Martin Picard's Steak Tartare

A few months ago, I ventured into a lovely french bistro in Montreal's Mile End neighborhood and had the opportunity to eat beef tartare [a french dish of raw meat marinated in acid that originated in Central Asia with the Tatar people]. The only other tartare I had come across during my time in Montreal was at the famous Au Pied de Cochon, where chef Martin Picard prepared a refreshing venison tartare.

Picard published a cookbook back in 2006, and lucky for me, the New York Times published his venison tartare recipe months later. So when this afternoon, I was feeling a bit risque, I became obsessed with the idea of preparing Picard's dish.

Now, Picard's recipe calls for venison, but let's be honest, beef is just as great. Please please please be sure to get the freshest meat possible. This dish is not cooked. It sits in an acidic marinade for some time, but not long enough to keep you from feeling the effects of old, bacteria-infested meat. If you live near a butcher, I recommend going there and asking for a lean top sirloin, and it's probably best that you mention you'll be serving it raw. I went to Whole Foods, and the butcher cut 1.5 pounds of top sirloin, instead of picking pieces from the case. He was pretty confident that I wouldn't get sick. It made me happy.

Ingredients:
1 - 1.5 lbs lean top sirloin
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large egg yolks, as fresh as possible (and organic -- salmonella less prevalent in cage free birds)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
a handful of fresh italian parsley, roughly chopped
at least 1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup of dijon mustard (maybe more)
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika

for garnish: arugula, frisee, or any other bitter greens; baby toasts or baguette

It's recommended that you mince/chop the meat as the very last step in the process. Therefore, I prepared my marinade first.

I chopped the garlic, shallots, and parsley and put them in a bowl. Then I added 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Next came the dijon, worchestershire, 2 tablespoons of cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of paprika. I gave it a taste, but honestly, until it was combined with the beef, I really couldn't gauge whether it was the right concentration of taste or not.

After completing the marinade, I used a food processor to chop the meat. Oh boy. It was quick, easy, clean, and the pieces were chopped into perfect sizes. A word of caution: avoid pureeing your meat. Tartare is known for its texture.

I added the egg yolks to the meat, mixed well (with a fork-- it keeps the integrity of the texture intact), and then added the marinade.

The next important step is tasting your creation and determining what is missing. I was hoping for a tartare that had a hint of dijon and a kick at the end. So I added extra mustard and cayenne pepper. Some people prefer their tartare a bit more salty. You can always add what you feel is missing.

When you feel you've achieved the right balance of flavors, stick the tartare in the fridge for a few minutes and start on your garnish. Now, in my opinion, tartare is most delicious when paired with a crispy toast and some bitter greens. My go-to is usually arugula, but I was lucky to find some frisee on sale. The combination was fantastic.

I added a bit of the leftover marinade to the greens, to give them some extra flavor. You can also dress them with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon to really bring the dish together.

Lastly, I arranged my creation so that the tartare could be easily mixed with the greens and spread onto the toasts.


This dish is a bit risque, but absolutely lovely.

I highly recommend it!

Bulgur, Bean, and Walnut Burgers with Lime Mayonnaise

When I think of a traditional veggie burger, I think of those frozen patties of soy sold in the grocery store. Well, this bulgur burger is nothing like that. It's grainy, full of flavor, and quite satisfying.

The original recipe was found by my friend Ben, who decided to make these burgers about a year ago for a birthday party. A few weeks later, I followed suit, except they fell apart, so I quickly stuffed them into a pita bread and no one could tell the difference.

I made them again last night, but with a few minor changes to the recipe.
It is as follows:

1/2 cup bulgur wheat, cooked in 1/2 cup of water until soft
1/2 yellow onion, chopped and sauteed in oil and salt until translucent
3 cloves of garlic (raw), chopped
1/2 cup walnuts (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup)
1 cup canned pinto beans, washed and drained
cilantro as you see fit
salt, cayenne pepper to taste
1 part mayonnaise
1 part lime juice (as well as some rind)

Cook the bulgur and onions while preparing the rest of the ingredients. You will need a food processer for this! Unfortunately, it's impossible to make the burgers without one.

When the bulgur is ready, make sure to remove any extra water (although there really shouldn't be any). Combine all of the ingredients, with the exception of mayonnaise and lime juice, and pulse in a food processer until it's the texture of ground meat. Luckily, this isn't meat, so you can taste the mixture before cooking it. Too bland? Add some salt and cayenne. Too spicy? Sorry! I'm sure you'll deal. ;)

You can either fry the burgers in a pan with a touch of hot olive oil, or you can grill them. However, it might be a good idea to add some not stick spray or oil, whichever method you decide to use.

