Oh, Canada!
July 1 is Canada Day. Amanuensis A.O. McGrath is not responsible that someone in Newfoundland thought it a good idea to BOIL cake. Pass the salmon! Raise the Maple Leaf high!
*In honor of Canada Day, listen to a few seconds of this old LP recording of a Canadian song much beloved of my mother. It’s sung by her fellow Newfoundlander Stompin’ Tom Connors, “My Stompin’ Grounds.” Fun fact: The verse of this song is how yours truly, A.O. McGrath, growing up in North Carolina, USA, memorized all the Canadian provinces.
Raised on kedgeree at her idyllic country house buffet and in early youth sampling the world’s finest delis’ bagels and lox, Lady Arabella is now amused to imagine never having had fish for breakfast until relatively late in life. I, her Unusually Tall Kitchen Elf and amanuensis, never experienced the glory of fish for breakfast until visiting relatives in Canada around age 12.
C’est vrai!
Also never had maple sugar candy ‘til touring Quebec with my high school French class. We get there when we get there, ay? As long as we seek to broaden our experiences, we are on track to what my early teachers taught me was a superlative goal: Be well-rounded.
In honor of my many Canadian cousins— and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way, as my mother had 10 siblings — I’m sharing a favorite, light sauce recipe for dressing up fresh, never overcooked salmon.
One can enjoy it at brekkie, brunch or later in the day.
And, in honor of my dear, departed mama, I am for the first time sharing her handwritten recipe for two boiled dishes often featured in a Newfoundland boiled “Jiggs Dinner” of corned beef and cabbage. Pease Pudding, a savory concoction and side dish, and Figgy Duff, a dessert that’s a form of raisin cake, with zero figs involved. A pudding bag constructed of unbleached cotton holds the masses of ingredients together during long boiling. Looooong. As in hoe the garden, play some cards, practice the fiddle, hold a dance party… Irish jig, anyone?
Duff is a culinary cousin to ye olde British dessert that gifts all us moderns with the sensibility of 12-year-olds much general hilarity: Spotted Dick. Same dealio, it is a boiled, raisin cake, except suet (an animal fat) is used instead of butter.
Wee bit of irony in sharing a Newfie recipe on Canada Day. Newfoundland was the last province to join the Canadian Federation. The first time the transition was posed, in the 1860s, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador voted “nay” in an absolute landslide. Whenever the subject arose again, it was met with fierce rejection. They wanted to keep their independence.
Indeed, my own Grandpa “Big Bill” McGrath, born in Labrador to an Irish immigrant and a First Nations woman, personally helped tear down the campaign stand for a politician supporting confederation, roaring, “Confederation never!” Were he still around, it would be an interesting storytime to learn how he felt when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.
Howsomever long it took, Big Bill must have transferred his loyalties eventually. My mother stoutly refused to become an American citizen, registering as a “resident alien” for close to 65 years of living in the States. She declared her father would never forgive her if she gave up citizenship in her homeland.
Lady Arabella peeks over my shoulder at my computer screen and chuckles. “Stubbornness does run in the family, n’est-ce pas?”
Truer words were never spoken.
NOTE: Versatile salmon filets can be broiled, baked or pan-fried. (We’re not getting into sushi here.) If the filet starts to form a thick, white foam on top, it has cooked too long. Overcooked salmon is sad salmon. The food safety recommendation is to cook ‘til thickest part of filet registers 145F. You can also test it with a fork to see if the center has become flaky.
LIGHT DILL MUSTARD SAUCE FOR BAKED OR BROILED SALMON. Vegetarian sauce. *Salmon shown in photo above on toasted ciabatta bread with a sunny side up egg.
1/4 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek
2 Tablespoons mustard, brown or Dijon
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed (not seed) OR 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, minced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 Tablespoon honey
Whisk all ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Chill. Store covered in fridge up to 3 days.
Since a few generations in our educated populace have now matriculated without learning how to write or read cursive, I shall translate the ancient script in the photo for their edification. Italics are my own addition, intended for clarity.
True confession: Neither I nor Lady Arabella have attempted the recipes below, lacking pudding bags for the process. Perhaps a jaunt to Newfoundland is in order to purchase a set?
OLD-FASHIONED FIGGED (AKA FIGGY) DUFF, NEWFOUNDLAND STYLE. VEGETARIAN. Serves about 8.
2 cups all-purpose flour OR 3 cups of bread crumbs
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
Few grains salt (scant dash)
1 teaspoon each: ginger, allspice and cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter (I vote for unsalted butter)
3 teaspoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon hot water
1/2 cup flour (additional)
Combine 2 cups flour OR 3 cups bread crumbs, raisins, brown sugar, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a fork or mixing spatula.
Add melted butter, molasses and baking soda which has been dissolved in hot water.
Add 1/2 cup flour and combine well. Pour mixture into dampened pudding bag. Tie lightly with kitchen twine, leaving a little slackness to allow the pudding to expand. Boil completely submerged in a large, deep pot of water for 1 1/2 hours.
PEASE PUDDING. NEWFOUNDLAND STYLE. Omnivore. Serves about 8. NOTE: Boiled in the same large, deep pot as the corned beef in a classic Jiggs Dinner, which can also include boiled carrots, potatoes and turnips.
1 1/2 cups split green peas
Few grains of salt (a scant dash)
Dash of pepper
2 teaspoons of finely diced pork/fatback OR diced pork belly, bacon or pancetta if cannot access fatback at your market
1 teaspoon butter, diced
Stir all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Place all mixed ingredients in a pudding bag. Tie bag with kitchen twine leaving space for the peas to expand.
Place bag completely submerged in boiling water, along with salt beef AKA corned beef in a Newfoundland Boil for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Above, the provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Below, the proud flag of Canada.
