The Big Smoke

Through a combination of mounting ethical dilemmas and new found frugality, I've more or less stopped eating meat. This has led me to make many discoveries and come to several conclusions, but one in particular. That is, many recipes start with bacon.


The reason for this of course being the delightful smokiness bacon imparts to whatever it is being cooked, be it sauteed potatoes, an onion tart, or clam chowder. Ok, I also love the fat. I'm daydreaming right now of frisee au lardons, that delightful old-school bistro salad which starts with little strips of bacon with their slowly and lovingly rendered fat blended while warm with vinegar and Dijon, then poured over cool frisee, topped with some crisp bread cubes, and possibly a drippy soft-poached egg. Heaven.

I realized what I love most about bacon (and chorizo, and ham) is the flavour of smoke it imparts on my cooking. How does one get smokiness without using bacon, and without resorting to that vile concoction called "liquid smoke" which possesses and acridness reminiscent not of carefully cured meat, but my clothing after a pre smoking ban clubbing night. Maldon smoked salt is good in a pinch (sorry) but is better suited to finishing than cooking.

So how to get that sweet, smoky character I'm looking for? Two words: smoked paprika.

My current addiction to this substance started with a fairly easy to find supermarket variety. Now I cannot live without the Sweet Spanish Smoked Paprika from Montreal's divine Epices de Cru. Yes, you can get it in the mail (along with this great company's hundreds of other whole and ground spices and blends.) http://www.epicesdecru.com/

I use it everywhere. It blends effortlessly into recipes where a touch of smoke is warranted, as in charred tomatillo salsa, vegetarian gumbo, and hummous, while the sweet pepper notes give flavours more depth. I also love the colour it imparts to thinks like sweet potato puree and tomato-chickpea soup. You can use it anywhere you would use regular paprika, including the ubiquitous 50's era deviled egg or potato salad sprinkle. Eggs, mayo, a snippet of fresh chives, and smoked paprika. It doesn't get much better than that.

Today I made smoky leek and ricotta cannelloni with a garlicky oven-roasted tomato sauce. It rocked. No bacon required.

Smoky Leek and Ricotta Cannelloni
-8 fresh lasagna sheets, cut in half and soaked in cold water for 2 minutes;
-2 cans plum tomatoes with juice
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 large onion, diced
-salt and pepper
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 tub full-fat ricotta cheese
-1 bunch leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
-2 tbsp. butter
-1 large egg
-1 cup grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
-1 tsp smoked paprika
-1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago or Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large roasting pan, combine the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Roast 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Let cool. Place in food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil, and a little water if sauce is too thick. Taste and season. Set aside. Increase oven temperature to 375F.



In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add the smoked paprika and cook 1 minute. Add leeks and cook over medium-low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Stir in ricotta, egg, and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.



In a 9x13 baking dish, ladle in enough sauce to cover the bottom. Lay out the soaked pasta sheets and place some of the filling along one edge. Roll up and place in the baking dish, seam side down, until all the sheets have been used. Ladle on sauce to cover (you may not use it all). Cover pan with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cover cannelloni with the shredded cheese. Broil until bubbly, and serve.