There is an excellent charity book sale here every June. Although the usual mountains of cookbooks produced by church groups or clubs – often the most interesting material, in my view – were not in evidence, I did locate some worthwhile volumes. Among these is Mme. Jehane Benoit,
The Canadiana Cookbook: A Complete Heritage of Canadian Cooking (1970). Here is a small sampling of the recipes, with Madame Benoit’s prefatory notes.
Quebec:
Soupe aux Quatorze Affaires
The true pea soup, slowly simmered to perfect goodness, was so named because fourteen ingredients had to be used to make it perfect. Part of these ingredients were the famous
”herbes salées” [see also
here] which some still make. Freezing improves the robust pleasant texture and flavor of the soup.
1 lb. salt pork, lean and fat
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 lb. dried peas
8 cups cold water
1 large onion, sliced thin
½ tsp. savory*
¾ tsp. wild or dried mint*
⅛ tsp. thyme
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced*
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can hominy corn
1 cup dried bread chips
1 tbsp. coarse salt*
1 tbsp. butter
Rub the salt pork with the dry mustard. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Meanwhile sort, wash then soak the peas in the cold water for 12 hours.
Place in a soup kettle — the peas and their water, the pork, onion, savory, mint, thyme, parsley and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer them 3 to 4 hours, or until the peas are tender and the soup appears to be creamy. Add the hominy and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the bread chips, salt and the butter. Taste for seasoning and serve.
*These five ingredients may be replaced with ¼ cup salted herbs.
Green Tomato Soup
I have never seen this soup served anywhere in Canada except in Quebec. The following is a recipe from my family.
3 cups green tomatoes, unpeeled and chopped fine
1 onion, chopped
¼ tsp. cinnamon
⅛ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. pepper
2 cups water
¼ tsp. soda
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
Place in a saucepan — the tomatoes, onion, cinnamon, ground cloves, sugar, pepper and water. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 minutes. Add the soda.
Melt the butter and the flour. Mix and add the milk. Cook until creamy, stirring constantly. Add the green tomatoes to the cream. Mix thoroughly. Salt to taste and serve.
Canard à la Rhubarbe
(Rhubard Duck)
The first rhubarb was brought to Quebec by the English. It had come to England in the 1700s by way of Padua in Italy. A guide who lived with the Indians for most of his life had learned and mastered many a way to cook duck. He believed that rhubarb restored a man’s strength and he used lots of it.
2 wild ducks or 1 domestic duck
2 tsp. ground ginger
6 cups rhubarb, diced
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 cup apple or orange juice
1 tbsp. honey
Salt and pepper to taste
If you do not care for the flavor of wild or domestic duck, remove the skin and all visible fat and rub all over with the ginger, or leave the skin on and rub all over inside cavity with the ginger.
Mix the rhubarb, cinnamon, sugar and honey. Use 1½ cups of this to stuff the ducks. Place the duck in a deep cast-iron saucepan. Pour the water on top, and fill the pan with the rhubarb mixture. Be sure to cover the entire duck at least one inch deep. Add more rhubarb if necessary. Cover tightly. Place in a 375⁰F oven for 1½ hours. My guide used to leave the pot 6 to 8 hours buried in the breakfast embers. Lower the heat to 350⁰F after 1 hour.
When done remove duck to a hot platter. Melt the butter, add the flour, stir together and add the apple or orange juice, honey, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring all the time, until creamy. Pour into the rhubarb in the pan. Simmer together for 10 minutes. Pour some over the duck. Serve rest of sauce in a bowl.
Ontario:
Trout in Corn Husks
This recipe is an old idea, learned from the Indians who were masters of cooking small fish in this marvellous way....
Because this is an open-fire cooking technique, it is suitable for the modern-day backyard barbecue as well as open fires on camping trips. You can use trout, or any pan fish, such as perch.
Clean and scale the fish, and place a lump of butter or melted salt pork in the cavity. Sprinkle with black pepper. Wrap each fish in a whole husk of corn, from which the corn and silk have been removed. Smooth down the husk and tie at the silk end. Place at edge of fire. Cover with live coals. It cooks to perfection in 15 minutes.
New Brunswick:
Oyster Stuffed Halibut
Not every day fare, but a truly elegant dish — perfect for a buffet supper.
2 slices halibut 1 inch thick
1 cup oyster stuffing
¼ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup white wine
Oyster stuffing:
½ pint oysters
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. onion juice
¼ tsp. mixed herbs
Wipe fish. Place one slice in a lightly buttered fireproof baking dish which can be sent to the table. Cover with oyster stuffing. Top with a second slice of fish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Cover with wine. Bake for ½ hour in 375⁰F-400⁰F oven.
N.W.T.:
Potted Char
1½-2 lbs. char
1 cup clam juice or white wine
1 cup water
Juice of half a lemon or 1 tbsp. bottled lemon
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped
½ to 1 cup melted butter
Clean fish. Place in saucepan with the clam juice or white wine, the water, lemon juice, onion, carrot, and parsley. Simmer 20 minutes. Cool in bouillon. Remove skin and bones, break into pieces. Place in earthenware pot. Pour melted butter on top. Cover and bake in 350⁰F oven for 30 minutes. Cool, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Potted char will keep two to four weeks refrigerated.
[Arctic char is a salmonid fish whose flavour is even milder than that of trout or Atlantic salmon.]
Yukon:
Slumgullion
Take any minced meat from game. Season and shape into patties. Brown in fat then stew for 1 hour with 1 large can of tomatoes, a spoonful of sugar or molasses, salt, pepper and cooked noodles added in the last 20 minutes. The whole is well simmered and eaten with a spoon.