Potato and Smoked Salmon Gratin

There is a dish at the restaurant where I work: a crispy potato rosti, covered in soft, caramelized onions, peppery baby arugula, thin slices of smoked salmon, and topped off with sour cream and capers. It's deluxe, delicious, and expensive to make at home. It's usually the recipe I turn to for my once or twice a year smoked salmon treat.

Yes, I call myself a vegetarian, but I eat fish a few times a month. Does this make me a liar, or a fake? I don't think so, but others might argue it does. While food choices are highly politically and environmentally charged, they still remain a personal, private choice.

Other people can state this argument for select vegetarianism more eloquently that I, for example Michael Pollan's NYT essay, An Animal's Place, or The Anxiety of Eating, by David E. Cooper. After being a vegetarian for ten (ten!) years, the decisions I've made are to continue eating eggs, cheese and dairy, but buy them from local, organic and ethical farms, for example Organic Medows or Montforte Cheese. Journalists might call me a 'demi-vegetarian,' a moderate and selective consumer of animal products. My friends might laugh at me for buying 7 dollar eggs, but I know that they came from an organic farm where the hens have ten times the space of battery hens, real access to the outdoors and are free from hormones, antibiotics and heavily processed feeds. Is the price difference worth it? That's a personal choice you have to make.

So what about seafood? Any cook who wants to continue eating seafood, while making environmental, ethical choices, should visit the Seafood Watch, run by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And a great book on the topic is Bottomfeeder, by Taras Grescoe.

For me, giving up eating fresh-shucked oysters in Malpeque Bay on vacation, or stocking up on smoked trout from Akiwenzie's Fish at the market, was not something I was willing to do. Still, seafood is a once-in-a-while treat for me, and when I do buy it, I try and come up with an extra-special recipe, to do it justice.

This topic is quickly turning into an essay, but I swear I'm getting to the recipe. The inspiration was some delicious Wild Pacific Smoked Salmon, a carton of Small Flock's Delight Eggs (from grass fed, free range hens), Koslik's Horseradish Mustard and some Victory Organic Arugula. Here you go! (This is honestly the most delicious meal I've made... since Tuesday's macaroni and cheese with oyster and shitake mushrooms).

Potato and Smoked Salmon Gratin with arugula and poached eggs


1 tbsp butter
2 baking potatoes, sliced very thin with a mandolin
salt and pepper
1/2 cup caramelized onions
2 or 3 tbsp capers, drained
100 gr. smoked salmon
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tbsp Kozlick's Horseradish mustard

For serving-
1 egg for each serving, to be poached
Handful of arugula for each serving
chives for garnish (yes! there are chives in my garden already!)

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a baking dish with butter. Make one layer of potatoes to cover the bottom. Layer on top 1/2 of each of the salmon, onions and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Make another layer of potatoes, then the rest of the salmon, onions and capers. Season with salt and pepper again. Add a final layer of potatoes. In a bowl, beat together milk, sour cream, egg and mustard. Pour over potatoes. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until potatoes are soft and top is browned. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, covered.

When ready to serve, poach an egg for each person. (Check out this article on how to poach the perfect egg). Serve a square of gratin, topped with a handful of arugula, finished with a poached egg. Garnish with chives. Voila! (Or, Bon Appetit, as Julia Child would say. I'm in the middle of reading My Life in France.)

sunday brunch

Next time you have the urge to leave your house and wolf down overpriced pancakes, resist the urge and bring brunch into your kitchen. (You don't even have to change out of your pajamas.) Put on some nice music, make some coffee and cook with (or for) the people you love!

Stacks of pancakes, piles of bacon, buttery toast... It's enough to bring on a brunch-induced food coma. Often I find myself sleeping away the rest of my hard earned weekend after a meal of traditional brunch fare: pancakes, waffles, starch and more starch.

This brunch menu has it all- protein, fruit and veg, and a little bit of starch - but it won't leave you sleeping on the couch. A sunny mango smoothie, eggs baked in a bed of spinach with a spicy yogurt topping and crispy potato hash browns. Lay out a table cloth, turn on the radio, and bring a healthy brunch into your kitchen!

sunny mango smoothie
(Buy some sad-looking, overripe mangos for this smoothie. They taste the best, you're saving them from the garbage, and they cost a fraction the price. This makes 4 or 5 cups, and keeps in the fridge for an extra day. Don't leave out the lemon juice and zest - it brightens up the smoothie and adds some extra zing!)

3 over-ripe atulfo mangoes (the smaller, yellow mangoes)
1 over-ripe banana
1/2 cup 3% yogurt
2 cups soy or almond milk
2 tbsp liquid honey
1 tbsp lemon zest
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher. Blend with an immersion blender. (Or use a traditional blender). Add 1/2 cup - 1 cup water to reach the consistency of smoothie you would like.

skillet baked eggs and spinach 
(adapted from this recipe in Bon Appetite) 


1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts, sliced thinly
1 green onion, sliced thinly
1 bunch of spinach, washed and roughly chopped
juice from 1 lemon
salt and pepper
4 eggs

1/4 cup 3% yogurt
1 clove of garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and green onion, turn down heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes, until leeks are soft and starting to brown. Add spinach and lemon juice, and cook for a minute or two. Hold pan over the sink, and tilt to let the excess moisture run out. Give the spinach a press with your wooden spoon to get as much moisture out as possible.

