Common Meals in Ontario

English Ontario tables are a roast, a lake fish, and a sweet that came from a farm kitchen. City lunches added the peameal sandwich. The old dishes are still the Sunday ones.

Peameal bacon sandwich

• It is a Toronto lunch. Peameal is lean pork rolled in cornmeal, not smoked bacon.
• It is sliced and fried, then put on a soft roll.
• Mustard is the usual sauce. Cheese is extra.
• St. Lawrence Market is the place most visitors meet it.
• At home it is a weekend breakfast more than a weeknight meal.

Pickerel fry

• Pickerel is the local name for walleye. A Friday fish fry in cottage country still serves it.
• The fish is floured and fried. Lemon and tartar sit beside it.
• Fries or boiled potatoes come with it. Coleslaw is common.
• Perch is the smaller lake fish used the same way.
• It is a summer meal. Winter fish is more often frozen or from a shop.

Shepherd’s pie

• It is minced beef, or lamb, under a mashed-potato crust.
• Onion, carrot, and peas go in the meat. The top is browned in the oven.
• It is a weeknight dish. Leftovers reheat well.
• A cottage pie is the beef version. Most Ontario houses use beef and still say shepherd’s.
• Ketchup on the side is a child’s habit. Adults often skip it.

Sunday roast

• Beef, chicken, or a ham is the center. Potatoes roast in the same pan.
• Yorkshire pudding belongs with the beef. Gravy is not optional.
• Green beans or carrots fill the plate. A roll sits at the edge.
• It is the family meal after church, or just because it is Sunday.
• Cold meat the next day makes sandwiches.

Split pea soup

• Dried peas, a ham bone, onion, and carrot simmer until thick.
• It is a winter pot. A slice of bread comes with it.
• The ham bone is the flavour. A meatless pot is thinner.
• It keeps for days. It is better the second day.
• It is an old farm soup, still made when the weather turns.

Butter tarts

• They are the Ontario sweet. A pastry shell holds a filling of butter, brown sugar, and egg.
• Raisins or pecans may go in. A plain tart is just as common.
• They are a bake-sale item and a holiday tin.
• They are eaten with tea, not as a full meal.
• A runny center or a firm one is a family argument. Both are correct.