what do we eat | Recipes with an exotic touch

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.

Delight: Roasted Maple and Coconut Corn

“It’s a recipe I found at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia,” explains grill master Steven Reichlen. I’m sure I’m the only tourist who spent most of his time in the bus parking lot, where grills were set up to prepare food for the drivers. I felt it was really authentic. Instead of butter, coconut milk is used as fat. In Cambodia we use date sugar as a sweetener, but since we are in Quebec I chose to use maple syrup. »

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 to 15 minutes

ingredients

• 4 cobs of sweet corn, unshelled
• 6 tbsp. tablespoons of unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. Maple syrup
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Preparation

• 1. Peel the corncobs like a banana, being careful to keep the husks attached to the base. Tie the pods together with twine to form a handle.
• 2. In a small saucepan, gently heat the coconut milk, soy sauce and maple syrup, whisking together.
• 3. Prepare grill for direct cooking, preheat to high heat (450°F to 500°F).
• 4. Lightly coat the ears with the maple-coconut mixture. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until well browned. The cobs are placed so that the husks protrude from the end of the grill to prevent burning. You can also place a sheet of aluminum foil. Continue to water the cobs regularly while cooking. Leave the grill on.
• 5. Place the ears on parchment paper. Sprinkle the coconut flakes, patting them gently on the surface of the cobs.
• 6. Place the cobs back on the rack. Remove from the heat when the coconut flakes are lightly toasted.

This recipe is taken from the book Project Fireby Stephen Reichlen, published in English earlier this year by Workman Publishing.

Posted on lapresse.ca on August 22, 2018.

Quick Cooked Well: Albanian Lamb Liver by Philippe de Vienne

ingredients

• 1 nice piece (1 lb) of lamb or veal liver
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 to 3 tbsp. tablespoon Aleppo pepper (to taste)
• 1 medium red onion
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, medium chopped
• 1 C. cumin
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh dill or mint
• Lemon slices

Preparation

• 1. Rinse and dry the piece of liver. Cut into 1 cm strips.
• 2. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with flour and Aleppo pepper. Mix well.
• 3. Finely chop the onion and place it on a plate.
• 4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Pour olive oil and fry the garlic and cumin for a few minutes. Add the liver and cook until pink, about 2 minutes.
• 5. Season with salt and add the chopped herb of choice. Stir and arrange on top of the sliced ​​onions. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serve hot or lukewarm.

Source: recipe by Chef Philippe de Vienne.

Published on lapresse.ca on May 17, 2018.

Call me boss! : Indian style rabbit

For 6 to 8 people

ingredients

• 1 rabbit about 1.8 kg
• 30 ml of vegetable oil
• 2 chopped onions
• 1 pressed garlic clove
• 45 ml chopped ginger
• 7 ml cumin
• 7 ml of ground turmeric
• 7 ml coriander powder
• 15 ml garam masala
• Crushed chili or sambal oelek, to taste
• 400 ml of coconut milk
• 500 ml fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 400 ml plain yogurt

Preparation

• 1. Cut the rabbit into 10 pieces.
• 2. Salt the rabbit, fry the meat in a pan with olive oil. Remove, then set aside.
• 3. In the same pan, fry the onion with the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly. Then add the spices – reserving 5 ml garam masala for the finale – and cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk, stir to disperse the spices.
• 4. Add the tomatoes and then the yogurt. Return the rabbit to the pan with the sauce, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes.
• 5. Add the remaining garam masala and continue to cook uncovered for 10 minutes until the rabbit is fully cooked.
• 6. Serve with aromatic jasmine rice or basmati rice.

The boss’s advice

The recipe will yield more sauce than needed. But it freezes really well: it can then be served with steamed shrimp, tofu, or grilled chicken or salmon steak.

Source: recipe by Richard Desjardins, professor at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec.

Published on lapresse.ca on October 31, 2018.

Guilty pleasure: Sacher cake

Sachertorte is undoubtedly the most famous Viennese dessert. Invented for the restaurant of the Hotel Sacher, in the heart of the old town, it is now served all over the world. This is a very dark chocolate cake whose two layers are sprinkled with a thin layer of apricot jam, very present in Austria. At Sacher, this slightly dry cake is served with lots of whipped cream. I was going to spontaneously serve it with a Nivole-type sparkling miscette as well, but Francois Chartier pointed out to me that for this you need to put the apricot jam in the foreground, so either put a lot of it in the recipe or serve as a side dish.

For 8 to 10 people

Ingredients for the cake

• 180 g of dark chocolate
• 30 g of butter
• 7 proteins
• 80 g of powdered sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 40 g of sifted flour
• 20 g ground almonds
• 200 g of apricot jam

Ingredients for the syrup

• 150 ml of water
• 100 g of sugar
• 1 C. kirsch

Ganache ingredients

• 150 g of dark chocolate
• 150 ml 35% cream

Ingredients for the whipped cream

• Whipped cream with sugar and vanilla

Preparing the cake

• 1. Melt the butter and chocolate in a water bath.
• 2. Beat the egg whites. Gradually add the sugar to make a meringue.
• 3. Mix the egg yolks, flour and almonds.
• 4. Add the chocolate mixture and melted butter.
• 5. Integrate the meringue with a spoon so that it does not fall.
• 6. Pour into a greased 22 cm cake tin.
• 7. Bake for 40 minutes at 350°F. Cool on a wire rack.

Preparation of syrup

• 1. Bring the water and sugar mixture to a boil.
• 2. Chill. Add a sledgehammer.

Preparation of the ganache

• 1. Cut the chocolate into small pieces and put it in a heatproof bowl.
• 2. Heat the cream until boiling. Pour over the chocolate.
• 3. Let sit for 15 or 20 minutes until the chocolate is well melted. (Important: do not stir while waiting, do not beat, otherwise the ganache will thicken too much).

Assembling the cake

• 1. When the cake is baked and cooled, cut it into two layers.
• 2. Pour half of the syrup over the first plate.
• 3. Spread the jam on this disk.
• 4. Place the second sponge on top. And pour the syrup over this second disk.
• 5. Put everything in the refrigerator for half an hour.
• 6. Glaze with ganache.
• 7. Serve with whipped cream.

Posted on lapresse.ca on June 5, 2010.