LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2017

STAPLES CANADIAN CLASSICS

POUTINE

Like it or leave it, poutine is us. Its parts—fries, gravy and

cheese curds—all existed in diner/café cuisine, but when and how the threesome got together is disputed. Some believe it happened in the late 1950s at the Cafe Ideal in Warwick, Que.; others support Drummonville’s Jean-Paul Roy, self-proclaimed “ l’inventeur de la potion ” a decade later. But, once launched, poutine took off, in- vading every main street, mall and truck stop in Canada. It’s cheap and filling but can go upscale—the Canadian Embassy in Washington’s Trump Inauguration buffet featured a poutine station. While poutine, a “mess” in Quebec slang, looks simple, the deliciousness is in the details. Quebec is a dairying province, and fresh cheese curds, the iconic Quebec snack, are sold everywhere. Curds, not grated cheese! No matter how fancy-pants the chef may be, it’s curds, and they must be squeaky, i.e. not older than a day. Shipped-from-away curds? Non . The gravy, chicken or beef has to be hot enough to soften but not melt the curds, and the frites must keep their crunch, in spite of the gravy.

SALT COD CAKES recipe on page 147

SALMON Six different species of Pacific salmon—chinook,

COD

coho, sockeye, steelhead, pink and chum—and one Atlan- tic have nourishedFirst Nations formillennia, a fresh feast in the summer and fall runs, and wind- and sun-dried for winter. Poached whole salmon has long been the pièce de résistance at fancy receptions; canned, it anchors tea parties and school lunches alike. Cold smoked salmon remains an upper crust canapé and a faithful companion to bagels with cream cheese. To cook salmon in a West Coast First Nations’ method, split the salmon along the backbone, gut it and rub it with salt and sugar. Thread it onto a sturdy stick; weave thin sticks across the salmon to hold it open. Press the stick into the ground with the salmon facing burning coals. Roast until it takes on crisp caramelized edges and a woodsy smokiness.

The cod fishery in Canada has a long history, going back over a millennium to Vikings, then Basque fishers who caught and salted their catch before North America was officially “discovered.” Everywhere salt cod was fished or traded, it left its mark. It’s the prized Christmas Eve fare in Portugal, Spain and Italy, and the memory of salt cod lives on in Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and salt fish. And certainly on the table of Canadians, notably along the Atlantic coast, cod was always king, the main ingredient in many colourful dishes. Take fried cod tongues—just what they are. Fish soup made with cod heads. Fish and chips served to the post-pub crowd with a side dish of dressing made of bread and onions, à la roast turkey. Cod au gratin—fresh fillets covered in a cheddar cream sauce, baked and crisped under the broiler. Fish and brewis—salt cod soaked to remove the salt, combined with softened hard tack and a generous topping of diced and crispy fried salt-pork scrunchions. No part of the fish was wasted. Thrifty cooks took advantage of leftover cod and potatoes, mixed in an egg, and formed the mixture into cod cakes—a fine supper and an excellent breakfast.

FOOD & DRI NK SUMMER