Happy Canada Day to all of my fellow Canucks! Canada Day is this Friday and I’m sure you’ve all got plans to celebrate this great nation. As someone who travels a lot, I’ve met people from all over the globe and I’ve realized how much us Canadians have to be proud of! The people are polite, the scenery is vast and stunning, we believe in building pot dispensaries, not walls, and oh yeah, our Prime Minister is a BABE. With our amazing diversity, we are fortunate to have authentic cuisines from around the globe at our fingertips. So much so that we sometimes forget what’s actually cultivated on this great soil! Whether you’re laying low or having a huge crowd this Canada Day, why not show some pride in your country and celebrate with some Canadian staple ingredients! And of course, because the weather is going to be great and it’s a long weekend, I know you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. I’ve thrown together three dishes for a perfect outdoor meal that are so simple, you could make the whole meal with one hand behind your back…or holding your Bloody Caesar.
On today’s menu, we have cedar smoked BC Salmon with a Maple-Dijon glaze, PEI potato salad with fresh Ontario peas and dill, and a cabbage slaw with a lemon-maple vinaigrette. These ingredients are really simple yet flavourful, and they all compliment each other well. The sweetness from the Maple syrup is a classic pairing with salmon, but it also ties in nicely with the acidic vinaigrette on the cabbage slaw. The PEI potato salad has brightness from a lemon-dill dressing, which pairs nicely again with the fish. These three really simple dishes are modest, yet very tangy and flavourful, just like Canadians!
The cedar smoked salmon is honestly one of the easiest things to serve when feeding a crowd outdoors. The only thing you have to remember is to soak the cedar plank in cold water at least an hour before cooking. Once that’s done, you simply glaze the salmon, turn the grill on high, and leave it on the grill (off direct heat) for 20-30 minutes. When it’s done, you take it off and serve hot. Click here for recipe!
The PEI potato salad and cabbage slaw are my frequent go-to’s when serving large crowds because they can be made ahead of time and actually become more flavourful as they sit. I recommend making both of these dishes earlier in the day, at least 1 hour before serving for best results. I like serving these side dishes cold, especially on hot summer days. See here for the PEI potato salad, and click here for my citrus-y cabbage slaw with lemon-maple vinaigrette.
Labels: Appetizers, Mains, Party Ideas, Salads, Sides
