Lac-St-Jean Tourtière

Ingredients Beef + pork + calf  equally cut into cubes of about 1cm * 1cm A bit of chicken breast cut into cubes of about 1cm * 1cm Some red onions, finely chopped A piece of streaky bacon Potatoes cut into cubes of about 1cm * 1cm (+ or - the same amount as the cubes of meat) Pastry Beef broth

Beet Soup

Ingredients • 2 pounds beets (900g) • 1 big red onion (or 2 small) • 2-3 sticks of celery • 3-4 laurier leaves • Dried thyme • 2x 900 ml chicken broth • 200 ml of water • 35% milk cream

White Truffles from Alba, Italy

Truffle of Alba is the rarest and the most expensive of all truffles. It has got its identity and popularity spread across the globe in the palate of food connoisseurs and gastronomical experts. It is a globular shaped fruit of the earth, which has many depressions on the rind to make it irregular. The outer smooth and velvety surface has color varying from pale ochre to dark cream to greenish, the inner flesh or “gleba” is unmistakable and is white or greyish yellow with thin white veins.

Speck, Ham from the Italian Alps

Speck is an Italian ham somehow similar to prosciutto. It is one of the most important and popular product from Alto Adige, Italy’s northernmost and bi-lingual province also known as Südtirol in German (South Tyrol). This area was sometimes controlled by Austria and sometimes by Italy until the the end of WW1 when it became Italian.  A distinctly flavored, dry- and smoke-cured ham, speck is considered a fine example of the melding of the Northern European and Mediterranean cultures that influenced the region. Speck is made from the hog’s leg. Its flavor is more delicate than the salty hams of central-northern Europe, but stronger than the typical Italian prosciutto. It owes its unique flavour to the traditional production rule -a little salt, a little smoke and lots of fresh air. It’s still a homemade process protected by a Protected Geographical Indication designation. The meat is seasoned with salt and spices that include pepper, laurel, juniper berries and  other spices, before being allowed to rest for about a month. Speck is then smoked using flavorful beech wood, ash or juniper for ten days. The meat is then aged again for several months to produce a recognizable aroma and flavor, a distinct red interior, with a smokey , slightly spicy but buttery taste, mild yet aromatic, Speck is often served sliced thin or diced but can also be used to cook with, easily replacing bacon or as a smoky alternative to Pancetta.

Ingredients 1/2 pound asparagus, rough ends removed 1/4 pound speck, cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 tablespoons  extra virgin olive oil 1 medium onion chopped into 1/8-inch dice 1 1/2 cups rice 4 tablespoons 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano1 bunch Italian Parsley , finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup Directions 10Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Set up ice bath nearby. Blanch the asparagus for 1 minute, place in an ice bath, and reserve the asparagus cooking water. Once the asparagus is cooled, drain and cut into 1-inch lengths. Set aside. In a heavy-bottomed skillet with 3-inch sides, combine the speck, olive oil and onion and cook over medium heat until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and, stirring constantly, cook until the rice turns opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus cooking water until it covers the rice. Turn the heat up to high, stirring constantly, and cook the rice until the liquid level goes below the level of the rice. Continue adding the warm asparagus cooking liquid, 1 ladle at a time, to maintain the liquid level above the rice for 15 minutes. Add the asparagus to the rice and cook until the rice is soft but still al dente. Remove from heat, add butter, Parmigiano and parsley and stir through. Serve immediately.

Bottarga the Mediterranean Caviar

Bottarga is one of the true gastronomic gems to hail from Italy. It is a very simple product born out of the need in pre-refridgeration days to preserve food using salt. Bottarga is the egg sack of certain marine fish. The roe is prepared by salting, pressing and drying for up to 6 months in cool well aired rooms. There are two types, Bottarga di Tonno (Tuna) and the more prized Bottarga di Muggine (gray Mullet). Tuna bottarga is mostly produced in Sicily (it is sometimes referred to as Sicilian Caviar) where the now much declined Tuna fishery is based. It is gray in color and has a stronger, saltier more robust flavor than that of the gray Mullet. The best examples of mullet bottarga come from Sardinia. Colors naturally vary from golden yellow to darker shades of reddish brown. So using sea salt, the roe is cured and dried to perfection, then waxed to prevent further drying and exposure to light.  Waxing also prevents contact with foreign matter. For the novice, it appears quite unique, odorless, and may look like a flat waxed sausage. But once the wax is removed, your taste buds will discover one of the most flavorful marine products. Suggested serving and setting for Bottarga Bottarga is generally eaten as an appetizer. Slice Bottarga thin, then squeeze lightly to remove the wax. Serve Bottarga with a touch of olive oil and lime, accompanied by crackers and green olives. Suggested spirits include: Arak, Pernaud, Vodka, or fig liquor.

