Recipes, tips and reviews
These recipes are developed, tested and re-tested until perfect. Try one at home tonight.
I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
The best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.
This dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.
This is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.
Mushrooms and squash have a real affinity and this soup proves it. I like to use oyster mushrooms, but chanterelles, which I found at the supermarket this week, provide the best flavour.
The fifth taste, umami, has much to do with glutamate, an amino acid found in such foods as prosciutto, soy sauce and a number of cheeses. Umami can show up in your glass, too (fermentation is glutamate’s old friend).
When this recipe originally ran in The Globe and Mail, I received a lovely note from reader Barbara Zuchowicz. This dish reminded her of a wonderful meal she had in Italy: "It brought back joyful memories of a trip to Italy my late husband, an exceptional cook, and I took a number of years ago.
When you’re cooking with skewers it’s important to remember that steel versions conduct heat better, and therefore cook meat faster (depending on the dish). If, like me, you prefer using rosemary branches, lemongrass or wooden sticks for skewering, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Otherwise, they’ll flame up and burn on the grill.
Read MoreScrambles are fun to experiment with. You can substitute ground beef, turkey or chicken. When my daughter Emma made it, she added a drained can of black beans – a healthy improvement. You could add a handful of baby spinach. or toss in mushrooms or zucchini if you have a few in the vegetable drawer. Change the spicing to Indian with curry paste or Thai with Thai red curry paste.
Read MorePork with clams is a Portuguese staple. This dish is a more upmarket rendering than others. We used pork loin (try to get the end piece as it has a bit more fat). We sautéed it for a few minutes, made a deep, rich sauce and finished everything by steaming pasta clams in the sauce. If pasta clams (small ones) are not easily obtainable substitute the larger ones. They take longer to open.
Read MorePulled pork is a favourite in the southern United States and it's easy to see why. It is southern comfort food at its best: Whole pigs (or parts of them) are slow-cooked for many hours over a charcoal pit and the accompanying barbecue sauce, which is more vinegar than tomato, is the perfect accompaniment to the sweetness of the pork. The pork is cooked until very tender, then pulled or chopped and served (usually as a sandwich). It's a great way to feed a crowd.
Brining will improve the flavour and texture of most pork, even if the meat is inadvertently overcooked. But it isn't necessary with Berkshire pork, which is already tender and flavourful. Make sure the butcher frenches the bones on the rack of pork for you (i.e. cuts away the meat and fat from the bones). Ingredients
Authentic Caribbean jerk pork is grilled over a slow fire until it reaches a lovely mahogany shade and the spices have permeated the meat. However, the easiest way to prepare it at home when it's cold outside is to bake it in a hot oven. If you want the dish to be spicier, add authentic Caribbean chili peppers such as Scotch bonnets, but remember that these are the hottest peppers around. Serve with pineapple salsa or buy a spicy salsa to go with it.
Pork can often be dry, so I usually give it a quick soak in a brine to make it juicier. Serve this with beet conserve, broccoli and (very German) steamed potatoes.
Read MoreThe best pork roast, in my opinion, is a rack and it looks splendid for the holiday table. If you buy 2 racks you can stand them up together for an impressive crown roast.
Read MoreThis recipe comes from Mike Dolegowski and Mackenzie Chiu, who are partners in a catering business (M3 Foods in Toronto). They will be opening a new sandwich shop called Fuel House in the fall. This sandwich is a modern take on the classic Vietnamese banh mi, replacing the standard cold cuts with a more indulgent pork belly.
Read MoreCrown roast of pork makes a spectacular holiday meal. The roast is a 14-rib piece of meat – a butcher will tie two rib racks end to end to produce the crown. Make sure the butcher frenches the bones (detaches the meat and fat) for you.
Read MoreFrom tacos, to pork belly extravaganzas, the sandwich is having a culinary moment. One of the juiciest, tastiest sandwiches I ever had was at Publican Quality Meats in Chicago, a real deli with a commitment to making the best charcuterie and artisan meat.
Using Indian spices in a subtle manner enhances the flavour of pork wonderfully, as you’ll find in the recipe below. If you don’t have a spice grinder, use ground spices, although they don’t have the same depth of flavour. For an accompanying apple compote, spy or Granny Smith apples are best.
Read MoreThis simplicity of this dish means the flavour depends on the quality of the pork and tomatoes. Oaxaca-grown chile de agua look like a smaller poblano but are much hotter. Since they’re not widely available, Kennedy suggests using a fresh green chili.
Read MoreChef Nick Liu serves pork belly at Chinese New Year. If you can’t find Shaoxing rice wine, substitute dry sherry.
Read MoreLess widely known than its Spanish counterpart, Portuguese cuisine is having a renaissance.
Read MoreWhen you’re cooking with skewers it’s important to remember that steel versions conduct heat better, and therefore cook meat faster (depending on the dish). If, like me, you prefer using rosemary branches, lemongrass or wooden sticks for skewering, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Otherwise, they’ll flame up and burn on the grill.
Read MoreJulian Armstrong, the long-time food writer at the Montreal Gazette, is an incredible authority on Quebec cooking. In her new book, Made in Quebec(published by HarperCollins), she explores all facets of the food-fixated province.
Read MoreRack of pork always looks spectacular and is easy to carve, too – it makes for a great main for Christmas dinner. Brining the pork adds texture and flavour, bringing both sweetness and spice to it.
Read MoreA tasty stir-fry combining ingredients that are Cuban. Use canned black beans and shred the sweet potato on a mandolin or grater. This insures it cooks quickly in the skillet.
Read MoreThe secret to juicy pork chops, which can easily become dry when grilled or baked, is brining. It really does make all the difference and renders the meat not only succulent but extra-flavourful.
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© 2018, Lucy Waverman.
