City Palate March April 2014

city palate THE

F LA V O U R

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CAL G ARY ’ S

F O O D

S CE N E

the travel issue

citypalate.ca

March April 2014

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

FARM STORE : (BUTCHER, BAKER, PRODUCE & MEALS TO GO ) THUR 10 AM - 6PM FULL MARKET : FRI 10 AM - 6 PM SAT & SUN 10 AM - 5 PM www.SymonsValleyRanch.com 14555 Symons Valley Road NW, Calgary www.SymonsRoadhouse.com CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

40 years SALES SERVICE TRAINING

Vanilla Sin Ingredients:

Preparation:

1 oz Monin Vanilla Syrup 1/4 oz Monin Cinnamon Syrup 2 oz Espresso Steamed Milk

403.277.5169

Combine all ingredients, garnish with whipped cream and a dusting of ground cinnamon. Based on a 16 oz cup size.

All products available at Cappuccino King!

www.cappuccinoking.com CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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Alpine Wildflower Honey

Our Rocky Mountain Honey Now in Calgary!

403-968-7171 Or 250-346-3306

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Blu Seafood Check out our great selection of Fresh Fish, Seafood, Crab Cakes, Salmon Burgers and lots more!

GOOD THINGS COME OUT OF THE BLU

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

PREMIUM EXTRA VIRGIN & NATURALLY FLAVOURED OLIVE OILS + VINEGARS

MORE AT

soffritto.ca

contents

CONTEST CLOSES APRIL 30, 2014 City Palate March April 2014

features

32 n Eating Marrakech

Two weeks in the spice capital of the world.

Matthew Altizer

38 n Eating Barcelona

We discovered that you can have a most excellent adventure and never leave the city.

Kathy Richardier

a n Wi ! x i m V ita Enter to win at any Calgary Amaranth store.

No purchase necessary.

Visit store for details.

42 n Eating St. Petersburg

A day spent investigating a Russian seed bank leaves the author and her husband plenty of time to investigate Russian food, drink and sights.

Jennifer Cockrall-King

46 n Who Knew?

Richmond, B.C., has the best Chinese food outside of China.

Colleen Seto

48 n Savoury Baking of the Mediterranean

Delicious discoveries of a new citizen in the world of baking.

Laura Di Lembo

52 n Selling Cookware on Kijiji

Linda Kupecek

54 n A White Gold Rush

This company makes some of the best cheese you'll eat.

Karen Anderson

59 n City Palate's 20 for 20 Crossword Answers

And the winners!

North 7 Arbour Lake Drive NW 403.547.6333

Central 1407 4 Street SW 403.457.3663

South 378, 5222 - 130 Avenue SE 403.253.2711

amaranthfoods.ca Cover artist: artist: Katy Lemay developed a passion for illustration while completing Cover her Bachelor of Graphic Design at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Find more of her unique style at agoodson.com/katy-lemay.

Helping Calgarians Stay Healthy Since 1995

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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city palate editor Kathy Richardier (kathy@citypalate.ca) publisher Gail Norton (gail@citypalate.ca) magazine design Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios (carol@citypalate.ca)

NEW LOOK. NEW MENU. NEW ATTITUDE. experience the new rush.

contributing editor Kate Zimmerman

bold, brash... evolved.

207 - 9 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB 403.271.7874 facebook.com/rushoceanprime twitter.com/rushoceanprime

contributing writers Matthew Altizer Karen Anderson David Bransby-Williams Jennifer Cockrall-King Laura Di Lembo Nicole Gomes Carolyne Kauser-Abbott Ellen Kelly Linda Kupecek Geoff Last Colleen Seto Allan Shewchuk Julie Van Rosendaal contributing photographers Carol Slezak Kathy Richardier

www.r u sh o ce a n p r im e .co m

for advertising enquiries, please contact advertising@citypalate.ca account executives Liz Tompkins (liz@citypalate.ca) Janet Henderson (janet@citypalate.ca) Ellen Kelly (ellen@citypalate.ca) prepress/printing CentralWeb

Aspen Estates

Macleod Trail

6th Avenue SW

Stadium North

114, 326 Aspen Glen Landing SW 403.686.6731

9223 Macleod Trail South 403.253.4266

#181, 250 6th Avenue SW 403.265.3837

1935 Uxbridge Drive NW 403.220.0222

distribution Gallant Distribution Systems Inc. The Globe and Mail website management Jane Pratico (jane@citypalate.ca)

d g o o foo

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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www.redwatergrille.com

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facebook.com/redwateryyc twitter.com/redwateryyc

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City Palate is published 6 times per year: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October and November-December by City Palate Inc., 722 - 11 Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2R 0E4 Subscriptions are available for $35 per year within Canada and $45 per year outside Canada.

Editorial Enquiries: Please email kathy@citypalate.ca For questions or comments please contact us via our website:

citypalate.ca

contents

city palate

City Palate March April 2014

departments

13 n word of mouth

1993 – 2013

CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS

Join us for a kitchen party!

Notable culinary happenings around town

15 n eat this

What to eat in March and April Ellen Kelly

Date: Thursday, March 13th, 5:30 p.m.

SAIT Kitchen Party

16 n

We team up with SAIT’s culinary students and Downtown Calgary’s Big Taste for the Kitchen Party of the year. Join us for an interactive evening of food, wine and conviviality where you’ll help prepare dinner, then enjoy it with wines poured by Township 7 Vineyards & Winery and Summerhill Pyramid Winery.

18 n get this

Location: SAIT Downtown Campus, #226, 230 - 8th Ave. SW Tickets: $125 pp, visit bigtastecalgary.com for all the delicious details!

drink this

Bulgarian wine

David Bransby-Williams

Must-have kitchen stuff Karen Anderson

PROCEEDS fROm ThIS EvENT GO TO A SChOLARShIP fUND fOR SAIT CULINARY STUDENTS

20 n one ingredient

Maple Syrup Julie Van Rosendaal

24 n feeding people

Unearthing history in search of the real couscous Carolyne Kauser-Abbott

THE BIG TASTE

28 n the sunday project

Making gnocchi and gnudi with Nicole Gomes

56 n stockpot

Stirrings around Calgary

60 n last meal

Keep it simple and seasonal Geoff Last

62 n back burner... shewchuk on simmer

To see and be seen Allan Shewchuk

MARCH

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#BIGTASTE

YYC

RISE AGAIN WITH OPEN HEARTS AND MOUTHS

REVOLUTIONEATERIES • 10 DAYS • ONE BIG APPETITE

read us online @ citypalate.ca

B I G TA ST E CA L G A R Y. C O M

follow us on facebook to win delicious prizes!

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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Zoom in on these new locations & start mapping out the quickest routes, because we’re just about ready! Look out for us, so we can look after you!

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

word of mouth Notable culinary happenings around town

city palate culinary travel grant

a painting for us

read these

Calling all back-of-the-house restaurant cooks! City Palate can help you further your culinary education with a scholarship to help pay for your travel and expenses. Deadline for entries is March 21st. For all the details on how to pitch us... go to citypalate.ca.

(See ad on page 44)

A City Palate reader, Gaynor Hoyne, sent us this painting and said: “I loved the centrefold in your 20th anniversary issue so I decided to incorporate some of it into a piece of art. I thought perhaps you might like to see it.” We were really pleased and we thought you’d like to see it too. What fun!

SEASONS, Inspirations from the SAIT Polytechnic School of Hospitality and Tourism. Yay! Some of our favourite people – the SAIT chefs who contribute so much to Calgary’s culinary community by passing on their talents to their students, the future chefs of our world – have gathered a collection of tasty seasonal recipes into a book to inspire you, the home cook. You can find it at SAIT’s Marketplace and Downtown Campus. It’s beautifully put together, with gorgeous photographs, and it’s easy to use and ONLY $40 (Friesens Corporation, hard cover). You can’t afford not to have this, and some for your friends and family as well.

great squid at downtownfood upcoming 20 for 20 events SAIT Kitchen Party, March 13 – we team up with SAIT and Big Taste Calgary for a hands-on evening of wine and food where attendees help prepare dinner then enjoy it with wines poured by Township 7 Vineyards & Winery and Summerhill Pyramid Winery. (See ad page 11).

Chefly Screen Shots, May 7 – we partner with Calgary Folk Music Festival and Calgary Underground Film Festival to present silent films featuring 14 Calgary chefs, live music, and food that references the food prepared in the films. Fun! (See ad page 14).

20 for 20 Wrap-up Party, June 9 – Olé! We wrap up our year of 20 for 20 celebrations with a sexy summer soirée at Ox & Angela – tapas, paella, cider pouring, sherry tasting and flamenco!

(See ad page 51). Visit citypalate.ca for details and ticket links.

We had it at lunch, it was amazing.

Humboldt squid, not the little calamari you usually get. Chef Darren had a nice little spiel about it. Super tender, really crispy tempura-like batter, served with a little pickled not-too-hot chile and a Sriracha-mayo dip. Mmmmmmm, good. Go get some!

Don’t miss City Palate’s 4th annual Pig and Pinot Festival, Wednesday, June 18 at Hotel Arts. Teams of talented chefs will work their magic on locally raised pork, while pinots from around the world are served up by some of our finest wine stores. Tickets are available now for this very popular event: pigandpinotcalgary.eventbrite.ca.

Proceeds go to Meals on Wheels.

Big Taste, Calgary’s Dining Festival, is back to tickle your taste buds, March 7 to 16. Calgary Chefs at more than 80 restaurants will meet foodie demands for revolutionary cuisine with new culinary creations, multi-course meals and set-menu dining. Sign up now on bigtastecalgary.com to be the first to hear about all the great culinary events and participating restaurants.

food and wine writers’ workshop Many foodies are inspired to write, but need some inspiration, instruction or just a nudge in the right direction. With roundtable discussions led by some of North America’s best editors and award-winning writers, to outstanding food and wine experiences in Kelowna, that’s what the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers’ Workshop provides, May 9-11. Great setting too at The Cove Lakeside Resort. Register before March 15 at the early-bird price of $495. For more information, check out okanaganfoodandwinewritersworkshop.com.

local judge for canadian cheese awards

delicious dinner in no time  Shef’s Fiery Kitchen’s Indian and Thai curries are made with locally sourced, high quality ingredients. They are gluten free, and made with lots of love! Find them at Calgary Farmers’ Market, Calgary Co-op stores, and Market 17.

If you haven’t tried them – like the succulent coconut prawn curry, above – you’re missing something especially good that’s ready to go – dinner in no time at all!

colourful cups for your coffee pig & pinot 2014

time to eat big again....

Find these unique coffee cups at Bumpy’s Café. These “doppio” cups come in two sizes – 6.5 oz. and 8 oz. – and lots of fun colours... too cute! $20 each. While you’re drinking coffee from your cute cup, you can nibble on Bumpy’s chai bar, a tasty snack made with traditional chai spices and drizzled with white chocolate. Yum!

Cheese Maven Janice Beaton, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese and FARM, was one of the judges at the Canadian Cheese Awards that took place February 27 and 28. The awarding of the awards takes place April 7, so keep your eyes peeled to find out how our local cheesemakers fared. Sylvan Star, The Cheesiry and Old West Ranch are in the running.

fill that growler!

We like to attend Tasting Tuesdays at the new 5 Vines Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits, in Sunterra Keynote, at 218 12th Ave. SE, then fill a growler with one of the six local and international craft beers on tap.

And we can try before we buy anytime we want to fill our growler. The Tuesday tastings are paired with Sunterra’s featured foods, and it won’t cost you a thing! Check this new place out – you’ll like it for sure. 5vines.com.

And just to put some extreme fun into your cooking life, you’ll need to get a copy of this – The Southern Po’ Boy Cookbook by Todd-Michael St. Pierre (Ulysses Press, $19.95, soft cover), straight out of New Orleans. All you need is a fresh, crusty baguette and all these delish ideas about what to stuff inside it, then gobble it down. Such as The Peacemaker – brought home to angry wives by husbands who’d stayed out too late – concocted of succulent fried shrimp and oysters. The Metairie is red beans and andouille sausage and anything with bacon is a winner, so try The Parish of blackened shrimp and bacon... mmmmmm. And, in the section on international po’boys, there’s a French Canadian poutine po’boy! You need one of these.

Here’s a handy sort of book because sometimes all you need to give sparkle to your food is a brightly flavoured sauce, dressing or dip. 1000 Sauces, Dips and Dressings, by Nadia Arumugam (Firefly, $29.95, hard cover) hits all the right notes with the likes of Creamy & Cheesy Sauces, Asian Sauces, Dessert Sauces, Salsas & Vegetable Dips and Oil & Vineg‑ar Dressings.

Only problem is, each section features a colour and, for some unimaginable reason, the recipe ingredients are printed in wee type and they’re very hard to read!

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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city palate 1993 – 2013

CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS

Food. Film. Music. Fun!

Chefly Screen Shots: Raw Footage Wednesday, May 7th, 7 pm City Palate partners with Calgary Folk Music Festival and Calgary Underground Film Festival to present a series of silent films featuring Calgary chefs doing what they do best - cooking - captured by Calgary filmmaker Ramin Eshraghi-Yazdi. At the same time, musician Chris Vail and his band play live music, composed specifically for the occasion. After the screening, the crowd will enjoy appetizers that merrily reference the food prepared in the films. An evening than celebrates the artistry of food.

Location: Festival Hall, 1215 - 10 Ave. SE, in Inglewood. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Show starts at 7 pm.

Tickets: $60, cheflyscreenshots.eventbrite.ca and calgaryfolkfest.com

May 11th to May 18th – Onl

y 6 Spots Left!

the south of france

The Cycling Tour: May 19th

to May 26th – Only 8 Spots

Left!

naPa VaLLeOnlyy8 Spots Left!

September 14th to September 19th –

tuscany

September 28th to October 5th – Only 2 Spots Left!

Looking for a delicious adventure?

THE COOKBOOK CO. COOKS

722 - 11th AVENUE SW PH 403-265-6066 ext #1, Email: gail@cookbookcooks.com

Check out our Culinary Escapes: cookbookcooks.com

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

eat this

Ellen Kelly

What to eat in March and April Illustrations by Pierre Lamielle

March 21 is the first day of spring. We celebrate this date in our hearts, but those of us familiar with the vagaries of our prairie seasons know better than to have any expectations. It is winter still, and any hint of spring must come from elsewhere.

BUY: Recently, Meyers are most often found in small bags, but still look for heavy unblemished golden yellow fruit with smooth aromatic skins.

Rhubarb and fiddleheads, classic Canadian harbingers of spring in any context, give us hope – a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that is our all-too-long winter. And Meyer lemons, relative newcomers to our markets, remind us that growing seasons end even in sunnier climes.

TIPS: When replacing ordinary lemons with Meyers, keep in mind that Meyer lemons are less acidic.

Meyer lemons are nearing the end of their California season, but worth watching out for nonetheless. Their charming small size and sweet-tart flavour endear them to all.

Once an unusual culinary treat, Meyer lemons also come from New Zealand these days and are much easer to find. I tend to use them exclusively as long as they’re available. A lovely way to enjoy them is to make lemonade. Use equal parts juice and water and sweeten to taste with lemon/ginger syrup. To make the syrup, combine 1 c. sugar and 1 c. water. Peel the zest from 2 lemons with a sharp potato peeler, add to the sugar/water mixture along with a small piece of sliced fresh ginger and then bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is completely dissolved, then remove from the heat and cool. Crush a few sprigs of mint and add to the lemonade while it chills.

BUY: Hothouse rhubarb is available into March with field-grown rhubarb from April to October.

Look for blemish-free, medium-sized crisp stalks with bright glossy skin. Avoid stalks that are dried out at either end.

TIPS: Skin colour is incidental to quality, but the red varieties add a pretty pink hue to all your preparations. Rhubarb loves ginger, citrus and summer berries. Pair tart rhubarb compotes and chutneys with rich meats such as pork, duck and, of course, foie gras.

DID YOU KNOW? Early experiments during the First World War with eating the leaves proved disastrous and were likely responsible for why some people are still wary about eating rhubarb. The leaves and roots are extremely toxic, ostensibly due to oxalic acid content.

Fiddleheads are a unique and fleeting spring vegetable. With only a two-week season in any locale, they are foraged from the end of March until early April along streams and riverbeds, woodlands and the edges of marshes in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Then they’re gone. People say they taste like a marriage between asparagus and artichoke, but they are wholly unique, earthy and primordial. Simple preparations are best. Trim and wash fiddleheads and steam or boil them in lightly salted water until just tender. Drain and set aside. In the same cooking pot, sauté a couple of crushed garlic cloves in plenty of olive oil until aromatic. Return the fiddleheads to the pot; season with Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper. With the lid on, over the heat, toss well. A drizzle of sesame oil, lemon juice or soy sauce adds another layer of flavour. For a little fun, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Any leftover fiddleheads make a great salad with halved cherry tomatoes tossed in an uncomplicated lemon/shallot vinaigrette.

DID YOU KNOW? Meyer lemons originated in China and are likely a cross between a lemon and a tangerine.

I’ve eaten rhubarb my whole life in jams, chutneys, pies, cakes, and muffins… you name it. My grandfather considered it an essential spring tonic and stewed rhubarb was ubiquitous on my grandparent’s spring/summer table.

It’s easy to make your own by combining about 3 c. of trimmed and chopped rhubarb with 3/4 c. sugar, the juice and zest of one orange, 2-3 T. water and 1 T. finely grated fresh ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender, but still holding its shape. Try it mixed with plain or vanilla yogurt. Or you could make a Lunar Rhubarb Cake, one of my favourites ever since I saw the recipe in one of Elizabeth Baird’s wonderful Canadian cookbooks. Cream together 1/2 c. butter with 1-1/2 c. sugar. Add 1 egg and 1 t. vanilla. Add 2 c. flour, 1/2 t. salt and 1 t. baking soda (sifted or whisked together) alternately with 1 c. buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Toss 2 c. chopped rhubarb (1/2-inch pieces) with 1 T. flour and fold into the batter. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured 9 x 13-inch cake pan and smooth the top. Mix together 1/4 c. butter, 2 t. cinnamon and 1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake at 350°F. for 45 minutes, until the cake has risen, browned and come away slightly from the edges.

BUY: Look for tightly wound, bright jade green fiddleheads that are springy and firm. Avoid any with excessive brown scales or that are slimy or bruised. The window is small; be on the alert.

The early bird gets the best fiddleheads.

TIPS: Trim the base of each fiddlehead leaving only a short tail beyond the curled frond. Rub off any brown fuzz with your fingers and rinse thoroughly. Fiddleheads don’t keep well, so cook all that you buy and use any leftovers in soups, salads, quiche, omelettes and pastas – anywhere you might use asparagus. They freeze well. Pack blanched and cooled fiddleheads in freezer bags and keep frozen for up to a year.

DID YOU KNOW? Fiddleheads are the new growth fronds of the Ostrich Fern, so named because they look remarkably like the scroll of a violin (or fiddle) head. They must be eaten cooked; they’re bitter and can cause gastric problems if they’re not.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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drink this presents

David Bransby-Williams

Bulgarian wine

In Calgary – and this is probably true of Alberta in general – the subject of Bulgarian wine usually elicits a somewhat bemused response, along the lines of: “I’ve never tried a Bulgarian wine.

Do they really make wine in Bulgaria?”

Celebrate fine wine, premium spirits, quality beer, gourmet food (and mountain life) in Banf f

2014 BANFF GRAND TASTING HALL THE FAIRMONT BANFF SPRINGS Conference Centre - President’s Hall and Van Horne Ballroom

MAY 30 - 31

Friday Evening Session: 7 - 10 pm Saturday Afternoon Session: 2 - 5 pm Saturday Evening Session: 7 - 10 pm

Minors including infants/babies are not permitted. Please drink responsibly.

For tickets, side events & hotel packages visit rockymountainwine.com

In fact, Bulgaria has a long, if somewhat chequered, past when it comes to wine.

Since the area around the Black Sea is considered the cradle of wine making, it’s not unreasonable to believe that Bulgarian wine making goes back thousands of years. Unfortunately for the Bulgarians, a vinous misfortune occurred when the country was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 1390s. Since Muslims take a dim view of alcohol, wine making was not encouraged in the 500 years following their takeover.

With the departure of the Ottomans, the early 20th century saw the rise of wine production and a successful export industry, mainly to Central Europe. This peaked in 1940, but the disturbed times that followed World War II saw the collapse of the industry. After the war, Bulgaria came under the influence of the Soviet Empire and, unsurprisingly, the state took charge of wine making. A state enterprise called Vinprom was set up to control all wine production and marketing.

Large co-operatives were established to satisfy the needs of the Soviets.

In this period, local grapes were largely replaced by international grape varieties, particularly cabernet sauvignon and merlot. This enterprise was very successful, so much so that by the ‘80s, Bulgaria was claiming to be the largest exporter of bottled wine in the world. At this point, you might be wondering where all this wine was going, since it was not coming to Alberta. Remember, those were the days of government liquor distribution, and if the ALCB buyer did not like a product, it wouldn’t get into the province.

However, as had happened before, the Bulgarians’ time of good fortune was coming to an end. In the late ‘80s the industry was decimated by president Mikhail Gorbachev’s campaign to curb alcohol consumption in the USSR. Vines were uprooted and vineyards were left to die. When it looked like things could not get any worse, the collapse of the Soviet empire pounded the final nail into the coffin.

But wait... the subsequent movement toward a democratic government and a capitalist economy provided Bulgarian wine making with a fresh opportunity. The old co-operatives reopened as private wineries and the 21st century saw the establishment of more boutique wineries, often with western investment. The emphasis turned from producing large quantities of cheap, serviceable wine to producing premium wine.

