Made in Quebec: The Recipe Book That Reads Like a Love Story

Little did I know that I would fall in love during my culinary journey researching Quebec food. Much of that love story can be found in Made in Quebec, where I offer recipes by the season, with detailed information about Quebec farms, farmers, food trends and agriculture alongside the recipes.

The recipes in this book should open a window on what’s cooking in Quebec today, in both restaurants and home kitchens. They include traditional dishes passed down through history as well as the latest creations of chefs and the favourite family recipes of gifted home cooks, each tested to make certain they give satisfactory results.

Quebec’s original recipes, still popular with families, contain less fat and fresher ingredients than in earlier times. The chefs’ recipes have been simplified from the versions they make in their restaurants but still offer their distinctive flavours.

The theme throughout the book is the pleasure to be derived from using fresh foods in their season. It’s a theme long popular in Quebec but strengthening as the number of farmer’s markets grows, improvements in foods – livestock feeding methods, new varieties of vegetables and fruits – appear, and wild food foraging becomes ever more popular. A leading Quebec chef, whose winter cuisine includes the root vegetables of her ancestors, rebels against the general acceptance year-round of imported produce from far away, much of it lacking flavour. “We don’t need broccoli,” is how she puts it. Another scorns year-round asparagus, preferring to wait for the superb spears of local asparagus each May and June. And there’s a ground swell of complaint about strawberries that come to Canada with hard, white centres and little flavour. Better, say Quebec fruit scientists, to crossbreed our own strawberries to extend their season. In short, we are finding new pleasure in eating our own food at its best.

Little tomatoes are fashionable in Quebec. Savoura grows them in greenhouses year-round and they also come from Ontario much of the year. Photo: Gordon Beck.

If a recipe based on a seasonal food disappoints you when prepared with an out-of-season food, try it again after making that little extra effort to obtain a food at its absolute best. That means shopping in the food’s season at a farmer’s market or roadside stand or store run by someone with links to growers and other producers. Some supermarkets, particularly stores that are independently owned, make an effort to offer local foods in their season. In Quebec, both large and small stores participate in labeling programs stating if the food is local.

Remember that looks aren’t everything, particularly when it comes to taste. Read labels, rather than just grabbing for something pretty, such as imported apples that have been polished and sized instead of a bag of local ones. Once upon a time, our produce counters offered Florida tomatoes as a basic. Realization that most of these tomatoes are grown to travel well rather than give edible pleasure has caused Florida tomatoes to be phased out of Quebec stores. In cool weather seasons, hydroponically grown tomatoes or vine-ripened imports allow us acceptable tomatoes when our own are out-of-season. Summer’s finest field tomatoes aren’t always symmetrical so don’t expect perfect appearance when shopping for this special food.

The Basics:

Recipes in this book use large eggs, whole or partially fat-skimmed milk, and unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt to your taste. There is no margarine or shortening in this book; if desired, you can emulate early Quebec cooks by making pastry with lard rather than butter. Different salts are suggested in some recipes because they give the best effect.

Cream:

Quebec, a major dairy products producer, now has heat-treated creams of various fat contents. These products are labeled for cooking, or called old-fashioned, and are supposedly more resistant to curdling when heated and, in the case of 35 per cent butterfat cream, able to keep their shape longer when whipped. The rest of Canada has yet to be offered these products. Regular whipping cream continues to be the best option for a sauce that is heated, but overheating it may cause curdling. Heating the lower fat creams requires even more caution.

Dominique Labbé works on Le 1608 cheese he makes at Laiterie Charlevoix, Baie-St-Paul. Photo: Gordon Beck.

Cheese and yogurt:

It’s used to season many recipes. Quebec cheeses are cited, but recipes offer alternatives which are widely available. Pre-grated cheese will not provide the most flavour; grating cheese just before using it is recommended. Full-fat cheese and yogurt is worth the extra fat calories.

Herbs and spices:

Flat-leaf, or Italian, parsley is used throughout; curly parsley is more for looks than seasoning. Fresh herbs are preferred, usually added towards the end of cooking in a dish, but dried are an approved substitute. When using dried herbs, use less than when using the fresh version. Spices must be fresh, or freshly ground, or their flavour will be flat. Shop for dried seasonings where the turnover is brisk and you can buy small amounts. Store them in tightly sealed containers in a cool, dark, dry place, and replace them every year. Pepper in recipes is black and freshly ground.

Convenience vegetables:

Frozen baby green peas and canned artichokes are used in a few recipes. It’s worth it to spend more on top-grade canned tomatoes such as San Marzano. Quebec is fortunate in having packaged, fresh, pre-sliced leeks, able to stay fresh for up to two weeks in their porous plastic bags. Technology is allowing us more fresh foods in convenient containers, pre-cut vegetables in particular.

Ready-made stocks and broths:

Brands and varieties are increasing. It’s worth it to try several and find varieties that have good flavour without too much salt. Fresh fish stock is easy to make with scraps from the fish merchant and a few seasonings, but you can substitute bottled clam juice.

Measuring:

Both imperial and metric measures are given in recipes; use either system. Meats and common package sizes for products are given in their metric weight. Take your pick as to which volume or weight system you use. With baking, precision is required. With everything else, remember we’re only a few generations removed from the era when our grandmothers would measure butter by “the size of an egg.” We should relax about exact amounts of most ingredients.