There is something so quintessentially, well, Montreal about Montreal Cooks: A Tasting Menu From the City’s Leading Chefs (Figure 1 Publishing, $37.95), a beautiful and generous new cookbook by Jonathan Cheung and Tays Spencer featuring recipes from 40 leading Montreal chefs, from Derek Dammann to Dyan Solomon, Antonio Park to Joe Mercuri.
Montreal chefs cook “ignoring stereotypes and convention, taking risks while putting their heritage centre stage, making delicious, lustful food the only way they know how,” writes the New York-based culinary expert and television personality Gail Simmons in the foreword “Like Montrealers.”
The book is beautiful because photographer Fabrice Gaëtan has done so masterful a job with the black-and-white portraits of the chefs and the full-colour portraits of their dishes. And it is generous because the personalities of the chefs shine through in their portraits, in Spencer’s bios accompanying each portrait – and in the glorious pictures of their dishes.
Montreal restaurant chefs cook “some of the most outrageous, exciting, thought-provoking and fabulous food in the world,” writes Simmons, who knows from Montreal restaurants. Her mother grew up in Montreal and left her heart “on Mount Royal, somewhere between Beaver Lake and Mile End” when she moved to Toronto in the early 1960s. And Simmons is married to a Montrealer, so she’s here several times a year to see friends and family – and to eat.
The book is a celebration of Montreal’s outrageously good restaurant scene – but it was written with the home cook in mind. How cool is it to have a dish you love in a restaurant or a café – and then to be able to recreate it in your own kitchen? The seafood bouillabaisse from Ferreira Café? Icelandic cod, borlotti beans, collards and tomato sauce from Garde Manger? Jun-i’s grilled yellowtail tuna with yuzu-miso glaze from chef Junichi Ikematsu? The lemon bars from Rustique?
The book, which features 80 recipes, two from each chef, is part of a series by the Vancouver-based publisher: Toronto Cooks and Calgary Cooks came out last fall, Winnipeg Cooks is being published this fall along with Montreal; Ottawa Cooks and Edmonton Cooks will be published next fall – and a Portland, Oregon version is in the works.
At the Montreal Cooks launch this month at Urban Bonfire in Point St-Charles, Spencer thanked the chefs for sharing their stories. Cheung added: “You make Montreal what it is today.”
Chefs often get credit for the food that comes out of their kitchens. But they don’t do it alone. And so the authors generously dedicate their book “to all the unsung heroes in the restaurant industry who help feed this amazing city of Montreal.”
A few of the chefs whose recipes appear in the book have moved on from the jobs they had when the book was being assembled: Tamara Clark has left Rustique, for instance, Gita Seaton has left Nouveau Palais, and Chris Parasiuk has left Manitoba – and, in fact, the restaurant industry altogether. But change is inevitable – in life as in the restaurant world.
AT A GLANCE
Montreal Cooks authors Jonathan Cheung and Tays Spencer, along with Gail Simmons, who wrote the foreword, will be signing copies on Nov. 28 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Appetite for Books, 388 Victoria Ave., Westmount.
sschwartz@montrealgazette.com
Twitter.com/susanschwartz
Related
Montreal Cooks: Authors' passion for food shaped the book
Tzimmes is a classic Ashkenazi Jewish dish, says chef Gita Seaton.
Gita Seaton’s Grilled Hanger Steaks and Tzimmes: a ‘fabulous plate for autumn’
She chose this dish for the book, said Gita Seaton, because she knew Montreal Cooks would be coming out in the fall, “and I felt it was a really fabulous plate for the autumn. People will have an opportunity to find the product.”
Grilled Hanger Steaks and Tzimmes
Serves 4
Tzimmes is a classic Ashkenazi Jewish dish, writes Montreal chef (and brand-new mother) Gita Seaton in Montreal Cooks. More often than not, this sweet vegetable stew is made mostly with carrots – but it can also include dried fruit and other root vegetables. Instead of cinnamon, which is often used in tzimmes, she uses dried balsam fir in hers. Balsam is a specialty product and can be hard to find; it is easily replaced by rosemary.
Brined hanger steak
5 cups water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup white sugar
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, black peppercorn, fresh thyme, garlic, parsley stem, tied together with string)
2 pounds cleaned hanger steak
1 tablespoon canola oil
freshly ground black pepper
Tzimmes
12 fingerling potatoes
1 to 2 delicata squash, washed well but unpeeled
2 tablespoons duck fat
1 cup veal reduction
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons dry balsam fir needles (or fresh rosemary if you cannot find balsam)
12 pitted prunes
salt and black pepper
pomegranate molasses for drizzling
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds for garnish
Brined hanger steak
Mix the water, salt and sugar in a large bowl until dissolved. Add the bouquet garni and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours to allow the flavours to infuse. (Think of it as salty iced tea.)