So there you have it – Bulgaria’s vinous history in a nutshell.

Where does that leave us in Alberta? With a historic wine-producing area that has virtually no representation in the province. There are just 22 Bulgarian wines listed, so they can definitely be considered on the endangered list. Also, those wines have a narrow distribution. Sixteen of them come from Edoardo Miroglio. Four come from the Bessa Valley winery, under the brand Enira, and another two come from a whimsically named winery called Black Sea Gold AD. This last winery has the widest distribution of the three producers.

Edoardo Miroglio is an example of western European investment. Miroglio, an Italian textile magnate, visited the south of Bulgaria around the turn of the millennium and decided the area was perfect for grape growing. He built a state-ofthe-art winery and planted vineyards near the town of Nova Zagora. While his focus was on pinot noir, he also planted a number of traditional native varieties. Available in Alberta are six pinot noirs, including a pinot noir blanc, a pinot noir sparkling rosé and a pinot noir rosé. There are three Bulgarian grapes. The first is bouquet, which is a cross of mavrud and pinot noir. The second is melnik, which is described as so concentrated that you can carry it in a handkerchief. It’s really more balanced than that, possibly because the grape is melnik 55, an early-ripening hybrid of the broadleaf melnik. The last grape is the mavrud. Legend says that, during the reign of Khan Krum of Bulgaria (whose reign began in the late 790s), all vineyards were ordered destroyed. However, when a lion escaped from its cage and terrorized the city, a fearless young man named Mavrud confronted and slew the lion. When the king summoned Mavrud’s mother to learn the source of such courage, she admitted that she’d secretly saved a vine, made wine, and that this was the source of Mavrud’s bravery. Khan Krum ordered the vineyards replanted. Edoardo Miroglio wines are available in Calgary only at Wine Ink.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Bessa Valley winery is another example of western European investment. This time the principal is a German, Count Stephan von Neipperg, whose winery holdings appear to be primarily in Bordeaux. Bessa Valley Winery is located in – you guessed it – the Bessa Valley, one-time home to the Bessi tribe of Thracians.

The winery is a little to the southwest of Edoardo Miroglio, but very much in the same climate. Probably influenced by von Neipperg’s other wine interests, the winery has planted exclusively red grapes, primarily Bordeaux varieties. The vines are merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and syrah. Four of the Bessa wines are available in Alberta under the Enira label, each either a single variety or a blend of the grapes mentioned above. You will find these wines only at Richmond Hill Wines and J. Webb Wine Merchant.

The final winery is Black Sea Gold AD. I was unable to find out what AD stands for, or why it’s called Black Sea Gold, other than that it’s located in the town of Pomorie, which is on a peninsula jutting into the Black Sea. This is by far the largest winery of the three available here and probably the most diverse. In addition to wines, it produces brandy, rakia, liqueurs and aperitifs. According to its web site, the winery is close to the town of Burgas, which is surrounded by the best white wine terroir in Bulgaria. That said, the winery lays claim to good quality red vineyards on the peninsula. Given the size of the winery, it’s interesting how little information is available. You get the impression that this winery predates the fall of communism and was probably one of the co-operatives supplying large quantities of the aforementioned cheap serviceable wine to Russia, its satellites and probably Britain. At this point, one wine is available in Alberta, a cabernet sauvignon, syrah blend, that’s available in about 10 stores. You can track the wine down with the help of the web site liquorconnect.com.

Although the available Bulgarian wines fall into a number of price categories – with Edoardo Miroglio the highest and Black Sea Gold the lowest – they all represent good value in the price/quality relationship. Additionally, these are wines that come from an area with one of the longest-lived wine-making histories in the world.

Given that the Greeks were making wine six-and-a-half thousand years ago, it’s not unreasonable to assume that their neighbours were doing the same. More recently, Homer, in the Iliad, mentioned the Thracians for the quality of their wines.

In 2014, why not try a wine from a less familiar land that is nevertheless steeped in vinous history?

Take a trip to Italy... right here in Calgary!

ick & Delicious!

Meatball Subs: Qu

ade dy cooked house-m Heat up our alrea mario’s delicious jarred meatballs in Albert use en our baked-in-ho nara sauce. Split op atballs. them with 3 or 4 me mini-loaves and fill r the noni provolone ove Lay slices of Galba broiler t briefly under the sandwiches and pu on in a little fresh lem to melt. Toss arugula to per pep d an t and sal juice, good olive oil iches. garnish the sandw

Italian staples, deli and grocery • The finest Italy and Europe have to offer at the best prices in town • Daily Italian lunch specials in our ultra cool café • Fresh pastry and gelato • Espresso, Lattes & Cappuccinos using Italy’s first choice, Lavazza Top Class coffee

OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY, 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM 5140 SKYLINE WAY NE, JUST OFF MCKNIGHT BLVD. • 403.275.3300

The Wines (L to R above): Edoardo Miroglio, Pinot Nero Reserve $33 Edoardo Miroglio reveals his origins with reference to the Italian version of pinot noir. This is a well-structured, balanced wine with hints of strawberry and cherry.

It drinks well now and will improve over the next three to five years.

Edoardo Miroglio, Melnik Istoria Bez Kray $24 Aroma of dried fruits, with hints of leather and earth. On the palate it is medium bodied. There is a balance between berry fruit and earthy overtones with a slightly herbaceous finish.

Bessa Valley Enira Easy Merlot $18 The aroma is of raspberries with a hint of oak. The wine is medium bodied, with cherry fruit, a little oak and a crisp finish.

Bessa Valley Enira Red $20 This wine is a blend of merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and petite verdot. The result is a full-bodied wine, with rich berry fruits and hints of oak in the finish.

Black Sea Gold, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah Villa Ponte $12 The wine is deeply coloured, with red berry fruits and hints of spice. There are fairly pronounced tannins in the finish.

David Bransby-Williams is an owner of Wine Ink.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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get this cuisine conquistador Rick Bayless has devoted years to travelling, tasting and recreating Mexico’s authentic cuisine for Frontera Grill and his other Chicago restaurants, as well as numerous cookbooks and his PBS television show, Mexico: One Plate at a Time. He’s left a tasty trail of cuisine conquests in his wake and a trip to one of his restaurants is on our food lover’s bucket list. Until then we can at least sample his Frontera Salsas now available in Calgary at Market 17. Made in small batches, each celebrates a different Mexican region’s salsa: the culinary equivalent of conquistador gold. There’s a deep and smoky chipotle from Puebla, a brightly flavoured tomatillo from Mexico City and a zippy habanero from the Yucatan. Make a Conquistador Casserole by using the tomatillo salsa as a base in a 9 x11-inch pan, and then adding layers of tortillas, shredded chicken and grated Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat the layers and bake covered with foil at 350°F for one hour.

Frontera salsas, $5.59, Market 17

beat the pressure…

It’s a modern dilemma – we’d like the taste of slow cooked food on the table every night but we’re always in a hurry. Utilizing a little retro technology we can put the pressure to perform where it should be – on our ingredients. Pressure cookers use trapped steam to penetrate food at pressures of up to 15 psi (pounds per square inch) and achieve tenderizing results in 70 percent less time than traditional braising. The Lagostina Pronto pressure cooker has a 25-year warranty and a sturdy stainless steel base for equal heat transfer. There are lots of models with more bells and whistles, but this one is frequently on sale for $79.99 and that’s a good price point to see if you’ll enjoy this style of cooking while beating the pressure of making an expensive purchase that may or may not help you blow off the steam that comes with our modern day cooking under pressure.

Lagostina Pronto pressure cooker, 6L, $159.98, Canadian Tire

picture perfect pastry They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to the fine art of pastry making each of the 3200 step-by-step photos in Patisserie: Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry by Christophe Felder proves that point. No matter how complicated the creation, Felder has managed to simplify by amplifying the instructions visually. Start with macarons for a spring tea, lace a little chantilly cream around meringue filled with fruit in summer, roll some croissants on crisp fall Sunday mornings, and by Christmas you’ll be spinning your own sugar plum fairy confections.

Patisserie: Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry, $55, Mélange for the Home

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Karen Anderson

Must-have kitchen stuff

lunch dinner spiffy spoonfuls and playful plates

escape

Spring brings with it an intense craving for colour and these tasting spoons and plates by Danesco are sure to cheer our winter weary eyes. Start a dinner party with spoon-filled taste-teasers and progress to the pretty plates for small salads, tapas or palate cleansers. Your serving pieces will delight your guest’s eyes as much as your food does their stomachs.

Danesco glass colored tasting spoons, $12 set of 6; plates $15 set of 6, Zest Kitchenware

220 – 42 avenue se | 403 287 9255 alloydining.com | @alloyrestaurant

tap into birch syrup Spring is about to melt into being. Sap will begin to run in Canada’s maple trees and in its bountiful, but often overlooked, birch trees.

It takes 100 litres of birch sap to make one litre of syrup (maple syrup is 40:1). Birch leans to the dark side in colour and is complex in its taste profile – molasses comes to mind but with a livelier delivery. Given the price, Gourmet Sauvage Birch Syrup is best used as a condiment to enhance other tastes. Melt butter in a heavy skillet and caramelize scallops, drizzle with birch syrup and serve immediately. Create a very Canadian birch bacon appetizer by baking short strips of bacon – spread with grainy mustard and birch syrup – on a rack on a rimmed baking pan at 350°F until desired crispness. Tap into birch syrup and you’ve got a spring of culinary inspiration.

Gourmet Sauvage Birch Syrup, $17.95/125 ml, Peasant Cheese Shop (Tip: go to gourmetsauvage.ca for more recipes and look for the whole line of wildly edible Gourmet Sauvage products at Peasant Cheese Shop.)

kidding around with cheese making You can make delicious goat’s cheese ricotta. We’re not kidding (but the goats might be, tee-hee!)… make this easy recipe shared by chef Cindy Lazarenko of On Our Table. Bring 2 L. Fairwinds Farm Whole Goat’s Milk, 1 c. plain whole milk yogurt, 2 t. white vinegar, 1 t. salt to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, until the milk separates into solid curds and liquid whey. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve and remove to another container once the cheese reaches the texture you enjoy – about 5 minutes for creamy, 15 minutes if you like it drier. Lazarenko adds lemon zest and chile flakes and serves it as a spread. Spruce tip preserves (like those from Gourmet Sauvage) are delectable folded into the fresh soft cheese.

Kidding around with cheese making is a beautiful way to use this organic goat’s milk produced by Alberta’s own Oudshoorn family in Fort Macleod.

Fairwinds Farm Whole Goat’s Milk, $7.29/2L, Amaranth Whole Foods Market

Canadian CeliaC assoCiation 2014 national ConferenCe May 30 - June 1, 2014 | Calgary Telus Convention Center • Learn the latest information about Celiac disease and gluten sensitivities from renowned speakers • Enjoy great gluten free food and local entertainment • View and sample the latest products at the Gluten Free Market • Attend the conference or just take in the Gluten Free Market on Friday evening and/or all-day Saturday • Learn new ideas about eating and cooking gluten-free • Enjoy the CeliaC SToMp reception and WeSTern Gala

FeaTured SpeakerS: dr. alessio Fasano, Center for Celiac Research and Treatment, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children dr. Joseph Murray, Minnesota Mayo Clinic dr. david Hanley, University of Calgary Shelley Case, Registered Dietitian, Case Nutrition Consulting Inc. Justine dowd, PhD candidate kerry Bennett, Entrepreneur, Care Bakery Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information and registration visit www.calgaryceliac.ca Email: info@calgaryceliac.ca | Phone: 403-237-0304 Sponsored by: Calgary Chapter, Canadian Celiac association

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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Join us

one ingredient

Julie Van Rosendaal

Maple Syrup

The Cookbook Co. Cooks and Metrovino invite you to...

TOUR THE SHELVES WITH US!

Sometimes the crammed, exotic shelves of The Cookbook Co. Cooks and Metrovino can be rather overwhelming.

We can help with that...

Matthew Altizer, Gail Norton and Richard harvey host a yummy, information packed evening, that will explain and decipher their diverse array of specialty ingredients and wines from around the world.

Complete with a meal of paella, salad, a glass or two of rosé – and samples along the way, of course!

The COOkbOOk CO. COOkS 722 - 11th Avenue SW, 403-265-6066, ext 1

call now to register TOUR THE SHELVES WITH US! Monday, March 31st Monday, April 14th Monday, April 28th All tours start at 6 pm. Only $25pp!

If the maple leaf symbolizes Canada, maple syrup flows through this country’s veins. There are few ingredients as closely associated with Canadian cuisine, and for centuries, the sap of our sugar maples has been simmered into one of the purest sweeteners available.

Maple syrup is most associated with eastern Canada; with its ideal climate, Quebec is responsible for the vast majority (about 80 percent) of the world’s production. The spring thaw triggers a reaction within maple trees, transforming starches into sugars that flow for just a few weeks each year. Its limited availability makes pure maple syrup even more precious – and pricey – but worth it. Its unique flavour and intensity gives it all kinds of potential in the kitchen, although its nuances are often lost in a recipe. While one-dimensional sugar does little more than sweeten, maple syrup has depth and character. It stands on its own, worthy of dribbling over other delicious things and even of sipping straight up, for those truly enamoured with it.

Enthusiasts collect bottles of the stuff and can distinguish subtleties between grades and sources, much like wine. In Canada, all maple syrup is classified as Canada No. 1, 2 or 3, its rating mostly determined by colour. #1 is extra light, light or medium, #2 is amber, and #3 is dark and includes any ungraded syrup. While Canada No. 3 may sound like a lesser syrup, many choose it for cooking due to its cheaper cost and typically more intense flavour.

If you’re new to baking with maple syrup, you should know that because it’s a liquid – and a thin one, at that – it can’t simply be swapped cup for cup in place of more traditional sweeteners without potentially throwing off a recipe. It’s better suited to cakes, loaves and muffins – anything with a cakey texture – or better yet, for sweetening puddings (crème brûlée!), frostings and fruit desserts, or for filling maple pies. (If you’re going for big maple flavour, you’d do better to boost cookies and cake batters with maple extract.)

Metrovino...

Bringing Wine to Life 722 -11th Avenue SW 403-205-3356 metrovino.com

But its potential goes far beyond sweets – maple syrup enhances a tasty balsamic vinaigrette and a sticky-savoury slab of salmon or pork tenderloin. It makes roasted Brussels sprouts and squash infinitely more appealing, and can quickly transform a bag of oats into crunchy granola.

It’s not just select maple trees that give up syrupy sweetness; birch syrup is tapped from birch trees. It’s more rare, since the trees thrive in the northernmost climates – birch syrup is big in the Yukon – and have to produce 100-120 litres of sap for just one litre of syrup, more than double what’s needed from maple trees.

Birch syrup has a slightly more herbal flavour than the maple syrup we’re used to, and because it’s hard to find, and the wee bottles are pricey to buy, it’s probably best saved for drizzling over pancakes (see page 19).

Either way, keeping your kitchen well-stocked with The Real Thing is a sweet patriotic duty.

Purity alert! You don’t want maple FLAVOURED syrup – you want PURE maple syrup. Read the label to know what you’re buying.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

recipe photos by Julie Van Rosendaal

Maple-Glazed Sour Cream Doughnuts The dough for these rich sour cream cake doughnuts is quick to stir together and requires no rising. If you like, skip the doughnuts altogether and drop the dough in small spoonfuls into the oil to make fritters or doughnut holes.

Doughnuts: 1 c. sugar 2 large eggs 1/3 c. canola oil or melted butter 1 t. maple or vanilla extract 3-1/2 c. all purpose flour 1 T. baking powder 1/2 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1 c. sour cream (not fat-free)

Maple Walnut Pecan Pie

canola oil (for frying)

Maple syrup is made for pie. In this recipe, the nuts cut the sweetness, making it more like a pecan pie with character.

Glaze:

Pastry for a single crust pie

Filling: 1 c. packed brown sugar 3/4 c. maple syrup 1/2 c. golden syrup (such as Roger’s or Lyle’s) 3 large eggs 1/4 c. butter, softened 1/4 t. salt 1 c. pecan halves, toasted 1 c. walnut halves, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a pie plate with pastry and trim and crimp the edges. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, eggs, butter and salt. (Don’t worry about getting all the lumps of butter out.) Scatter the pecans and walnuts over the bottom of the shell and pour the syrup mixture over top. Set on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes, until set. Cool completely before cutting. Serves 8.

2 c. icing sugar 3 T. cream 2 T. maple syrup

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until pale and light. Beat in the oil and maple extract.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions. Mix just until combined after each.

In a heavy pot, heat a couple of inches of oil over medium-high heat until it reaches about 375°F. (Alternatively, heat oil in a deep fryer.)

Pat the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2-inch thick and cut into rounds with a doughnut cutter. Gently fry a few at a time, without crowding the pot, flipping with tongs as necessary until deep golden brown.

Transfer to paper towels to drain. Meanwhile, whisk together the icing sugar, cream and maple syrup for the glaze. Drizzle over cooked doughnuts while they’re still warm. Makes about 1-1/2 dozen doughnuts, plus some doughnut holes.

continued on page 22 CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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one ingredient Maple Syrup continued from page 21

noteworthy

nights 50th Anniversary Edition PRESENTED BY

DINNER AND MUSIC SERIES IN GASOLINE ALLEY MUSEUM FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014

Wearing O’ the Green

Keep the St. Paddy’s Day party going with renowned Celtic band Seanachie. Prior to reelin’, tuck into an Irish-themed four-course plated dinner.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2014

All That Jazz

Enjoy a four-course plated dinner featuring the best of the season’s regional fare followed by a performance by jazz legend Bob Erlendson and friends.

Tickets are $69.95 +gst per person per event.

PURCHASE EVENT TICKETS ONLINE AT HERITAGEPARK.CA OR CALL 403.268.8500.

Maple Cheesecake with Maple Roasted Pears Although this cheesecake looks elaborate, it’s a simple no-bake formula, easily topped with thinly sliced, roasted pears. Adapted from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart.

Homemade granola is a snap to make. Toss any combination of oats, nuts and seeds with enough maple syrup to let it clump together, then spread out on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. It will keep stored in jars for months.

Crust:

5 c. old-fashioned (large flake) oats

15 graham crackers or 10 maple sandwich cookies, crumbled

1 c. sliced or slivered almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts or a combination

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. seeds, such as pumpkin, sesame, sunflower or flax

Filling: 2 8-oz. (250 g) packages of cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 c. + 4 T. maple syrup 1 c. whipping cream, chilled 2 T. icing sugar 1 t. maple or vanilla extract 2 medium pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett, cored and thinly sliced lengthwise

HERITAGEPARK.CA

Preheat the oven to 350°F. To make the crust, pulse the graham crackers or cookies and butter in the bowl of a food processor until well combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until pale golden and set. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 c. of the maple syrup. In a medium bowl, beat the cream, sugar and extract until soft peaks form.

Fold into the cream cheese mixture and spread onto the crust. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.

To roast the pears: Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and spray it with nonstick spray. Arrange the pear slices in a single layer on the baking sheet and brush with 2 T. maple syrup. Roast for 10 -15 minutes, until the pears are soft. Remove from the oven and brush with another 2 T. syrup, then return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Let cool. To serve, arrange pear slices, overlapping slightly, on top of the cheesecake. Serves 16.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Maple Granola

1/2 c. cup shredded coconut (optional) 2 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. salt 1/4 c. canola oil 3/4 c. maple syrup 1 t. vanilla, maple or coconut extract 1/2-1 c. dried cranberries, raisins, slivered apricots or other dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, cinnamon and salt. Drizzle with oil, syrup and vanilla and stir until well coated.

Spread the mixture out onto the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruit. Let the granola cool completely before storing in jars or airtight containers. Makes about 7 cups. 

Brussels sprouts take on a deliciously charred flavour when roasted. You can also cook them directly on a hot grill. Finish them with a drizzle of maple syrup and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

2-3 c. trimmed, halved Brussels sprouts 2 T. olive or canola oil salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 T. maple or birch syrup 1 T. balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the Brussels sprouts in oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and starting to char on the edges. Transfer to a bowl and toss with maple or birch syrup and balsamic vinegar while they’re still warm. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

brazilian barbecue

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Maple Rosemary Ribs Sweet, sticky ribs don’t necessarily mean honey-garlic or barbecue sauce (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Try this delicious combination of maple syrup and fresh rosemary – both get along well with pork.

2 racks pork back or side ribs

Sauce: 1/2 c. maple syrup 1/4 c. soy sauce

Feeling

2 T. Dijon or grainy mustard 1 T. chopped fresh rosemary 1 T. lemon juice

Place the racks of ribs on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 300°F for 2-1/2 hours; remove and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, separate the racks into ribs.

In a pot that will accommodate the ribs, combine the maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, rosemary and lemon juice. Add the ribs and coat with the sauce. If you have time, let them sit for half an hour, or refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready to finish the ribs, set the pot over medium-high heat and bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, tossing the ribs gently with tongs so they get well-coated, glazed and sticky. Serve warm, with plenty of napkins. And don’t forget – you’re in your own house, so you can even lick your fingers!

Serves 4 to 6. 

Experience the bold flavours and original taste of Churrasco, an authentic barbecue style made famous

by Gauchos - the cowboys of South America.