Turn off burner. Make 4 indentations in the spinach, spreading it evenly around the pan. Crack the eggs into the indentations, being careful not to break the yolk. Bake until the egg whites are set, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together yogurt, salt, paprika, garlic and cayenne pepper. Serve eggs and spinach immediately, with a dollop of yogurt on each egg.

potato hash browns
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes
olive oil
salt, pepper, dried thyme

Preheat broiler. Steam potatoes over boiling water for 10 minutes. Toss potatoes with oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread in a pan, and broil for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are crispy and brown. Serve with this homemade ketchup.

Cooking from the garden

Chickpea, green bean and tomato salad with lemon-rosemary dressing

1 cup green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup diced cucumbers

1 cup cooked chickpeas

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

2 or 3 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Steam green beans for 3 to 4 minutes, until beans are bright green. Rinse beans in cold water to stop them from over cooking. Combine beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and chick peas in a bowl. To make dressing, whisk together all ingredients and pour over salad. It'll be even more delicious after it's marinated for a few hours in the fridge.

Crustless Quiche with Swiss Chard and Potato

1 large bunch of swiss chard, leaves and stems separated

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 large potatoes, thinly sliced

fresh herbs

salt and pepper

olive oil

4 eggs

1 cup milk, full fat yogurt or buttermilk

1 cup bread crumbs

olive oil

1/2 cup to 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Strip leaves from stems. Chop stems, and saute in a large pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic, onion and fresh herbs, and saute for 2 more minutes. Add potatoes, a few tbsps of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add swiss chard leaves, cover, and cook 2 more minutes, until wilted. Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and milk. Grease a round quiche pan or a 9x13 square pan with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the pan with bread crumbs. Cover bread crumbs with vegetable mixture. Pour egg mixture over vegetables. Crumble goat cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes.

Soups for rainy weather

Leek and Potato Soup (with special appearances by corn and red pepper)

There's chunky, broth based soup, and then there's ultra -smooth, pureed soup your grandma would love. Sometimes I feel like something in the middle! Removing and pureeing just a bit of the soup can make it extra creamy without adding cups of milk or cream. My lactose intolerant boyfriend also appreciates this.

(this soup disappeared to fast to be photographed. Here's an ingredient instead.)

A note on leeks: they can by sneaky vegetables, hiding dirt and sand in between their leaves. I cut off almost all of the green part (and feed it to my compost worms), then slice the leek lengthwise in half. Then I rinse it, making sure to check between the layers.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large or 3 small leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly

4 fist sized potatoes, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, finely diced

salt and pepper

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup milk or cream (leave out for a dairy-free soup, just add 1 more cup of broth)

2 cups of fresh corn (about 2 cobs)

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Cook leeks for 5 minutes, then add potatoes and pepper and saute for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth, and simmer soup for 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Remove 1 cup of soup and puree with an immersion blender (or other blending device). Return pureed soup to pot, add milk (if using) and corn. Simmer (but don't boil!) for another 5 minutes, until corn is cooked to your liking.

I enjoyed this soup with grilled cheese: some gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread with spy apples and aged cheddar. Mmmm. Finished leftovers the next day with my new favorite crackers - Mary's something or other, made out of rice and quinoa. 

Curried Pumpkin and Apple

Here's a creamy vegan soup I invented for one of my New England Pie pumpkins. 

1 pie pumpkin, halved with seeds removed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 apples, diced (no need to peel, the skin will break down)

salt and pepper

2 tbsp curry powder

4-5 cups of vegetable stock 

1 can coconut milk

Preheat oven to 375. Rub pumpkin flesh with 1 tbsp olive oil and place face down on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Then scoop the flesh into a bowl. 

Heat other tbsp of olive oil in a large pot. Sautee onion and apples for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add curry powder, salt and pepper and saute for 1 more minute. Then, add cooked pumpkin and stock, and simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, puree soup until smooth, then add coconut milk and heat through. The end! 

Local eating, figs for spring

         I'm a local eater in a big way. Two weeks ago I bought my first strawberries since last summer, and truly, absense does make the heart grow fonder. And the fruits of waiting are very sweet.

