Fw: Traditional foods in Quebec

Page Stephens hpst at EARTHLINK.NET
Wed May 28 18:56:19 UTC 2003


Out of curiosity I asked my wife, Penny O'Connor, who lived for a couple of
years in Montreal about traditional Montreal cuisine.

Penny is a research librarian who obtained her library degree from the
University of Montreal.

Here are both her comments on the subject and the results of her online
searches.

Perhaps things have changed but I can't for the life of me think that there
is anything special about Montreal spices.

Page Stephens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Penny OConnor" <pjo at earthlink.net>
To: <hpst at earthlink.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 4:51 AM
Subject: Traditional foods in Quebec


Traditional foods of Quebec:

These are the foods that I remember as "traditional Quebec" from my days in
library school in Montreal 1972-1974. Recipes below.
Staples are: pototoes, rutabagas, apples, beans, maple products.

Penny O'Connor

*********************
Tourtiere:
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/canadian/01/rec0100.html

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.03

       Title: TOURTIERE DE QUEBEC (QUEBEC PORK PIE)
  Categories: Ethnic, Pork/ham
       Yield: 6 Servings

   1 1/4 lb Ground pork
     1/2    To 3/4 cup cold water
     1/2 c  Onion, finely chopped
     1/4 c  Celery, finely chopped
     1/2 ts Ground black pepper
       1    Bay leaf
     1/2 ts Dried savoury
     1/4 ts Dried rosemary
     1/4 ts Grated nutmeg
            Pinch   cinnamon
            Salt
     1/4 c  Old-fashioned rolled oats
            Pastry for double crust pie

   This is considered Quebec style, using rolled oats
   instead of potatoes to thicken the filling shows a
   Scottish influence.

   Servings:  6

   In a large, heavy frying pan, combine pork with cold
   water and heat to boiling point.  Add onion, celery,
   pepper, bay leaf, savoury, rosemary, nutmeg and
   cinnamon.  Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 1
   1/2 hours, adding more water if mixture dries out.
   Halfway through cooking time, season with salt to
   taste.  Stir in rolled oats and cook, stirring, for 1
   to 2 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.

   Meanwhile, line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry.  When
   meat mixture is lukewarm, spoon into pie shell and
   cover with remaining pastry. Trim pastry, seal edges
   and cut steam vents in top crust.  Decorate with
   pastry cutouts as desired.  Bake in preheated 425 deg
   F oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 deg F
   and bake another 25 minutes or until crust is golden.

   Source: A Taste of Quebec by Julian Armstrong Posted
   by: Linda Davis

******************************
Maple syrup pie(1)

http://www.masterstech-home.com/The_Kitchen/Recipes/International_Recipes/French_Recipes/TarteAuSiropDerable.html


  From:           Kia Mennie ,InterNet
  Subject:        Tarte au sirop d'erable (Quebec Maple Syrup Tart)
  To:             rec.food.recipes

Answering the request for a Canadian maple syrup pie; (this is from a fairly
reliable
Quebecois (the recipe is from the Cote du Sud region) cookbook and is
described as `rich
and simple')


Tarte au sirop d'erable

1 1/2 c. maple syrup
1 c.     whipping cream
1/4 c.   cornstarch
1/4 c.   cold water
1 baked, single, 9-inch pie crust

In a saucepan. combine maple syrup and cream. Blend cornstarch and water
together
until smooth and stir in to cream mixture. Bring filling to a boil over
medium heat and
cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Pour filling in to
baked pie shell
and let cool until set. Six to eight servings.

******************************************
Maple Syrup Pie (2)
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/canadian/00/rec0037.html

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

       Title: Maple Syrup Pie
  Categories: Canadian, Pies
       Yield: 1 servings

     1/2 c  -Cold water                         1    Egg;lightly beaten
     1/4 c  Flour;all purpose                   2 tb Butter
       1 c  Maple syrup;pure                    1    Pie shell;8 " baked

   Tarte au sirop d'erable "This classic sweet of old Quebec has a smooth,
   rich filling, typically shallow and very sweet. Variations of the
   tradtional recipes are still popular in Quebec. ... Syrup, sugar or
   molasses pies of all kinds were popular in every region in poineer days.
In
   Quebec Maple Syrup Pie (Tarte au sirop d'erable) and Sugar Pie (tarte au
   sucre) made use of local maple syrup and maple sugar when available, or
   borwn sugar for economy.
    Backwoods Pie , using brown sugar plus maple or corn syrup, appears in
   early Nova Scotia cookbooks as well as national books such as the Five
   Roses Cookbook (1915) Molasses Pie (tarte a la ferlouche or tarte a la
   melasses in Quebec) and Lassy Tart (in Newfoundland) was usually lightly
   spiced and thickened with bread crumbs. Shoofly Pie, most common in
   Mennonite areas, had molasses and brown sugar filling with crumbs on top.
   In the early years, when ingredients were scare, molasses was a standby
   everywhere.)

   Whisk water with flour until smooth; stir into syrup in small heavy
   saucepan. Stir in egg; cook over medium -low heat, stirring, until thick,
   about 7 minutes. Stir in butter until melted. Pour into pie shell. Let
   cool.

   SOURCE: The 2nd decade chapter, _A Century of Canadian Home Cooking_

*********************************


 Baked Beans / feves au lard
http://members.tripod.com/quesnelhouse/id145.htm

Ingredients;
1 lb navy or small white pea beans
1/4 lb salt pork
1 tsp dry mustard
1 medium chopped onion
1/c cup molasses


Directions;
Pick over the washed beans. soak overnight in a good size bowl (they swell
with water). Place beans into a  pot and parboil until skins appear on the
surface of the water. Strain, and place a layer of beans on bottom of cast
iron pot. Add onion. Add another layer. Cut through the pork and place on
beans. Put the rest of the beans in pot and cover with salt, pepper,
mustard, molasses and the last piece of pork. Pour warm water to cover over
the beans. Cover tightly and cook in a 300 degree over for 6 hours, checking
often to add more water if needed. Yields 6 servings. Serve with hot crusty
rolls.

