup
• 1 C. vanilla
• 60 g (1/3 cup) chocolate chips (optional)
• 30 g (1/3 cup) chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans (optional)

* Heating the milk will enhance the flavor of the cocoa, so it’s important not to skip this step!

Preparation

• 1. In a small bowl, pour the hot milk over the cocoa. Mix and reserve.
• 2. In blender container, puree chickpeas, tahini, maple syrup, vanilla and cocoa mixture until smooth.
• 3. Keep as is or add chocolate chips and chopped nuts with pulse mode, a few times.

Published on lapresse.ca on August 22, 2020.

Health ! : strawberry and lemon slush

Kids (and many adults) love slush. However, we rarely bother to do it ourselves. It is however simple. And with children, homemade slush — much less sweet than store-bought — passes the test with flying colors.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup cold water or orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups frozen strawberries (about 225 g)
• Three cups of ice cubes (about 400 g)

Preparation

• 1. In a food processor or blender, combine water, lemon juice and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar a little.
• 2. Add strawberries and ice cubes. Reduce until smooth. If necessary, add a little water or ice cubes.
• 3. Serve immediately.

Published on lapresse.ca on June 10, 2021.