Canadian, French Recipes
8 recipes found
Maple White Bread
Slices of this white bread form the basis for tartine au sucre, an exquisitely simple rustic Québécois dessert.
Tarte au Sucre
More than 75 percent of the world’s maple-syrup supply is produced in Quebec. In Canada the sap doesn’t start running until early March, when the nights are still freezing but the days are bright. Locals process the syrup in a cabane à sucre, or sugar shack, and harvest brings with it celebration, often with a multicourse meal that puts the maple syrup front and center in dishes like this tarte au sucre, or maple syrup pie.
Maple-Roasted Rack of Venison
At a cabane à sucre, or sugar shack, a rough-hewn cabin for making syrup in Quebec, the syrup harvest is accompanied by a feast. The hourlong parade usually includes split-pea soup, pancakes, bacon and ham, pork rinds, omelets, eggs poached in syrup, baked beans, bread and pan drippings, pickled carrots and beets, maple-syrup pie and taffy — all washed down with an optional beer. This recipe comes from a feast held at the painter Marc Séguin's farm in Hemmingford, Quebec.
Tartine au Sucre
Tartine au sucre is an exquisitely simple rustic Québécois dessert consisting of thick slices of white bread topped with maple sugar and heavy cream.
Tourtière
This savory French-Canadian meat pie combines ground pork and warm spices with chunks of braised pork shoulder and shreds of chicken or turkey. But you could make it with leftover brisket, with venison, with smoked goose or ham. Traditionally it is served with relish or tart, fruity ketchup — I like this recipe for cranberry ketchup best, though I use a splash of fresh orange juice instead of the concentrate it calls for. “I’ve never had a slice of tourtière and spoonful of ketchup and not liked it,” David McMillan, the bearish chef and an owner of Joe Beef in the Little Burgundy section of Montreal, told me. “I especially love a tourtière made by someone who can’t really cook.”
Sugar Pie
This recipe came to The Times in a 1991 profile of Laurent Comeau, the kitchen manager of Cirque du Soleil. In his role managing the meals of the performers, he often had to scramble to find ingredients like Canadian maple syrup for the Québécois in the troupe, who expected it on or in everything from pancakes to maple mousse pie. Mr. Comeau thought Vermont maple syrup is just as good, "but try explaining it to them," he said. "The contortionists, it's like wine to them. They'll taste it and know right away if it's not from Quebec." This sugar pie, sweetened with brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk, tastes like pure butterscotch.
Maple Syrup Pie
Maple syrup pie is completely traditional and homey Québécois fare. Achingly sweet? Not at all. The heavy cream moderates the sweetness of the maple syrup. The cornstarch thickens the mixture. That's it. A novice could obtain a baked pie shell and be done with the dish in less than a quarter-hour.
Lamb Cassoulet
This recipe came to The Times in 2001 from Joël Chapoulie, the executive chef at L’Express. At the Montreal restaurant, he made it with a cut of lamb called souris, nuggets from the knuckle that are exceptionally flavorful and gelatinous (and that American butchers never bother with, instead selling whole shanks). The cassoulet can be made ahead, and reheated just before serving.