Cut the hanger steak into 4 equal parts, submerge them in the brine and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove the steak from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Discard the brine. Place the steak on a large plate, drizzle with the canola oil and season with some freshly ground pepper.
Instead of cinnamon, Gita Seaton uses dried balsam fir in her tzimmes.
Tzimmes
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the fingerlings and allow them to cook until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and allow to cool completely before cutting them in half lengthwise.
Cut the squash into rounds 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick, and place them in a steaming basket. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat, set the squash over the boiling water, cover and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender but not falling apart. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a plate with paper towels. Heat the duck fat in a frying pan over high heat until it is almost smoking. Place the fingerlings, cut side down, in the pan and cook until they are golden (reduce the temperature if the fat starts to burn), about 5 minutes.
Transfer the potatoes to the paper towel-lined plate to drain. Place the potatoes in the oven to keep warm.
Return the frying pan to the stove and add the veal reduction, maple syrup and balsam fir over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then take off the heat, allowing the mixture to stand for 3 to 4 minutes.
Place a fine-mesh sieve over a clean saucepan and strain the stock mixture through it. Stir in the prunes and the steamed squash. Place the saucepan over medium heat, shaking it gently to emulsify the fats, and allow the sauce to reduce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
To finish steaks, preheat a barbecue to medium heat. Place the steaks on the grill and cook on all sides until they are cooked to your preferred doneness (about 3 minutes per side for medium rare). Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving.
To serve, divide the fingerlings and the squash evenly among 4 plates. Spoon some of the tzimmes sauce over the vegetables. Top with a piece of hanger steak and drizzle with pomegranate molasses. Garnish with a few fresh pomegranate seeds and serve immediately.
Szechwan food is typically hot and this is a spicy dish, but it’s not as hot as you think, says Andy Su.
Andy Su, of Gia Ba, delivers subtle heat with Szechwan-Style Poached ‘White Fish’
In a city packed with Cantonese restaurants, Gia Ba offers a taste of Taiwan, writes Tays Spencer in Montreal Cooks. Flavours are a unique blend of influences from several regions and the menu combines the spiciness of Szechwan food, the sweetness of Thai cuisine and the saltiness of much Chinese cooking. She adds that “even a lightweight can handle the heat in Su’s dishes, “because the flavours hit the palate and then disappear, leaving us with a yearning for more.”
Szechwan-Style Poached “White Fish”
Serves 4
Szechwan food is typically hot and this is a spicy dish, but it’s really not as hot as you think, says Andy Su of Gia Ba. All the ingredients, including the doubanjiang (Szechwan fermented chili bean paste), gochugaru (Korean chili powder), Szechwan peppercorns and Szechwan chili peppers, can be found in a good Asian grocery store. Serve this dish with lots of steamed jasmine rice.
14 to 16 ounces skinless, boneless, firm white fish, such as sablefish or tilapia, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices
1 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon potato starch
3 tablespoons doubanjiang (Szechwan fermented chili bean paste)
2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean chili powder) or 1/4 cup chili oil
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground + 1 teaspoon whole Szechwan peppercorns
3 to 4 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground peanuts
1/4 cup canola oil
10 to 20 dried Szechwan chilies or any medium dried red chilies, cut in half
Place the fish in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, rice wine (or dry sherry) and potato starch. Mix until the fish is evenly coated, then cover and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
Set a wok over high heat. Add the doubanjiang, gochugaru (or chili oil), chicken stock, the 1 teaspoon of salt, sugar, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and ground Szechwan peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
Place a fine-mesh strainer over a clean, heatproof bowl and strain the liquid through it. Return the liquid to the stove and allow it to simmer.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the marinated fish and blanch until mostly cooked, about 2 minutes. Transfer the fish to the simmering stock and allow to simmer for another minute.
Arrange the bean sprouts in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Ladle the fish and the stock over them, then sprinkle with the green onions and peanuts.
Heat the canola oil in a small pan over high heat. When hot, add the whole peppercorns and dried chilies, and cook until the peppercorns become aromatic and the chilies begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately pour the hot oil and the spices over the fish. Serve immediately.