***************************

Potato pie
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/canadian/00/rec0060.html

       Title: Pate Aux Patates (Potato Pie)
  Categories: Vegetables, Pies, Ethnic
       Yield: 1 servings

       5    Potatoes; to 6 hot                  1 tb Parsley;chopped, fresh
            Milk                                1 pn Savory, dried -OR-
       2 ts Butter                              1 pn -Chives, fresh
       2    Egg yolks                                -Salt & ground pepper
       1    Onion; finely chopped                    Pastry for double crust
9"
     1/4 c  Celery stalk; & leaves                   -pie
            -finely chopped

   Pate aux Patates

   This potato pie makes a warming supper dish. It was a Friday favorite in
   the days when the meatless rule was observed in French Catholic families,
   says Nicole Kretz.

     Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry, Mash potatoes with enough milk to
   make a smooth puree; add butter and 1 egg yolk. Combine potatoes with
   onion, celery, parsley and savoury; season with salt and pepper to taste.
     Sprinkle potato mixture in pie shell. Cover with top crust, trim and
   crimp edges to seal and cut steam vents. Brush top crust with remaining
egg
   yolk.bake pie in a preheated 400F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until
pastry
   is golden. SERVES: 6-8

   SOURCE: _A Taste of Quebec_ by JULIAN ARMSTRONG

************************

Mashed Rutabagas

http://www.happyones.com/franco-american/Juliana/Le-Navot2.htm

"Navot" or "Navet"
means "Turnip"
By Juliana Lâ?THeureux
Back to Juliana's Writings
Franco-American love to eat mashed â?onavotâ?T during cold winter months.
Actually, â?onavotâ? is the Acadian French word for yellow turnip.  In
standard French, the yellow turnip is translated to â?ole navetâ?, but the
Franco-Americans and Acadians call it â?ole navotâ? (pronounced
â?onavooooâ?).  Sometimes the Canadian and Acadian word variations differ
because they are remnants of how the word was pronounced in Medieval France.

Whatever the French call it, Franco-Americans love eating this winter staple
after it is finely mashed with a little milk, butter, salt and pepper.
Traditionally, the vegetable is served after being hand crushed with a
potato masher to resemble coarse baby food.

 Les navot became a winter staple because the family root cellar kept the
vegetable fresh throughout the cold months.  Carrots, potatoes and les navot
were stored together in the cold storage bin usually located in the
familyâ?Ts basement.

People who shy away from yellow vegetables are not immediately taken with
les navot because the dish is an acquired ethnic taste.  Franco-Americans
find this vegetable delicious, especially when mashed with carrots. Although
many folks perceive the simple yellow turnip-carrot combination as a ho-hum
nutritious side dish loaded with fiber, Franco-Americans know them as an
utterly delectable blending.

â?oLes navotâ? is excellent when served with New England boiled dinner
because the tart flavor blends with the flavored broth. A Franco-American
New England boiled dinner is cooked with stew beef, onions, potatoes,
carrots, cabbage and â?oles navotâ?.

 Yellow turnips and carrots can be served elegantly side by side without
being mashed.  Still, Franco-Americans have a traditional of whipping them
like potatoes.  Actually, when cooked, diced and served alongside one
another in a china bowl, the two vegetables present a tantalizing side dish
to either pot roast or pork roasts. In Quebec, les navot is served diced in
lamb stew (ragout d'agneau).
â?oLes navotâ? is served in a glass or china dish for formal occasions.
Informally, most families designate a strong family cook to take charge of
mashing the vegetable along with carrots.  In our house, it takes five
minutes of mashing before serving. â?oWhoâ?Ts mashing les navot?â? is a
common request, like asking who will mash the potatoes?

When â?oles navotâ? are mashed with potatoes as well as carrots in the same
dish, the result is a three vegetable combination appealing to
Franco-American dinner guests, but others generally require an orientation
to the white, orange and yellow pureed contents before venturing a taste.

Franco-Americans enjoy the taste of les navot because of the hefty amount of
butter used in the mashing. About half a stick of butter is used during the
mashing ritual.

 Les navot are not exactly easy to serve because of the hard labor it takes
to peel, cut, cook and mash the vegetable. Preparing the raw vegetable for
cooking is like trying to carve stones for dinner.  Fortunately, modern
cooks find les navot already peeled and diced in the supermarketâ?Ts fresh
vegetable section.  After cooking, les navot become soft and are fairly easy
to mash.

In our health conscious society, Franco-Americans should promote the
nutritious les navot and include this vegetable in all-ethnic ragout recipes
and side dishes.

Scalloped Rutabaga and Apple
Ingredients
One large rutabaga
One tablespoon butter
1 and ½ cup sliced apples
¼ cup brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Procedure
Cook and mash the rutabaga and add one tablespoon butter to the mixture.
Toss in apples with ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon.
Alternate layers of rutabaga and apples in greased casserole, end with
rutabaga.
Mix until crumbly the flour, the 1/3 cup brown sugar and two tablespoons of
butter.
Spread the sugar crumb mixture over the top of casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour.
Notes
Muriel Poulin is the originator of this recipe, she is a retired professor
of nursing from the Boston University School of Nursing (before the nursing
school was closed down by BU administration). She is a native of Springvale,
ME, a post graduate educated nurse, a world traveler, a hospice volunteer
extra-ordinary and she speaks French.
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Maine, August 2000
Copyright 1994-2000, Juliana L'Heureux



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