C A LG A RY

100 5920 Macleod Trail SW phone:403.454.9119 C A N MOR E

629 Main Street phone:403.678.9886

Taste The Authentic Experience. w w w. b r a z i l i a n b b q . c a

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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feeding people

Carolyne Kauser-Abbott

Unearthing history in search of the real couscous

e c n a r F o t ! h k n. c l w o n a u wnt W o l d — om r f F—l—y fonr — tes u mi 5

contemPorAry FrencH Bistro 105, 550-11th Ave. sW

PH 587.352.0964 AvecBistro.com Avec Bistro @AvecBistro

According to paleoethnobotanists, who study the relationship between people and plants and how previous generations used plants for food, couscous may have pre-dated noodles.

In some parts of Italy, couscous is as common as spaghetti. Move over magret de canard and moules frites – couscous served with savoury slow-cooked meats continues to gain popularity in French cuisine, voted France’s third favourite meal in a 2011 study conducted for the magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand. There are confirmed references to couscous consumption in France dating as far back as 1630 in Toulon and 1699 in Brittany. Despite this significant appreciation for couscous, however, it can hardly be claimed as a national dish in France or Italy.

In fact, countries around the world have taken up this North African staple, which first emerged from Morocco in the 13th century, likely because it’s delicious, healthy and easy to prepare. A traditional couscous is made with a base of tiny grains of semolina (durum wheat) that are steamed. Once the grains are cooked, they are typically served with either meat or fish and a warm vegetable broth. In some countries, chutney, chickpeas and harissa – a hot chile paste – may also accompany the couscous.

Like so many dishes that have evolved from ancient roots, there are many cultural recipe variations. Couscous was originally made from millet, a short seed-grass that grows well in semi-arid climates. The shift in popularity to semolina couscous occurred sometime in the 20th century. However, it is still possible to find couscous made from cornmeal in Brazil, or pearl millet in Senegal, and there are even variations made with barley.

Couscous is essentially simple pasta, made from flour and water. The tiny grains are formed when the semolina is sprinkled with water and then rolled by hand in a circular motion to form the balls. The pellet size is tested with a sieve; those that fall through the mesh are deemed too small. The couscous maker dusts flour over the granules to keep them from sticking together and repeats the rolling process until each ball is of the correct diameter. Only then are these tiny spheres put out in the sun to dry. The process is very time-consuming; one needs to have the right touch and correct hand temperature. Traditionally, women made couscous in large batches.

Hand-made couscous is heated in a couscoussière, similar to a large double boiler, where the top section allows the steam to reach the grains through tiny holes.

The couscous is wrapped in cheesecloth and steamed, and at regular intervals the granules are rubbed to ensure they do not stick together. Once it’s cooked, the starch is typically served with savoury stewed lamb, beef or seafood on a shallow communal platter called a gsaa.

Couscous is a tasty alternative to rice or noodles. The magic in couscous preparation is to arrive at a light, fluffy texture. The tiny granules are quite bland on their own, and therefore pair perfectly with tender slow-cooked stews and accompaniments.

The advent of instant couscous, mechanically formed and pre-cooked, has almost eliminated the lengthy preparation except in the most traditional households. The packaged product, available in grocery stores, is already dried and partially cooked.

A short bath of boiling water allows the grains of couscous to rehydrate as the liquid is absorbed.

As inhabitants of northern Africa migrated to other Mediterranean countries during the last few centuries, the popularity of couscous has grown. The island of Sicily, which Italians claim for their own though many Sicilians argue it’s more aligned with North Africa, hosts an annual Cous Cous Fest each September. This festival, now in its 16th year, is held in San Vito Lo Capo. It provides an opportunity for chefs from around the world to compete with their creative couscous variations.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

But you don’t have to leave Calgary to enjoy good couscous. The Casbah restaurant, for example, is owned and operated by Rani and Carrie Drissi. Moroccan born, Rani Drissi says that couscous is a dish intricately woven into the essential fabric of Moroccan culture. The Berbers, often considered the inventors of couscous, called it seksu or kesksu. The Drissis aim to reproduce a uniquely Moroccan experience. Their couscous is made from scratch and finished with smin, butter preserved with salt and seasoned with thyme. While diners await their meals in an enchanting, silk-adorned room, Casbah’s couscous is steamed in a keskes, the Arab name for a couscoussière.

SenSation

Although trips to North Africa, France or Sicily all sound enticing, you can find the necessary ingredients for an excellent couscous in Calgary, so you can indulge in a culinary trip to Morocco without having to spend MAD money (Moroccan dirham) on the airfare. Whether you decide to dine out at one of Calgary’s authentic restaurants or make couscous – the dish, not the granules – at home, it’s a staple you should add to your exotic culinary repertoire.

Three variations of couscous: Each of these recipes is meant to feed four people, with some leftovers. Prepare your couscous following the instructions on the package for four people.

Including boiling the water, the preparation time for it is typically no more than 10 minutes; you should plan to make the couscous right before serving.

Willow Park Village 10816 Macleod Trail South | 403.278.1220

Compleat Cook Cooking Classes 3400 – 114 Avenue SE | 403.253.4831 www.compleatcook.ca

TASTE THE WORLD

recipe photos by Carolyne Kauser-Abbott

Vegetarian Couscous with Butternut Squash and Oven-dried Tomatoes This version makes for a great side dish or lunchtime salad with some greens. If you want to serve it as a main course, you may wish to add the chickpeas for some extra protein.

12 - 14 large, ripe plum tomatoes cut in half lengthwise 6 T. olive oil 2 T. balsamic vinegar 2 T. muscovado – unrefined brown – sugar salt and pepper to taste 2-1/2 c. diced butternut squash 1 large onion, sliced 1 t. ground cinnamon 2 t. ground cumin 1 package instant couscous

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Brush the tomato halves with 2 T. olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Season lightly with muscovado sugar, salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking tray, cut-side up, and bake for as long as 2 hours; the tomatoes should shrink and start to lose their moisture.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and increase the heat to 350°F. Toss the butternut squash in 2 T. olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the squash starts to soften. In a frying pan, heat the remaining 2 T. olive oil on medium and sauté the sliced onion for 2-3 minutes, until translucent. Add the cinnamon and cumin and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

pinch saffron threads

Prepare the couscous, adding saffron threads to the boiling water.

1-1/2 c. chickpeas from a can or bottle, drained (optional)

If you’re adding chickpeas, combine them with the couscous as you’re fluffing the grains.

3 T. each, chopped fresh tarragon, mint and flat-leaf Italian parsley

Mix the roasted tomatoes, squash, and onion mixture together in a bowl with the fresh herbs and lemon zest. Add the vegetables to the couscous, trying not to over-mix. Season to taste.

Serve warm or as a cold salad. Serves 4 to 6.

1-1/2 T. lemon zest salt and freshly ground black pepper

continued on page 26

#108 3715-51 St. SW Calgary, AB, T3E 6V2 p 403-686-1980 f 403-686-1982 Email: shiraz@richmondhillwines.com www.richmondhillwines.com

Richmond Hill Wines @rhillwines

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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TASTING

EVENTS

feeding people Couscous continued from page 25

Tasting Centre Locations Beddington 8220 Centre Street NE Crowfoot

39 Crowfoot Way NW

Oakridge

2570 Southland Drive SW

Shawnessy 80, 250 Shawville Blvd SE For tickets or to view more great tasting events visit:

coopwinespiritsbeer.com/events

Couscous with Lamb and Chicken This is a traditional preparation and presentation for couscous. The recipe comes from a friend in France who lived in Algeria for a period of time.

3 - 4 T. olive oil

Vintage Wines

We have secretly been hiding wines in our cellar for years. They rest lazily in a temperature controlled environment slowly evolving into deep and complex characters. Our vintage wines are not released to our shelves unless they are at least 10 years of age. We are opening the cellar door and blowing off the dust from some of these beauties and we want you to join us! This flight will include wines and styles from around the globe.

Shawnessy: March 8, 7-9pm • $45 per person Oakridge: May 10, 7-9pm • $45 per person Crowfoot: May 23, 7-9pm • $45 per person Beddington: June 26, 7-9pm • $45 per person

Women and Wine – Chix ‘n Chocolate

It’s girlfriends’ night out! Gather up your besties and join the gathering! What does a woman like more than wine?

Chocolate of course! And chocolate is always, always better with wine. Chocolate and wine are not reserved for the sweet wine styles. Let us open your eyes to the incredible options when pairing chocolate with wine. No guilt here ladies, as these are both well known antioxidants! Calgary’s own Epiphanie Chocolates will provide us with heavenly bites of some of Calgary’s best chocolates.

Oakridge: March 14, 7pm-9pm • $40 per person

The Roaring 20’s – The Age of Bootleggers and Flappers

From January 16, 1920 to December 5, 1933, the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol in the USA was prohibited, in California, a thriving wine industry was crippled, with 700 wineries operating before prohibition and only 140 after. Join us as we take a look into a time in history that has had a resounding effect on the world of wine, beer and spirits. This will be an entertaining evening with wines that survived Prohibition.

Crowfoot: March 20, 7-9pm • $25 per person

First Families of Australia – The Resurgence Down Under

Australia is living a resurgence of regional wines of quality. This initiative is led by the 12 first families of Australian winemaking. This collective represents 48 generations of winemaking down under and spans 17 regions. Join us as we lead you through the rebirth of a winemaking nation. We will be sure to appease most any palate with a flight of hand crafted wines and family stories.

Oakridge: March 18, 7-9pm • $25 per person Beddington: March 28, 7-9pm • $25 per person Shawnessy: April 3, 7-9pm • $25 per person

Border Beer Wars: Germany vs. Belgium

Our Border Beer Wars series continues in what may be the ultimate beer showdown. Central Europe is the motherland of many traditional and classic beer styles that are often imitated around the world and rarely duplicated. We will pit Germany vs. Belgium in this beer battle. Join us to discover the roots of craft beer!

Beddington: April 5, 7-9pm • $25 per person Shawnessy: April 26, 7-9pm • $25 per person Oakridge: May 8, 7-9pm • $25 per person

An Alsatian Adventure

Alsace wines can easily be described as the most exotic in France. Almost exclusively a white wine producing region tight to the German border, these wines are worth exploring by any enthusiast. Bavarian and French culture combine to create a style that still cannot be matched anywhere in the world. From light and delicate, round and luscious, to full bodied and rich, there is something here for everyone. Finally, a French wine region that labels by grape variety!

Crowfoot: April 25, 7-9pm • $25 per person Shawnessy: May 24, 7-9pm • $25 per person Beddington • June 19, 7-9pm • $25 per person Oakridge • June 21, 7-9pm • $25 per person

Like Us On Facebook Get great recipes and stay up-to-date on our latest tasting events. facebook.com/coopwinesandspirits

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6 pieces of lamb collar (neck), including the bone 6 chicken thighs, including the skin 1/3 c. tomato paste 1 medium onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 T. ground cumin 1 T. ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend 4 c. water 4 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 turnip, peeled and diced 2 zucchinis, diced

Aida’s Dawood Basha served with Couscous Aida, the owner and chef at Aida’s Bistro, has a Lebanese background. She does not profess to serve a traditional North African couscous; instead she uses the tiny grains as a delicious alternative to rice. This is her recipe for Dawood Basha, meatballs sautéed with zucchini, eggplant and green pepper in pomegranate molasses, served with couscous.

1 each red and green peppers, seeded and chopped

For the meatballs:

1 small Napa cabbage or regular cabbage, chopped

1 medium onion, finely diced

6 canned artichoke hearts, drained 1 c. chickpeas from a can or bottle, drained 2-3 t. salt 1 package instant couscous 1 T. harissa, from a can, mixed with a little water

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil on medium and brown all the meat slightly.

Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.

Add tomato paste, chopped onion, garlic and spices to the pan; allow the spices to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the water and turn up the heat until the water boils. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes. Return the chicken to the stockpot.

Add the carrots and turnip and cook for another 15 minutes.

Taste the sauce at this stage and adjust the spices if necessary. Add the chopped zucchini, peppers and cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the artichokes, chickpeas and salt to suit your taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer, until your couscous is ready.

Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions.

Serve the couscous on a large platter surrounded by the meat and vegetables. With a large slotted spoon remove the meat and vegetables and arrange around a central mound of couscous. Strain the remaining liquid from the pot and serve in a bowl alongside your meal. Serve the harissa on the side. Serves 4 to 6.

1 lb. lean ground beef salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the vegetables and sauce: 1 medium onion, chopped 2 medium zucchini, chopped 1 medium eggplant, chopped 2 green peppers, seeded and diced 3 tomatoes, diced 2-3 T. olive oil 1/3-1/2 c. pomegranate molasses salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 package instant couscous

Prepare the meatballs first. Mix together the ground beef, diced onion, salt and ground pepper until combined. Roll the beef mixture into tiny meatballs the size of your thumbnail.

Set the meatballs aside while you prepare the vegetables.

Chop each of the vegetables to a medium-sized dice. Heat the olive oil on moderate heat and sauté the onion until translucent, 2-3 minutes.

Add the meatballs and allow them to brown slightly, but not to cook completely. Add the diced zucchini, eggplant and pepper, and cook until the vegetables start to soften. Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they soften. Add the pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper.

Cook the mixture, uncovered, on low heat until the sauce begins to thicken.

Prepare the couscous. Serve it warm with the Dawood Basha on individual plates.

Serves 4 to 6.

Carolyne Kauser-Abbott writes a culinary-heritage blog called Ginger and Nutmeg, gingerandnutmeg.com, and combines her love for food and history in travel apps branded Edible Heritage, edibleheritage.com.

Delicious couscous served at: The Casbah 720 - 11th Avenue SW, lower level 403-265-9800, casbahrestaurant.ca Aida’s Bistro 2208 - 4th Street SW 403-541-1189, aidasbistro.ca The Sultan’s Tent Main Floor #4, 14th Street NW 403-244-2333, sultanstent.ca

Where to find ingredients: The Silk Road Spice Merchant Main Store (in Inglewood) 1403A - 9th Avenue S.E. 403-261-1955, silkroadspices.ca

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Silk Road offers two spice blends that are well-suited to couscous: Ras el Hanout and a Turkish Baharat.

Superstore is a good place to buy couscous.

These stores sell couscous and pomegranate molasses: Shaganappi Grocery 3919 - 17th Avenue SW 403-249-4200

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

27

the sunday project

Nicole Gomes

Making gnocchi and gnudi

LEG[END] O N THE FIRE THU R SDAY & FRIDAY NIG HTS ONLY

In this issue, our new department, The Sunday Project, tackles making little dumplings, gnudi, and little “pillows,” gnocchi, with Nicole Gomes, chef and owner of Nicole Gourmet Catering.

With people running here, there and everywhere, most cooking seems to be quickety-quick these days – there’s nothing wrong with that... sometimes.

We at City Palate like to cook and often find it relaxing to spend time enjoying the process. We also like to make things from scratch that are so easy to find everywhere in the stores. Making from scratch helps us to appreciate how much work and attention to detail goes into preparing really good food, like the fresh gnocchi you can find at our great Italian stores. You also have control over what goes into what you’re creating from scratch.

1. Ricing the potatoes.

2. Riced potatoes, flour, egg and salt, ready to mix.

3. Gnocchi dough ingredients ready to be mixed.

4. Nicole mixes the ingredients together.

5. Gnocchi dough, kneaded and ready to go.

6. Nicole rolls the pieces of dough into ropes.

7. Nicole cuts the rope into little gnocchi "pillows".

8. The pillows can be rolled over a fork for texture.

Gnocchi rises to the top when finished cooking.

The finished dish, gnocchi tossed in the basil pesto. Yum!

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

A spoonful a day keeps the shivers away!

Potato Gnocchi 2.2 lbs. (1 kg.) yellow flesh or Yukon Gold potatoes

Open FOR LUNCH, DINNER & late night Serving Brunch Sat & Sun 11:30-2:30PM

2 T. salt 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour extra salt to taste grated parmesan cheese for serving

Scrub the potatoes and place them, unpeeled, in a large pot of well-salted water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until tender all the way through, but not falling apart (a kitchen knife passes all the way through with some resistance). It’s important that the potatoes not be overcooked. Remove the potatoes, and when they can be handled, but while still hot, peel them and “rice” them by passing them through a vegetable mill or potato press into a large bowl. (Don’t use a food processor; it will turn the potato to glue.)

Add the 2 T. of salt, eggs, and all the flour to the potatoes, working in the flour with a wooden spoon. Knead the dough gently for about 5 minutes on a lightly floured board or wooden work surface. Taste and knead in more salt if you wish, but be careful not to overwork the dough – it should be soft and supple. Divide the dough into 5 or 8 equal pieces. While you work with each piece, cover the other pieces so they don’t dry out.

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Roll each piece into a rope about 3/4-inch in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. Cut each rope into regular pieces, about 3/4-inch long.

Continue until all the dough has been rolled and cut.

If you wish, roll each gnocchi along the tines of a fork to impress the soft dough with texture.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil and drop in the gnocchi. (Do this in two or three batches). Boil the gnocchi until they rise to the top, then remove them with a slotted spoon, let the water drain off well, and transfer them to a bowl. Lightly toss the hot gnocchi with pesto (recipe below) and sprinkle with parmesan cheese just before serving.

Serves 4 to 6.

Basil Pesto 2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted 4 c. (packed) fresh basil leaves, no stems 1 large garlic clove 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil salt

Put the pine nuts, basil, garlic and parmesan cheese into a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add olive oil in a stream to desired consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt.

Store in an airtight container with a thin layer of olive oil to cover. Keeps in the fridge for one week. Makes about 1 cup. continued on page 30

4 1 .

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

29

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the sunday project

Making gnocchi and gnudi

continued from page 29

Ricotta & Spinach Gnudi 1/2 c. cooked (squeezed dry) chopped fresh or frozen spinach

Bin 905.

2 c. ricotta, best purchased from an Italian market. If sheep’s milk ricotta is available, go for it!

Store hours: Monday to Saturday 10am - 8pm Sunday 12pm to 6pm Closed Statutory Holidays

2 egg yolks 2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg

1. Gnudi ingredients ready to go.

1/2 c. finely grated Grana Padano parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for sprinkling 1/2 t. kosher salt 6 c. fine durum semolina, found at Italian markets 6 T. butter 15 sage leaves

2. Ricotta, egg yolk and spinach get mixed together.

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3. Forming the gnudi balls.

4. Gnudi with semolina coating ready to be cooked.

If using fresh spinach, boil 3 c. of water.

Place 1 bunch (4 c.) clean, fresh, de-stemmed spinach into a bowl. Pour the boiled water over. Strain, then run cold water over the spinach to cool. Squeeze dry and chop. Mix the ricotta, egg yolk, nutmeg, spinach, parmesan cheese and salt until well combined.

Pour 3 c. of durum semolina onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Scoop heaping teaspoons of spinach ricotta mixture onto a plate and roll each one into a ricotta ball (gnudi) until round, then place on the semolina lined baking sheet. When all the gnudi are shaped and placed, sprinkle the remaining 3 c. of semolina over the gnudi.

The gnudi must remain in the semolina for 3 days, in the fridge, not any longer. Each day, gently toss the gnudi around in the semolina until lightly coated.

When ready to cook, put the butter in a large sauté pan, heat on medium-high heat and allow the butter to lightly brown. Put the pan aside. Fill a pot with three inches of water.

Lightly salt and bring to a boil. Dust off the excess semolina from the gnudi and place them in small batches in the boiling water – don’t crowd them. Shake the pan gently, but don’t stir the gnudi. Cook for 2 minutes. Place the browned butter pan back on medium heat. Remove the cooked gnudi from the water gently with a slotted spoon, allowing the water to drain off, and place them in the hot browned butter and shake lightly. Lightly season with salt. Place them on a plate, top with sage leaves and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serves 4 to 6.

Notes from Nicole:

5. Gnudi float to the surface when cooked.

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6. Gnudi sautéed in butter and sage. Yum!

30

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Try this 1-day recipe option: Remove the durum semolina from the recipe and replace it with 1/2 c. all-purpose flour. Add the flour to the ricotta, spinach, egg mixture and just mix until well combined.

Eliminate the step of leaving the gnudi in the semolina for three days. Instead, roll the ricotta spinach mixture into gnudi balls and immediately follow the boiling and browned butter cooking methods above.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

31

Eating Marrakech Two weeks in the spice capital of the world. story by Matthew Altizer photos by Carol Slezak

My first trip to Morocco was poorly planned and quite rushed, since it was an impromptu escape from a vacation in Spain. I was headed originally to Ibiza, but since I prefer to stay up all night eating good food rather than stay up all night partying, and since Morocco is all about food, Morocco it was.

I was travelling on a budget and opted for a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Marrakech. Everything about the hotel was seedy, but I hadn’t planned on spending much time there anyway, since I had lots to do in three days. I didn’t know much about Morocco or its food, but the one thing I had heard about was Marrakech’s Jemaa El Fna market in the centre of town, so I decided to head there first thing in the morning.

As I wandered around buying souvenirs, nice strangers led me through the streets to tanneries and pharmacies for “good deals.” I fell for just about every scam in the book and it was only my first day.

I also went on a bumpy, uncomfortable camel ride through a lush field of palm trees in Marrakech that’s dotted with luxury hotels and villas. I was having a good time, not a great time.

Once the sun had set, I went back to the market and that’s when I fell in love. The streets were alive with all sorts of people – snake charmers, belly dancers, storytellers, witch doctors and dentists who were extracting teeth right on the street. Food vendors invited you to try their specialties. The scene was overwhelming, but in the best way. I ate a ridiculous amount of food, took in the interesting sights, and then went back to my hotel to escape the craziness and hide my head under my pillow.

