Food

I love combining sweet and sour, and pickled grapes are an easy way to do that. They can be eaten as a snack or added to salads or mild-tasting food like white fish and chicken (they’re a key ingredient in the Roasted Chicken with Pickled Grapes recipe. Try roasting the grapes to intensify the flavour blend.

• Preserving technique: Cellar
• Yield: 1 qt (0.95 L)
• Time to make: 10 minutes or less
• Time to wait before eating: 1 week
• When to eat: Within 3 months

Cooking with autumn’s bounty of apples—whether you make a big batch of applesauce or a bumper crop of apple pies—can result in a lot of peels and cores destined for the compost. Knowing how to make apple cider vinegar at home is an easy way to repurpose the scraps! Because the amount of acidity in homemade vinegar is inconsistent, it should not be used for other canning projects, but it’s delicious anywhere else you’d use apple cider vinegar. (Try it in the Broiled Scallops with Apple Gastrique recipe.) *If you don’t have a 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) jar, use a food-safe bucket and a plate to weigh down the apple scraps.

• Preserving technique: Ferment
• Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 qt (1.4 to 1.9 L)
• Time to make: 10 minutes
• Time to wait before eating: 4 to 6 weeks
• When to eat: Within 1 to 2 years

Gravlax is one of the easiest preserves in the world to make. Season the fish, cover it in salt and something sweet, and wait for a few days before rinsing well. This recipe elevates it further with a soak in a bath of oil.

• Preserving technique: Salt
• Yield: 1 lb (450 g)
• Time to make: 15 minutes
• Time to wait before eating: 2 days
• When to eat: Within 10 days

My mother’s Maritime roots meant that scallops were an occasional midweek meal. As an adult, I would struggle with cooking scallops until our friend Chef Matt DeMille set me straight. His instructions were simple: “Brine them for a few minutes in salt water.” This removes the guesswork from cooking them and makes them easier to sear without overcooking. The gastrique can be made with 2 Tbsp (30 mL) of any jam instead of apple slices, or you may wish to add a bit of infused booze for more flavour. Both would be added at the same time as the lemon zest and honey.

Smoked salmon, high in omega-3s for cognitive support and skin health, needs a bit of brightness to iron out its intensity—a hint of sharp mustard, verdant dill, lemon, carrot-infused cream cheese, and zippy pickled onions are just the things to do this. These carrot cream cheese bagels work for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, and use a variety of harvest time superfoods.

Grab Swiss chard while still available at the market—this dark leafy green begins to wane (when locally grown) in the winter months. During harvest time, Swiss chard’s verdant leaves and crispy stems offer a delightfully refreshing alternative to lettuce-based salads when paired with juicy tomatoes, now also on their last legs.

All home cooks should have a go-to vegetable broth recipe in their arsenal. This version will make any broth-based soup swoon-worthy. Also use it instead of ho-hum water when cooking grains such as quinoa or rice, for deglazing pans, and sautéing greens. Going the extra mile and sautéing the vegetables first adds an extra layer of flavour.

Employ this golden root vegetable and the last of the garden’s fresh dill (or use dried) for a savoury grain tart. Try a slice warm with a poached egg or with goat cheese crumbled on top, or chilled, plain, to accompany a soup or salad at lunch tomorrow.

Homemade stock and a surprising sweetness, courtesy of bananas, is a surefire way to reinvent chicken curry. You’ll want to use bananas with yellow skin and only a few brown spots at most. The chicken is best served on a bed of rice to soak up the fruity curry sauce. The recipe can be halved to serve a smaller crowd.

Look for the chocolate mint variety of fresh mint at your local garden centre, or use any variety of fresh mint you can find. Chocolate mint has a built-in chocolate flavour, making it fantastic for desserts featuring this classic, refreshing combo. TIP: Elevate this chocolate mint fudge by serving a square on a dessert plate; garnish with fresh berries and a sprig of mint.

This cloudlike dessert comes together in under an hour and gives ice cream a run for its money. A tangy, light yogurt mousse is topped with a floral lavender- and thyme-infused strawberry jam, and garnished with (surprise!) black pepper. If you’d like a bit of crunch, top with chopped pistachios or almonds. TIP: Use any soft summer fruit to make this quick jam. Consider using plums, apricots, raspberries, or blueberries.

