Recipes to celebrate our 150th
CROSS COUNTRY: Eat Over Canada series begins with crab, wild rice and spring fruit
One of my favourite Vancouver attractions is FlyOver Canada, a breathtaking simulated flight that showcases dazzling peaks, golden prairies, majestic icebergs and northern lights.
That panoramic celebration of our country’s natural wonders is the inspiration for Eat Over Canada, a series of columns that will celebrate wonderful recipes from across the nation in the lead-up to our 150th birthday on July 1. Look for subsequent instalments on June 15 and June 29.
When a Vancouverite considers Canada’s culinary bounty, our thoughts first turn to the sea. Today’s recipe for Dungeness Crab Tart can also be made with snow crab from the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec.
The second recipe is a sentimental favourite from the gone-but-notforgotten Minaki Lodge in Ontario, which had a wonderful way with wild rice, proudly produced in Ontario and Manitoba.
For dessert, I offer a late-spring/ early summer delight with Rhubarb-Strawberry Fool.
Dungeness Crab Tart
This recipe, adapted from True North by Derek Dammann and Chris Johns (HarperCollins, 2015), breaks the no-cheese-with-fish rule, but the Parmesan really brings it all together.
Serves: 8 Pastry dough to line a 10-inch (25cm) tart pan (equivalent of a singlecrust pie) 3 tbsp (45 mL) canola oil 1 onion, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced, or ½ tsp (2 mL) crushed (hot) red pepper
1 lb (450 g) cooked Dungeness (or snow crab) meat, picked over for shell
¼ cup (60 mL) finely chopped flatleaf parsley
3 tbsp (45 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 2/3 cup (160 mL) heavy cream 1 cup (250 mL) whole milk Lemon slices for serving
On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to the thickness of a nickel. Arrange it in a 10-inch (25-cm) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, cutting away the excess by pressing against the pan edge. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Prick tart shell several times with a fork, line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. Place it on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, rotating it halfway through. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the pastry is light golden. Remove to a cooling rack. (Leave the oven on.)
In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high until almost smoking. Sauté the onion until soft and golden. Add the garlic and the jalapeno, and sauté briefly. Remove from the heat and stir in the crab.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the parsley, Parmesan and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon the crab filling into the warm tart shell, spreading gently.
Whisk the eggs and yolks with the cream and milk. Carefully pour most of the mixture over the crabmeat, making sure to fill all the crevices.
Bake the tart for 7 minutes, then add the remaining custard until it’s flush with the top of the crust. Bake, rotating halfway, until the custard is set, 40 to 45 minutes.
Allow the tart to rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour before slicing. Serve at room temperature with lemon slices.
Minaki Lodge Wild Rice Pilaf
The historic Minaki Lodge was destroyed by fire in 2003, but its memory lives on in this lovely dish. Wild rice, which sustained Canada’s first people, is not a rice at all but rather the seed of an aquatic grass.
Makes: 4 servings. 2 tbsp (25 mL) butter ½ cup (125 mL) chopped shallots or onions 1 garlic clove 1 cup (250 mL) wild rice, rinsed 2 cups (500 mL) chicken broth 2 bay leaves ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped red bell pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt the butter in a small, heavy saucepan, and sauté the shallots and garlic until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, stirring to coat. Add the broth, bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes, until rice is tender but just a little chewy. If necessary, uncover for the last 5 minutes to evaporate remaining broth. Remove bay leaves and stir in red bell pepper.
Rhubarb-Strawberry Fool
Rhubarb and strawberries are harbingers of summer in northern climes, and this easy dessert makes the most of them.
Serves: 4 1 lb (450 g) rhubarb About 1 cup (250 mL) sugar (adjust according to tartness of rhubarb) 2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice 1½ cups (375 mL) whipping cream 1 cup (250 mL) sliced strawberries ¼ cup (60 mL) slivered almonds, toasted
4 strawberries for garnish Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Cut rhubarb into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces, spread in a single layer in a baking dish and sprinkle with sugar. Cover the pan with foil and bake about 35 minutes, until rhubarb is tender. Drain off the liquid, stir in the lemon juice, and chill the rhubarb in the refrigerator.
Whip the cream until stiff. Reserve a little for garnish, and fold the rest into the chilled rhubarb along with the sliced strawberries. Serve in stemmed glasses garnished with whipped cream, almonds and whole strawberries.
Kitchen Hack:
To free a baked tart from the pan ring, set a wide, stout can on a flat surface and set the cooled tart on it. Grasp the pan ring and gently pull it downward. The can will support the pan base with the tart as you remove the ring.