When I pan-fry these babies, I like to fry them until they're dark brown on each side. The inside won't really cook through, but that's okay! Even preferable.

When you're done, combine mayonnaise and lime juice. If it's not sour enough for your taste, add more lime. I also like to add a dash of cayenne, some cilantro, and lime rinds.



A perfect summer treat! (Healthy too!)

Sweet Potato Blueberry Bread

Written by: Samantha Jane

While garlic reigns supreme on my list of “Food Royalty”, the members of its court cannot be discussed without giving a special respect for the sweet potato. My affinity for southern culture and cuisine has allowed me several opportunities to taste the orange tuber of love in a variety of conditions. I’ve tried it mashed with butter and salt, baked with brown sugar and marshmallows, and the occasional roasting affair with its King, garlic. It’s a chameleon, the sweet potato, and begs to be challenged to be concocted into the most delicious of dishes.

My recent sweet potato adventure was inspired by my mothers, Terri, trip to Michigan. Michigan is known for blueberries, so Terri thought it fitting to bring back 15 lbs. of them, which I deem entirely appropriate. The thought of making pies, ICE CREAM, sauces, jams, coffee cakes….I had to change my underwear. Terri had bagged up most of the berries to give away to people which sparked me to make the ultimate gifting food; a quick bread. Quick breads are just that, quick, and people love them. If a man was threatening to pull the trigger of a gun held to his head, all one would have to do is offer up a mini-loaf of homemade banana bread, outfitted with saran wrap and simple colorful ribbon. So where does the sweet potato come in?

Well, take this simple banana bread recipe:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup chopped dates or raisins
1 cup mashed over-ripe banana


The flavorings here are cinnamon, pecans, raisins, and…banana. All the other ingredients are necessary for what I consider a “blank canvas”. After that, you can add whatever you want, as long as it’s roughly the same measurements of the other flavoring ingredients in the original recipe. Now, if you a savvy baker, like myself, and feel comfortable enough substituting like a madwoman, you could end up with a recipe like THIS one…


1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
¼ cup brown sugar
½-1 cup blueberries


Topping: spoonful flour, 2 spoonfuls sugar, ½ stick softened butter, some nuts.

Now, I edited this quite a bit. For starters, goodbye butter. I’m a big fan of butter when it’s got a starring role, but I felt the fat here had a mere walk on role. I omitted it knowing the sweet potato, starchier than a banana, would add a similar texture and depth to the bread. So butter? Add it to a piece once the bread is baked. I added PURE VANILLA EXTRACT and it is very important that it be PURE VANILLA EXTRACT. Fake stuff is worthless. Next change was the nutmeg. It’s a bit spicy, which I think is perfect for this bread because the vanilla really heightens the sweetness. I switched the pecans for walnuts because I had walnuts, not pecans. Use whatever nutmeat you like. Sweet potatoes are sweet when you are considering it to be a savory food, but in this case the sweetness is nothing like a banana. So, before I mashed the cooked sweet potato, I added just a bit of brown sugar to help it out. You wouldn’t really have to do that, but I did. Actually, I added a ½ cup when I really made this bread and it was WAY too sweet. I think ¼ cup is just fine. Blueberries? Add them until you like how many there are. I love love LOVE having things in my bread, so I added a good cup. The topping? A makeshift crumb topping.

So, what you do… Boil a quart of water. Cube a large sweet potato into 1” cubes and dump in boiling water for 10 min.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and set to the side.

Beat the eggs, adding the vanilla and milk as you go. Once beaten, dump that white sugar in.

Check potatoes. Done? They will be once fork tender. Mash them up with brown sugar. Cool in the fridge for 3 minutes or so. Adding them into the egg mixture hot will cook the eggs and ruin your life.

Mix sweet potato with eggs. Add flour mixture. Then, add nuts and blueberries, folding gently so you don’t let the berries burst.

Pour into a 9”x5”x3” bread pan.

Fork together topping ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour on top of batter once in pan. Note, if you want more topping, just make more. It’s pretty easy stuff.

Bake at 325 for an hour and 10 minutes. You can use mini bread pans or even muffin tins. Bake at 325 until you can stick a knife in and it comes out clean. Mini bread pans…about 40 min, muffin tins (depending on size) 20-30 min.

Please note the infinite variations of a quick bread….zucchini, pumpkin, regular potato, apple, strawberry, orange date, lemon-the possibilities are endless! The flexibility and forgiveness of any quick bread recipe makes experimentation a MUST. Enjoy!

