Rabbit Ravioli: Photographs, Recipes and Literary Vignettes of Newfoundland

Barbara Robertson is the author of Wilfrid Laurier: The Great
Conciliator and co-author of The Well-Filled Cupboard.

The subtitle accurately defines the contents of this short book: there
are recipes, often accompanied by handsome full-color illustrations of
the food; short, often pungent, quotations about Newfoundland in the
past; and uninspired black-and-white photographs, commonly featuring
children, of Newfoundland today. These elements often do not cohere. For
example, one spread contains an upscale recipe for mussel bisque,
photograph of a smiling boy lacing up his hockey skates, and a quotation
about “a long toilsome summer” with very little money to show for
it. The recipe for a very elaborate Newfoundland Torte appears alongside
a photograph of a benign golden retriever, with the accompanying
quotation “These Dogs, in Summer, lead the perfect life of an Idler.
They do no kind of work whatever.” The retriever looks as if he has
never done a day’s work in his life, and it takes some reflection
before one realizes that the quotation probably refers to sled dogs.

The recipes tend to be lavish, in that they often require, in addition
to time, a well-stocked kitchen (food processor, pasta machine, and much
else) and many liqueurs (not simply Grand Marnier but Lakka and other
specialties). The stylishness comes as a great surprise to anyone whose
exposure to Newfoundland cooking has been derived from I.F.
Jesperson’s collection, Fat-Back & Molasses, but is perhaps to be
expected from Kitty Drake, who has had extensive experience in operating
restaurants. Commendably, she uses local ingredients a lot, but she
might have more clearly defined “partridgeberry” (the Newfoundland
name for low-bush cranberry).

By no means are all the recipes intimidating; the Cuban black bean
sauce with cod is tempting, as are several of the vegetable recipes in
particular. And the engaging quotations from Aaron Thomas are bound to
make the reader eager to read his Newfoundland Journal (1794) in its
entirety.