Consider this cooling basil- and lime-infused panna cotta after a spicy Thai curry. If it’s available to you, employ Thai (purple) basil for the zippiest result, though regular basil works just as well. Agar is a tasteless seaweed derivative that sets liquids much like gelatin, but is suitable for plant-based diets. It is available at many health food stores. TIP: A lemon and thyme version of this versatile panna cotta, garnished with fresh raspberries, would be equally stunning.

Forget the boring, bland canned fruit salad of your youth, and mix up this effortlessly elegant version instead. Sorrel’s large, spinachlike leaves have a tart, bright flavour, complemented further by lemon. Mint and honey smooth things out, while “adult sprinkles” in the form of toasted almonds ground into a rich, nutty powder act as the metaphorical cherry on top. TIP: Sorrel can be harder to find (that is, unless you grow it). Replace it with any mild, leafy herb or a mixture, such as basil and/or tarragon.

Tarragon has a gentle licorice-like taste, marrying well with succulent summer berries in this berry slump. Underscoring the licorice notes is a crumble topping boosted with anise seeds. It’s as delicious for dessert as it is the next morning for breakfast. Tarragon can be replaced with basil or half the amount of thyme.

Lake whitefish is a freshwater swimmer with a delicately flavoured flesh and a range across much of Canada. They are especially known for their small head in relation to the length of their bodies. Reel it in and then rustle up this hearty stew as a nutritious and delicious way to take the edge off the winter chill. Serve with crusty whole grain bread.

Other fish to try

Also known as walleye, pickerel is a freshwater fish that populates many fishing lakes across Canada. Most anglers love fishing for pickerel for the simple fact that it’s great to eat—moist, slightly sweet flesh with a nice flaky texture. It’s also relatively easy to clean and has a significant amount of meat for each fillet produced. As a nutritional bonus, pickerel is a good source of protein and also contains a range of vitamins and minerals. And this recipe makes use of the classic cooking technique of creating a pan sauce to put the finishing touches on a superb dish.

Other fish to try

Fairly easy to catch and blessed with great texture and delicious flavour, lake perch has long been a cherished ice fishing prize. It cooks in a flash under the oven broiler, and when stuffed into tortillas along with punchy pickled vegetables and creamy avocado sauce, you have the makings of a tasty taco night as a fitting reward for a long day on the ice.

Other fish to try

Ready to go to battle with any angler and possessing flesh with praise-worthy rich flavour, lake trout are among the most sought-after sport fish in Canada. And cooking it whole in this one-pan recipe requires minimal prep to reap the rewards of a catch well done. Plus, bones infuse an extra layer of flavour during cooking.

Other fish to try

Macaccino is a delicious, energizing drink made from maca and raw cocoa powder. Maca root is an adaptogen plant from Peru, and has been shown to help improve energy, fertility, memory, and learning. Raw cocoa powder offers beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It has recently been studied for its protective effect on heart health.

Did you know?

This warming beverage is made with real apple juice heated with powdered ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Consumption of real apple juice has been linked with a reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Ginger helps promote digestive and cardiovascular health, and is useful in the treatment of degenerative disorders, diabetes, and cancer. Cinnamon has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, while cardamom improves digestion. Tip: If you have whole spices on hand, you can swap powdered spices for a slice of fresh ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, and 3 crushed cardamom pods.

Potatoes are nature’s comfort food, magically working to create a smooth and creamy base in this very green Scandinavian soup. Watercress lends a welcome freshness while dill and buttermilk bring zip.

Tip:

Instead of seafood, gravlax is made with butternut squash (or carrots) for a vegetarian take on Danish smørrebrød (an open-faced sandwich). The beauty of smørrebrød is that you personalize it to your tastes, so the options are virtually endless.

Tip: Hot stuff

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and perfectly spiced with cardamom, a spice used in many traditional Scandinavian baked goods. These fragrant cookies use just one bowl, and can be jazzed up with any dried fruit you like (or chocolate chips).

Tip:

Elderflower is used throughout Scandinavia in beverages, steeped to extract the taste from the flowers of the elderberry. Elderflowers are seasonal, available fresh in late spring, but you can find the syrup in many natural food stores (and a very popular Scandinavian furniture store). This savoury-meets-sweet yogurt bowl uses earthy beets for a fresh take on breakfast or a midday snack.

Tip: