From oatcakes to shortcakes to fishcakes, fiddleheads and lobster rolls, and a pot of Hodge Podge in every other kitchen, Atlantic Canadians are passionate about the foods that give them comfort.
Celina Parfitt and Bryce Degner live on Fogo Island, NL and run the seasonally-open Scoff Restaurant, which serves up multi-hour, multi-course, chef’s choice tasting menus featuring seasonal and local favourites.
“Newfoundland is a very special place,” says Parfitt, who originally hails from Quispamsis, NB ”Just about all the traditional dishes here are very stick-to-your-ribs, which is a requirement for good comfort food, so it’s all comfort food to us.”
A dish by any other name
Specializing in fun and modern interpretations of Newfoundland cuisine, the proprietors have become experts on the topic of local comfort foods — with the most notable, and widely appreciated, being Jiggs dinner.
A dish by any other name would be as delicious, and this craveable comfort is also known as boiled dinner, Sunday dinner, and cooked dinner, depending on how and when it’s prepared (or possibly whom you ask). Call it what you want, just make sure you call your loved ones to the table to partake in this beloved traditional dish. It can be quite an undertaking to prepare, but Parfitt says, “If there’s a cooked dinner on the go and I’m invited, I will do my best to be there.”
The best part about the cooked dinner is that it can be served without ceremony or occasion; however, Parfitt acknowledges that people tend to do more when company is coming. Her personal must-haves include a traditional dressing (or stuffing), roasted turkey, chicken, or beef, peas pudding, and vegetables (carrots, turnip, cabbage, potatoes).
Parfitt believes it’s the one that Newfoundland is well-known for, perhaps because of how it translates across so many family traditions.
“Everyone seems to have their own preferences for how it’s prepared,” she says, although it’s a meal that shines in its simplicity, particularly when made by the hands of the matriarch.
“Cooked dinner always tastes better when someone else makes it. It’s especially best when someone’s Nan prepares it for you — no one knows their way around the kitchen like a grandmother.”
The best part about the cooked dinner is that it can be served without ceremony or occasion; however, Parfitt acknowledges that people tend to do more when company is coming. Her personal must-haves include a traditional dressing (or stuffing), roasted turkey, chicken, or beef, peas pudding, and vegetables (carrots, turnip, cabbage, potatoes).
Most importantly is the salt beef. It’s the first ingredient into the pot so that “it does all the heavy lifting when it comes to seasoning the rest of the meal and gives it all the taste,” emphasizes Parfitt.
The final touches include the salty pot liquor (also known as pot likker) to be poured on top or used to augment gravy. Parfitt suggests adding a few simple accompaniments to complete the meal.
“You also can’t go without cranberry or partridgeberry sauce, mustard pickles and any other pickles you have on hand.”
A sense of place
Cape Breton is another island home to a plethora of delectable comfort foods. Home chef and food content creator Melanie Roach-Walsh of Reserve Mines, NS believes that the magic of comfort foods comes from the nostalgia they evoke. These meals hold sentimental value and provide more than mere fuel.
“They nourish our souls and make us feel good,” she says.
Many of the most popular dishes in Cape Breton are those that have provided comfort to families, generation upon generation.
Often, these feature ingredients that are locally available. These are “a result of our connection to the sea and our rich abundance of seafood, like lobster, crab, scallops, cod, and trout, to name a few,” says Roach-Walsh.
Home chef and food blogger Glenda Truitt of Gander, NL agrees that “familiar and comforting” are key ingredients to a dish, but the best meals are those that connect us to our past and to the land on which we live.
“Many of my favorite comfort foods provide nostalgia and a sense of place: freshly baked hot buns with butter brushed over the tops to melt, creamy cheesy cod au gratin, thick pea soup with dumplings, boiled molasses pudding, berry jam still warm from the pot,” Truitt says.
Always soup season
In the oft-colder climate of Atlantic Canada, it’s easy to see why so many turn to soup or chowder to stave off a chill. Roach-Walsh, who prepares soup weekly, believes it fits the bill as a food that provides nourishment and warmth to the body and soul.