Stephen Leslie’s salad: “I think it’s a perfect representation of fall – healthy and tasty.”
Stephen Leslie’s Fall/Winter Vegetable Salad: ‘How sweet it is’
Stephen Leslie is chef and co-owner of three Montreal restaurants, Monkland Tavern, Le Sieur d’Iberville and Tavern on the Square in Westmount Square. “Like many locals, we’ve been coming to this below-ground restaurant on the edge of Westmount for years, drawn again and again by the meatball appetizer, crispy candied shrimp and perfectly cooked salmon,” writes Spencer. “And the atmosphere is like being at a dinner party with old friends – guests circulate from table to table greeting each other and calling the staff by their first name.”
Fall/Winter Vegetable Salad
Serves 4 to 6
Stephen chose this salad as one of his two contributions to Montreal Cooks, he said in an interview at the launch, because “it’s my take on taking all the fall vegetables and turning them into a salad instead of using lettuce leaves and other types of greens … You can’t believe the different textures that happen in your mouth and how sweet it is, the ripeness; I think it is a perfect representation of fall – healthy and tasty.”
Count on some work prepping the ingredients, but the results are fully worth it, he says. And as the seasons change, so can your vegetables. Find Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes, in the fall at farmers’ markets and good produce stores.
Red wine vinaigrette
2 to 3 shallots, finely diced
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
Pickled onions
2 red onions, julienned
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
Vegetable salad
4 assorted medium beets, ideally yellow, red and Chioggia
1 delicata or butternut squash
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and black pepper
juice from 1 lemon (optional)
5 Jerusalem artichokes
10 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1/4 bunch kale, cut in 1-inch dice
3 to 4 radishes, thinly sliced on a mandolin
2 heirloom carrots (preferably Nantes), peeled and thinly sliced on a mandolin
1 apple, peeled, cored and julienned
2 tablespoons pickled red onions
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons almond slivers or slices, toasted
Red wine vinaigrette
The recipe makes more than you’ll need for a single salad. Place all the ingredients in a Mason jar and shake well until combined. Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Pickled onions
Place onions in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium pot, combine all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Set a fine-mesh sieve over the onions and strain the pickling liquid through it. Discard the solids. Allow the onions to cool at room temperature or in the fridge. Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Vegetable salad
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare three large squares of aluminum foil.
Separate the different types of beets. Wrap each variety in a separate sheet of foil, and roast them all in the oven until tender, about 1 hour. They are done when a wooden skewer inserted in the flesh comes out easily. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Leave the oven on.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrub the skin of the delicata squash (it is edible) or peel the butternut squash. Cut the squash in half, remove and discard the seeds and cut the flesh into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the squash in a large bowl, add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss well. Arrange the squash in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 12 minutes. If they are beginning to burn, reduce the heat. If not, continue to roast them for another 3 to 8 minutes, until tender. Remove from oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.
Using your hands, peel and discard the skins from the beets. Place the red beets in a small bowl, and the other beets in a separate bowl. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of the red wine vinaigrette to each bowl and toss well. Set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a large bowl with water and lemon juice. Scrub the Jerusalem artichokes well to remove any dirt. Using a mandolin, slice the artichokes 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. (If you’re not cooking them right away, fill a large bowl with water and lemon juice, and place the Jerusalem artichokes in it to prevent them from turning brown.) Arrange the artichoke slices in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Fill a small bowl with ice water. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the Brussels sprouts and blanch for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the Brussels sprouts to the ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their colour. Add the kale to the boiling water and blanch for 60 seconds. Drain and immediately add the kale to the ice water. Using your hands, transfer the kale and Brussels sprouts to a clean bowl, gently squeezing out any excess water.
To assemble the salad, place all the vegetables, including the radishes and carrots, along with the apple and the pickled onions into a large salad bowl, making sure to remove any excess water. Toss with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly. Season with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and almonds to finish. Serve immediately.
Dyan Solomon says: “It would be impossible to talk about Olive and not mention our brownies, which are by far our bestselling treat.”
Dyan Solomon, of Olive + Gourmando, created a bestseller with Espresso Brownies
Takeout is easy at Olive + Gourmando, the happening Old Montreal bakery and café, but as Jonathan Cheung and Tays Spencer write in Montreal Cooks, “we often end up staying. The communal high tables are great for people-watching and for eyeing the dishes coming from the kitchen. Invariably we end up ordering at least one of the sandwiches, just so we can taste Eric’s freshly baked breads. Then we might sample a brioche, like the famous chocolate-banana brioche, and their fragrant soups are hard to resist. To get the full Olive + Gourmando experience, we sometimes clear our schedule and progress from breakfast to brownies to lunch and dessert (try the brownies), happily whiling away a few hours in good company.”
