Celebrate Noël a la Québécoise


Fig.1. Chef Dany Patry of Charcuterie Noël shows off his cipaille Gaspesien.

One of the great things about having my own web-site derives from the ability to post and blog about whatever I want. I don' t have to "run it" by an editor. There's no waiting for approval. I needn't worry if it "fits with the brand", and, best of all, I could write about the people and foods that genuinely deserve to be recognized; because in the end, it's gotta' be all about the food.
I've been going to Charcuterie Noël for years. I've written about them before, I also appeared in the Gazette with them as part of the East End Tour article. Charcuterie Noël can best be described as a small, neighbourhood grocer--the kind that once frequented every neighbourhood corner. The kind our grandmothers used to send their kids running off to when they needed sugar. Besides the vast variety of imported Italian products, the incredible meat, great cheese and baked goods, and superb selection of salumi, which is all made in house, Noel began to offer a selection of prêt-à-manger. You could smell something was going on somewhere, and from that wonderful smell came forth some of the most delectable tortières and pâté à la viande I have ever tasted.
Like the kitchens in Orwell's, Down and Out in Paris and London, Noel's kitchen is small and in the basement. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in equipment, all of which is shiny, new and gleams of stainless steel.

Fig.2. Chicken pies before.


Fig.3. Chicken pies after. These are individual sizes but they're big enough for two.

Chef Dany Patry, along with Louise Vezina, are busy making Chicken pot pies, or, pâté de poulet in keeping with Quebec tradition. "When we were kids, we used to put whatever vegetables were left over" says Vezina "we also used lard to make our dough, if you did that now, people probably wouldn't want it." The dough made by Patry and Vezina is light, flaky and oh so buttery. The chicken pie, filled with chicken, vegetables, and creamy bechamel, is the ultimate comfort food. The first time I tasted it I nearly dropped my fork. The ingredients are honest, proper, and oh so yummy; if the pie wasn't so hot, I would have shoved my whole face into it. The traditional meat tortiere is filled with meat, potatoes, and spices. When asked what spices are used, Patry replies, "it's a chef's secret" he does tell me however, that the meat pies are made in the regional tradition of Bas Saint-Laurent. Other pies being made: salmon, tuna, turkey, wild boar, and the very Quebec cipaille Gaspesien, which Patry makes with lamb and potatoes. Patry also makes French onion soup, making the broth from scratch with pork bones and plenty of onions. He then pours the broth into bowls, adds the bread and cheese, and vacuum packs everything while it's still hot, and like all of Patry's meat pies, all you have to do is put it in the oven.

Fig.4. Tortiere. Noel offers both large pies and individual.


Fig.5. Tortiere de sanglier, topped with a homemade tomato chow chow.


Fig.6. French onion soup on the simmer. Patry lets it reduce which concentrates the flavor. What you don't see sitting at the bottom of the broth are several pork bones.


Fig.7. French onion soup and coquille St-Jacques. Vacuumed sealed and ready to pop in the oven.


Charcuterie Noel, 5733 Boul Leger, Montreal North. 514-323-0256

Apple Gnocchi

Fig.1. Gnocchi for dessert, serve in one big plate, or individually in a martini glass for effect. As you can see above, this platter was influenced by Jackson Pollock.

This year’s apple crop hasn’t been the best, too much heat and not enough rain according to the apple experts. It hasn’t stopped me from eating my fill though, and some varieties, such as russets and golden delicious have been pretty good.
Thinking of new ways to fuse apples into my Italian repertoire is always a challenge. Made a batch of potato gnocchi a few weeks ago and had the idea of making apple gnocchi. I reveled for a while at the idea’s originality and clever way I combined a Quebec ingredient with an Italian staple, until I made it for some friends and one of them exclaimed that what I had done was tantamount to a Cinnibon. I was as first, repelled by the comparison, but he was quite right, I had in fact made mini Cinnibons, minus the yeast. Anyone who’s tasted a Cinnibon knows how good they are, (The lady behind the Cinnabon, Jerilyn Brusseau, is a baker worth reading about) these gnocchi, according to my guests, can be made again.

Fig.2. Bake the apples until mushy, taking care not to crisp them. your oven heat might have to be adjusted.