According to Roach-Walsh, seafood chowder is the quintessential Atlantic Canada comfort food favourite, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
In her Cape Breton home, chowder is “a mixture of loads of fresh seafood and potatoes in a rich creamy broth. The seafood traditionally used in Cape Breton seafood chowder is lobster, mussels, scallops, shrimp, salmon, trout, and white fish like cod, haddock, and halibut.”
Be sure to serve a bowl with fresh tea biscuits — another local favorite — for the true Cape Breton experience.
The best comfort meals end with a homemade dessert. Truitt is a fan of the wild berries that are prominent in traditional Newfoundland and Labrador cooking, best enjoyed with freshly-baked shortcakes, which are easy to prepare in small batches and “perfect to satisfy a comfort craving.”
Partridgeberry Shortcake (Glenda Truitt)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
- 1 heaping tsp sugar
- 1 heaping tbsp soft butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup cold milk
In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients until combined.
With a fork, work in the butter until small bits are visible throughout.
Stir in milk and bring together to just form a soft dough, being careful not to overwork (it’s okay if some lumps remain).
Divide equally to drop six biscuits onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, patting tops slightly to flatten them a bit.
Brush tops with a bit of milk and bake at 425°F for 12-15 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before splitting and layering with jam and whipped cream.
Gigi’s Stuffing (Celina Parfitt and Bryce Degner of Scoff Restaurant)
Ingredients:
- 1-2 loaves of day-old white bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1-2 lbs of bacon, cut into strips across the width
- 3-4 celery hearts, chopped
- 4-5 white onions chopped and diced (There should be about three-to-one ratio of onions to celery)
- Ground sage to taste
- Ground poultry seasoning to taste
- Savory to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Fry the onions and celery in a pan until softened and slightly brown and season with salt and pepper. Fry bacon until crisp in another pan, then drain off grease. At this point, you can bag and refrigerate these if you wish to assemble later.
To assemble:
In a large bowl, mix bread, bacon, onions and celery together, until well distributed, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Add sage and poultry seasoning by hand (you will use less sage than poultry seasoning), starting with teaspoons and mixing thoroughly as you add and taste as you go. Remember it will strengthen in taste as it cooks. You are looking to have balance in the sage and poultry seasoning.
With turkey:
The turkey should be well rinsed, dried inside and out. Stuff the cavity and back of the bird as well as under the breast skin if you like. You can truss the bird or wrap just those areas with tin foil, to protect it from burning.
Without turkey:
The remaining or extra dressing can be put in a casserole dish with drippings to cook separately.
Bake for 1/2 hour at 325°F.
Seafood Chowder (Melanie Roach-Walsh)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped small
- 2 celery stalks, chopped small
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 4 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup cream
- 3 large potatoes, cubed small
- 3-4 cups (or more) fresh seafood (see below)
In a large pot, add the onion, celery, thyme and butter, and sauté on medium heat until slightly softened. Add in flour. Mix well and allow the butter and flour to thicken into a creamy roux. Add the white wine and whisk until smooth.
Next, add the milk and cream and whisk until everything is well combined. Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, whisking often. Add salt and pepper to taste as it’s cooking.
While the broth is simmering, cook the potatoes in a separate pot. Boil gently for seven to eight minutes, until just slightly softened. Do not overcook. You can also boil your potatoes whole beforehand, cool them, and then chop cold to add into the soup.
Add mixed raw seafood, chopped into large chunks. I always use a mixture of white fish, salmon or trout, and shellfish. You can use haddock, halibut, cod, salmon, trout, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, or lobster. Any combination is delicious.
Add in the partially cooked potatoes. Simmer on low-medium heat for at least 20 minutes, until all the seafood is cooked. You can change the consistency of the broth while cooking by adding cream to make it thicker or by adding some of the starchy potato water to make it thinner.
Top with chopped fresh parsley and serve with warm tea biscuits or rolls and fresh butter.