The basics of the cuisine of Quebec

The cuisine of Quebec is varied and while much of it has its roots in France, there are many other countries which have added their taste and their spice to the mix. The early settlers used the fruits of the land to fill the stew and soup pots bubbling away on their hearths and you will find some of these same ingredients today in the food of the province.

Yellow Pea Soup

Pea soup is probably the best know food of Quebec. It is the stuff legends are made of. The ancestors had to have foods that could survive for the long months of winter and not spoil. Dried peas are just such a food. The original recipe is very simple, peas, salt pork, onions, and dried savory. The most original recipe calls for whole peas, not split peas and they should be yellow, not green. This soup is a real potage, served thick and hot with slices of bread and butter. This soup is as welcome on the table today as it has been for hundreds of years.

Creton

Making creton is an art that all housewives in Quebec used to have. Making creton is almost impossible in the United States because the leaf lard that is used is not readily available. Creton is a pork pate that is spiced and every family had their own combination of spices. You can find creton in grocery stores today in Quebec, in my opinion, the most authentic is the one made in Gaspe. There is nothing quite like morning toast with creton, it is a very Quebecoise thing to eat.

Tortiere

Meat pies have found their way into every housewives repertoire of recipes. This is another case of every county has its own version of the tortiere. In my family, there are no vegetables in the pie. It is strictly made from ground pork spiced with cloves. The pastry is a savory pastry made with lard, not a light and flaky pastry that you would use for an apple pie. I mother is from the county of Montmagny, 45 miles east of Quebec City on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. 

Pate Chinois

This is the Quebecers version of shepherd's pie. Ground beef, corn and mashed potatoes. How it came into being is much disputed but one school of thought is that it is named for a town in Maine, not for the Chinese. Many people from Quebec went to Maine to work in the mills and brought back home recipes. 

Sucre a crème

Sucre a crème which means literally sugar with cream is similar to penuche but has that old fashioned grainy texture that fudge had when I was a kid before it became a creamy almost processed confection. It is made with brown sugar and cream and, if you like, walnuts. This can still be found almost anywhere in the province, the farmers market in Quebec City is a favorite spot of mine for getting my sweet fix. It is very sweet and if you are not used to it, can be quite cloyingly so. To me, nothing is too sweet and this is a personal favorite.

Tarte au sucre

This is sugar pie. Also a combination of brown or maple sugar with cream cooked in a pan and then poured into a cooked pie shell with walnuts. It comes out tasting a bit like a caramel pie and can be downright addictive.

Crepes

In Quebec it isn't Crepe Suzette, it is breakfast crepes with good Quebec maple syrup. A good crepe should be so thin you can almost see through it. If you want savory crepes or ones stuffed with chocolate, there are several Breton restaurants which will serve these for you but they are not the crepes of Quebec.

And for my friends who are from Northern Maine and of Acadian descent I must include Ployes which are buckwheat crepes. My mother never made these or mentioned these so I think they are not common among non-Acadians but I am told they are delicious. 

These are just a few of the favorite foods of Quebec. If you want to try these and many other foods of Quebec you can visit Quebec City or Montreal or purchase a copy of a good Quebecois cookbook.