The next two days were spent exploring Marrakech as fast as I could.

Back in Canada and hungry for more, I joined a group of friends who like to travel together and headed back to Morocco. Fortunately, we were all able to book rooms at the gorgeous Riad Jona (riadjona.com) in Marrakech, located conveniently near the Jemaa El Fna market.

The night we arrived we had dinner at the Riad. The cooks pulled out all the stops and made us a traditional chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, at least seven different salads and Chicken Bastilla – a sweet savoury pie made with warka (thin wheat pastry), chicken, cinnamon and confectioners sugar. Bastilla is traditionally made with pigeon, but most Moroccan restaurants now make it with chicken. The ones that make it with pigeon only do it seasonally and require advance notice.

The next day we explored the souks and ate street food from the market. I had read about a dish called tangia, a bachelor’s stew of sorts because it’s easy to prepare the ingredients, toss them in the tangia cooking vessel, drop it off at the local hammam (steam bath) to cook in the coals used to heat the water for the baths all day, then bring it home to eat.

stock photo

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Our first night at the market, I noticed a large cauldron filled with an ominously dark stew studded with bits of preserved lemon. Tangia was on the menu, so we ordered it and hoped it would be that stew. The cook headed straight for the cauldron, scooped out a large portion and brought it to the table along with other savoury treats. We had guessed right and it paid off. Lamb, cumin and preserved lemon slowly braised in its own juices all day was deliciously succulent. I resolved to recreate it at home.

No trip to Marrakech would be complete without an excursion to the Atlas Mountains. This was a long drive, so most everyone fell asleep in the van.

Suddenly one of my friends started screaming, “Goats in the tree, there are goats in the tree!” We stopped the car and piled out to see that the tree was indeed ripe with goats who looked like they were about to fall to the ground.

I had heard rumours that argan oil was made from sheep droppings but I had hoped that it was an urban food legend.

The next day we explored more of the city. The Jardin Majorelle (jardinmajorelle.com) is a property that was owned by the late Yves Saint Laurent and it’s the perfect respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. We strolled through hundreds of exotic plants then had a relaxing lunch at the café that offers traditional dishes elegantly prepared and expertly cooked. I ordered grilled sardines with chermoula and one of my friends ordered the khlii tagine with eggs. The sardines had been carefully deboned and butterflied, then threaded onto skewers and rubbed with a chermoula made with fresh cilantro, paprika, garlic and lemon and grilled until slightly charred on the outside.

It turns out that argan nuts have an incredibly tough outer shell and farmers used to put their goats up in trees to eat the nuts, then they sorted through the goat droppings to collect the precious seeds that are cleaned, toasted and turned into a rare and delicious culinary oil. Modern machinery has mostly put this tradition to rest, but some farmers still prefer to do it the old-fashioned way.

Khlii (“kuh-lee-uh”) is the Moroccan version of duck confit. Thin strips of lamb or beef are rubbed with spices, allowed to air dry and then slowly cooked in their own fat.

Typically eaten for breakfast, khlii is mostly cooked with eggs and served with bread.

For dinner we went to an upscale Moroccan restaurant, a change from eating street food. We ordered one of everything on the menu but didn’t realize that the portions were comically small. When our food was delivered to the table it looked stunning, and it was delicious, but we were still hungry when we finished.

After dinner we headed straight to stall 31 at the market. Stall 31, with a huge plume of smoke billowing into the night sky, is famous for its merguez – lamb, beef or a mixture – sausage, so that’s what we ordered. Little tin plates of spicy harissa sauce, tomato sauce mixed with harissa, olives and a few loaves of village bread arrived at our table. Soon, tiny dishes of sausages swimming in puddles of rich, delicious lamb fat arrived. We gobbled them up.

The food stalls have everything from big bowls of piping hot, perfectly seasoned snails to sheep heads roasted and served with cumin and salt. We ended up at the market nearly every night after dinner to sample its goodies. (We didn’t sample the sheep’s head.)

The liveliness of Marrakech was a bit much for some of us, so we made trips out of the city. Our first excursion was to a desert retreat called La Pause (lapausemarrakech.com) located at a tiny oasis hidden in a deep valley. The staff at La Pause want their guests to enjoy an authentic desert experience, so there is no electricity but lots of candles. Accommodation is in tents, but the place still maintains an air of elegance and luxury. There are lots of activities – mountain golf, camel rides, biking and even off-roading – but mostly we were there for the food.

After a camel ride through a Berber village, lunch was served under a giant Bedouin tent overlooking the desert. We had tagines with chicken and olives, couscous and at least seven different salads. One of the salads was a famous Moroccan salad that’s particularly delicious – eggplant Zaalouk. Roasted eggplant is mixed with tomatoes and spices, then sautéed until thick and sticky. Absolutely delicious.

The climate in the Atlas Mountains isn’t exactly what you would expect from desertic Morocco. The land is lush and green, a little cold and rainy and abundant with fresh produce. We ate a light, mostly vegetarian, lunch overlooking the mountains with a cool breeze against our backs. It was the perfect break from our double dinners on previous nights.

For our coastal day trip we went to the town of Essaouira. It’s a three-hour drive from Marrakech, but there’s so much to see along the way. Essaouira has a more laid-back vibe than Marrakech, still touristy but more relaxed. We came to the coast to eat seafood so that’s what we did. At the restaurants, the fishermen bring their catch and put it on display for customers. When you find what you want, the chefs cook it for you and serve it to you right at the table with freshly prepared salads and side dishes. We picked a little bit of each fish to try – eel, stingray, scampi, cuttlefish, sardines – you name it, we ate it. The eel was my favourite, buttery and rich with a fine flaky texture.

Our last day was spent at a little cooking school called Le Faim d’Epices on a beautiful, peaceful property just outside Marrakech. Le Faim d’Epices was the perfect way to end our vacation together. An eccentric Frenchman owns the cooking school and the classes are taught by a Moroccan chef. Throughout the day we learned how to make lamb and prune tagine, Moroccan village bread and several salads. After a few hours of prep and demonstration, we ate our creations outside among the rose bushes before being served a dessert of ice cream made with amlu, argan nut butter.

Morocco is an intoxicating mixture of African and Arab influences. The winding streets of the souks can lead you off track for hours, but that’s OK because you always somehow find your way back to your hotel, arms loaded with goodies to take home. Wandering through Marrakech’s Jemaa El Fna at night is nothing short of magical. But Moroccan food is the highlight; every dish has a history filled with special memories and family traditions. Though you may feel like you ate, saw and did too much, as soon as you get home you’ll soon plan your next trip. Whether you’re hunting for the elusive Pigeon Bastilla or just wanting to live like Yves Saint Laurent for a few days, Morocco has so much to offer. continued on page 34

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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T h e M o r o c c a n Pa n t r y

Eating Marrakech

continued from page 33

Preserved lemons are packed in salt and have a distinct citrusy aroma. They can be thrown into rice or couscous dishes whole, or the rind can be finely chopped or sliced and added to soups, stews, sauces and dressings. Preserved lemons can be found in most Middle Eastern groceries and specialty food stores, but they’re so easy to make and last forever in the fridge.

To make: Sprinkle about 2 T. salt into a clean jar.

Cut 1 lemon – thin skinned are best – lengthwise into quarters but only slice about 2/3 of the way down towards the base of the lemon. Open the lemon up like a flower and fill it with 1 T. salt.

Place the lemon in the jar and repeat with more lemons, packing them in tight, until the jar is almost full.

Keep pushing the lemons down until the juice rises up above them. (If there’s not enough juice to cover the lemons, add lemon juice so the lemons are covered.) Sprinkle with a bit more salt, seal the jar and let it sit on the counter for a few days before refrigerating for at least three weeks. You can add cinnamon, bay leaves and coriander seeds to make the lemons even more complex and interesting.

Ras el hanout is Arabic for “head of the shop.”

It’s a blend of at least a dozen and up to 60 different spices. A collection of the best spices that the shopkeeper has to offer, each blend is slightly different, but any blend will add a certain Moroccan flavour to whatever dish you add it to.

Find it at The Silk Road Spice Merchant.

Argan oil is Morocco’s answer to truffle oil. Argan oil is expensive; it's made from the small kernel inside the pit of the fruit, roasted to bring out its nutty flavour, then ground by hand to extract the oil. (The oil from unroasted kernels has been used in beauty products for centuries.) The argan tree is native to Morocco and is under protection by UNESCO. It adds a savoury, toasty aroma to tagines, couscous dishes and even ice cream. Find it in specialty food stores or purchase online.

Smen is salted fermented butter used as a flavour boost in many Moroccan dishes. Butter is clarified and salted; thyme is added to start the fermentation process before it’s buried underground for months to ferment. Berber farmers often bury a jar of smen on the day their daughters are born and wait until the day of their wedding to dig it up. Since smen is nearly impossible to find, a good substitute is called oudi. To make oudi, toast 2 T. of cream of wheat in a sauté pan with 1 t. dried thyme. Add 1 lb. butter and cook over medium low until the butter starts to brown.

Strain the butter through cheesecloth into a clean jar and store it in the fridge to use as you would use smen. In couscous dishes smen can be substituted with a small crumbling of blue cheese tossed in while the couscous is still hot.

Orange blossom water and rosewater are a must-have for any Moroccan pantry.

The Moroccans add a few drops of orange blossom water to hot water to make “white coffee,” and it’s used in countless Moroccan desserts. Even though orange blossom water is thought to be only for desserts, Moroccans use it in salads and tagines. Rosewater is usually added to syrups to pour over baklava. I like marinating chicken in rosewater and cumin before grilling.

Harissa originated in Tunisia but its popularity has spread throughout North Africa.

A spicy paste made with roasted red peppers, hot chile peppers, garlic, coriander and caraway, harissa can be found in specialty food shops and Middle Eastern groceries, or you can make it yourself. In a blender combine 1/2 c. chile paste, 3 t. caraway seeds, 2 t. cumin seeds and 3 garlic cloves.

Blitz until the mixture is smooth and then add 4 roasted red peppers (available jarred), 1 t. tomato paste, 1 t. red wine vinegar, 2 T. olive oil and 1 t. smoked paprika. Blend until the mixture is quite smooth and transfer to a clean jar. Cover with olive oil and store in the fridge.

Couscous is eaten with almost every Moroccan meal. It looks like a grain but is actually pasta made by gradually rolling finer and finer grains of semolina around each other. Most of the couscous available in stores comes precooked and just needs to be rehydrated, but looking for uncooked couscous and steaming it yourself is well worth the effort. (See Couscous article , page 24)

34

The following recipes were inspired by my week in Marrakech. If you can’t go to Morocco you can at least recreate its food in your kitchen. All pantry items are available at The Cookbook Co. Cooks. These dishes are traditionally served with couscous, but rice works well as does a toothsome, rustic bread.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

stock photo

Lamb Tangia with Preserved Lemons and Cumin Just like the tagine, a tangia is not only the name of a dish, it’s also the name of the cooking vessel.

1 garlic head, cloves peeled and halved 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 T. cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 1 pinch saffron steeped in 2 T. hot water 1/2 t. ras el hanout (see pantry sidebar) 1/2 t. ground ginger 1/2 t. cinnamon 6 whole lamb shanks sea salt and black pepper to taste 2 T. oudi (see pantry sidebar), or unsalted butter 1 preserved lemon, quartered, seeds removed (see pantry sidebar) juice of 1/2 lemon 2 T. coarsely chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place the garlic and onion in a food processor, along with the spices, and blitz until the onions are finely chopped.

Place the lamb shanks into a large heavy saucepan and pour the onion mixture over top.

Season generously with salt and pepper, add the oudi or butter and preserved lemon, cover with a dampened piece of parchment paper and cook for 6-8 hours, or until the lamb is tender and falling off the bone. Drizzle with the lemon juice, sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.

Serves 6.

Merguez Briouat In Morocco they call briouats “fairy fingers.”

This term refers to just about any little morsel wrapped in pastry and fried. This is my homage to the smoky merguez sausages from stall 31 at the night market.

1 T. olive oil

PREGO’S

6 merguez sausages (available at butcher shops) 6 sheets filo pastry

cucina italiana

1 T. harissa plus extra for drizzling (see pantry sidebar)

Eggplant Zaalouk This classic Moroccan salad makes an appearance at almost every dinner table. It’s important to let it sit in the fridge overnight so all the flavours can mellow. Serve this as a dip, side salad or even a spread for sandwiches.

Always pick eggplants that feel light for their size, it means they have fewer seeds and won’t be as bitter.

2 medium eggplants 1/3 c. good quality olive oil 2 c. whole canned tomatoes, lightly crushed 2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with salt 1 t. each ground cumin, smoked sweet paprika and chile flakes sea salt to taste 2 T. finely chopped cilantro juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pierce the eggplants with a fork several times and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the eggplants for 40-50 minutes, or until they are completely soft and slightly scorched. Let the eggplants cool to the touch and peel them, squeezing them gently over a colander to remove any extra liquid.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the merguez sausages for about 5 minutes, or until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

Take a sheet of filo and cut it into two large rectangles. Brush one sheet with olive oil and lay the second sheet on top. Smear a little harissa onto the pastry and then place a merguez sausage. Roll the filo tightly and cut off any extra pastry that sticks out past the sausage. Repeat the process with the remaining sausages. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan if necessary and fry the briouat for 3-5 minutes until the pastry is golden and crispy. Serve with extra harissa. Serves 6 as a starter.

Eau Claire Market On the 2nd level

Chermoula is a spice paste found along the coasts in Morocco, an all-purpose marinade for just about any grilled seafood or poultry. Much like a lot of Moroccan recipes, there is no set list of ingredients for chermoula, so feel free to swap out these ingredients for something else in your Moroccan pantry. Sardines are available frozen and sometimes fresh from any good fish market.

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2 t. cumin seeds 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 t. kosher salt juice of 1 lemon

Chop the eggplant into pieces and add to the sauté pan. Cook the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Stir in the cilantro and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

3 T. olive oil

Let the salad come back to room temperature and stir in the remaining olive oil before serving.

Serves 6 as a starter or side.

Taste the tradition

Grilled Sardines with Chermoula

Meanwhile, heat 3 T. olive oil in a medium sauté pan over moderate heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic, cumin, paprika, chile flakes and a generous pinch of salt to the pan and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer to a bowl, stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Let the mixture cool and refrigerate overnight.

lunch • dinner • before theatre • after theatre

2 t. sherry vinegar 1 t. sweet smoked paprika 3 T. finely chopped cilantro 1 t. argan oil (see pantry sidebar) 6 sardines 1 lemon cut into wedges for serving

Preheat grill over medium heat. Grind the cumin seeds coarsely in a mortar and pestle. Set the cumin aside and crush the garlic and salt to a paste in the mortar. Add the cumin to the garlic mixture along with the remaining ingredients for the chermoula. Season to taste and set aside.

YOUR DONATIONS YOUR DONATIONS To butterfly the sardines, cut off their heads CREATE and slice them open from the tail to the neck.

CREATE SURVIVORS If they haven’t been gutted, use your finger to SURVIVORS remove all the guts, then slice the sardine down either side of the spine, loosening the spine and LIKE KRISTEN. LIKE KRISTEN. bones. Open up the sardine filets so they’re lying flat on the counter. Use a pair of scissors to cut PLEASE GIVE NOW. the bones away from the filet, keeping the two pieces together. Slide two skewers through each sardine to keep them open while on the grill.

PLEASE GIVE NOW. Rub the sardines with the chermoula and grill heartandstroke.ca them for 5-7 minutes, or until they’re just cooked through. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges. Serves 2 or 3 as a starter. heartandstroke.ca continued on page 36 HSF_KristenAd_Calgary_4.625x5.75_Col_v1.indd 1

14-02-03 4:29 PM

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

35

Eating Marrakech continued from page 35

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, Black Olives and Nigella Seeds

Enjoy the true taste of Alberta

Khlii Tagine with Eggs Khlii (“kuh-lee-uh”) is Moroccan preserved meat that is traditionally dried out in the sun and then cooked and stored in its own fat. This version is much more user friendly and goes perfectly with eggs or shredded over vegetable salads. Serve the tagine with lots of fresh bread for dipping.

1 chicken, backbone and wings removed, quartered

1/2 lb. beef brisket or flank steak 2 T. finely minced shallot

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced against the grain

2 t. coriander seeds, ground

1 c. chicken stock

3 t. cumin seeds, ground

1 large pinch saffron steeped in 2 T. hot water

4 garlic cloves crushed to a fine paste with salt

36

sea salt and black pepper to taste 4 T. olive oil

1 t. ground ginger

1 T. water

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 t. kosher salt

2 T. finely chopped cilantro

1 T. chopped parsley sea salt to taste

• 100% Alberta Angus beef

freshly ground cumin to taste

• No added antibiotics or growth hormones • Range fed • AA grade or better • Aged 14 days • Halal approved

Preheat the oven to 150°F, or the lowest it can go. Slice the meat thinly against the grain and then pound each piece with a mallet until it’s about 1/8-inch thick.

Alberta is widely recognized as the best place to raise animals. Our vast landscapes, abundance of natural resources and industry-leading production practices make Alberta a destination for premium, locally-raised products.

Mix the remaining ingredients together and rub the mixture all over the beef. Let the meat rest for an hour or so at room temperature, then spread it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake, flipping occasionally, until the meat has almost completely dried out, 3-4 hours.

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Take the meat out of the oven and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Place the pieces in a clean jar and cover with olive oil. The khlii will keep in the fridge for up to a year as long as it’s covered in olive oil.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

2 t. nigella seeds, lightly toasted

1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced

4 eggs

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2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 t. hot smoked paprika

1 c. olive oil

Co-op Perfect Beef

This tagine isn’t as common as some and the flavours are unusual and delicious. Nigella seeds are the same thing as onion seeds and can be found at any specialty grocer. Buying a tagine – the cooking vessel – is well worth the investment. The conical shape forces the condensation back down into the stew, keeping it luscious and tender.

For the tagine, break up about six pieces of khlii into a small tagine or sauté pan, cook for 5 minutes until it starts to crisp, then crack the eggs over top. Cover the pan and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still slightly runny. Sprinkle with parsley, salt and cumin.

Serve immediately. Serves 2.

juice of 1 lemon 12 kalamata olives, pitted 1 preserved lemon, pulp removed, thinly sliced (see pantry sidebar)

Rinse the chicken pieces under cold water and pat them dry. Crush the garlic, half of the nigella seeds and a big pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Add 1 T. of olive oil and rub this mixture all over the chicken pieces. Let the chicken marinate for an hour at room temperature. Heat the remaining 3 T. of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan or tagine over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken, making sure it gets well browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and sauté the onion for 10-15 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add the chicken stock, saffron water and ground ginger to the pan along with the chicken. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the breasts and cover them to keep them moist.

Add the potatoes, tomatoes, remaining nigella seeds and half of the cilantro to the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken legs and potatoes are cooked through. Add the chicken breasts back to the pan and stir in the remaining cilantro, lemon juice, black olives and preserved lemon. Cook for 5 more minutes and then sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and serve. Serves 4.

Celebratory and sweet, Bastilla is traditionally made with pigeon but most restaurants use chicken. Use leftover roast or poached chicken to make the dish a bit less labour intensive.

Serve with a simple green salad on the side.

2 T. olive oil 1 onion, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 large pinch saffron threads steeped in 2 T. water 1 t. ras el hanout (see pantry sidebar) 1 t. dried ginger 1 t. ground coriander seeds 1 t. cinnamon 1-1/2 c. warm chicken stock 2 eggs, beaten 1-1/2 lbs. cooked chicken, shredded 1/3 c. dried currants soaked in warm water for 10 minutes 1 c. almonds, finely chopped juice of 1 orange sea salt and black pepper to taste 2 sticks of butter (1/2 lb.), melted 12 sheets filo pastry icing sugar and cinnamon for dusting

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 10-15 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add the saffron water, ras el hanout, ginger, coriander and cinnamon and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and reduce by half.

Remove the pan from the heat, let cool for 5 minutes, then add the eggs, chicken, currants, almonds and orange juice and stir to combine.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and allow it to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. and lightly butter a 9-inch pie dish. Lay a filo sheet on the counter and brush it with melted butter. Lay 5 more sheets of filo, each brushed with butter, on top of each other, then put the filo in the pie dish.

Spoon in the chicken mixture and top with another stack of 6 buttered sheets of filo. Crimp up the edges and pull them away from the side of the pan so they crisp up during cooking, brush the whole thing with melted butter and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the Bastilla is golden and crispy. Let the Bastilla cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar and cinnamon.

Serves 6. ✤ Matthew Altizer is a cooking instructor at The Cookbook Co. Cooks.

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37

Eating Barcelona We discovered that you can have a most excellent adventure and never leave the city. story and photos

by Kathy Richardier

We “ramblas”-ed everywhere, but if that’s not your thing, the metro will get you there. Like the Paris metro, Barcelona’s subway goes everywhere, is user-friendly, and makes for good people watching.

Our hotel was located an easy walk on Las Ramblas to the waterfront, where we watched the comings and goings of sailboats and ferries. If we walked in the opposite direction, we ended up at Plaza Catalunya, a lively spot to drink coffee and watch people, and home to El Corte Inglés, the largest department store in Europe and a great place to shop.

Barcelona is a shopper’s paradise. Las Ramblas is lined with restaurants, bars, coffee shops and great stores. The port end is anchored by a monster, well-outfitted shopping mall called Maremagnum, whose logo is the same golden arches as McDonalds’ famous arches. We wondered how that was allowed to happen.