Olive’s Espresso Brownies
Serves 12 to 24 (depending on how large you want your brownies to be)
“It would be impossible to talk about Olive and not mention our brownies, which are by far our bestselling treat,” writes Dyan Solomon in Montreal Cooks of Olive + Gourmando, which she owns with business partner Eric Girard. “To inject the flavour of coffee into the brownie, I made a sort of homemade coffee-chocolate chip. It took weeks to get it right so that the coffee ganache wouldn’t melt away during the baking, but, oh boy, it was worth it! At the café, we refrigerate the brownies overnight to give them a dense, fudge-like texture – but serve them warm from the oven, if you prefer. Either way is delicious.”
Espresso ganache
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground espresso coffee beans (seems like a lot; it’s not!)
2 1/2 cups chopped Valrhona dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa)
Brownies
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups chopped Valrhona dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa)
1 3/4 cups chopped Callebaut dark chocolate (54.5 per cent cocoa)
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Espresso ganache
Line a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet with a 1-inch rim with parchment paper.
Place the cream and espresso beans in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate in a large stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pot. Holding a fine-mesh sieve in one hand, carefully pour the infused cream through the sieve directly into the bowl of warm chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to squeeze all the cream from the coffee grinds; try hard not to waste any of this precious liquid. Discard the grinds.
Working quickly, combine the cream and chocolate with the rubber spatula (this step will feel awkward, but it is normal that the chocolate appears granular and feels firm). Spread the ganache onto the baking sheet, trying hard to reach each corner of the pan to create a flat, rectangular shape. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect; you will be chopping this ganache into small pieces later. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Brownies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch pan. Remove the ganache from the fridge and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside.
Melt the Valrhona and Callebaut chocolates and butter in a large stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring often with a rubber spatula to combine. Turn off the heat and allow the bowl to sit over the warm water.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until light yellow and very smooth, about 5 minutes.
In a small stainless steel bowl, combine the flour and salt and set aside.
Slowly add some of the melted chocolate mixture to the beaten eggs to temper them. Using a wide rubber spatula, fold in the remaining melted chocolate, making sure it is completely combined. In three parts, sift the flour mixture directly into the batter, carefully and completely folding it in after each addition. Fold in the ganache cubes and combine well. The batter should look uniform, with no swirls of chocolate; however, try not to overmix it.
Have a kitchen timer ready. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 9 to 14 minutes. If you are using a convection oven, the total cooking time is about 18 minutes. If you are using a non-convection oven, it could take up to 24 minutes. Watch the time carefully and remove the brownie promptly. Gently shake the pan: The brownie should be set (no wobbling in the middle) and uniform in colour (no darkness along the edges). Set the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for 1 hour.
If you want a traditional light and chewy brownie, release the brownie by gently tugging up on the parchment paper. Remove the brownie from the pan and cut and serve right away. If you want an Olive + Gourmando-style brownie, allow the brownie to cool to room temperature in the pan and then cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate the entire pan overnight. Release and cut the brownies the next day. Allow cut brownies to sit for about 30 minutes to give them a dense, silky and fudgy texture. The best!
Derek Dammann’s advice about his tart recipe: you could make individual ones “but I find one large one less finicky.”
Derek Dammann’s Snow Crab Tart breaks a rule with luscious results
Chef Derek Dammann of Maison Publique, a northern England-styled pub in the Plateau, is originally from Campbell River, B.C., Tays Spencer writes in Montreal Cooks, but he spent four years working in England at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and worked as well at Fergus Henderson’s St. John and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck. She writes: “At Maison Publique, which Derek co-owns with Jamie Oliver, we like to tuck into a warm corner of his 40-seat restaurant or sit at the large, beautiful custom-made wood bar and order his homemade charcuterie (the best in the city!).”
Snow Crab Tart
Serves 8 (makes one 10-inch tart)
This recipe breaks the traditional rule that cheese and fish don’t mix, Derek Dammann writes of this luscious tart. The addition of the Parmesan really brings all the flavours together. You could use any type of crab, but since our seafood comes from Eastern Canada, he thought crab seemed the logical choice. You could also make individual tarts if you like, “but I find one large one less finicky – and it avoids that drastic pitfall of too much crust and not enough filling. Serve the tart with lemon wedges at room temperature; it really doesn’t need anything else.”
