If any cheese is native to Canada, it’s Oka. It was first created in 1893 by the Trappist monks of Oka, Quebec. Oka is a type of Port Salut cheese, first made in Brittany, France by the Trappist monks, who brought the recipe with them to Canada and used cheesemaking as a source of survival. In 1974, Agropur, Canada’s largest cheese cooperative bought the rights to produce Oka from the monks.Their cheese is made just down the street from the original Trappist Monk's monastery. Oka is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese that’s creamy, fruity and nutty. It’s traditionally covered with an orange rind that’s washed in brine and aged on cypress wood planks. What do I do with Oka you ask? Well...it makes the best fondue ever!!!!! Creamy and silky to the tongue. I am entering this dish into our event for World Food Day. Fondue is typically a Swiss dish, but, what makes it my own is the use of strictly Canadian cheeses such as Oka. When I asked my daughter what she would enjoy on her 21st birthday...it was unequivocally...FONDUE!!!!! This is a family favourite and perfect for this event since we can feed 8....or two very hungry women!!!!!We are very lucky to have an overabundance of food in our household. World Food Day brings to our attention the plight of 862 million undernourished people around the world ...even in our own backyards who are not as lucky!!
To highlight World Food Day (which has been celebrated on October 16th every year since 1945) I am holding a World Food Day event with the help of my good blogging friend and adopted sister Ivy of Kopiaste. We are bringing the world a little closer together with us blogging on opposite sides of the world...Ivy in Athens, Greece and me from British Columbia, Canada. Ivy was kind enough to accept my invitation to raise awareness through this event. The blogging community spans the globe so I would like you to submit a recipe which represents your country that would feed at least 6 people. You can send something that is a family favourite or a regional favourite that uses local and perhaps seasonal ingredients.
I would like to thank everyone who has submitted an entry so far. There are exciting things in the works to make this event bigger and better for the years to come. Anything we can do to raise awareness of this very important issue the better.
We could then lay each dish we receive back to back and have enough food to feed everyone on our street. If more people joined we could feed everyone in our city...our country...the world...you get the picture!!! A conga line of international dishes to feed the world!!!!
JOIN US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
**True Canadian Fondue**
1 cup (250 mL) Canadian Oka, in small dice
1 cup (250 mL) Canadian Emmental, grated
1 cup (250 mL) Canadian Vacherin, in small dice
4 tsp (20 mL) cornstarch
1 clove garlic, sliced in two
3/4 cup (200 mL) Pale Ale type beer (or I used Chasselas wine from St. Hubertus Winery) *
2 tbsp (30 mL) kirsch (optional)
1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice
Ground nutmeg and pepper to taste
2 to 3 baguettes, cubed
2 cups (500 mL) assorted raw vegetables (quartered mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower florets etc.) or slices of apple and pear
**************************
In a bowl, mix cheeses and cornstarch.
1 cup (250 mL) Canadian Emmental, grated
1 cup (250 mL) Canadian Vacherin, in small dice
4 tsp (20 mL) cornstarch
1 clove garlic, sliced in two
3/4 cup (200 mL) Pale Ale type beer (or I used Chasselas wine from St. Hubertus Winery) *
2 tbsp (30 mL) kirsch (optional)
1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice
Ground nutmeg and pepper to taste
2 to 3 baguettes, cubed
2 cups (500 mL) assorted raw vegetables (quartered mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower florets etc.) or slices of apple and pear
**************************
In a bowl, mix cheeses and cornstarch.
Rub the inside of a fondue pot with sliced faces of garlic clove. Over medium heat, pour beer (or wine), kirsch and lemon juice in pot and bring close to the boiling point, then reduce heat to very low.
Add cheeses gradually by handfuls, stirring until melted. Keep heat low; do not boil preparation; as fondue should not be subjected to high temperatures.
Stir preparation in a figure eight motion with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Blend in nutmeg and pepper to taste.
Spear baguette cubes and vegetables with fork, dip in fondue and enjoy!
Tips: In stores, you will find Canadian Swiss under the names of Cogruet or Mont Saint-Benoît and Canadian Emmental under the names of Chaliberg or Kingsberg.
You’ve got choice: Replace Canadian Oka with grated Swiss or Canadian Colby. For a touch of country flavour, blend in 1 tsp (5 ml) of dry mustard and 1/2 cup (125 ml) of chopped and sautéed leek.
*NOTE: For this dish I used Chasselas wine from St. Hubertus Winery here in the Okanagan. They make wine in the Swiss way....I have asked them but I still don't know what that means.
Serves 8
Serves 8