One of Spain’s top clothing lines, Desigual, with a backward “s,” based in Barcelona, has shops everywhere and we hit it at sale time. Yes! Desigual makes very fun clothing, including a line called “Sex, Fun & Love.” Nothing wrong with that. You can find Desigual in Calgary at Espy in Inglewood.

Clothing and shoes – oh my goodness, you can go a bit crazy shopping in Barcelona. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. We actually did very little shopping, and most of it on the weekends where, near the port end of Las Ramblas, local artisans set up their tents. We found beautiful jewelry and lots of other stuff that made great gifts for us and for the folks back home, at more-than-affordable prices.

Our urban holiday in Barcelona last year had a surprising start. We’d hardly been on Spanish soil for 15 minutes when I’d done my bit to support the local economy to the tune of 428 Euros. Not that it was intentional. It had been a long overnight haul – Calgary, Frankfurt, Barcelona. By the time we arrived in Spain, we were sleep-deprived and groggy.

Hotel Gaudi lobby, looking very "gaudi".

Neither my travel mate Doug nor I had remembered our sunglasses when we left grey, rainy Calgary, so I was on a mission to scoop some before we hit sunny, dry Spain. Fortunately, on our trek through the airport to pick up our bags, we passed a sunglass kiosk. Mission accomplished!

We tried on glasses, made our choices, and I chirped, “I’ll spring for these.” I squinted at the wee price tags and saw that my choice was 23 Euros and his was 19 Euros, and thought them a bit more expensive than I’d anticipated, but we needed sunglasses.

I took them to the check out, and even when handed the machine to slide in my Visa, it only sort-of registered. A bit more expensive? The total was 428 Euros. I was dumbfounded, but punched in my PIN number and the deal was done. It was only as we were walking away that it hit me – “How did I do that! I just paid $500 for two pairs of sunglasses!”

Back home, when my Visa bill arrived, it turned out that those two pairs of sunglasses cost me $605.88. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t notice the zero on the minuscule price tag or the fact that the glasses are Tag Heuer and Gucci. The joke was on me.

But we got lots of wear out of them during two weeks of beautiful, sunny, warm Barcelona at the end of June, beginning of July. The reason we were in Barcelona – did we need a reason? – was that my nephew, Oliver, dreamed up a family reunion and decided it should take place in Barcelona. We’re a farflung lot, and we all jumped at the chance to gather in Spain.

My brother’s an architect, so he booked himself into the Hotel Gaudi – where else would an architect stay? It sounded like a good idea to us, so we also booked ourselves into the Gaudi. It turned out to be a brilliant move, since not only is the hotel the original home of architect Antoni Gaudi’s parents – modernized to perfection – but its location was perfect for easily getting everywhere we wanted to go. It’s in the old part of the city, practically on the pedestrian “street,” Las Ramblas, where much of Barcelona rambles, and just a couple of blocks from La Boqueria, Barcelona’s most famous food market. 

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Rooftop patio next door to Gaudi's Palau Güell

Our first foray, the whole family in tow, was to the Palau Güell, across the street from our hotel.

At the Palau – Catalan for palace – we could get up close and personal with famed architect Antoni Gaudi’s work, including, especially, the series of chimneys on the roof, famous for their mosaic work.

Palau Güell is one of Gaudi’s seminal achievements and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the home of the Güell family – commissioned by industrialist Eusebi Güell – in the late 19th and early 20th century. It’s the only example of domestic architecture that Gaudi completed, and his use of ornate wrought iron, ceramics, glass, stone and wood is astounding. We decided Gaudi was seriously OCD, but in a beauteous way.

After this big hit of Gaudi, we took our evening meal at a restaurant so good we returned several times,  the 4Gats. Gats is the Catalan word for cats, and “four cats” is a colloquial Catalan expression for “only a few people.” Opened in 1897, 4Gats became a fave hangout for bohemian musicians, artists, designers and architects, such as Picasso and Gaudi.

After a luscious duck confit salad that first night, I couldn’t resist the Cat’s Pyjamas dessert, a plate of crema caramel (flan), chocolate gelato, pineapple and apricots, whipped cream, all doused in brandy and set alight. Fun! continued on page 40

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39

Eating Barcelona

continued from page 38

One day, when everyone else went off to visit a monastery in a nearby town, Doug and I walked to the port, hooked a left, and discovered the topless beaches of the Barceloneta neighbourhood, packed with lots of families, singles, couples, all the sorts you’ll find on a beach on a hot, sunny day. We noted the wide variety of breast types.

The family gathered later in our favourite next-door plaza, Plaça Reial, for beer, litres of sangria, tapas and people watching. After a late afternoon nap, Doug and I met up with a few family members for dinner seated at the bar of Casa Guinart at one end of La Boqueria. We watched the chefs at work, ate grilled squid, sautéed mushrooms, smoked salmon, queso manchego with chutney and Iberian ham. A specialty of Spain, Iberian piggies are fed on acorns before slaughter for the best quality meat that is luscious.

A metro ride to the “must-visit” Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s otherworldly pièce de résistance, still under construction since 1882, yielded a line-up to get tickets that would have meant standing and waiting for hours. We thought not. Instead, we circumnavigated it marveling at its stunning Gothic details, a huge departure from his previous work. We then ambled the ten blocks to La Pedrera, Gaudi’s famous organically shaped apartment building that seems eerily alive with its curving facade. Its roof was studded with more mosaic chimneys, like the Palau Güell.

We plunked ourselves at the streetside Café de la Pedrera – the main café is inside the building – and rewarded ourselves with coffee, wine, beer, raspberry lemon tarts and carrot cake. While some of our group revisited the Sagrada to try to get in, Doug and I metro-ed it back to the hotel for a nap, then wandered off to the port to watch the boats.

We returned to Casa Guinart several times for the individual paellas, grilled squid, Iberian ham and mushrooms. Along with 4Gats, Casa Guinart fed us some of the best food we had.

On our last day, we bid adieu – adéu in Catalan – to some of our group, made last-minute purchases at the market vendors in their tents on the rambla, then reveled in a last supper at – where else? – Casa Guinart, for something a bit different. Ha.

Much of our eating included at least one bottle of cava, Spain’s ubiquitous sparkling wine. Cava is also used to make white sangria, which some of us liked and others thought was a waste of cava.

Another eatery near our hotel that we visited several times was a standup pintxos bar called Irati Taverna Basca, Barra de Pintxos. What fun it was. The pintxos – tasty morsels on toasts speared with toothpicks – were arranged on top of the bar and we helped ourselves to whatever took our fancy. Later in the evening, the kitchen sent out hot pintxos, such as Iberian ham croquettes. When you’re ready to leave, you submit your toothpicks and the number of toothpicks determines your bill. It turned out to be a reasonably economical and vastly palate-perking way to eat.

One excursion took us to the Manzana de la Discordia, or “block of discord.” The discordant block is made up of three houses that were built by three architects, including Gaudi, whose lavish designs compete with each other for attention. Therein lies the discord. This is a must-see.

At the end of a shopping expedition at Port Velle’s Maremagnum, we stopped into an old family seafood restaurant, Can Ganassa, in the Barceloneta area and stuffed ourselves on grilled squid, grilled clams, seafood salad and fried calamari. And a bottle of cava.

Count Güell also gave his name to Parc Güell, another Gaudi effort featuring a fountain at the entrance that’s dominated by a mosaic salamander.

After a quick metro ride, we tootled around this fantastical landscape, then repaired to the nearby Bar-Restaurant Piranya for drinks, tapas, breezes and charming people before heading “home” on foot.

Montjuic – Jewish mountain – was a good walk from the hotel (or a short metro ride to cable cars) with lots of great stuff on top, including a gloomy castle that was once a prison and torture centre for political prisoners. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but, instead, wandered to the Fundació Joan Miró to look at his fabulous paintings, sculptures, drawings and textiles, and spend lots of money on fun Miró stuff. After a look at the stark stone, marble, onyx and glass pavilion built by Mies van der Rohe for the 1929 International Exposition, we found ourselves at our now beloved Casa Guinart ready for grilled squid, mushrooms, ham croquettes and mini-burgers done to perfection. No doubt the burgers were designed with tourists in mind.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Tapas, patatas bravas, available everywhere

Had to have the mini-burgers again, more mushrooms and individual paellas, plus glasses of a fine rosé wine and great people watching. We hated to leave Barcelona. What a fun city! It was so easy to spend just over two weeks never leaving it and never lacking for new stuff to see and do. ✤ If you go: Hotel Gaudi hotelgaudibarcelona.com La Boqueria boqueria.info 4Gats 4gats.com Casa Guinart casaguinart.com Irati Taverna Basca iratitavernabasca.com Bar-Restaurant Piranya barpiranya.wix.com/piranya Fundació Joan Miró fundaciomiro-bcn.org Café de la Pedrera lapedrera.com/en/ cafe-de-la-pedrera Restaurante Can Ganassa, #6 Plaça de la Barceloneta

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41

Eating St. Petersburg A day spent investigating a Russian seed bank leaves the author and her husband plenty of time to investigate Russian food, drink and sights.

day to book-related research, and three others to eat, drink, walk, sightsee and museum-hop until our stomachs bulge and our eyeballs mutiny.

Today, we plan to explore our rather upscale neighbourhood. Across the street is a Rolls Royce showroom.

There’s also a new W luxury hotel story and photos by Jennifer Cockrall-King just up the block, in which the main restaurant, miX, is “inspired by Alain I’m not normally a caviar and vodka kind of person. But put me in a refurbished palace with enough Ducasse.” A block to the west is the pink and white marble to sink the Battleship Potemkin, surround me with over-the-top gold home of the Kirov Ballet, the 18th leaf flourishes that would make Peter Carl Fabergé blush, and set me loose for century masterpiece Mariinksy Theatre four days in luxury-mad Russia, and I seem to rise to the occasion. and the newly opened Mariinsky II. After a quick, uneasy peek through the Rolls Royce showroom window, we walk south along Nevksy Prospekt, a large boulevard lined with boutiques, cafés, bookstores, and restaurants.

We’re not sure what we’re looking for, but a bright green sign simultaneously declaring “Soviet Café” and “Free Wifi” amuses me. We poke our head inside of Dachniki Soviet Café to find a woodland country picnic-themed space Alexander Square, a block away from the Four Seasons with an open rotisserie grill awkwardly stuffed in a corner. It looks good and cheap, but Mike’s not convinced that he can (Day 1) After just one night at go from five-star luxury to Baba’s underground restaurant so soon. the Four Seasons’ newly opened Lion Palace in St. Petersburg, I’m We continue along Nevsky, despite the Russian drizzle, crossing canal ways and snapshockingly comfortable with the ping photos of mint green and buttercream yellow palaces, cell phone shops, clothing Tzarina lifestyle. I slide out of the stores, bookstores and cafés. We listen to a baritone busker belting out popular Rusmillion-thread-count sheets on our sian tunes. We decline repeated offers of a canal boat tour (narrated in Russian only). bed and get dressed in a room St. Petersburg is delightfully foreign, and yet there are familiar global touches. Dan with 20-foot ceilings and a view of Brown’s Inferno, in Russian translation, is in every bookstore window. I snap a photo Alexander Garden park (a favouof a Subway restaurant sign in both “regular” and Cyrillic lettering. And, like everyrite of writer Alexander Pushkin), where else on earth, it seems, St. Petersburg is enthralled with bargain sushi. descend a marble staircase, cut There are a number of elaborate tearooms and fin de siècle restaurants on Nevsky, through the floor-to-wall-to-ceiling with pink and gold ceilings, over-the-top Empire furniture, and menus right out of marble lobby and make my way to Anna Karenina. Unsure of what just looks good from the outside, and still ragged the hotel’s Tea Lounge solarium. from the previous day’s inglorious air travel, we retreat to the marbled comforts of Heavily accented waitstaff bring the Four Seasons for dinner. me a pot of perfect loose-leaf Russian caravan tea, which I pour through a sterling silver tea strainer into a fine bone china cup.

The breakfast buffet is like an 18th-century still life, the kind you might find in the nearby Hermitage State Museum. The fresh figs and persimmons that appear on the breakfast buffet each morning are not just out of season, but, I’m guessing, out of country. Mike, my husband, goes straight for the smoked fish, blini and sour cream. He garnishes the lot with caviar. Good for him. He knows what he wants.

I feel I need to explore the variety on display. I now know the imperial agony of deciding between ricotta pancakes topped with raspberries and red currants, crêpes with sour cream and golden caviar, venison breakfast sausages, several types of smoked fish, and a Russian version of eggs Benedict. So long, Soviet-style egalitarianism; hello, breakfasts for oligarchs.

The Four Seasons is a bit of a splurge, granted, but going to Russia on the cheap doesn’t seem to be much of an option anyway. Just the cost of acquiring a “common tourist visa,” for starters, quickly ballooned to $250 per person, including the surcharge to expedite our visas from the usual “over 30 business days” to a more reasonable wait, plus the visa agency assistance fee. Factor in stiff airfares from London’s Heathrow to St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, and you’re either a determined tourist or there on a business trip.

We’re a bit of both. Following a thread of an idea for my book on seed banking and seed saving, tentatively titled Going to Seed: Racing to Save the World‘s Food Supply, I’ve made arrangements for Mike and me to visit the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Research in St. Petersburg. It’s the oldest seed bank still in operation, and has a storied past. It survived Stalin’s purging of scientists in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Hitler and the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg), the Cold War, Glasnost, Perestroika, the implosion of the Soviet Union, and now the new extreme capitalism of postCommunist Russia. The Vavilov Institute is ranked as the world’s fourth largest seed bank, with 320,000 types of seeds and other plant genetic material contained in two rather forlorn former palaces in central St. Petersburg. We’ve given over one full

42

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

As I sink into my Balalaika martini – a lemon, Cointreau and vodka marriage – and take the first few bites of the Four Seasons’ elegant, perfect chicken Kiev, I declare to Mike that this is now the standard by which I will judge future renditions of chicken Kiev.

(Day 2) At the N.I. Vavilov Institute, the first global seed bank, we spend a fascinating, but unheated, six hours in the company of Russian botantists, translators and seed collections, leaving us hungry and exhausted. Tonight we deserve a treat.

We hail a cab to Krestovsky Island, a tony residential neighbourhood in St. Petersburg that’s home to a restaurant called Russkaya Rybalka (Russian Fishing). I’d read about this urban fishing lodge in a couple of guide books, and the idea of being able to hook my own dinner has a quirky appeal. However, it takes me a mere four minutes to hook a huge trout in the overstocked pond. (I was hoping, somehow, for some actual fishing.) Our trout arrives 30 minutes later at our table, and, not surprisingly, tastes as if it has spent its entire life in an unkempt aquarium. The service is grouchy, the fish inedible and the bill comes to $167, not including tip, because we aren’t leaving one. At least I was able to taste a local beer from Karl & Friedrich brewery. Clearly, we should have paid more attention to the TripAdvisor reviews that warned us off Russkaya Rybalka in several languages.

(Day 3) Alexandra Imaykina, a blond-haired, blue-eyed, 24-year-old walking encyclopedia of art, meets us in the Four Seasons lobby. For $100, plus our own admission fees, she takes us on a private five-hour tour through the Hermitage Museum. (We arranged this through our hotel concierge, which was the easiest, but you can also hire a private guide through the Hermitage or private tour companies in St. Petersburg.) Not only is this the smart thing to do, to avoid getting lost in the six palaces that make up one of the world’s largest and oldest museums, it allows me to mine her trove of knowledge for dining recommendations. Curious about the various Soviet cafés, I ask Alexandra about the number of soviet cafés up and down Nevsky Prospekt. She doesn’t hesitate, and recommends Kvartirka which translates to “little apartment” in Russian. continued on page 44

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...from our family to yours Hot lunches Monday to Saturday Woodburning pizza oven Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun 11:30–4pm

Get ready for Easter...

We’ve got chocolate Easter eggs from Italy, in a variety of colours and sizes.

403.277.7898 I 265 20 Avenue NE italiansupermarket.com

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

43

city palate 1993 – 2013

CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS

Calling all

back-of-the-house restaurant cooks!

Ever wondered what a fresh baguette tastes like from a Paris bakery?

Or how tuna is prepared by the sushi chefs in Tokyo?

Or why Morocco is the spice capital of the world?

City Palate can help you further your culinary education with a Culinary Travel Grant to help pay for your travel and expenses.

Applying is easy - go to citypalate.ca for details!

Deadline for entries: March 21st, 2014.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Eating St. Petersburg continued from page 42 “The Union of Soviet Socialist Republicks (sic) Big Cookery Book,” Kvartirka’s menu cheekily declares. “Recommended for citizen’s mealing.” A small vintage television is showing an episode of what looks to be the Soviet version of "The Littlest Hobo."

Even in Russian, I can understand the maudlin plot and sort the good guys from the baddies. The menu contains everything from homemade horseradish liqueur to unfiltered Russian cigarettes. Squeezed in the middle are the appetizers, mains and desserts. “Well, the prices are right,” I say to Mike, who at this point is looking skeptical about the whole thing. Indeed, this is a no-frills dining experience. It’s hard to tell if the Cold War schtick is intentionally tongue-in-cheek, to invoke a Soviet-era sense of austerity, or is simply the best they can do, given their low prices.

Mike orders the Beef Stroganoff. I order the Mushroom Pelmeni, basically an unsauced mushroom ravioli with fresh dill, and a local Petersburg beer. Both main dishes are uniformly beige, but surprise us with good, uncomplicated flavours. We are in and out, fed and watered, for less than $20 – one-eighth of what we paid at Russian Fishing. We declare Kvartirka Soviet Café a triumph of the people.

(Day 4) On our final night’s dinner, we set out to find Teplo, which garnered universally glowing recommendations, both in English and in Russian, on TripAdvisor.

(There’s a surprising lack of tourist information available in St. Petersburg itself.)

Despite being underground, it’s bright, cheery and absolutely full of the sort of hipster handicrafts that you find on Etsy.com. There’s a shelf of whimsical tea and coffee cups. A large, smiling, strawberry plush toy sits Humpty Dumpty-like on the banquette divider between us and our fellow diners.

The staff are twenty-somethings dressed in denim overalls with pigtail braids and skateboarder wear. The menu, too, suggests hipster, nostalgic farm cooking, but spiffed up and wearing skinny jeans. I order a glass of sauvignon blanc, the borscht and a side of fried pumpkin and sage. The borscht is bright red and earthy, with enough beefiness to make it a meal. The fried pumpkin with fried sage is seasonally perfect. We’ve noticed that Russian vegetables have an intensity of flavour that largely eludes us at home. Mike has a hunch that the Beef Stroganoff at Teplo will out-do Kvartirka’s version, and he’s right. Its perfect balance of cream, mustardy tang, and beef bring him back to his grandmother’s Russian cooking when he was young. Aside from the Four Seasons, dinner at Teplo ($45, including tip) is the best find of the trip.

Back at the hotel, I realize that I don’t really want the evening – the trip, actually – to end. In the bar, Russian women in tight black dresses and extremely high heels hang on the arms of French and Russian men swirling snifters of cognac and puffing on cigars. We find a table in the corner, and I scan the bar menu. One last splurge.

Ossetra sturgeon caviar comes in at $243 per 30-gram serving (the smallest). The beluga sturgeon caviar is $454 per 30 grams. “When’s the next time you’ll be in Russia?” my inner monologue asks. This kind of caviar, however, is the line that separates food and travel writers from Russian oligarchs.

Humbled, I order a $13 shot of Tsarkaya vodka, distilled in St. Petersburg, and red caviar (salmon roe) at a more palatable $18 per serving. Mike laughs as I choke down the briny, slippery eggs, quickly chasing them with the icy vodka. Wincing, I churlishly reply, “So what if I don’t even like caviar and vodka. I’m going to miss them.” ✤

Jennifer Cockrall-King is an Edmonton food writer who might one day get to try expensive Russian caviar.

Find her online at foodgirl.ca.

Kvartirka Soviet Cafe at Night

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Strap on your snowshoes by day Your dress shoes by night

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

45

Who Knew?

Richmond, B.C., has the best Chinese food outside of China. story and photos by Colleen Seto

Bulgogi

Honey Pancakes

Hurricane Potatoes in the hands of the author

Malay Laksa Curry Soup at Cattle Cafe

Romanian Meech Sausage

Steamed "Animal" Buns

Market Noodle Vendor

Food critics from The New York Times have praised the Asian cuisine of Richmond, B.C.’s 400+ Asian restaurants. Frommers. com states Richmond is “arguably the Asian food capital of North America,” while The Boston Globe says, “if you’re here to eat, Richmond has one of the best concentrations of Asian dining anywhere outside Asia.” So it’s no surprise that Richmond has become my go-to place for pigging out.

I’m not talking tasty tidbits here and there; I’m talking about serious “eat my face off” travel. Before I knew better, I used to bypass this food cornucopia for Vancouver, but on my last few trips to the West Coast, I’ve discovered for myself that Richmond really does have some of the best Asian food money can buy. Being of Chinese descent, I feel it’s my duty to take part. So I pack my stretchy pants and off I go.

Foodie gems abound all over this town, but for sheer volume, the place to go is the aptly named Food Street. That’s how locals refer to three blocks of Alexandra Road in Richmond’s Golden Village, an area jam-packed with more than 200 Asian restaurants and food vendors.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Lobster

The first time my husband, Jason, and I went to Food Street, we felt like total newbies. Thankfully, we had local Asian cuisine expert Stacey Chyau show us the ropes. She works for Tourism Richmond and helped us negotiate this rather inconspicuous cluster of restaurants; it can be hard to tell what’s open, let alone which joints are really good. It’s not until a door opens and you notice the crowd inside that you realize the place is hopping.