Derek Damman’s Snow Crab Tart: Parmesan brings all the flavours together.
Pâte brisée
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons water, ice cold
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Snow crab filling
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, julienned
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh cayenne (or jalapeño) pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 pound snow crab meat, cooked and picked over for shells
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup whole milk
Pâte brisée
Have ready a large piece of plastic wrap. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, toss gently to combine and then, working quickly with your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the pieces are smaller than a pea and evenly distributed.
Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the ice water and mix until the dough starts to come together when pinched. If the dough still seems a bit dry and crumbly, add the remaining 2 tablespoons water. Using your hands, shape the dough into a 1-inch-thick disc. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove the dough 30 minutes before you plan to roll it, and allow it to come to room temperature.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Have ready a 10-inch tart shell with a removable bottom, a 10-inch round of parchment paper and some baking weights (or dry beans).
Using a rolling pin lightly dusted with flour, roll out the pastry dough until it is about 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Roll outward from the centre, rotating the dough and dusting the work surface with flour to prevent sticking. Carefully roll the pastry dough into the tart shell, pressing it against the sides and into the corners gently. Trim any pastry hanging over the edges. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prick the pastry several times with a fork, then cover it with parchment paper and fill with the baking weights (or dry beans). Bake for 12 1/2 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 12 1/2 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the baking weights (or dry beans), then continue to bake for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the pastry begins to become golden. Remove from the oven, and while the shell is still hot, brush the pastry with the egg white to seal it. Set aside to cool, but leave the oven on while you prepare the filling.
Snow crab filling
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking. Add the onions and sauté until they are soft and starting to become golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fresh cayenne (or jalapeño) and sauté for 30 seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the crabmeat, tossing gently to combine. Scrape the mixture into a large nonreactive bowl and add the lemon juice, cilantro, Parmesan and salt and pepper. Turn this mixture into the baked pastry shell and smooth the surface gently without pressing down on the filling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, cream and milk until well combined. Pour this custard mixture over the crabmeat, making sure that it fills in all the cracks and crevices (reserve any extra custard), then bake the tart for 7 minutes. Open the oven door and carefully pour the remaining custard into the pastry shell so the filling is flush with the crust. Cook for another 20 minutes, then rotate the tart shell 180 degrees and cook for 20 to 25 minutes more. The filling should be firm when you tap the pan. If it ripples, the custard has not set. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove tart from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to rest for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Jeffrey Finkelstein of Hof Kelsten, a bakery and café on St-Laurent Blvd.
Jeffrey Finkelstein, of Hof Kelsten, gives new life to Nana’s Latkes
These latkes were made “famous” by his Hungarian grandmother, writes Jeffrey Finkelstein in Montreal Cooks. They were served as she welcomed you into her home. Her grandson revitalizes them at Hof Kelsten, a wonderful bakery and café on St-Laurent Blvd. just north of Mount Royal Ave., with a tangy sweet-and-sour applesauce.
Nana’s Latkes, with Tangy Applesauce
Serves 8 to 12 as an appetizer
Applesauce
4 Cortland apples (or any other low-acid apple)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 tablespoons white sugar
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
Latkes
3 large Idaho, russet or baking potatoes, peeled and rinsed
1 large yellow onion
1 teaspoon potato starch
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
vegetable oil for pan-frying
Applesauce
Wash and core the apples, leaving the skins on. Cut each apple into 8 wedges. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium heat, add the apples and sauté until they soften and become golden, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Place the cooked apples and sugar-vinegar mixture in a blender and process at high speed until smooth. (You should have 1 to 1 1/4 cups of sauce.) Add the crème fraîche (or sour cream) and purée until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Latkes
Using a box grater, coarsely grate the potatoes and onions. Transfer one-third of the grated vegetables to a food processor, add the potato starch and egg and pulse until well combined.
Place the remaining grated vegetables in a large bowl. Pour in the egg mixture, sprinkle with the salt and stir until well combined.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Add enough vegetable oil to a deep frying pan to cover the bottom. Heat the pan over medium heat until a pinch of latke batter dropped into the pan begins to sizzle. (If the oil does not sizzle, it is not yet hot enough; if it is smoking, turn down the heat.)
Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter into the pan, working in a clockwise direction and leaving 1 inch around each latke. Turn the latkes over and cook until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked latkes to the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Repeat with the remaining batter.
To serve, place hot latkes on individual plates and serve with a generous dollop of applesauce.