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.
Concord grapes make a distinctive tart, but any good, juicy grape can be substituted. We tested this with blue-black coronation grapes. Squeezing seeds out can be tedious, but it makes a great filling. (Seedless grapes were deadly dull.)
Read MoreThe seasonally available blood oranges provide a delicious contrast to the rich filling. Serve with lightly whipped cream if desired. Although the tart serves more than six, it keeps for up to a week of decadent eating.
This is a great way to take advantage of the gorgeous rhubarb and local strawberries appearing in the market. A country tart is a freeform tart. Roll out the pastry, fill the tart and fold over the extra pastry in a freeform style.
Ginger lemon meringue tart is a festive twist on the classic pie. The big challenge when it comes to making a meringue tart is the meringue's tendency to separate from the filling and ooze liquid. To ensure that this won't happen, avoid making the topping too far in advance. The way of making a non-weeping meringue by cooking cornstarch and water together comes from The Baker's Dozen Cookbook . You will need most of a 350-gram package of ginger cookies or can use pre-baked short-crust pastry if you wish.
Read MoreDouble-smoked bacon adds a special twist to this recipe, but good-quality ordinary bacon works just as well. Serve the tart as a first course with a scattering of arugula. If wild leeks aren't available, the white and light green parts of conventional ones, thinly sliced, can also be used.
Read MoreThis recipe comes from Michael Hartnell, the young executive chef at Le Caprice, the sister establishment of London's Le Caprice, possibly one of the most difficult restaurants to get into in that city. The menus and the rooms are much the same, although the New York location is much more relaxed. I've adapted this recipe with ingredient suggestions you can find more easily. If you can't get smoked haddock, use smoked trout or hot smoked salmon. If you can't find quail eggs, use small regular eggs or omit. Wilt the spinach for this recipe in a skillet.
Cheesecake is a guaranteed winner on Father's Day and this no-bake recipe gives fast results and unbelievable taste. If you don't want a ginger crust, substitute crumbled graham crackers or chocolate cookies. The fruits can change with the seasons, too.
Read MoreThis is a French version of lemon meringue pie. It is lighter and more tart than the familiar one we all know and love. The difference is that a tart lemon curd is used as the filling and the meringue is cooked on a slow heat rather than a high one.
Read MoreYou can substitute store-bought puff pastry if necessary. I used hothouse rhubarb, which is sweeter than rhubarb grown outdoors, so adjust sugar level accordingly.
Read MoreThis tasty tart tastes similar to cheese cake, but the texture is more pudding-like. Serve with caramelized apples. Corn flour is available at health-food stores.
Read MoreSeasonal blood orange slices provide a delicious contrast to the decadent filling. Serve with lightly whipped cream if desired. Although this serves more than four, it keeps for up to a week.
Read MoreIf you have visited French pâtisseries in Paris, you know that one of the confections that always looks so beautiful are the tarts. Making one as pretty and delicious as they are in France is easier than you might imagine and each step can be done ahead of time.
Read MoreBlueberries and cream is a match made in heaven. This tart highlights the combination. You can buy crème fraîche in gourmet groceries or you can make your own using the following recipe.
Read MoreDouble smoked bacon makes this a special treat but good quality ordinary bacon can be used. Serve as a first course with a scatter of arugula or make tiny tartlets and serve as an hors-d'oeuvre as well. The pastry is too much for 4 tarts, but it freezes beautifully to keep on hand for another use.
Read MoreIf you cannot find the small blue or prune plums, then use apples. I have been disappointed in the prune plums this year, which are large and very sour. The small ones have been much better.
Read MoreA superb fall tart served as a first course with a small salad or as part of a brunch or lunch menu. Ideally, use a Sicilian eggplant as it has a soft custardy texture
Read MoreWhen I was in Wolfville, N.S. for Devour, the food-film festival I had lunch every day at the Slow Dough Bakery, which serves excellent homey sandwiches and the most mouth-wateringly perfect home baking.
Read MoreClaudia Egger has an outstanding Toronto bakery called Frangipane, where she makes superb French pastries. As it is nearly Valentine’s Day, what could be better than one of her rich chocolate tart recipes – with a twist?
Read MoreThis is fantastic either hot or cold and it reheats in a 350 F oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut in slices and serve as a first course with a small salad or cut in smaller slices as an hors d’oeuvre.
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© 2018, Lucy Waverman.
