However, from the fall, Quebec is confined, pandemic obliges. The essence of Menu Extra being paradoxically hospitality, sharing and gastronomy, the brigade thought of ways to reproduce these emotions at home; like what, it is often at the heart of the constraints that the best ideas appear.
We have therefore thought of a series of high-end meals, easy to finalize in the benevolent comfort of a home: the gourmet ready-to-bake!
The pithiviers or the genesis of the gourmet ready-to-bake
The pithiviers appeared at Menu Extra as the perfect dish to open the ball of dishes to be baked: a recipe requiring a lot of technique and precision in its preparation, but easy to finalize thanks to simple cooking. It is also thanks to this signature dish that Francis Blais, co-chef and co-founder of Menu Extra, won his title at Top Chef Canada.
To recall the smoky flavors of traditional pithiviers made from lark meat, we have made a stuffing with lardo and duck legs, as well as smoked shiitakes. In the center, we discover the rosé duck breast and a generous piece of foie gras, both wrapped in Swiss chard. As a final touch, the dish is accompanied by a sauce based on our corn miso.
Other initiatives, which are as tasty as they are accessible, have skilfully followed, such as the quail in a sarcophagus and the lobster thermidor, also developed according to this uninhibited desire to invite haute cuisine everywhere. Our ready-to-bake menus will evolve with the seasons, always renewing this principle of gathering where life is good.