Food Street reflects Richmond’s changing Asian demographics. Chyau says it used to be very Cantonese-based, but after 1997, things began to shift. Many Hong Kong immigrants moved back to Hong Kong when the switch to Chinese rule occurred without incident, while a surge of wealthy, educated immigrants from mainland China, particularly the northern and western provinces, made their way to Richmond.

The demand, though still largely for Cantonese food, also includes regional variations such as Shanghainese and Taiwanese, as well as Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. Our guide led us through a variety of options, including traditional dim sum, a Hong Kong-style café, Vietnamese sub specials and a bubble tea house.

On our most recent trip, Jason and I hit the area like old pros, heading straight for Cattle Café (1020, 8580 Alexandra Rd.). We tell our friend Mike to get a “Hong Kong special,” which is a noodle combo with an iced drink like lemon Coke or honey lemon.

enchant With the combo, you choose your soup base, toppings, and type of noodles so you can potentially have hundreds of different combinations. Mike doesn’t even like soup, but after dining on a delicious Malay laksa curry soup with beef and basa fish toppings and rice noodles, he’s a convert. And all for only 10 bucks! He adds steamed buns and dumplings to his order because he can’t believe how cheap his meal is. Jason and I sample a satay beef sub, deep-fried octopus tentacles, and braised beef brisket with vermicelli noodles. Plus an order of French fries to mollify our toddler. Her Chinese food taste buds have not yet developed.

Nearly bursting at the seams, we waddle from the restaurant feeling satiated.

But that doesn’t stop us from buying Chinese pastries on the way back to the hotel. We’re particularly partial to barbecue pork buns, flaky butterfly cookies and pineapple taro buns, which we pick up at Maxim’s bakery (6060 Minoru Blvd.) tucked away in Richmond Centre, right by The Bay. The next day, we meet Chyau and her colleague, Julia Montague, for lunch at Suhang Restaurant (#100, 8291 Ackroyd Rd.). Locals consider Suhang to be one of the city’s best Shanghainese restaurants, yet its inconspicuous location keeps it virtually unknown beyond Richmond. Its specialties include Xiao Long Bao (steamed soup dumplings) and a stuffed and wrapped Beggar’s Chicken.

The name of the latter Chinese delicacy comes from the story that a beggar once lucked upon a chicken, but had neither the tools nor condiments to cook it. So he wrapped it whole in leaves and clay, and roasted it in the ground. The result was a delicious and aromatic meal. Suhang’s version skips the clay and the ground, wrapping the chicken in lotus leaves and baking it in a dough shell. The chicken is, like the original, delicious and aromatic, with meat so tender it nearly melts in your mouth.

But forget beggars – Chyau orders us a meal fit for a king, with marinated bean curd, tangy stir-fried string beans with chiles, and fresh shrimp with tea leaves.

Shanghainese food is rarely over-spiced, but instead features fresh, mellow and sweet flavours. We polish things off with a dessert of honey pancakes with sesame seeds. My mouth still waters at the memory.

In the evenings, we devour our way through the two night markets in Richmond – the Summer Night Market (12631 Vulcan Way) and the Richmond Night Market (8351 River Rd.). Both offer an amazing and perhaps unexpected selection of Asian street grub every weekend evening from May through October. The markets run 7 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, while on Sundays, the Richmond market opens an hour earlier with both closing at 11p.m.

AT A FINELY-SET TABLE ASIDE HIS OPEN KITCHEN, BE SPELLBOUND BY CHEF DUNCAN LY & HIS TEAM AS THEY INTERPRET FRENCH MODERNE CUISINE

KENSINGTONRIVERSIDEINN.COM

Perfectly placed to make fine wine and good friends. www.tinhorn.com

Once inside the gates, Jason likens the night market experience to a mini Asian Stampede, minus the midway and rodeo. Basically, it’s a horde of vendors selling random Asian-themed paraphernalia, like cell phone accessories, samurai swords and Hello Kitty gear. Both markets showcase outdoor food courts, which are definitely the main draw. You can get all sorts of Asian delights such as takoyaki (Japanese octopus fritters), meat skewers of all kinds, bubble tea, dim sum and deep fried tofu (fermented or regular), along with non-Asian treats like freshsqueezed lemonade, mini-donuts, tacos and Belgian waffles. We sample more food than my belly can realistically handle: spicy barbecued squid, tasty bakudanyaki (huge takoyaki), hurricane potatoes – well-seasoned fried potato skewers – in several flavours (sour cream and onion were the most popular in our group), Korean bulgogi (barbecued beef), chicken gang jeong (Korean-style sweet and spicy crispy chicken), Romanian meech – beef and garlic sausage – and even a grilled half lobster for $6. Prepare to get messy – these foods aren’t exactly ideal for walking around and eating at the same time.

The markets are comparable to one another in the variety of food, shopping and entertainment, not to mention crowds. Whether you check out one or both, it’s a satisfying way to feast your eyes and your taste buds on a summer night.

After all our sumptuous consumption, there’s no question in our minds that Richmond offers a truly impressive selection of affordable, high-quality Asian food. The city’s vast supply of well-heeled, discerning patrons and talented chefs, combined with ready access to imported and fresh local ingredients, clearly has its Asian cuisine scoring top marks. Go forth and eat! ✤ Writer and editor, Colleen Seto, spends her days writing, chasing after her toddler and posing as a foodie. Her work can be found in Swerve, Today’s Parent and canadianliving.com. Find her @setoc on Twitter.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

47

Savoury Baking of the Mediterranean Delicious discoveries of a new citizen in the world of baking. story and photos by Laura Di Lembo

Recently I’ve become enamoured with watching yeast proof and dough rise. It’s way more exciting than it sounds, as these processes are a passport to a vast world of bread baking, what many of us think of as the last frontier in the kitchen.

A recent cookbook acquisition, Anissa Helou’s Savory Baking From The Mediterranean, has a wide assortment of enticing options – walnut focaccia from Tuscany, Turkish pide, flatbreads anointed with spinach and feta cheese, triangular Lebanese hand pies stuffed with spicy lamb. I soon found myself up to my elbows in flour and water, the building blocks of crisp sesame simit from Turkey, French fougasse – ladder bread dotted with olives – and torta verde, a traditional “green cake” from Italy where two discs of simple bread dough are stuffed with Swiss chard, raisins, crumbled cheese and pine nuts.

I steered clear of bread baking for much of my cooking life because the most alluring breads seemed to require very technical treatment, involving autolysis*, biga* and poolish* and the stressful responsibility of having to feed sourdough starters, which is worse than having a pet. All I really feel like doing is playing with dough in a childish, intuitive way, a bit of make and bake.

Then Saveur magazine ran an article for a rustic torta dough of flour, water, salt and olive oil that you mix together in a large bowl, which sounded feasible. A torta is an Italian pie, usually a crisp and savoury one, and, in keeping with a Mediterranean diet that heavily favours vegetables, is often filled with them. The Ligurian torta recipe below features Swiss chard and potatoes. You can really gussy it up by adding some salty cheese, a handful of raisins and pine nuts, a smattering of herbs and some chopped olives.

My next challenge was yeast. It really likes tepid water and a little nutrition in the form of a few pinches of sugar. It rewards you by expanding, frothing and infusing your bread with air-filled pockets and toothsome sponge. Relish in the magic as you watch the show, inhaling its bready gases.

Turkish Simits

A solid place for growing yeast is fougasse from the south of France, a stunning aromatic bread enhanced with chopped olives and shaped to look like a million bucks. The fougasse’s ladder-like slits and golden crust are show-stoppers; put this baby on your table with some French farm cheeses and you have a dramatic centre-piece family and friends can dive into and conveniently tear apart along the cut lines. Win! You’ll be the hero and it was pretty much child’s play to put together.

The adventure continues. There’s nothing like the selfish pleasure one derives from eating your very own individual-sized baked good. Lahm bi’ajin are small Syrian meat breads. They resemble personal pizzas and are as well loved. Roll out a circle of yeast dough and slather some stuff onto it, like highly seasoned ground lamb enlivened with chopped tomatoes, cinnamon, allspice and buttery, golden pine nuts. Lahm bi’ajin make excellent buffet table fare where they can work their magic alongside tabouli salad, hummus, olives and burnished slices of fire-grilled eggplant.

Simit, bracelet-sized sesame bread rings from Turkey, may be the reason I embarked on this savoury baking project in the first place. During a trip to Turkey a few years ago, they filled the bustling streets of Istanbul with their nutty aroma and tempted the crowds with their chewy sweetness. They are somewhat bagel-like but crisper and glossier, infinitely snack-worthy, especially with hot tea, dates and a sharp cheese.

Slice of Torta

Lamb pie

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

So enamoured am I with the charm and diversity of Mediterranean flavours that I’m baking my way through a large repertoire. I’m dishing up golden challah breads studded with dried figs, rising like a regal coronet in my oven. My broiler is browning chickpea flour flatbreads into socca, the signature street food of Southern France, which are scattered with chopped fresh tomatoes seasoned with garlic, sea salt and a showering of minced herbs. Lebanese fatayer pies, triangular-shaped yeast-dough delicacies encasing spinach and feta cheese, have graced my table. I’ve tried my hand at ka’ak, which are hard, brittle, cumin-scented biscuits to enjoy with a cup of tea and a bowl of grapes.

I seem to be standing on the precipice of an enormous canyon and looking out, imagining all the wonders that await. Each discovery holds within it the possibility of greatness. As a new citizen in this world of savoury baking, I have much left to do.

Olive Fougasse

continued on page 50

Join us The Cookbook Co. Cooks welcomes

Joy Road CateRing

for a special weekend engagement in March!

Cameron Smith and Dana Ewart, chefs and owners of the renowned Joy Road Catering in the Naramata Bench are hosting two hands-on workshops, and one fabulous specialty dinner.

ThE CookBook Co. CookS 722 - 11th Avenue SW, 403-265-6066, ext #1

call now to register!

1

noSe-To-TAil BuTChering WorkShop

Saturday, March 15 10am-3pm, $135pp

2

Cameron and Dana demonstrate proficient butchering and knife skills, from nose to tail, using one of their humanely raised pigs from their farm.

Then you get to have your go at honing your skills. This is the perfect introduction to their Charcuterie class on Sunday.

joy roAd CATering SpeCiAlTy dinner Saturday, March 15 6:30-9pm, $100pp

“Cuisine du Terroir” – is their specialty – food with a strong sense of place. Cameron and Dana are devoted to socially responsible food that tastes amazing! Join us for a masterful, 5-course specialty dinner prepared by these two passionate chefs. Featuring wines from Clos du Soleil.

3

ChArCuTerieMAking WorkShop

Sunday, March 16 10am-2pm, $100pp Charcuterie has become essential dining, and a pretty delicious way to enjoy the benefits of nose-to-tail eating. Cameron and Dana share their expertise on prepared meats like bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, pâtés and confit.

For a close-up look at Joy Road Catering, check out their website: joyroadcatering.com

NEW AT OUR SOUTH STORE: Chorizo and beef quesadillas, Carnitas, pastor, Asada, Chorizo tacos, Cuban sandwiches... and much more!

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North Calgary 2405 Edmonton Trail NE 403-984-3373

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Now opeN

Fish Creek Park - 15979 Bow Bottom Trail SE, Calgary, AB | 403.476.1310 info@bvrrestaurant.com | www.bvrrestaurant.com | RancheYYC CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

49

Fresh Produce

Antipasti

In-store Bakery

Savoury Baking of the Mediterranean continued from page 48

Torta Verde  Adapted from a recipe in Saveur magazine.

Dough: 1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Specialty Foods Olive Oils Balsamics Catering

1/2 t. sea salt 1-1/2 T. extra-virgin olive oil about 1/2 c. water

Olive Fougasse

Filling:

Adapted from a recipe in Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker’s Atlas by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

1 T. olive oil 10 large Swiss chard leaves and stalks, separated, washed and finely chopped

1-1/2 c. lukewarm water

1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 t. dry yeast

1 medium russet potato, peeled, diced and boiled until soft, and cooled

large pinch of sugar

2 T. minced fresh parsley

Olives Deli Meats &Cheeses Gift Baskets

1-1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

Cappuccino Dessert Bar

2 T. olive oil, plus extra for oiling and brushing on dough

1/2 c. lightly toasted pine nuts, cooled

2 t. kosher salt

1/2 c. chopped pitted olives

1-1/2 c. chopped and pitted olives (Nyons or Kalamata)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 c. buckwheat flour (adds great flavour and colour)

1 T. olive oil for brushing on torta

2 c. whole wheat flour

For the dough, mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle in the oil, mixing with a folk, then sprinkle in up to 1/2 c. of water, 1 T. at a time, mixing just until the dough holds together. Knead it until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes, then shape into a ball. Coat the dough lightly with oil, put it into a clean bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Place the lukewarm water in a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast with a large pinch of sugar. Mix. Leave for about 15 minutes until frothy. In a large bowl combine the flours, olive oil, salt and olives. Add the proofed yeast mixture and knead by hand or with a dough hook until smooth, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if dough is sticky. When you have a cohesive ball, oil it, put it in a clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down the risen dough, place it back in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise again, about 1 hour.

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the Swiss chard stalks and onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard leaves and cook, stirring, for another 10 minutes, until everything is very soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated nutmeg. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked potato, parsley, feta cheese, raisins, pine nuts, olives, freshly ground pepper, eggs, and the Swiss chard and onion mixture. Taste and add salt if needed.

Visit Lina’s for the real ItalIan experience.

2202 Centre St NE 403.277.9166 www.linasmarket.com

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

1/2 c. golden raisins

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Hot &Cold Lunches

Dough:

1 medium onion, peeled, and finely chopped

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 14-inch round pizza pan. Divide the dough into 2 balls, using two-thirds of the dough for the bottom crust and one-third for the top crust. Roll out the dough for the bottom crust on a floured surface to about 15” in diameter. Place the dough evenly onto the pan. The dough may hang over the rim of the pan a little bit. Evenly spread with the filling, leaving 1” of crust exposed around the edge. Roll out the dough for the top crust to 13” and place over the filling. Wet the edge of the bottom crust and fold it over the top crust. Pinch the edges together to seal the pie. Using a fork, pierce the surface of the torta several times to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the surface with olive oil. Bake until deeply golden at 375°F, about 35 minutes. Serves 8.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Flour a counter top and turn the dough out onto the counter. Using your hands, flatten the dough ball into a disc. Use a rolling pin to shape the disc into a long oval, about 12” long, 8” wide and 1/2” thick. Transfer the oval to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Take a sharp knife and slash 3 vertical cuts along the middle of the oval, starting 1” away from the top and bottom edges. Make 3 angled cuts along each side of the bread, mimicking the veins of a leaf, also 1” away from the borders. Use your fingers to open up the slashes into wide gaps. Brush olive oil onto the bread. Let it rise again until puffed, about 30 minutes. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until golden. Makes 1 large bread.

Lahm Bi’Ajin (Lamb Pies)

Simits (Turkish Sesame Rings)

Adapted from a recipe in The Essential Mediterranean by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

Adapted from a recipe in Nick Malgieri’s Bread.

Pomegranate molasses is available at Middle Eastern grocery stores such as Basha International Foods.

Toppings can vary from a thin paste to a chunky mass. Let’s go for texture and chunk as well as a Turkish twist that includes the sweet tartness of pomegranate molasses and sumac (available at specialty food stores and Middle Eastern groceries such as Basha International Foods).

Dough:

1 c. plus 2 T. room temperature water 2-1/4 t. dry yeast 2 t. granulated sugar

1 t. dried yeast 3/4 c. lukewarm water

3-1/2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 t. granulated sugar

1-1/2 t. fine sea salt

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. olive oil for coating dough

1 c. durum semolina

Finishing:

1 t. sea salt

1 T. tepid water mixed with 2 T. pomegranate molasses for dipping bread rings into

Dissolve the yeast in the water with sugar, stirring to mix. After about 15 minutes, the mixture should be frothy. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture with salt in a large mixing bowl. Knead briefly until smooth, about 2 minutes (adding a bit of flour if the dough is sticky), until the dough pulls away from the side of your bowl and forms a cohesive ball. Oil the dough, put it in a clean bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Topping: 1 T. olive oil 1 c. diced onion 1 c. red pepper, diced zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 c. diced tomato 1 lb. lean ground lamb 2 t. ground sumac 1 t. each ground cinnamon, allspice and cumin 1/2 t. dried chile peppers 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 t. sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 T. pomegranate molasses 1 c. finely chopped fresh mint or parsley 1/2 c. pine nuts, lightly toasted

Fry the diced onion in oil over medium heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the red pepper and lemon zest and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add lamb, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until no pink remains in the meat. Add sumac, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, chile peppers, garlic, salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.

Cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Do not let the spices burn. Add the lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Let cook for 1 minute to thicken.

Take the mixture off the heat and add the chopped mint or parsley. Mix in the pine nuts.

Set mixture aside to cool. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed. The mixture should be richly aromatic and flavourful.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Punch down the risen dough and divide into 8 equal balls. Keep the unused balls covered while you roll out each ball into a thin, 7-inch round. Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Divide your topping into 8 portions and spread on each round of dough, getting the topping close to the edges. Bake pies at 450°F for 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Makes 8 pies.

1993 – 2013

Dough:

2 t. pomegranate molasses

olive oil to coat ball of dough

city palate

1/2 c. white sesame seeds

CELEBRATING 20 DELICIOUS YEARS wITh 20 DELICIOUS EvENTS

We’re wrapping up our 20th anniversary celebrations with a fantastic fiesta!

Join us for our

20 for 20 Wrap-up Party!

Monday, June 9th, 6-10 pm

Whisk the water, yeast and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Wait about 15 minutes until frothy. Stir in pomegranate molasses, flour and salt. Attach the dough hook and beat for 2 minutes at low speed. Add more flour if sticky, until the dough forms a mass around the dough hook and does not stick to the side of the bowl.

Knead with the dough hook for 2 minutes longer.

Form the dough into a ball, coat it with olive oil and put it into a clean bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Olé! City Palate wraps it all up with a sexy summer soirée, and Calgary is invited! Ox & Angela will be transformed into a grand tapas bar, complete with 4 giant paella stations. Your ticket to this night of divine, Mediterranean revelry includes 2 drinks, tapas, paella, cider pouring demos, sherry tasting and a flamenco performance – the perfect finish to an exciting year!

Punch down the dough and invert it onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it into 6 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Location: Ox & Angela, 528 - 17 Ave. SW Tickets: $95 pp, citypalatewrapparty.eventbrite.ca

Set an oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Stir the water and pomegranate molasses together in a large, flat-bottomed bowl. Put the sesame seeds in another large, flat-bottomed bowl.

Take a round of dough and flatten it. With the palms of your hands, roll the dough on the floured work surface back and forth to form a rope 18” long. Pinch the ends together to form a ring and set aside, covered with a damp tea towel while you form the other 5 simits. Let the formed simits rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

Dip each simit into the pomegranate water. Lift and let drain, then place each wet simit into the bowl of sesame seeds and turn to coat generously. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the simits until they are a deep golden, 12 to 14 minutes. These are best when eaten soon after baking.

Makes 6 simits. (* Autolysis, simply put, is a fancy term for mixing only your flour and water together and letting it sit for twenty minutes before adding salt and yeast. This method activates enzymes in the flour that give the dough more extensibility. Biga and poolish are Italian and French terms, respectively, for pre-fermented dough cultures. Biga is usually drier, while poolish is a fairly wet sponge. Breads made with these techniques have improved taste, texture, appearance and they keep longer as well.) ✤ Laura Di Lembo is now in a committed, long-term relationship with flour and yeast.

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

51

Selling Cookware on story and photos by Linda Kupecek

Kijiji means “village” in Swahili. In Canada, it’s a popular local classified ads site. On Kijiji, people in the same city can connect for free to buy, trade and sell. We can unload our unwanted clutter and make a few dollars, while buying more clutter at bargain prices. I like the image of an online marketplace where we connect with other “villagers” for the exchange of goods and money.

The first thing I sold on Kijiji was a rare 1920s Wade Heath Donald Duck teapot. It would have been worth some money, except that I dropped the lid in my excitement at finding it, and immediately depreciated the value to one tenth of what it could have been. Nevertheless, Donald moved on to a new home. The buyer was happy.

I was happy. And so, I assume, was Donald.

My entry into the world of Kijiji was linked to a desperate attempt to clear my hoarders-style basement, a dungeon piled high with musty cardboard boxes of old resumes, dingy linens, and more china and silver plate than any person needs in a lifetime.

In another era, I was a compulsive collector and part-time antiques dealer, and acquired way too many doodads, pieces of bric-a-brac, obscure art glass and Edwardian silver-plated bride’s baskets.

You want it? Need it? Crave it? The more obscure the better?

I have it in my basement. Add to that the households of myriad dead relatives, and you have a stash that is frightening to contemplate.

Yet contemplate it, I must, if I ever want to sell this house in the next 20 years. I put on a dust mask, took a deep breath, and tackled one square foot at a time.

In the process, I found enough weird old cookware to furnish a mini-museum.

Consider, for example, the 1950s cast-iron frying pan, an item so grungy that my nearest and dearest howled with laughter at the thought of my being able to unload... whoops... sell this. It was in the bowels of a 1950s gas “apartment” stove in my basement (also for sale – any buyers?).