Ceviche

My recent trip to Panama allowed me to eat ceviche (raw fish marinated in acid such as lime juice) for as little as one dollar per bowl. This was ridiculously cheap, even for Panama. I tried to recreate the refreshing dish this evening, however, upon inspect of my filet of cod, I found a roundworm (Gross!).

A word of caution: Be careful when choosing fish for ceviche. The older it gets, the fishier it starts to smell. I recommend getting a filet from a fish market, and not the grovery shelf where fish can sit for days on end.

Although my ceviche wasn't completed, here's the method I planned on using. I expect you'll find it delightful.

1 filet of your favorite light fish (cod, scallops, shrimp, tilapia)
enough lime juice to fully submerge your fish
2 tomatoes, chopped medium
1/2 red onion, chopped small
TONS of fresh cilanto
salt/pepper

Fill a large bowl with lime juice, chopped red onion, tomato, and cilantro. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Thoroughly wash your fish filet and chop it into bite size pieces. Add it to the lime mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes, covered.

You can then drain some of the liquid, but leave the veggies!

Eat on a toast or tortilla chip.
Enjoy!
-ILR

Reservoir: the neighborhood watering hole

Since my move to Montreal's Plateau neighborhood last summer, I've spent many evenings down the street at Reservoir. On a student budget, it's a bit of an expensive pick, but the homemade microbrews and savory snacks more than make up for its price. The bar is great for summer evenings when the second floor balcony opens, but in the winter, the first floor is super cozy.

I ventured in for a pint of hefeweizen just the other night. A piping hot glass of calamari and lime mayo accompanied my beer, and to be honest, after I finished the calamari, I wanted to order more snacks.

Reservoir is also open for brunch of Sundays. My last morning visit consisted of a perfectly concocted allonge, poached eggs on top of wild atlantic lox, and sweet biscuits topped with blueberry jam.

This bar is a foodie's dream come true. I'm going back tomorrow.

Reservoir
9 Duluth Est
Montreal, Quebec
514-849-7779

A Twist on Huevos Rancheros

Sunday mornings have become a time for the housemates of 4080 to get together for a meal and some coffee. Last week, Cosmin, the computer-science housemate was in the mood for quesadillas, and I was in the mood for eggs. So we brainstormed and came up with a perfect breakfast recipe. It's an avocado and mozzerella quesdilla, topped with a sunny-side-up fried egg and a black bean tomato and garlic puree. Lime juice, hot sauce, or ketchup are optional.

Serves 4
4 small tortillas
2 cups of shredded cheddar
1 giant and perfectly ripe avocado
8 eggs
1/2 can black beans
1 medium tomato
3 cloves of garlic
tabasco!

In a food processor, combine the garlic, tomato, and black beans until they are pureed. Heat them on low until the mixture is warm. You don't want it to cook... Otherwise the garlic will lose its potency.

In a lightly buttered pan, heat both sides of each tortilla. Then add the cheese and avocado, fold the tortilla over and cook on medium until the cheese melts. Repeat for each tortilla.

In a separate frying pan, cook the eggs sunny-side up. I like them runny, but they're your eggs, so cook them however you like.

Put the eggs on top of the quesadilla, and top the eggs with the black bean puree. You can always add tabasco (my personal fave!), ketchup, or lime juice.

SOOOOO tasty. I promise. The two dudes I currently live with were in awe of the flavor explosion that occurred after the first bite.

Enjoy!

Wintery French Onion Soup

I'm super cold and lazy as of late, so I've reintroduced myself to soups for the season. This particular french onion soup recipe is easy and absolutely delicious. The key is not allowing the onions to burn and simmering the broth for at least 45 minutes. It's perfectly complemented by a toasted slice of olive bread and melted gruyere.

4 large yellow onions, sliced lengthwise
4 (or more!) gloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups beef broth (this can be substituted by vegetable broth, however, stay away from chicken broth. trust me!)
some salt and pepper

Cook the onions and garlic in butter and olive oil on medium-high heat until they start to brown. Make sure they first become translucent and soft though, because if they brown too quickly, you'll have burnt soup. And please please please do not substitute the butter. Here's the deal: butter adds intense flavor, especially to french dishes. In the end, you'll only be consuming 1/4 tablespoon of butter, so just enjoy the taste of the butter and don't feel guilty about it.

When you feel the onions are at the perfect texture and color, add the broth. I recommend allowing the soup to simmer for 45 minutes (at least!), before turning the heat down. The longer the soup cooks, the more intense the flavor of the onions will be. This is lovely.

If by the end of cooktime, your soup feel too thin/liquid, you can add a teaspoon of flour. Please make sure to sift the flour in slowly though, as it's imperative to avoid flour clumps.

Serve hot with some toasted bread and cheese.

Delicious!