Top 5 national recipes for an Olympic feast

Tourtiere Pie

A double-crusted meat pie with a pork, beef, onion and spice filling.

1 lb lean ground pork

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup water

1-1/2 tsps salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1/4 tsp ground sage

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 9-inch double-crust pie pastry

In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.

Bake in a 220 C (425 F) preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Poutine

Use mozzarella if you can't find cheese curds

5 medium potatoes, cut thickly

1 cup warm beef gravy

Cheese curds, to taste

Either toss potatoes in oil and bake at 220 C (425 F) for 30 minutes or deep fry until done. Drain and place on platter, sprinkle on curds, then pour hot gravy on top. Eat immediately.

Maple-glazed Salmon

1/4 cup maple syrup

4 tsps grainy mustard

4 tsps soy sauce

2 lbs salmon fillet, skinned

In small bowl, combine maple syrup, mustard and soy sauce.

Arrange salmon on foil-or parchment paper-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Spoon glaze over fish.

Bake in centre of 200 C (400 F) oven until fish flakes easily when tested, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to serving platter.

Nanaimo Bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup white sugar

5 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup butter, plus 1 tbsp for drizzling

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tbsps vanilla custard powder

3 tbsps milk

1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Mix half the butter or margarine, white sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla extract in a heavy saucepan. Stir over low heat until mixture is custard-like.

Combine cracker crumbs, coconut and walnuts and add to the melted mixture. Mix well and pack into buttered 9-inch square cake pan.

Cream remaining butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla custard and milk. Beat until creamy and spread over melted base. Refrigerate until hardened.

Melt chocolate with 1 tbsp. butter and drizzle over icing. Refrigerate. When totally hard, cut into square bars.

Figgy Duff Pudding

2 cups bread crumbs, from crusts

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp hot water

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp each ginger, allspice, and cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt


Molasses Coady:

1 cup molasses

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vinegar


Grease a 4-cup mould. Mix crumbs, raisins, molasses and melted butter together. Combine baking soda and water, add to crumb mixture. Mix well.

Sift together flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon and salt; stir into crumb mixture. Pour mixture into greased mould. Cover with a large piece of greased foil and fold snugly over sides of mould, leaving some slack for pudding to expand.

Place mould on rack in a steamer or large pot. Add boiling water to halfway up the sides of mould. Cover and steam for 2 hours or until firm to touch.

For the molasses coady, heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until boiling. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Serve over pudding.

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