Apple Gnocchi

Serves 8 to 10 for dessert

Many food writers and recipes claim gnocchi should be soft, pillowy, and melt in your mouth. Nothing could be further from the truth: like most pasta in Italy, gnocchi should have bite, (these dessert gnocchi are indeed firm due to the absence of any eggs, an ingredient seldom used in very old gnocchi recipes) one shouldn't feel like they're biting into a rock but the gnocchi should have some resistance. And not all gnocchi are created equal, for example, gnocchetti (small gnocchi) are usually used in soups and are much firmer than regular gnocchi. Gnocchi can be traced as far back as the middle ages, where Latin and Arabic words referring to a variety of "pasta dumplings" have been discovered. They are also a great example of "cucina povera". When food was scarce, mixing flour, potato and eggs together made a little go a long way, and when the gnocchi are dense and firm, they sit longer in your stomach. My grandfather, till this day, still swallows his gnocchi whole, thereby sitting in his stomach longer, a habit he formed during the war, when, from one day to the next, eating wasn't a daily occurrence.

Ingredients:

For the gnocchi,
3 cups diced baking apples such as Cortlands, loosely packed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 apple, diced small
2 tsp lemon juice
2 cups 00 Italian flour, plus more for dusting

For the sauce,
1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp raisins
icing sugar

Directions:

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, toss the 3 cups of dice apples with olive oil, spread out evenly, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until diced apples are mushy. While your apples are baking, toss your other diced apple with lemon juice and place in the fridge. While your apples are still hot, place in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork, until it resemble mashed potatoes. Spread the mashed apples onto a work-surface, sprinkle with the reserved, diced apples, and add the 2 cups of flour over top. Knead until it all comes neatly together, dusting with flour when needed, (discard any loose flour) about 10 minutes. Let your dough rest for 30 minutes.
Form the gnocchi as you would regular potato gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the gnocchi to the water. while your gnocchi cook, make the sauce by melting the butter and brown sugar in a pan over medium high heat, once your sugar has completely melted, add the raisins, remove from heat and add the gnocchi. Toss well, sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving. You can also serve them with caramel, chopped nuts, or cinnamon and frosting. (If you really want to mimic a cinnamon roll.)

Note. Gnocchi can be made a couple of hours ahead of time. Boil them until they rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and submerge in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Toss them with butter to prevent them from sticking. Heat them in the sauce just before serving making sure you heat them through.


Fig.3. Mashed apples first, then diced apples, and flour over top.

Fig.4. Resting dough. Dough feels stress, so stay calm around your dough.

Fig.5. Like regular gnocchi, roll the dough round and cut. I left these gnocchi smooth and fat, choosing not to run them against the back of a fork. the choice is yours.

Pasta Woes




Fig.1. Old wooden tools once used to cut pasta. I picked these up in Italy. You can buy them here at Quincaillerie Dante.

I’ve been experimenting a lot lately with locally grown flour. I’m making pasta with just about any Quebec flour I can get my hands on: local whole wheat, spelt, kamut, barley, all purpose, and even Italy’s favorite, local durum wheat semolina, all grown and milled within a 100 kilometer radius of Montreal.
These experimentations have stressed me out. My head hurts constantly, I can’t sleep, and, if that wasn’t enough, my dandruff’s back. (Stress is a major contributor to dry scalp) Imagine Woody Allen coated in flour. It’s not the actual procedure that’s stressing me, (I’m getting adequate pasta from all of the above flour varieties) my internal conflict stems from whether it’s necessary to change something I know to be good in order to do something that is right. Using local flour helps local farmers as well as the environment, but for the moment at least, appears to be detrimental to my taste buds.
There are hundreds of variants at play here, the combination of flour, water and eggs being the least of them. The climate in Italy; from the sun’s heat to the gentle winds that cause the wheat stalks to sway back and forth; the altitude of the grains, are the fields caressed in a valley or standing erect at the top of a heat-soaked hill, to the time of year the wheat is harvested.
Italian durum wheat makes strong, flavorful pasta; tough enough for tossing with rapini and humble enough to take a backseat to the forceful, flavors of a carbonara. Italian 00 flour, is very, finely ground, combined with eggs it makes the most delicate of noodles, a pasta that embraces any and all rich tomato or meat sauce it comes in contact with. Pasta di farro (not to be confused with spelt pasta) is made from emmer wheat and is believed to be the second oldest pasta by Italian food historians, Italian’s were making farro pasta long before whole wheat flour came into the picture. Pasta made from farro has a wonderful cereal taste, it's a bold pasta that should never be drowned in sauce.
Italian flour producers have pasta on the brain. Italian flour, whether by destiny, design or both, has evolved to fashion magnificent pasta, but evolution is time, and while flour is in abundance in Canada, the attitude toward it is more business oriented than it is culinary. But that seems to be changing too: local, organic flour producers deserve a chance—if given a choice between two, equally, flavorful pastas, I would have to choose local, so why do I feel like I’m trying to sever an umbilical cord connecting me to the old country? What I need is pasta advise from a wise old man (or woman) perched at the top of a mountain, not so sure the archetype exists in Italy.

