I am a regular visitor to Canada. I love the vast expanse of it. The people, the calm, the lakes and forests, the cities with the quickly expanding and inspiring culinary scene. Excellent cocktails, terrific Canadian wines, a booming craft booze scene and lovely restaurants and bars to sample them. Canada is an excellent place for a road trip, especially a culinary one.

A Culinary Road Trip of New Brunswick Starting in Saint John

New Brunswick was the scene of my most recent Culinary Road Trip, packed with snow crab and lobster, lush produce from the farmlands and foraged seaweeds and sea greens from the seashore. It is one of four of Canada’s Atlantic provinces on the east coast. 83% of New Brunswick is under forest, and the cities are small by international standards. It is a perfect relaxed spot for a break and to unwind. I flew into Saint John via Halifax, Nova Scotia. A short flight in a small plane with excellent views of the landscape below brought me to Canada’s oldest incorporated city. I started my culinary road trip here. 

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada with English and French being commonly spoken. The indigenous population has been established there since 7000BC (at the time of European contact these included the Mi’kmaq, the Maliseet, and the Passamaquoddy). Populations arrived from Europe from the 1600s included French, British and Irish. The city of Miramichi claims to be the Irish capital of Canada and was one of the points of arrival for many of Ireland’s coffin ships during the famine. It is home to a large Irish Festival now every year. New Brunswick was almost called New Ireland at one point until it was vetoed by King George III. Which, of course it was. 

Where to Eat and Drink in Saint John and What to Do

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I cooked this at a supper club for 30 people recently. The fourth course of five – all containing black pudding – and as much as I love this dish, I fully did not expect every plate to come back clean. But they did! And so I think we can all agree that it is a winner. They told me so too. 

You see the thing is when so many of your days revolve around cooking and you are generally the only person eating it, it becomes easy to question every bite and wonder if it is enough. Should it be more, bigger, brighter? Everyone who works alone has this problem in one way or another. It would be perfect to have someone to bounce things off, a recipe tester, a friend. A room full of 30 people eating your food with enthusiasm? Perfection.

Many were surprised that I would add black pudding to ragu. It works so well. Already I have a recipe for black pudding ragu that is pure black pudding, no other meat. It is a popular recipe on here, called (tongue in cheek) Corkese. I use Irish black pudding and would suggest that you seek it out for this too. It has a different texture to British black pudding, made with oats and spices, it crumbles and almost bursts when you roast it. 

Using Traditional Tagliatelle with Ragu from Emilia Romagna as a Base 

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The more that I cook, the more I desire simplicity. Fresh bright flavours delivered without fuss and with speed. Food that is healthy and bright. 

There was a time when I would devote much of my evening to delivering the meal that I would eat, often too late. Increasingly my cooking becomes simpler, fitted into tighter timeframes. I desire food that is fast and that delivers on flavour and that will sustain me too. Food that is healthy and balanced and that changes day to day. This way I always enjoy it, and my nutritional intake is varied too.

I generally cook for one but I usually cook enough for two meals each time. Borrowing time from the night before for the next day. Leftovers are terrific and the second iteration will usually have a twist so that it is different. This didn’t. I loved it so much the first time I kept it the same. 

Coconut and Coriander Prawns with Pumpkin – a speedy delicious and nutritious meal

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Today is Pancake Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras. What a happy eating day! Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, the day to clear your cupboards before 40 days of Lenten fast. Every day can be pancake day but Pancake Tuesday is the one. I have gathered my favourite pancake recipes for you. Get stuck in.

A Brunch Classic: American Style Pancakes with Bacon & Maple Syrup

Let’s start with the classic fluffy pancake stack done American style. Always with bacon and maple syrup for me.

A Brunch Classic: American Style Pancakes with Bacon & Maple Syrup

Dal Pancakes with Curry Leaves, Coconut Milk and Chilli Oil

These dal pancakes were originally made with leftover dal but you should absolutely cook up a batch to make them. They are a cracker and enlivened with the gorgeous aromas from the crisped curry leaves and the punch of bright chilli oil.

Dal Pancakes with Curry Leaves, Coconut Milk and Chilli Oil

Socca (Chickpea Pancake) with Tomato & Aubergine

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It was 17C in London today. In FEBRUARY. That is completely bonkers. Still, it is February, so soup weather. I lightened this one a bit, basing it in a light garlicky broth with beans (chickpeas, but use whatever bean you like), streaky bacon, crumbled sausage, cavolo nero, a pinch of chilli and a twist on gremolata on top.

Let’s talk about gremolata! I love it and it is perfect for brightening things, especially anything meaty, like a rich slow cooked ragu. It is simply lemon zest, flat leaf parsley and raw garlic. Chopped and chopped and chopped together, until really fine. I said this was a twist, and so it was. I used preserved lemon and added some chilli also. It really lifted the bowl. Continue reading