Bottarga Pasta Recipe 2 good handfuls of pasta – spaghetti works great here 1 clove of garlic, finely minced 1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped bottarga to taste – about 2 tablespoons really good olive oil – about 5 tablespoons

Chapatti (Paratha)

	Parathas are an Indian unleavened bread and an integral part of many Indian meals. Any subzi (vegetable) or curry dish can be fabulous when accompanied with fresh, hot parathas. Try this recipe. It’ll be worth your while! Although we refer to this recipe as Chapatti in the video, this is actually a Paratha recipe. The difference between the two is that Chapattis are cooked without oil whereas Parathas are pan fried. Ingredients ·         1 and ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour ·         ¼ tsp Salt, or to taste ·         3 tsp Oil ·         ½ cups Water
Method: Step 1: Top Tip: Whole Wheat Flour We have used whole wheat flour from the Indian store as its a little different from the whole wheat flour that you find in the grocery stores. The one in the American grocery stores is usually a lot darker in color, so chapattis turn a little browner than you probably like them, this one is available in any Indian store its called chapatti atta and is readily available. Step 2: Coat The Dough Just mix all that dough in and form a nice ball. It doesn't take a lot of time at all, but people are scared to do this, because you're using your hands and that freaks people out, but it really is not that bad. It literally takes under a minute to make this dough. When the dough is in a nice ball, we're going to take just a couple of drops of oil, just to lightly coat it and in that way it doesn't form a dry skin on top of the dough. Then keep it covered for about 15 to 20 minutes. Step 3: An Alternative Method So if you are not comfortable using your hands while making the dough, here's another alternative way of doing it. Here's the whole wheat flour, I'm going to use the food processor, and use a chopping blade instead of a dough blade, because it just mixes better and it gets all the edges and there's nothing left at the sides. Mix in the salt at this point and I'm going to give it a mix. Then I'm going to add in the oil. Heated up the water for 30 seconds and am going to pour it in very slowly once i have the food processor on. This is just as easy. It's best just to give it one knead by hand just to incorporate everything and make sure there's no air bubbles and all in it. This food processor option is really good if you're making dough in bulk because i understand that dough freezes really well Then put a couple of drops of oil and just smother a little bit, rub it a little bit so that it doesn't dry out and cover it up. Then set it aside for 15 minutes as before. Step 4: Size The Dough After it has been resting for about 15 to 20 minutes we're going to knead the dough one more time quickly. This is 1 and 1/2 cups of dry flour, so it makes approximately 9 chapattis. But there's no signs involved, so if you like really big chapattis it can be less and if you want small ones you know it'll make more. But something that fits in to your palm or close fist, a kind of a golf size ball is perfect. So just divide it out. Step 5: Prepare The Pan Before we start rolling out chapattis  go ahead and turn on our stove and get our pan heated. The pan are using is called a tawa. You can also use a non stick frying pan. Put the stove on medium heat, or a little bit higher than medium. And you want to make sure your pan is really hot before you put your first chapatti on. Step 6: Shape The Dough So while our pan is heating, take dough and form a nice round ball. If you start off with a round ball, the shape changes, but your final chapatti will probably be round also. Then go to dip it in some dry flour, shake off the excess and roll it out. Now this rolling pin is my favorite. It's a thinner version, but a lot of people are used to the thicker version of the rolling pins. Whatever you have is absolutely fine and if you notice that your chapatti is sticking to the ground or to whatever surface you are rolling out on, take it and dip it again in the dry flour. This is a trick that my mom taught me when i was learning how to do this when i was little, you rub your hand across it, and instantly you'll feel where its thicker and where it's thinner and then you can just roll the parts that are thicker, that way you don't have a chapatti that is really thin on one side and really thick on the other side that also helps in blowing up when you're cooking it. Step 7: Cook The Chapatti The tawa looks hot so put rolled chapatti in and move it around to make sure it doesn't stick. Then leave it alone until we start seeing bubbles appearing, and then flip it around, and let go for a few seconds. Now  take some oil and just dip your spoon in to your oil and then whatever is left, the remainder few drops, just put it on and smear it on like that and flip it around and press. You want to press where it bubbles to force the air to the other side which is not risen yet. Smear the oil again and press. You want to cook the chapatti until you see that all the doughiness is gone and it looks fully cooked. It's ok to have little brown spots on it. Step 8: Serve It looks delicious and there's nothing like home made chapattis. You can buy these from the store but when you taste these like fresh off the stove it's awesome. And one of the other reasons why it doesn't taste as nice sometimes is a lot of people don't use oil in their chapattis, but I put oil inside the dough and what happens with that is that when you eat the chapatti a little bit later on, it still tastes nice and soft, as supposed to the dough which has been prepared without oil, which tends to turn a little bit chewier. Once the chapatti is cooked I like to keep it in a nice insulated cannister like this. It helps it to stay nice and warm. So you can finish all your chapattis and sit with you family and enjoy your dinner and they'll still be piping hot. So there we have it. Fresh home made chapattis.

Vegetable Samosa

Samosa is probably the most popular snack in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, especially at tea time. When an unexpected guest arrives, most people send someone round to their local shop to pick up freshly made, piping hot samosas. Traditionally, Indian samosas are filled with a mix of potatoes and peas. Ingredients ·         Filo Pastry/Samosa Pads ·         1 Egg, Beaten ·         Oil ·         3 Potatoes, Boiled, peeled, mashed ·         ½ cups (120ml) Green Peas, Boiled, peeled, mashed ·         2 Fresh Green Chillies, Finely Chopped ·         ½ tsp Ginger & Garlic Paste ·         1 tbsp Coriander, Finely Chopped ·         ½ tsp Garam Masala ·         1 tsp Salt ·         ½ tsp Chilli Powder ·         1 ½ tsp Lemon Juice ·         1 Frying Pan ·         1 Slotted Spoon