Pasta all’uovo,

Serves 10 to 12 as a main course

The package of 00 flour reads “better suited for baking”. Many also say that 00 flour is too fine to yield a good pasta, but I know countless chefs, grandmothers, and foodies in Italy (as well as Montreal) who use it every time they make pasta. When you first start using 00 flour, don’t make the pasta too thin, with time and practice, you’ll be able to knead it to a point where you’ll start to notice a difference in the pasta’s strength and elasticity (this is the gluten at work, the more you knead the dough, the more gluten produced.) Once you get used to working with 00 flour, feel free to roll it as thin as you want. Pasta freezes well, just make sure you toss it in flour and corn meal before you do.

Ingredients:

1 kilo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
10 eggs

Directions:

Make a mountain with your flour and make a well in the center. Start by adding 8 eggs in the center, with your finger or a fork, begin incorporating the flour and eggs together. Once everything is mixed together (your mixture will not hold in a cohesive mass at this point) add another egg and begin kneading. Your dough should start taking shape at this point, scrape up any loose pieces of dough, add the last egg and knead until it all comes together. Continue kneading for 10 solid minutes while dusting with flour. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let your dough rest for 30 minutes.

This recipe can be halved: ½ kilo flour to 5 eggs. Generally, the rule of pasta is 100g of flour for every egg. Also keep in mind, altitude, dryness and humidity can change the dry to wet ratio, this is why it’s better not to add all of your eggs at once.




Fig.1. I roll the pasta out using my pasta machine and then pass over it with the pappardelle rolling pin.


Fig.3. The pappardelle need to be pulled one by one, the wood is not as sharp as a knife. If you wish to speed things up, roll the pasta sheet (make sure you sprinkle with flour before you do) and cut the roll with a sharp knife.


Fig.4. Coat the pasta with some flour and cornmeal, sprinkle some on the cookie sheet, and place your pasta in neat bundles. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge if you"re cooking the same day, otherwise place the whole cookie sheet in the freezer. Once pasta is frozen, transfer to a large freezer bag.

They're not all bad

Fig.1. Cavolo nero pesto served over baccala and polenta.

My rant a few posts ago sparked some noise from a fervent flurry of patrons, who, I’ve been scolded, are more than satisfied with their favorite Italian restaurants. “What’s wrong with meat sauce; you’ve never had the Alfredo sauce at {insert restaurant name here}; the fried calamari at my favorite restaurant is the best.” Nevertheless, the passion in which the food and restaurants is being defended, by you, the patrons, in my mind does not reflect the same passion being mustered up by the majority of Montreal Italian restaurants. My article was aimed at the complacent, status quo menus that seem to repeat themselves in one Italian restaurant after another. There are, however, some Italian restaurants in Montreal doing some pretty outstanding things, and I believe it only fair that I balance the negative, culinary ying with a positive gastronomic yang.
Very talented chef Maurizio Mercuri of Ristorante Basi is making a manicotti stuffed with pumpkin and prosciutto, a great example of Italian seasonal cooking. Also in Little Italy, (as well as in Laval) Bottega Pizzeria, aside from making what is arguably the best “Napolitano” styled pizza in the city, represents Napoli fittingly well with menu items such as Mozarella in Carrozza, Salsiccia e rapini and polpo e patate. Rosalie’s menu is very impressive lately (now that Joe Mercuri has taken over the kitchen) and in keeping with cooking seasonal and local, with items such as corn ravioli with aged cheddar and spaghetti with Saint Elizabeth blue cheese, red chilies and black pepper. And last but not least, Le Muscadin in Old Montreal (aside from the seasonal offering of shaved white Alba truffles) put an inspiring new seasonal spin on an old classic: Pesto made with cavolo nero. Replacing basil leaves with cavolo nero makes perfect sense in the Autumn months: the leafy greens are in season and have hit the highest point of flavor. They were nice enough to share their recipe with me.

