what do we eat | Comfort on our plate

Just before the weekend, all readers who cook ask themselves this eternal question: what are we going to eat? To inspire you, The press offers some mouth-watering seasonal recipe suggestions.

Call me boss! : superb onion soup, baked

“At home we like our very ‘British’ Onion Soup with Cheddar Cheese and Beer! Feel free to double the portions and freeze the onion soup base, because for subsequent uses all you have to do is roast 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), leeks, two cloves of garlic and French shallots.
• Butter and olive oil
• 1 cup homemade stock (or store-bought)
• 2 cans beef broth
• 1 black beer
• A few sage leaves and a bay leaf
• Worcestershire sauce
• aged cheddar
• 1 loaf of bread

Preparation

• 1. Cut the onion, leek white and shallot into thin circles.
• 2. Put a square of butter in a little oil in a fairly large pot.
• 3. Fry the onion over a high heat, add the sage, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, stir, then reduce the heat to low and cover three-quarters. The trick is to let the onions caramelize for a really long time so that they become sweet, stirring occasionally – a good 45 minutes.
• 4. During this time, if the baguette is too fresh, cut a few slices to toast them on a tray to harden and make croutons.
• 5. In the pot with the onions, add the cup of homemade stock, the beef stock and half of the dark beer. Simmer to meld the flavors for about 15 minutes. Cool.
• 6. Grate the cheddar.
• 7. Pour onion soup mixture into heatproof bowls. Carefully arrange croutons so that they cover everything. Top with plenty of grated cheddar.
• 8. Place the bowls in the oven and bake at 400°F to your liking – watch carefully so you don’t burn the gratin!
• 9. Serve with green salad or avocado.

Source: recipe by our columnist Chantal Guy.

Published on lapresse.ca on April 18, 2020.

Fast is good: a recipe for an express cretonade

Here’s an easy recipe for faux vegetarian croutons – hence the term “cretonade”. It was taken from Come eat! Easy vegetarianismdesigned by students under the supervision of Marie Marquis, professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Université de Montréal.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 seconds

Cooldown time: 1 hour

Yield: 250 ml (1 cup) cretonade

Ingredients for the express cretonade

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

Preparation

• 1. Put the oats and water in a bowl and heat them in the microwave for 45 seconds, making sure they don’t boil.
• 2. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl. Grind coarsely using a blender.
• 3. Chill for 1 hour and serve on bread of choice. taste.

source: Come eat! Easy vegetarianismunder the direction of Marie Marquis, Department of Nutrition, University of Montreal.

Published on lapresse.ca on February 1, 2020.

Indulgence: Carrot Top Pesto, over Roasted Carrots

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

ingredients

• The tops of a small bunch of fresh carrots
• 12 to 15 large fresh basil leaves
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 C. tbsp honey (Nick used his friend Anicet’s)
• 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 savory cheese (Nick uses hard 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 finely chop. To try. If the pesto is a little too “green”, add a few basil leaves.
• 2. With the motor running, drizzle oil over the vegetables and continue blending until desired consistency, which may be more or less smooth.
• 3. Nick serves this pesto with roasted carrots, which he first roasts in a 350°F oven with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper for 30 minutes. Finish baking in 5 minutes.
• 4. In a bowl, mix the carrots with two good spoons of pesto. Place the vegetables back on the baking tray and cover them with the cheese slices. 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 minestrone soup, with chicken, etc.

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

Posted 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

Store 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 tablespoon) butter
• 1 egg
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) brown sugar
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) cornstarch
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) cocoa
• 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) baking powder

Preparation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a reusable tray).
• 2. Chop the chocolate coarsely. Place in a medium microwave-safe bowl and add the butter. Heat 45 to 60 seconds or until chocolate is melted. I’m booking.
• 3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer (mixer), on high speed, beat the egg and brown sugar for 3 minutes or until the mixture doubles in volume (see notes).
• 4. On low speed, gradually add the melted chocolate.
• 5. Sprinkle the mixture with the starch, cocoa and baking powder. Beat on low speed to blend.
• 6. Using a 15 ml (1 tablespoon) spoon, spread the batter onto the baking sheet to form about 15 cookies.
• 7. Bake for 6 or 7 minutes until the tops of the cookies are nicely cracked. Avoid overcooking. Let cool for a few minutes and serve.
• It is important to beat well to dissolve the brown sugar in the eggs and to fluff up the mixture to achieve the effect of cracks on the cookies. An electric beater is necessary to get the desired result! These cookies are flour-free, useful for people who have a wheat allergy or who need to avoid gluten.

Source: recipe by Geneviève O’Gleman.

Posted on lapresse.ca on March 27, 2021.