I was revolted by the pan, and could barely lift it, but remembering the reverence with which famous chefs view cast-iron frying pans, I posted it on Kijiji for $12, and was flabbergasted by the deluge of emails the next morning. Twenty-four hours later, there were nearly 75 emails from would-be buyers fighting over this thing.

I sold it to the first responder, a young woman called Melissa, who arrived with her husband the next evening.

They lived just two blocks away, and had welcomed the walk in the light rain. We exchanged a few notes on real estate values in Killarney, and off they went. I’m not sure, but I think they had to carry that frying pan together.

I happily waved goodbye to a huge stoneware mixing bowl in which my mother had whipped up angel food cakes many decades ago. I followed the advice of Peter Walsh – a professional organizer, television celeb and author of It’s All Too Much – and other de-cluttering gurus, took a photo for posterity, and then posted on Kijiji, hoping to sell this enormous vintage bowl to somebody who might actually use it.

Catherine, a chef, was the lady who won it in the Kijiji game of first-come, first-served. Fifteen dollars. She was thrilled to get it. I was ecstatic to find another square foot of space in the dungeon. I could almost hear the basement cheering, “Keep up the good work!”

A friend visited one evening, and insisted on viewing my mysterious basement. Despite her reputation as a fearless picker, she did a slight double take at the bottom of the stairs. Nevertheless, she unearthed a box that I had never seen before. Inside was a stash of knives.

My late father had worked at Sterling Food Market in the 1940s as a meat cutter.

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I excitedly researched on the Internet and gloated over the dough I was going to make from these old knives. Then, common sense prevailed – how wise is it to greet strangers at the door with weapons galore? I found a buyer in Kevin Kent, the owner of Knifewear in Inglewood, and was grateful that my father’s tools had moved on to where true chefs would appreciate them. I loved the awed reverence with which the staff at Knifewear viewed and handled the knives.

The long, slim rolling pin, designed for making Hungarian noodles, went for $10 to a Hungarian cook. (I happen to have another one, which I keep behind the front door for security, in case demented criminals try to break into my house and steal my ancient cookware.)

The 1940s flour sifter, and the 1950s chrome toaster, potato masher and breadbox went to women who were building a retro kitchen look. The 1950s green Pyrex bowls went to a student chef. Another few square feet cleared!

The Rena salad chopper looked like an implement of medieval torture but was instead a gift given to my mother in the 1950s for hosting a Tupperware party. I posted it on Kijiji, and absolutely nobody in Calgary was interested in a weird salad chopper in pristine condition. I couldn’t blame them. I donated it to the Women in Need thrift store. It was so beastly heavy that I could barely carry it into the shop.

Goodbye, good luck, I thought, as I ran out the door, hoping the staff wouldn’t charge after me and insist I take it away with me.

The 1970s Challenger juicer, a sturdy little soldier we had named Walter, was posted with no hope. At first, there was none. Although similar juicers were listed on eBay at $100 or more, there was no interest in poor Walter. I finally reduced the price to $20, and a lovely Asian man came to collect Walter.

We discussed the merits of Walter, and I believe both of us were satisfied with the exchange. I was glad Walter was going to a good home.

The 1960s Sunbeam Mixmaster looks so jolly on the kitchen counter that I deleted the ad. The 1950s “barkeep” with barrel liqueur glasses is too hilarious to sell to a stranger. So keep it, I must. I posted the antique wine bottle holder, and then had a change of heart. At my next dinner party, I expect my guests to be appropriately impressed as I present the plonk in this wonderful Edwardian silver-plated work of art.

That’s the thing – trying to figure out what one really wants and what one is willing to move on to people who appreciate it. And, by the way... a 1950s Acme gas stove – anybody interested? An ancient 1950s poppy seed grinder – any takers? A horrible old 1950s meat grinder?

Call meeeeeeeee! ✤

The Kijiji ad for the cast-iron frying pan

:

I’m a lousy cook an d know nothing about cast-iron fry ing pans. We found this in our baseme nt. It was inside a 1950s gas stove, so we guess it is 1950s. I was going to clean it up, then I researched on the Internet and read that one isn’t supp osed to wash castiron frying pans. It is marked GSW No .9 Made in Canada. I guess this means it is nine inches across.

(Anthony Bourdain says frying pans sh ould be so heavy yo u can do serious dama ge with them. This is so heavy that I ca n’t lift it.) I guess this might be excit ing to a chef who wants an authentic old cast-iron frying pan (which they wi ll have to clean be cause we are not go ing to do it, haha).

Linda Kupecek is the author of four books, including The Rebel Cook: Entertaining Advice for the Clueless, and Deadly Dues, a Lulu Malone mystery. She continues to excavate in her basement, and might be done sometime in the next decade.

DAILY STARTING IN MARCH

BREAKFAST

dinner Bring your family and friends to our new Ramsay location where we serve farm-fresh, home-made classics with a modern twist.

1101- 8th ST. S.E. Calgary, Alberta T2G 2Z6 www.RedsDiner.com

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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A White Gold Rush

by Karen Anderson

Oro Bianco… these Italian words slip out of Frank Fiorini’s mouth like a purr from a kitten.

The English translation, white gold, makes me imagine a saucer of full-cream milk as the cause for that happy purr. There’s reverence in Fiorini’s voice, as his thoughts seem to drift and the words are left hanging like a thought bubble above his head.

It’s a cold, blustery January day and we’re sitting in the paradoxically warm and humid front office of the White Gold Cheese Factory. Fiorini owns this business with his cousin Paulo Campanella. I scan the paper-stacked pair of desks in front of me and feel the compression of this space; the nooks and crannies behind me are piled high with spare parts and bulky equipment. The sweet yet slightly sour smell of freshly pasteurized milk seems to seep through the pores of the building.

Fiorini’s alternately talking to me, searching Google for a map of his home town in Italy, checking Alberta Milk’s website for stats and mining LinkedIn for the contacts who’ve made the rapid growth of this cheese-making start-up possible. He’s the adventurous one who initially left Italy as a flight attendant, gathered a keen sense of business in his travels, and arrived in Calgary as part of WestJet’s start-up team. It took time before enough money was saved to bring Campanella to Calgary, but in 2011 the pair began their company’s mission, “to provide the best tasting Italian cheeses using allnatural and 100 percent Canadian milk.”

I’ve brought along a tin of home-made Italian cookies, and Fiorini and the three others who make up White Gold’s business team pivot between the treats and the thoughts they share with me, the friendly quips at each other, the never-ending buzz of their cell phones. Pausing to nibble on the cookies seems to give them the luxury of a brief mental trip to their shared Italian roots, far, far away.

Fiorini finally pops that thought-filled bubble he left floating above us. White gold, he tells me, is the affectionate alias that the people in his hometown of Buiano (also spelled Bujano), Italy, give the milk they turn into fresh cheese and monetary gold. I notice the thick shock of milky white hair frothing over his excited blue eyes as he tells me that 8,000 of the town’s 10,000 people work in its 20 cheese factories.

Much like the world lines up for Prosciutto di Parma in Italy’s Emilia Romagna, all of Europe lines up for the fior di latte (flower of the milk) fresh mozzarella from this town in Campobasso. Unlike the wellstamped food stuffs of the north, Buiano’s cheese does not have a D.O.P., Protected Destination of Origin, and is therefore widely copied and frequently adulterated.

Campanella joins the conversation and shudders a little when he tells me how that works. Many of the world’s factories use machinery to separate milk. They remove the expensive cream for other uses and replace it with milk powder and calcium chloride before churning out the machine-made rubber balls of cheese they call mozzarella. Campanella, on the other hand, is a master of heritagerecipe hand-crafted Italian cheeses. He started working at age twelve in the factories of Buiano where only 100 percent whole milk is used. The purity of the milk is what built and protects their town’s reputation and this cheese maker is not about to change a centuries-old formula.

Campanella lives on four or five hours of sleep a day, frequently arising at three a.m. to begin days filled with down-to-the minute precision. It takes patience to make cheese the way he does. I’ve watched him ply milk curds in buckets of boiling hot water with his bare hands until the lifeless white lumps can be coaxed into their signature hand-stretched delicacies. Despite his expertise, the peculiarities of making cheese in Calgary – like frequent and vast swings in temperature and humidity – still cost White Gold an estimated quarter million dollars in batches lost during their first year. Now, three years in, the master has it down to a science.

Today is the first day I’ve seen Campanella without his white lab coat, rubber boots and head cover.

He’s got longer hair than I thought he would have, a leather bomber jacket and fashionable jeans. We joke that while he’s married to cheese making, he’d gladly make room for a good woman on the side.

He gets a dreamy look in his eyes when we talk about it…someday, he says... someday.

Sonia Papantuono is niece, bookkeeper and odd-jobs doer for the outfit. Her two uncles proudly tell me that she earned a diploma in languages in Italy as they send her off to get me samples of their latest creations. I receive a bag of baby-sized balls of provolone that they want me to melt with tomatoes and prosciutto on toast – my kind of research.

The newest member of White Gold’s small but mighty team is Dr. Tirtha (Terry) Bajga, plant manager and quality assurance specialist. They are proud of his Ph.D. and the knowledge he brings to their operation.

These people are the pieces that fill in the puzzle of how White Gold, in just three short years, has grown to where it is utilizing about seven percent of Alberta Milk’s tightly controlled quota. Five months after they opened, Campanella and Fiorini were using 4,000 litres of milk a week. By June of 2014 they expect to be using 100,000 litres per month.

Competitors are starting to take note – market share is something that is closely monitored. More than minor changes in status quo eat into expected profit margins. Established companies have offered to buy White Gold and have been refused. These Italian cousins hold their future plans close to their chest but vow that expansion will come with the cash flowing solely from their own efforts.

Chef friends have explained why White Gold has become a game-changing catalyst in Alberta. All chefs want people to fall in love with their food and come back for it often. The secret is to apply a signature style and taste to the best ingredients available. Ingredients of White Gold’s quality are the culinary equivalent of a catapult to success. “Indie” chefs in Alberta can set their own budgets and pass on what they pay for quality to an appreciative clientele.

photo by Karen Anderson

Non-“indies” are on the bandwagon too. Don Letendre, corporate chef for the Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria chain, says the company is working with White Gold to supply fior di latte to their 15 Alberta outlets. “We’ve found a jewel. White Gold’s cheese is the best I’ve tasted outside of Italy. Each bite is like a fresh glass of milk.” He’s also impressed with the company’s ability to meet supply demands.

Will White Gold’s cheese end up on menus Canada-wide? Fiorini and Campanella see land acquisition, a bigger plant and national certification in the green pastures of the company’s future. They tell me of their Nonna making cheese until she was 90. “This is what we do,” they say. “This is what we’ll always do.”

Fior di Latte Tomato Pizza at Diamond Willow Artisan Retreat

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It appears as though Canada might have a new gold rush on its hands – a White Gold rush.

Find out more about White Gold Cheese Factory at fiordilatte.ca.

N ugg e ts of G old – W hit e G old C h e e s e . . .

SAIT culinary instructor and Alberta Milk spokesperson, chef Michael Allemeier, loves that the White Gold cousins “have a single-minded purpose and passion to create the best cheeses possible.” Allemeier’s advice when it comes to how to use the cheeses? “Don’t hold onto them; they’re meant to be enjoyed fresh to appreciate their flavour and purity.”

F R E S H C H EE S E S Burrata – mozzarella stuffed with a cream interior – we like it smeared on crostini and drizzled with honey and crumbled pistachios.

Fior di Latte – 100% whole milk mozzarella that should taste like drinking a glass of milk and ooze milk when cut into – this high-end pizza topper is marinated with garden herbs and olive oil by Allemeier and served in a salad of greens or vegetables.

Nodini – a “knotted” cheese with enjoyable firmness – adds variety to your next cheese platter.

Ricotta – crumbly sweet cheese with sharp notes – Allemeier uses it to make those cheesy Italian dumplings known as gnudi.

(Learn how to make gnudi on page 28!)

Stracchino – rindless, sweet, creamy cheese – I give everyone a small cheese knife and challenge them to a duel to the death of the mound in front of you.

Touch the spirit of Polynesian hospitality and culture aboard the award-winning, deluxe m/s Paul Gauguin.

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Trecce – braided soft cheese with a pleasant milky taste – use it as the centerpiece of a great salad platter or cheese board.

Tuma – velvety, smooth Sicilian-style cheese with a firm texture – serve as a savoury spread.

A G E D C H EE S E S

A wine and dine event in Calgary on Thursday, April 24, 2014 You will enjoy a sneak preview of our specially hosted cruises featuring renowned food and wine experts.

For more information or to book your next cruise, please contact Jenni Evans at Vision Travel, your Tahiti Cruise Specialist

jenni.evans@visiontravel.ca Burrini – soft, mild and elegant – use it like butter to spread on bread.

403 777 0735

Whether you want a small, under-the-stairs wine cellar nook or a large-capacity cellar with a custom cooling system, KorkRoom will design the space that matches your lifestyle and storage needs.

• Professional installation by experienced craftsmen with an eye for detail • Design for standard and custom rooms • Environment and Climate Services • Room construction from design/specs

Caciocavallo – saddlebag shaped with sharp notes that easily melts in the mouth – stuff your next meatloaf with this for a new family classic.

Caciotta – mildly sour with a firm composition and yellow rind – grate it and toss it with fresh pasta, lots of cracked pepper, fresh basil and olive oil.

Provolone di Bojano – firm and beautifully sharp, its slices melt like a dream. Allemeier presses it between slices of great bread with prosciutto and a bit of kimchi for his superlative grilled cheese.

Scamorza – pear-shaped savoury white or smoked cheese of stretched curds with a stronger taste and better melting point than mozzarella – make grilled cheese sandwiches with just a whiff of mustard as a counterpoint to the smoke and richness.

Call foR fREE initial aSSESSmEnt:

587.777.2477 Karen Anderson owns Calgary Food Tours Inc. and admits to eating more than one open-faced White Gold provolone cheese melt during the writing of this article.

202, 328 Centre ST, Calgary AB, T2G 4X6 1-800-510-7926

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

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stockpot Stirrings around Calgary

Calgary’s Top Chef Canada Contenders Yes! The upcoming 4th season of Top Chef Canada that begins on March 10 – don’t miss it! – features these Calgary chefs (L to R): Pierre Lamielle, author and illustrator of Kitchen Scraps and co-author of Alice Eats, owner of foodonyourshirt.com; Karine Moulin, the pastry chef at Hotel Arts; and Gabriela Neda, sous chef at the Calgary Petroleum Club. And... many of you will recognize this name from Calgary’s chefly past – Shelley Robinson – now cheffing in Vancouver. Good luck to all!

restaurant ramblings

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

S

TICKET

n Now is the time to book for lunch, dinner and the Thursday lunch buffet at SAIT’s Highwood Dining Room, where you’ll eat some the best food you’ll ever eat in this live classroom, March 3 to April 24. Thursday lunch buffet dates are as follows: March 6, 20, 27, April 10, and 17. Menus, campus map, parking details and booking online at sait.ca/highwood except for the Thursday buffet, which you can book by calling 403-284-8615, ext. 2. Now available at the Hospitality and Tourism school is SAIT’s Convenience Card to eat, dine and shop in the John Ware building. n Black Pig Bistro in Bridgeland, at 825 - 1st Ave NE, is a much-anticipated restaurant with Alison Bieber, former chef at Cucina, partnered with Denise and Larry Scammel, in this casual eatery with great food and moderate prices. Yay! It’s named after the black Iberian pig, look for infuences of Spain, Italy and France. n Vero Bistro Moderne beefs up Wednesdays with Steak Frites Wednesday featuring 28-day-aged AAA Alberta New York steak, chimichurri butter, truffle parmesan frites, organic greens salad and dessert of the evening, $39. Mmmm, good, 403-283-8988, verobistro.ca. n The Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, invites you to a new dining experience with Fondue Stübli specializing in traditional Swiss-style fondues. The Swiss “stübli,” meaning a small and cozy room, is located in what was previously known as the cigar room.

The restaurant offers cheese fondue, fondue Bourguignonne for the beef lovers and fondue Chinoise with Asian inspired flavours. Finish with a classic Swiss chocolate fondue. For details, visit posthotel.com.

n Join Vin Room Mission and Vin Room West for the perfect nightcap.

Both locations feature a $5 late-night tapas menu every night from 9 p.m to close, a great way to end the evening with great food and wine. Visit vinroom.com and check the offerings, like merguez meatball sliders, grilled apple and blue cheese sandwich, braised pork short ribs or duck confit salad. Yum! n Look for the new Phil & Sebastian location in Mission. The new shop, located at 4th St. and 22nd Ave., features a one-of-a-kind espresso machine, a dedicated brew bar and, new for Phil & Sebastian, a small wine menu and an all-Canadian beer lineup. n Rodney’s Oyster House – well established in both Toronto and Vancouver – is setting up shop in the former Mansion space, corner of 10th Ave and 4th St. SW, this summer. It will draw bivalves from its own oyster beds in PEI as well as from other quality growers, and serve lobster, crab, scallops and other fish specialties. Yay! We love good fish, and we’d have to agree with Rodney’s father who said: “Give a good person a good oyster and you will have them for life.” n The Ranche Restaurant, formerly at Fish Creek Park, has moved to the former location of Inn on Lake Bonavista and has changed its name – appropriately, we think! – to The Lake House. Same great food from the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts people, new location and name. Check it out at 747 Lake Bonavista Dr. SE, lakehousecalgary.com. n Scopa Neighbourhood Italian is Creative Restaurants’ newest Italian addition joined at the hip to Lina’s Italian Market, ex-Boccavino. Brought to you by the creators of Bonterra, Cibo and Posto, Scopa Neighbourhood Italian features hearty Italian-inspired

fare, with a focus on seasonal, local ingredients and family dining. With a menu designed by executive chef Glen Manzer and head chef Sheldon Guindon, Scopa features pastas, pizzas and tender rotisserie meats.

Look for a spring opening at 22 Ave. and Centre St. NE. n The Concorde Group continues to expand – Goro & Gunn opening in April downtown, a Japanese noodle bar, yum, yum, in the space formerly occupied by West Restaurant’s +15 level bar, a second Double Zero Pizza at Chinook Centre with an upstairs restaurant and a downstairs deli and marketplace, opening in March. A third location of National is now open at 180 Stewart Green SW, in Westhills.

Woot! Woot! More fun and good food! n Bensonhurst Pizza Company, 933 - 17th Ave. SW, presents different styles of pizza from around the world in a New York-themed restaurant.

Look for the styles of New York and New Jersey – with foldable crusts like Neopolitan – Naples, Chicago, and California. Authentic Chicago is a deep-pan pizza with tomato sauce on top. California is a thin crust with 10% whole wheat and usually consists of organic produce like asparagus, arugula and figs. Bensonhurst is named after a neighbourhood in Brooklyn’s Little Italy, one of the first regions to bring pizza to North America. n The historical Bank of Nova Scotia building at 125 - 8th Ave. SW has been brewed into The Bank & Baron P.U.B., named after Baron Mount Stephen, George Stephen, who gave his name to Stephen Avenue. The Bank & Baron taps into a historical avenue destination, crafting any event from a momentous occasion to an exquisite celebration. Visit bankandbaronpub.com. n The new restaurant at Symons Valley Farmers’ Market, Symons Roadhouse, boasts renowned chef Kevin Turner, ex of Brava Bistro, who will serve traditional roadhouse fare with a modern twist. Look for classics, like braised short ribs, cowboy ribeye, smoked brisket, lobster poutine and hot fudge brownie sundae. Also, premium craft beers, an eclectic wine and spirits list and classic and house cocktails. Sounds yummy, check it out. Restaurant designmeister, Witold Twardowski, embraces Alberta’s ranch house heritage for Symons Roadhouse. n River Café events in “spring”: Surf & Turf at Catch, March 30, chef Andrew Winfield teams up with Catch chef Kyle Groves, along with some of Calgary’s best-known chefs to create a multi-course collaborative dinner highlighting sustainable coastal and prairie ingredients.

Tickets through Visa Infinite: eztix. co/producer-events/11348. Slow Food Roots and Shoots Dinner, April 14, celebrates the transition from winter’s roots to springtime shoots

with some of Calgary’s top chefs.

Tickets through Slow Food Calgary.

Mission Hill Winery Dinner with guest chef Matthew Batey, April 10, paired with treasures from the Mission Hill wine cellar. Details river-cafe.com.

Reservations 403-261-7670. n Rush Restaurant has reopened as Rush Ocean Prime with a new menu and renovated lounge for a bolder Rush dining experience. Rush hour features, sushi, oysters, wines and cocktails, 3-6 p.m. weekdays. Info and reservations at rushoceanprime.com. n Vintage Chophouse features prime rib Sunday dinner, March and April.

Cocktail hour features appetizers, wines and cocktails, 3:30-6:30 in the Tavern. Dine at Vintage before home hockey games and get complimentary shuttle service to and from the Saddledome. Live jazz, blues and rock in the Tavern Fridays and Saturdays. vintagechophouse.com/features. n Redwater Grille has a new seasonal menu; Tuesday is $20 wine on select bottles of premium wine; $7 appies and $1-off drink specials in the lounge at the Bow Valley location; Sunday brunch at the Aspen location. redwatergrille.com. n At Bookers BBQ & Crab Shack, Sunday and Monday are all-you-caneat crab or ribs, 4 p.m.; $10 Tuesdays for pulled pork sandwich, kettle chips, Wildrose pint; Wing Wednesdays; live music Saturday and Sunday. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, at Bookers, bookersbbq.com/features.

wine wanderings n Don’t miss the annual Banff Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival, May 30 and 31, Fairmont Banff Springs Conference Centre. Enjoy a weekend indulging in delectable food from Banff’s most popular restaurants as well as a selection of local and international wines, premium spirits, and import and micro-brewed beer. Tickets, hotel packages and other weekend events at rockymountainwine.com. n Join Jenni Evans from Vision Travel and AMA Waterways for an evening exploring wine-themed river cruises in Europe on March 6 in Canmore and April 15 in Calgary. Venue TBA. RSVP to jenni.evans@visiontravel.ca, ph 403-777-0735, winewanderings.ca.

cheeses; Langevin and Peirson Meyer, March 14, more cheese pairing; Walter Hansel Winery and cheese March 26.

