22 —- Wednesday, March 4, 1998 — North Shore News

Payi

“Jin your kitchen

Recently it was men- tioned in a professional foodservice magazine that you can’t buy a less than great meal in Montreal.

This is not an exaggeration. It applies not only to Montreal, but to dozens of other fine restaurants in fa belle provence

Quebec has a rich culinary tradition. It contains the love of the French for great food, but it’s tempered with the harsh necessities which faced the early settlers.

There is an Anglo-Saxon component as well, because many of the first new arrivals with Jacques Cartier originated from La Bretagne, a part of France that was influenced by English gastronomy.

The essence of any great food tradition is the best ingre- dients married to skillful prepa- ration and a receptive audi- ence,

There was no shortage of any of the above in Old Quebec. The rich food was essential to keep going, espe- cially in the winter. To preserve fruits and vegetables during the summer and fall months was a prerequisite for year-round sur- vival.

That preparedness for sur- vival was tested again in the Ottawa Valley during the icc storm of 1998. Friends tell us that the producing tree stocks of a large number of maple syrup purveyors were severely damaged. Many of the trees have been ‘producers of this unique nectar for decades.

; Dairy farmers have also

battled disease and related problems due to cold and lack of regular milking of cheir herd. Hog and poultry farmers also have suffered in some regions, their valuable stock dead or gravely damaged and farm buildings devastated. Prices of many commodities

north shore news

ff? ROOD

NEWS photo Paul McGreth

QUEBEC has a rich culinary tradition. It contains the love of the French for great food, but it's tempered with the harsh necessities faced by early settlers.

will rise for the foresecable future.

Two recipes this week, a classic soup from the Gaspe region and our favorite: tortiere.

Cod Soup

2 Ib. fresh cod fish 6 oz. diced salted pork 6 oz. onions julienne cut 1 Ib. sliced potatoes 14 c. water 2c. hot milk salt to taste 1 Tbsp. fresh fine chopped savory or % tsp. dried savory 2 Thsp. butter

Method: Salt pork is avail- able in most supermarkets. If not, ask your butcher to get you some. It is usually pack- aged in 8 oz. blocks. Dice the salt pork to medium size.

BUY 6 GET 6

FREE

Large & Chewy

Select a large saucepan with a lid. Brown the salted pork on all sides. Add the onions and saute unc! just curning cranslu- cent. Slice the cod pieces (remove as many bones as pos- sible) into medallion sizes. Layer the cod and the poratocs on top of the pork and the onions. Start and finish with the potatoes. Add the water, cover and simmer 15 minutes

the British. Wherever it comes from, it is a classic and wonder- ful recipe. 2 tb. ground pork (coarse grind) 10 oz. fine diced onions 6 oz. fine diced celery I large garlic clove crushed salt to taste 4 tsp. ground cloves X tsp. nutmeg 1 c. water (or better yet, meat stock) 1 c. white bread crumbs Method: Select a large skil- let. Place in all the ingredients except the bread crumbs. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Do not remove any fat. Add most of the bread crumbs.

They should soak up all the fat and the juices. Cool.

The original recipes for tourtiere, and there are as many as cooks in Quebec, does not have egg as a binder.

We often add one large egg to this recipe — it holds its shape better when cold, and adds to its nutritional valuc. Try it. This formula should make 2 pies.

For the pastry select your favorite pie dough recipe. This column featured two formulas in Oct °96, Here is one of them again.

Hot water pastry: % c. boiling water 1 c. lard (or vegetable short-

ening)

3 %c. pastry flour

% tsp. salt

% tsp. baking powder

Method: In a stainless steel bowl mix together water and lard. Sift (or mix very well) together the dry ingredients. Add to the lard and water to the flour — all at once — and work together by hand for a minute or so.

This can also be done in a mixer. Refrigerate covered with wax paper or cling wrap for 4- 5 hours. Roll out, or use as needed. It makes 2 double crusted 9” pies.

See Page 30 for more food news.

Reds that’ HI spin you around.

With the aid of product con- sultants at the Park Royal LDB, Wine Spots’ cuthless research assistant, taster (and brother-in-law), Ab Bryant, recently came home with an eclectic case lot of reds that really spun us around in our chairs.

Not cheap, but they do deliver more than a pretty label for your dollar.

The star curn was the Ebenezer Barossa Valley Shiraz 1993 from Australia at $30.50. Nor quite as spicy as the E&N Pepper Shiraz which always sells out quickly in the same price range, but loaded with complex plummy fruit that pleasantly masks a tannic infrastructure which should make it a good invest- ment well into the next cen-

or until the potatoes tender. ii

Now add the hor milk, and all the other ingredients. Bring to scald temperature, check for flavor. Do not stir or mix. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve hot with baking powder biscuits.

Quebecois Tourtiere

This dish has probably orig- inated in Brittany. The meat pies, and pastries are a forte of

John ‘Moore WINE SPOTS

An ideal special occasion dinner wine to rinse down the roast.

A close second, Pesquera Coscheca 1994 from Spain at $28.95. This is almost a “cult wine,” since the Castilla Y Leon region has a rep for light, indifferent gargle-and- guzzle reds, but a few winer- ies pursue standards of con- centration and quality which rival Rioja. Taste Pesquara once and you’re a doomed fan, ready to mortgage your

FINALLY! A botiom-freezer Fridge that fits.

31” WIDE

first-born ro the Devil for a case. The bad news is that this one’s still too young to drink; deep purple, with a massive blackcurrant cassis front end and a huge tannic finish with the middle act yet to come.

But give it five years and it will have you dancing flamen- co on somebody's french-pol- ished tabletop.

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