Live here, eat here
I’ve always bought local, then Canadian products when available but lately I’ve been making grocery choices on the basis of geography. It’s a bit of a shock because I’m not particularly militant. The stars of today’s dishes are iconic and all ours.
Lobster Omelet
This is the way to use up that little taste of lobster that you set aside for breakfast after the night-before boil-up.
For those of you who refuse to serve shellfish with cheese feel free to leave out the Swiss, although I think a small amount elevates the texture and flavor of the eggs and perfectly complements the lobster.
There is no substitute for wine here. If you don’t cook with alcohol leave it out.
Local mushrooms are hard to come by if you don’t forage or know someone who does, so pick the best, most flavourful varieties you can get. White button mushrooms are delicious but a mixture is definitely better.
Omelets are not mysterious if you decide you’re going to cook it exactly as you like. For me, it’s just cooked through with not too much colour. This one is easy to get right because you don’t have to heat the filling with the egg—you’ll have that standing by so you don’t have to worry about overcooking.
Allow two eggs per person but make a panful to serve a brunch crowd.
Filling:
2 cups diced fresh mushrooms, any varieties you like 1 tbsp. butter
¼ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good dry white wine 2 tbsp. whipping cream
½ cup coarsely chopped cooked lobster
1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon or flat-leaf parsley leaves
Omelet:
1 tsp. each butter and olive oil 4 eggs
¼ tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. finely grated Swiss cheese
Make the filling first. Fry mushrooms in butter in a nonstick frying pan over mediumhigh heat until they start to brown. Add salt and pepper and continue to cook until all the liquid released by the mushrooms evaporates and they start to sizzle again.
Add wine and cook until liquid
is reduced by about half. Stir in cream and simmer a minute—sauce should be thick and creamy but not dry. Add lobster and tarragon and heat through gently. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Wipe out the pan and add butter and oil. Heat over medium-high until foaming subsides. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper and pour all at once into the pan. With a spatula, pull the edges toward the centre of the pan, allowing the liquid egg to flow into the open spaces and under the cooked bits. Continue until the centre is almost set but still a bit jiggly. Be careful as you move around the egg not to beat it up too much.
Spoon the reserved filling over the top and flip to encase in a half-moon. Immediately remove to a warm serving plate and top with Swiss cheese.
Rhubarb and Mango Ice Cream
It’s been a strange growing year so far—my little bushes weren’t at all happy about the lack of snow or the late frost. Friends assured me, however, that the rhubarb still came up and there was enough for me to try a couple of new recipes, as long as I shared the results, of course.
Growing up we had lots of berries in the garden and there was always a bowl of stewed fruit in the fridge. It was a great way to use the less-than-perfect scraps and was forgiving enough to include any fruit that needed a home, including rhubarb.
You can buy vanilla ice cream, soften it, stir in the stewed rhubarb and refreeze, but there’s something satisfying about making this from scratch. You don’t need any special machinery for this recipe—just some patience.
As you might have guessed, mango is not locally grown. You can leave it out but I’m okay putting a dollar in Mexico’s pocket.
This makes 16 large scoops but is leftover ice cream really a problem?
3 cups finely diced fresh rhubarb
¼ cup fresh, finely diced mango
¼ cup water
2 cups whipping cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Combine rhubarb, mango and water and bring to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Simmer, uncovered, until there is no liquid puddling on top and mixture is the consistency of thick applesauce. This will take 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how much liquid is in the rhubarb, and you must pay attention towards the end so it doesn’t boil completely dry and stick to the pot. Set aside to cool.
Whip cream until soft peaks form—you aren’t looking for a firm consistency so watch it carefully, especially if you use a stand mixer. On lowest speed or by hand, mix in the sweetened condensed milk and cooked and cooled rhubarb mixture. Spoon into a container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze several hours before serving. I make a little extra of the sour fruit compote for the top.