Phone or email to register, 587-3533599 or crystal@peasantcheese.com.

June 13. Learn to make empanadas, paella, ceviche, enchiladas, green mole, guacamole, and more. See our St. Paddy’s Day special. Visit salsita.ca for dates and time or call: 403-289-2202.

n AZ Imports, agent for California craft breweries, is adding Speakeasy Ales and Lagers from San Francisco – Big Daddy IPA, Double Daddy Imperial IPA, Prohibition Amber and Payback Porter – to the shelves of your favourite beer store in March.

n At Sunterra Keynote: Social Kitchen classes, 6 p.m. March 4 New Orleans; March 11 Eastern Europe; March 21 Meat Pies; March 25 Shellfish; April 4 Hawaiian Surf ‘n’ Turf; April 8 Easter Meal; April 16 South Africa; April 22 Mediterranean. Visit sunterramarket.com for our the class schedule, or call 403-263-9759 to sign up. $49.99 per person.

n Cork and Canvas, the annual Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra fund raiser events include: March 4, Vintage Wine Tasting at Willow Park Wines & Spirits with hors d’oeuvres; March 14, Craft Beer Night at Willow Park Wines & Spirits; March 18, La Chaumière Luncheon, four-courses and wine pairings; March 22, High Tea in Style, at the Fairmont Palliser, high tea and high fashion; March 28, The Art of Whisky, Willow Park Wines & Spirits, a navigation through the world’s finest whiskies; April 5, Winemaker’s Dinner & Auction at The Calgary Petroleum Club.

For details and tickets, visit cpo-live.com. n J. Webb Wine Merchant tastings: At Glenmore Landing: Ale vs Lager, March 13; Only the Rhonely, March 20; Penetrating Pinot Noir, March 27; Amarone Experiment, April 3; At Casel Marché: Taste of Belgium, March 5; Spanish Wine & Food, March 12; Ladies Beer Night, March 19; Burgundy vs. Bordeaux, March 26; Brunch, Sunday Fun-day, March 30; Saveurs de France, April 5; Pucker Up, Sour Ales tasting, April 10; Deconstructing Beer, April 16; Brown Baggin’ It Blind Tasting, April 23.

Details at jwebb.net.

n At The Cookbook Co. Cooks: March and April – Essential Knife Skills, Bread Making, a two-day workshop; French Classics Basics; Stock Making & Soups, a two-day workshop; Man Food; Middle Eastern Flavours; Specialty Dinner, Joy Road Catering; Off the Menu of Muse; Father and Kid Cooking Class; A Night Out Couples' Cooking Classes; The Ultimate Chocolate Workshop; Greek Odyssey; Pie and Pastry Making Workshop; Sushi Making. A full calendar at cookbookcooks.com. continued on page 58

cooking classes n Poppy Innovations’ Edible Education: Parent and Child Culinary Class, parents and kids aged 9+ learn to make tasty, healthy meals in our series of 6 classes; a fun-filled afternoon with Cook with Your Kids at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. poppyinnovations.ca. n At Salsita, Mexican cooking classes on March 14, April 12, May 31 and

Home of AUTHENTIC Italian sausage, in the heart of INGLEWOOD

n Metrovino tastings: Much Depends on Dinner: Food & Wine, March 6; Italian Icons, March 7; The Young and the Restless, March 13; Bacchus for Beginners (Wine Basics), March 20; Brave New World, March 26; phone 403-205-3356 for info or to register or go online at metrovino.com for more information on April, May and June tastings. n Peasant Cheese Shop tastings: California wineries, small producers – Carlisle Winery, March 4, paired with

Quality meats, natural spices and Old-World recipes. That’s authentic Italian. wholesale & Retail • 1308 9th ave. se • 403.264.6452

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Stockpot continued from page 57 general stirrings n In January, one of our fave chefs, Nicole Gomes, Nicole Gourmet Catering, partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society, Alberta/NWT, for an event called Unveil the Mystery of Cancer Research. Chef Gomes prepared her always-great food for the event and showed the attendees how to make a mushroom risotto, so they had a tasty recipe to take home with them. Everyone heard about how far cancer research has come and where it’s heading. n If you’re looking for Rocky’s Burger Bus, in case you didn’t know it had moved – you haven’t had a Rocky’s burger in a very long time, have you? – you’ll find it at the Crossroads Market.

So, go get a burger and rejoice! n Noble Gardens CSA farm is now accepting registrations for the summer 2014 season. If you like fresh, home-grown vegetables but don’t have time or space, this is the perfect option for you! Noble Gardens delivers delicious, fresh veggies each week from July ‘til Thanksgiving to three locations in Calgary. No work requirements, but visitors are always welcome to come and get their fingers in the dirt. Eat healthy this summer and support a local farm family! Visit: NobleGardensCSA.com to register for a share of the harvest. They would love to feed your family! n This Easter, there’s no better way to treat the little guys than with chocolate from Cococo Chocolatiers, owners of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut.

Spring for the good stuff at any of the 12 Calgary locations. Moulded bunnies, eggs, lollies, traditional filled eggs and other fun items will start hopping into store in March. You won’t find this kind of selection anywhere else. n The Oliv Tasting Room stores are under new management. Tastings every day of more than 90 premium extra-virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars at all locations. Find the addresses at olivtastingroom.com. Have a private tasting party with a few of your friends for a fun night in one of the stores. “Like” Oliv on Facebook to keep up to date with events and promotions facebook.com/OlivCalgary. n Garden plots are available at Poppy Innovations’ De Winton Garden Club just south of Calgary. Don’t have space for a vegetable garden? Don’t know how or just want to meet other gardeners? Poppy can help you grow your own wholesome produce. The fully managed garden plots are offered with educational support to cultivate your potential! poppyinnovations.ca. n The Calgary Board of Education bestowed a Lighthouse Award to

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the Calgary Academy of Chefs and Cooks to recognize a seven-year partnership providing competition opportunities and training to teachers and students for hot kitchen and baking. Students also get real-world experience cooking at the Easter Seals We Care Ball. Food industry partners provide product and funds to make this possible and the chefs donate their time. The Calgary Board of Education’s (CBE) Lighthouse Awards program recognizes an organization’s contributions to the CBE, its schools and its programs. n Playful Aprons is an online store that offers beautiful, unique, frilly aprons designed to add fun to cooking in a stylish manner, whether in a cooking class, hosting a party or cooking an intimate dinner. Have a look at playfulaprons.com. n Join Jenni Evans from Vision Travel and Paul Gauguin Cruises for an exclusive Flavours of Tahiti wine and dining event at La Chaumière restaurant on April 24. Cost and details TBA. Please RSVP to jenni.evans@ visiontravel.ca or phone 403-777-0735.

n If winter is seriously your thing, you’ll want to check out the Ice Lounge  at historic Deer Lodge, perfect for après ski when you want to warm yourself from the inside out with specialty cocktails, such as Hot Velvet, Maple Manhattan, Thirsty Bear and Warm Sweet Cider. Features include a decorative ice bar, sheepskin throws on ice benches, candles and beautiful ice carvings from Frozen Memories Ice Studio. n Medicine Hat’s premier culinary event, the Sunshine Skillet and Food Festival, is April 12 and 13. Watch chefs battle it out during amateur and professional culinary competitions.

Snack on food samples from throughout the Canadian Badlands at the farmers’ market-style food festival. Get a Sunshine Culinary Hotel Package; tickets, samples and souvenir included. Visit sunshineskillet.com for all the tasty details! n Art of the Cocktail swings into Calgary April 5-7. Canada’s premiere cocktail goes over the mountains, as Victoria’s annual Art of the Cocktail festival celebrates its first out-oftown event in Calgary. The three-day celebration kicks off with a Grand Tasting in the EPCOR CENTRE’s Jack Singer Lobby. Major spirit brands and artisanal regional distilleries will

CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

have their best bartenders creating tempting cocktails for sampling. The Grand Tasting will host top Calgary restaurants as they showcase their food. There are workshops too, locations include The National’s Bourbon Room and Milk Tiger.

The French cognac house Merlet hosts a Best Canadian Bartender Competition. For more information, visit artofthecocktail.ca. n The Canadian Celiac Association National Conference, May 30 - June 1, takes place at the Telus Convention Center. Learn the latest information about celiac disease and gluten sensitivities from renowned speakers, enjoy great gluten-free food and local entertainment, sample the latest products at the Gluten Free Market, learn new ideas about eating and cooking gluten free, have fun at the Celiac Stomp reception and Western Gala. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Visit calgaryceliac.ca or email info@ calgaryceliac.ca or phone 403-237-0304.

Sponsored by the Calgary chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association. n ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen has a new, free iOS app for iPhone and iPad. It features access to nearly 3,000 recipes, a shopping list function, the ability to save favourite recipes for offline viewing, and live chat integration.

Go to atcoblueflamekitchen.com for details. n Check out the Peasant Cheese Shop’s line of house-made products including: mac & cheese sauce, brandied fruit, labneh, red lentil hummous, oyster mushroom and chèvre dip. n The 28th Annual We Care Ball, “Glamping!”, in support of Easter Seals, takes place April 11 in the Palomino Room, BMO Centre, Stampede Park, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m., including a champagne reception, dinner, dessert buffet, silent auction and dancing. Easter Seals supports children and adults with disabilities and special needs to enhance quality of life. Tickets are $175 or $1500 for a table of 10. Visit easterseals.ab.ca and go to “events” for all the details and getting tickets. n Inspirati Fine Linens has moved just around the corner from its former location to 120, 2207 - 4th St. SW. in the Maxwell Bates Block building.

Check it out! n Join tourmeister Gail Hall on her Seasoned Solutions Culinary Tour of Piedmont and Burgundy, October 11-22, with optional extension to attend the Slow Food events in Torino, Italy. A detailed itinerary is at seasonedsolutions.ca or contact Gail at 780-437-0761 or gail@seasonedsolutions.ca. Peru is planned for March 2015 and Portugal for October 2015. Connect with local producers, farms and retailers with Seasoned Solutions to Kitscoty, June 21/22 and Medicine Hat, August 16/17.

Check the web site for updates.

n Don’t miss the Conservation Caravan open house, April 8, 7:30 9:30 p.m. to screen the Conservation Caravan and a new short film from the September outdoor dinner. Enjoy food and drinks and chat about sustainable food production, good ranching practices and wildlife/habitat conservation. Reserve a spot on the Eventbrite page. More details at eventbrite.ca/e/conservation-caravanopen-house-calgary-tickets-10323466767. n Cookie Mama in Inglewood makes six varieties of fresh gluten-free breads and buns daily, and you can find them at the Amaranth stores in the northwest and on 4th St. SW, plus at Luke’s drugstore in Bridgeland. n Meez Fast Home Cuisine is your one-stop shop for special occasions like Easter. Place your order, then pick it up, take it home, heat and serve. Looking for weekday dinner ideas? Skip the fast food and try our Chicken Broccoli Rice Bake (GF), Green Beans with Garlic Butter (GF), Chicken Chili (GF), or our Macaroni and Cheese with Spolumbo’s Chicken Apple Sausage. There’s gluten-free cookie dough, too. Visit our website at meezcuisine.com for the full menu, Easter Menu, recipes, and more. n Check this out – Swine and Dine at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, April 5, a five-course meal that incorporates Alberta Pork – Passion for Pork – from appetizer to dessert, paired with wine.

Tickets, $99, include gratuities, cooking demos (during the day), a reception and wines from Oyster Bay. Visit fairmont. com/jasper or call 780-852-3301 to book.

n Check this out – a premium Canadian-made vodka, made in BC, that is “bottled” in a glass hockey stick. How Canadian is that! High-Stick Vodka is distilled 18 times and is crisp and clean with a hint of citrus.

Though the “bottle” might not be ideal for sitting on the bar ready to be made into drinks, when the vodka is finished, it can be used to push a puck around...

Or not!

The vodka is good, the “bottle” is fun, and it’s selling fast.

To find your High Stick in Calgary – go to liquorconnect.com.

city palate‘s

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colossal culinary crossword congratulations to the winners: Ellaline Bowman and the team of Trish McBride and Kate Hanson who won...

2 sets of 2 Tickets to ATP’s Flavours of BC’s Naramata Bench Thursday, February 20

and

2 sets of 2 cooking classes from

Thanks to the prize sponsors!

THE COOKBOOK CO. COOKS

Puzzle Corrections: Our apologies! After eight edits of this puzzle we still missed a couple.

As you will see in the above solution, the following (mis-spelled) answers may have caused some gray hair to some: 94 across: aquacotta; 101 down: Riedl; 74 down: scarmorza

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last meal As much as I love red meat, there seems to be almost overwhelming evidence to indicate we should be eating less of it than most of us do.

I would happily eat more fresh fish if we had better access – although I’m happy with Blu’s Seafood and Orca in the Kingsland Farmers’ Market – but that is simply a result of being landlocked. I don’t mind vegetarian food, but I usually find that what it needs is a big hunk of rare meat in the middle. The cultures that eat a lot of vegetarian fare – especially India – seem to deliver the most palatable versions, partly due to the use of a wide array of exotic spices. For New Year’s Eve I created a biryani rice dish to accompany steelhead trout. The menu worked so well I submit it for your enjoyment. The biryani stands on its own or as a side dish, your call.

For dessert, this rich chocolate pecan pie is relatively simple and delicious.

Vegetable Biryani 2 c. white basmati rice, soaked 10 minutes in cold water, rinsed and drained well 4 T. unsalted butter 4 c. water plus 1 t. salt 2 T. grapeseed oil (or other neutral-tasting oil) 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced 1 t. each ground turmeric and cumin 1/2 t. black mustard seeds 2 t. salt 1/2 t. black pepper 1/4 t. each ground cinnamon and ground cloves 1/2 t. chile powder 1/2 c. dried mango (you can substitute dried apricots), chopped coarsely 1 small butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds 1 c. green beans cut into 1-inch pieces 1 c. peas, fresh or frozen 2 T. tomato paste 1/2 c. full-fat yogurt 1/2 c. chopped cashews or blanched almonds (or a mix of both) 4 green onions, chopped

To cook the rice (this can be done several hours ahead of time), heat a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat and add 2 T. of butter. When the butter stops sizzling, add the rice and stir briefly to coat with the butter then add the 4 c. water and 1 t. salt and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low/ simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff the rice with a fork, then cover and let stand for another 5 minutes. The rice is now cooked and ready to use.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 T. butter plus the grapeseed oil. Add the onions and reduce the heat to low, cooking for about 20 minutes until soft and golden (don’t let them brown). Raise the heat to medium and add all the spices, including the salt, and cook the onion/spice mixture for a couple of minutes. Add the mango and all of the vegetables, and sauté over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until they are crisp/tender.

Add the tomato paste and yogurt and stir to combine, then add the cooked rice and cook for a few minutes, until heated through.

Add the nuts and stir well, then turn the rice out onto a large serving dish and garnish with the green onions.

I serve this dish with raita on the side – mix 1 c. yogurt with 1/2 c. chopped mint, 1 small cucumber, seeded and diced very fine, then season with salt and a pinch of turmeric to taste.

Serves 8.

Wine: Markus Molitor 2011 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr - $39 Riesling is my go-to wine for Indian food and spices; it can stand up to some heat as well as the complexity of flavours.

Markus Molitor can be counted among the very best producers in the famed Mosel region, crafting wines that are highly expressive of their terroir. It offers notes of stone fruits, crushed stones and lime soda with a slight amount of natural sweetness that will typically be almost imperceptible with food.

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Geoff Last

Keep it simple and seasonal

Drink Coffee...

Do stupid Things faster with more energy!

Oven-Roasted Steelhead Trout 2 large steelhead trout fillets, pin-bones removed (you can substitute arctic char or salmon) 1 t. ground fennel seed salt and pepper 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced 2 lemons, sliced 2 limes, sliced drizzle of olive oil 1 t. crushed chile flakes

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the fillets on a large roasting rack set in a roasting pan and season them with the fennel, salt and pepper.

Distribute the shallot slices evenly on the fillets, then distribute the lemon and lime slices, alternating, to cover the fish. Drizzle olive oil over the fillets then sprinkle them with the crushed chiles. Roast to your desired doneness, about 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

Serves 6-8.

chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

HIDe tHem FROm tHe kIDs

Pecan Chocolate Tart Chocolate pâte sucrée crust: 1 c. unbleached flour 2 T. Dutch process cocoa powder 2 T. icing sugar 1/2 t. salt 3/4 stick (6 T.) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 3 t. cold lard 3 T. ice water

Tart: 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 c. light corn syrup 2 T. unsalted butter, cut into bits 4 large eggs 1 t. vanilla pinch of salt 1-2/3 c. pecan halves

Make the chocolate pâte sucrée: In a large bowl, blend the flour, cocoa, icing sugar, salt, butter and lard until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 T. ice water, toss the mixture until the water is incorporated, adding more ice water if necessary to form a dough, and form the dough into a disc. Chill it, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

Assemble the tart: Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Trim the edge,

leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the overhang inward onto the side of the shell, pressing it firmly, and chill the shell for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate over low heat and spread it on the bottom of the shell, working quickly, as the chocolate will start to set immediately. Chill the shell for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar and the corn syrup and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Let the mixture cool until it is no longer bubbling, add the butter, and stir the mixture until the butter is melted. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt, and add the syrup mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Add the pecans to the shell and pour the egg mixture over the nuts to cover. Place the tart on a baking sheet (to catch any overflow) and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with vanilla or salted caramel ice cream. Serves 8.

www.bernardcallebaut.com

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back burner

Allan Shewchuk

S h e w c h uk on s i mm e r

To see and be seen

As much as I love food and wine, what I enjoy most about going out to a restaurant, café or bar is not even on the menu.

That’s because my favourite thing about going out generally is the “going out” part, since I’m a devout people watcher. Give me a roomful of diverse human beings to observe and I am as happy as a clam on top of a plate of spaghetti vongole. Even better is to walk outside in the summer along a boulevard full of patios amongst folks out for a long stroll. Life becomes one big theatre for me to revel in.

Not surprisingly, it’s the Italians who have perfected the art of getting out. Every evening, all around Italy in large cities or little villages, paesani go out for a walk known as the “passeggiata.” This ritual has been going on since the time of the Romans. The point of this tradition is two-fold: to have a gawk at whoever is out on their walk, and to show oneself off. So, whether you are a woman or a man, you want to put out there what they call la bella figura, which literally means “the beautiful figure,” but actually means strutting your best stuff, whether it’s your hot body, your stylin’ hat or your funkiest shoes. What you want is to not only see, but to be seen.

Whether in Italy or at home, for me, a passeggiata is pure heaven. I cruise along checking everybody out, and I imagine all their stories. There goes a couple in a May-December relationship. Did the older man leave his first wife for the younger woman? Does she love him or is she already planning the funeral lunch so she can move on? Here comes a woman with a poodle dressed up in an expensive doggie outfit with a matching hat. Is she one of those crazies who has pictures of her dog all over her office? Does she outfit the poor thing in a costume for Halloween and take it door to door? Is she actually smart because Fifi is better company than most men? And there goes a middle-aged guy wearing sweatpants in public. Has he lost his wardrobe in a tragic flood, or was Jerry Seinfeld right and does this mean the guy has “just given up”? I love this age-old game.

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CITY PALATE.ca MARCH APRIL 2014

Of course, trust modern technology to ruin old-time fun. My wife recently got a Fitbit, which is a bracelet with a microchip in it that measures how many steps you walk and how many calories you burn in a day from your activities. It will even tell you how long you slept each night, as if you need a bracelet to remind you. You can pair it with your Smartphone and you can network with other Fitbit “buddies” and exchange data on how much you’ve walked. This leads to daily “winners,” and the whole pleasure of just taking a stroll has now become a competition. My competitive spouse adores this and programs her device to vibrate when she reaches her daily goal of 10,000 steps. So now when we’re out walking hand in hand, she will say “I’m so happy!” To which I say “With me?” and she answers “No, just made our 10,000 steps!” as I feel her arm pulsing from the notification. Oh, joy.

I still prefer to get out for entertainment rather than fitness, but I notice a lot of walkers out these days with these bracelets. And I suppose going on a power walk with a purpose does have its advantages. If you want to show off your bella figura, it doesn’t hurt to be fit and actually have a real bella figura. I must confess that in terms of people watching, I don’t mind walking behind a woman to observe her from time to time. And, should she be wearing defective see-through Lululemon pants, well, that’s just a bonus on a nice passeggiata, after all.

The risk is that my darling wife sees me ogling someone else’s bella figura a little too much and she shoves her Fitbit into a part of my anatomy where I suspect that I would be... um... “acutely” aware of hitting the goal of 10,000 steps when it vibrated. So, on second thought, I think I’ll just stick to speculating about the guy in sweatpants. Buona passeggiata!

Allan Shewchuk is currently living in Florence, Italy where he spends his time equally between his Tuscan kitchen and the local wine store. The Italian economy may just rebound.

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