            Once in awhile, I just have to eat something from far away. I've spent the last few years sorting out my own personal food choices - and food choices are just that -incredible personal (and political). There's a few things I'm not willing to give up, for example, bananas and chocolate. But for foods like these, it's possible to be fair and environmental. Fair trade, organic bananas are available at quite a few places in Toronto. It's a step up from organic, where farmers are free from harmful pesticides, but are still only paid around a dollar per box. Fair trade means the farmers are getting fair market prices: around 8 dollars a box. The difference to us? Actually the same price as organic bananas, around $1.29 a pound. That's where the personal choice comes in. Am I in a position to spend 40 cents more than commercial bananas to ensure what I'm eating is not harming farmers, and that those farmers are getting enough money to reasonably make a living? Chocolate? Same deal. Cocoa Camino is my favorite organic fair trade brand, but there's a bunch out there.

           So here's something I eat a few times a year. Figs have a unique taste. And, along with bananas, they were one of the first plants to be cutivated for human consumption, around 11,000 years ago. Here's a fig salad, surrounded by some local ingredients.

Strawberry Fig Salad
makes 2 servings

8 figs, sliced crosswise across the top (see picture)
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup goat cheese

1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces
2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
salt and pepper

         Combine strawberries and figs in a bowl. Crumble goat cheese and walnuts over top. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad.

          This is what I ate with the salad. I had all the fixings for an awesome pizza, but I have yet to tackle gluten-free pizza dough. Instead, I made a big giant rosti (recipe here) and then broiled it for a few minutes, covered in sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, kamalata olives and raw milk feta. It was delicious.

Cheap & easy dinner, plentiful & bountiful asparagus

Potato Rosti with grilled asparagus

*this makes delicious dinner for 2. For one person, just make a smaller rosti, cutting amounts in half.

3 large potatoes

1 onion, peeled

salt and pepper

3 or 4 tbsp olive oil

1 lb asparagus

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grate potatoes (leave skin on) and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet (one that can go in the oven - no plastic handles!). Make sure pan is coated well with oil to avoid rosti mishaps. Pile grated potato and onion mixture in skillet, pressing down and forming a huge, pan-sized potato pancake. Cook on medium heat for 7 or 8 minutes. Run spatula under edges to loosen, then place a large plate face down on the rosti. Flip the entire thing onto the plate, then slide the rosti back onto the pan (now cooking the uncooked side). Put the skillet in the oven for another 7 or 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, perhaps while the first side of the rosti cooks, break off the tough ends of the asparagus. Toss on a baking pan with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. When you put the rosti in the oven, throw in the asparagus. They'll be done the same time as the rosti! (8 minutes). Roll them around once for even cooking.

Meanwhile, while asparagus and rosti are in the oven, fry two eggs.

Serve each rosti piled with asparagus, topped with an egg (maybe with a side of homemade applesause for the rosti).

Cheap, cheap dinner. The whole thing costs between 2 and 4 dollars, depending on whether you're using organic ingredients. Use butter instead of olive oil and you have yourself a 100 mile dinner, possible much much closer, especially if you're lucky enough to have an asparagus bed in your backyard. No excuses for that woody, tasteless asparagus from Peru right now - everywhere has Ontario asparagus, from No Frills to Dufferin Grove to St. Lawrence Market.

goodbye wheat, hello potatoes

I'm branching out into the wheat-free world after finally figuring out that I'm intolerant to the stuff. But life looks fine on the other side! At Dufferin Grove's Thursday organic market I found sweet potato bread (ooh!) made with rice flour and a tasty kamut and spelt bread (delicious and hearty).

The other day I was complaining to my boyfriend about how I keep forgetting about these delicious recipies; you know how you make pizza dough for 3 or 4 months and then forget about pizza for a year? So tonight I pulled out a recipe I hadn't made in ages. I'm sure every vegetarian slightly interested in cooking has at least one of Mollie Katzen's/Moosewood Collective's cookbooks in their kitchen; I know I have three or four hanging around. But the one that gets the most milage is definately The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Mollie's section on quiches is great - tonight I broke out the mashed potato crust. 1o times healthier, ten times tastier than your average pie crust. Here it is.

3 average sized potatoes
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
salt and pepper

Quarter and cook potatoes (don't bother peeling them, unless they're not organic - potatoes have high levels of pesticide residues on their skins). Mash them with the butter, salt and pepper and raw minced onion. Press the mashed potatoes into a greased pie plate. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, brushing with oil halfway through.

Now for the filling. So you have your crust. Next you need a layer of cheese. Usually I go for volume, not flavor - just some average grated mozza or cheddar. You need enough to cover the bottom, creating a layer protective fattiness between the crust and egg. Tonight I tried something new - a tangy sheep's milk cheese from Dufferin Grove.

Next- the vegetables! The possibilities are endless. Some of my favorites - spinach sauteed with onion, nutmeg and dry mustard; tomatoes and fresh herbs, mushrooms (only when my mycophobic boyfriend isn't around); and today, red swiss chard with onions and garlic.

Finally, your custard: 3 eggs and one cup of milk/yogurt/sour cream/any combo of the three.

Sprinkle with a little paprika, bake it at 375 for 35-40 minutes, then let it rest 5 minutes before cutting. Mmmm, wheat free quiche.