Pesto di Cavolo Nero (from Chef Leo Iacono of Le Muscadin)

Makes 3 cups

Fig.2. Pesto freezes well, pop a few cubes from an ice tray into a pan well coated with olive oil along with your pasta and you got a 10 minute meal Rachel Ray would be proud of.

If you can’t find cavolo nero, (and you didn’t freeze any like I told you to in this post) no worries, you can substitute the cavolo with rapini or Swiss chard. Pesto, while great on pasta, is equally as good served with grilled meat or fish. You can also freeze the pesto.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cavolo nero, blanched, (or other leafy green such as rapini or Swiss chard)
5 large garlic cloves,(or 7 to 8 smaller ones)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (the better the oil, the better the pesto)
¼ cup of walnuts, roasted. (pine nuts also work well)

Directions:
Chop the leafy greens into manageable pieces and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the greens from the boiling water and immerse in an ice bath. Using your hands, squeeze out as much water from the greens as you can. Put the greens, garlic and walnuts in a food processor and puree, add the olive oil in a steady stream and continue to puree until pesto is slightly runny. (you might need more olive oil)

Fig.3. Put all of your ingredients in a food processor, turn it on, and add the oil in a steady stream. You want to use the best olive oil you have.

Le Muscadin- 639 Nortre Dame Ouest. Old Montreal. 514-842-0588

Basi-77 ave Shamrock (corner Casgrain) Montreal (Little Italy) 514-750-0774

Rosalie-1232 De La Montagne. Montreal, 514-392-1970

Bottega-656 St Zotique east, Montreal (Little Italy)514-277-8104
Bottega Laval-2059 St Martin West, Laval (corner 15) 450-688-1100

Griliata Mista

Fig.1. Keeping warm next to hot meat can only be appreciated when it's cold outside. So don your kitchen tongs and get out there.

It might be getting cold out there but there are still plenty of perfectly, good barbecue days left before the grills get put away for the winter. (If you're one of those who grills all year round, good on you) The desire to grill in cold weather does lessen, but rather than running into the house while your food cooks, stand close to your grill (not too close) and keep warm. It's like a camp fire that sizzles and smells of blissful fat.


Grigliata Mista
Assorted Grilled Meat

Fig.2. Sometimes, vegetables are not required. Squirt with lemon and eat.

Misto translates into mixed, so use whatever meat you want. In this recipe, I used sausages, chicken thighs, lamb thighs, flank steak, pork chops, and quail. If you have any herbs left in your garden, use them in this recipe. I let the meat marinate overnight in olive oil, white wine, fresh herbs (I used whatever I had left in my garden, in this case, oregano, sage, parsley and thyme.) salt and pepper. If you grill a lot of meat at the same time, it's a good idea to clean your barbecue first. All of that dripping fat will cause flames, trust me, my forearms are now hairless. Have a spray bottle full of water next to you.


Ingredients:

Meat

Directions:

Grill and serve with lemon wedges.

Holy Poblano Batman


Fig.1. Nothing smells as fine as grilled peppers.

The outdoor part of the Jean-Talon Market is quickly winding down. The bins are full of root vegetables, apples, and the last of the fruits and vegetables; much of it being sold at a discount. Although I've preserved and frozen many seasonal vegetables this year, I'll miss that unique freshness which can only come from eating an asparagus in May, or a tomato in August. But what I'll miss the most are the conversations and camaraderie with all of the farmers, producers and overall characters working at the market. One of the more memorable conversations occurred three weeks ago. It involved peppers and vanity.
It turns out that the wildly held notion that the heat of a capsicum stems solely from the seeds, is, while not completely wrong, at the same time not completely accurate. I learned this a couple of weeks ago as I attempted to give Birri-man, Joe, a lesson in pepper heat. Joe let me ramble for a while in a sermon of self-pomposity, he then proceeded to set me straight, and he did it with a habanero pepper. "The heat", Joe explained, "comes from the vein of the pepper, any seeds attached to the vein will also be spicy, but seeds far from the vein will not be spicy." What Joe was telling me went against the entire repetitive dribbling spewed from celebrity chefs from the various food networks. Joe cut a piece of the white vein out of the habanero pepper and told me simply to lick it, I was not allowed to chew or swallow. I'm glad my machismo didn't kick in because just a simple lick was enough, my entire mouth was on fire.
A quick look into Harold McGee's insightful book, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, confirmed what Joe told me. The heat of the pepper (which is actually a fruit) does indeed originate in the pithy, white, tissue center; or, as properly termed by McGee, the placenta.
The lesson here is twofold: First, if you wish to remove most of the heat from a spicy pepper, remove the seeds, the placental core, as well as any white tissue which runs along the inside wall of the pepper, and second, don't listen to celebrity chefs.

Fig.2. I find the small, 125ml jars very cute. I'm not sure what that says about me but there you go.

Preserved Smoked Poblano Peppers in Adobo Sauce

Poblanos aren't a spicy as habaneros but their flavour is intense. Joe insisted that I try them. At first, I wasn't sure what to do with them, but when I saw a can of Chipoltle peppers in Adobo sauce in my fridge, my culinary light bulb went on. Chipoltles are dried jalapeño peppers but poblanos will work just as well; Adobo is Spanish for sauce. You will need a smoker for this recipe, if you don't have one then I suggest you get one soon: you can't be a man if you don't have a smoker.

Ingredients:

40 to 45 poblano peppers
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, diced small
2 - 369ml cans of tomato paste (bigger cans)
2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp salt

Directions:

Properly clean your mason jars and lids (because these pepper are more of a condiment, I used small, 12 125ml jars and 10 250ml jars. Volume could vary depending on the size of your peppers.) Place the peppers on the grill of a gas barbeque set to medium high heat and roast the peppers until the skins are blackened and the peppers soft. Once the peppers have cooled, remove the skins, seeds, and stem of the pepper. (don't worry if you don't get all of the seeds.) Get your smoker ready for a cool smoke (I used apple wood for this recipe, cherry will work just as well but avoid mesquite) Place the peppers over the grates evenly without overlapping them, close your smoker and allow the smoke to permeate the peppers for about two hours. Place the peppers in the fridge while you prepare the adobo sauce. (Peppers can remain refrigerated for up to two days.)
Heat the olive oil in a large pot set over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, while stirring, until tomato paste turns rust color, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water and stir until smooth. Add the sugar, vinegar, and salt and bring to a gentle simmer. At this point, add the peppers to the adobo sauce and remove from the heat, you're ready to begin jarring.
Fill your jars with the peppers and sauce. Pack tightly, use the back of a wooden spoon to stir and pack in the peppers and sauce. Tap the jar lightly on a wooden surface and stir and poke again with your wooden spoon--YOU DO NOT WANT AIR POCKETS TO REMAIN IN YOUR JAR! Once your jar is free of air pockets, top the jar if needed, (making sure to leave a proper 1/2" headspace free) wipe the jar clean, and screw on lid. Once all of your jars are full, seal them using the boiling, water bath method. For proper canning techniques, go to http://www.canningpantry.com/

Fig.3. Look for this kind of consistency when you add the peppers. If it's not saucy enough, just add more tomato paste and water.


Fig.4. Ready for a cold smoke. Close the lid and let the smoke permeate the peppers.


Fig.5. I create a cold smoke by wrapping an electric element in tin foil with some wood that has been soaked in water. Once the heat begins to smolder the wood, I unplug the element, when the smoke diminishes, I plug it back in.


Fig.6. The walls of the closed, winter market are up and in place next to the Birri kiosk, which is selling off its inventory.

Three Years of Great West Island Pizza


Fig.1. Hanging out on warmer days sipping espresso.

Fig.2. Pepper and cherry tomato pizza.

Ahh the spicy olive and onion pizza from DelMonaco; just thinking about it evokes a lion size, stomach snarl. This week, DelMonaco Prêt-à-Manger celebrated its third year in operation. Three years of great pizza (DelMonaco’s pizzas are of the square variety much like you would find in pastry shops all over Italy.) three years of arancini, three years of meatballs, three years of pasta sauces, I could go on and on.
DelMonaco is also a great example of good frozen food. In Italian households, if our grandmothers made too much lasagna they froze it for another day, and that’s exactly what DelMonaco does, only, they make too much of a lot of things and freeze it all, all you have to do is throw it in the oven.
Congratulation guys on three years, the accolades are well deserved and your hard work is appreciated, and, for those out there who have yet to give DelMonaco a try, did I mention the spicy olive and onion pizza? It might be a good idea to order ahead.

If you want to know more about DelMonaco and the people in the kitchen click here.

Fig.3. The classic tomato pizza right out of the oven, without a doubt the best way to eat it.