Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A Regional Canadian Food: Edmonton



Here is the second installment to the Canadian Food Experience Project, this month's topic is Regional Food. This project is all about bringing Canadian food bloggers together to share their unique food experiences.
I must admit that this topic was a tough one, I began to think of my family and our local traditions; what is special about them and what food do we typically enjoy at these times. This year at Easter, we had brunch with my family, there is something about spring and brunch that go together just perfectly. For this brunch, I made a Brunch Bake that was filled with the fresh and bright flavours of spring. Originally, I found this recipe on the Kraft Foods website, there they call it the Sky-High Brunch Bake and of course I did a bit of recipe remodelling with the addition of fresh asparagus and dill and I used farm fresh eggs. The recipe and photos may look a little daunting as the assembly is a bit specific, but trust me when I say it is well worth all the effort and attention to details! As I am writing this I am thinking of when I will be able to make this again. It is a very memorable dish, one that the crowds will always be asking for time and time again.


Here is my version of the Brunch Bake. (serves 4-6)

  • 1 pkg. frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
  • 6 local farm fresh eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (if you can do homemade ricotta, all the better!)
  • dash hot pepper sauce
  • 2 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
  • fresh dill, chopped
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or any local sharp cheese)
  • 1 cup chopped red peppers
  • 20 lightly blanched asparagus, trimmed to radius of spring-form pan

    • Unfold pastry sheets. Roll out 1 sheet to 11-inch square; set aside. Roll out remaining sheet to 12-inch square; use to line bottom and side of 9-inch spring-form pan sprayed with cooking spray.
    • Reserve 1 Tbsp. eggs. Mix remaining eggs with ricotta, pepper sauce and spinach. Layer half each of the bacon, cheese, ricotta mixture and peppers in crust. Repeat layers, ending with the asparagus arranged in a star-burst on top.
    • Cover with remaining pastry sheet; folding remaining pastry around edges of pan. Brush pastry with reserved egg. Cut slits in top crust.
    • Bake 45 to 55 min. or until golden brown. Cool 10 min. Run small knife around edge of pan to loosen crust before removing rim.


    Easter 2013: Brunch Bake