Archive for June, 2009

There's always been controversy about whether Canada has a cuisine of its own, or even a national dish. If it comes down to recipes, yes, we do have recipes people recognize as Canadian. Apple pie, for example - but the US and Great Britian enjoy it too. There's chowder - in the Maritimes - and in France. Canadians love tea biscuits, but so do the Scots who call them scones. In fact, many of our dishes right up to the latest Vietnames pho or Tamil fish curry are shared. That is, all except the butter tart.

Butter tarts snuggled into phyllo shells - a cool combo of Greece and grandma.

So it is only fitting that when food writer, broadcaster and author Rose Murray wrote A Taste of Canada, A Culinary Journey, Whitecap Books, 2008, $34.95) that she included a recipe for butter tarts. But not the old pastry-based tarts, where the pastry can be so thick as to diminish the impact of the sugar filling. She chose a phyllo pastry tart shell, with these advantages. You don't have to be a pastry pro to make pretty fine butter tarts. The phyllo itself becomes a good-looking feature with its many pleats and layers. And it's great entertainment for you mouth - crunchy crisp pastry, runny sweet filling, toasty pecans. 

Rose Murray at a reception at Viewpointe Estate Winery where her Butter Tarts in Phyllo were served.

In honour of Canada 2009, here is Rose's recipe. However, if you're too busy swimming or watching the fireworks, and  miss baking the tarts this Canada Day, never fear, you can make them any time of the year. 

Butter tart filling ingredients are available in all supermarkets.

Butter Tarts in Phyllo

There are even a couple of controversies about butter tarts. Should they be runny and dribble down your chin? Or, custardy so you can make a clean bite with your front teeth? Should they contain currants, raisins or nuts? Rose settles on nuts - pecans to be exact, and opts for the fluidy. although in real life she eats butter tarts very graciously  - on a plate, with a fork. 

6 sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed

3 tbsp (45 mL) melted butter

Filling:

1 egg

1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (125 mL) corn syrup

2 tbsp (30 mL) melted butter

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

1 tsp (5 mL) fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup (75 mL) coarsely chopped pecans

. Place the phyllo pastry between two sheets of waxed paper and cover with damp tea towel. Place 1 sheet on a work surface, keeping the remaining sheets covered. Brush the phyllo with some of the melted butter; top with a second sheet. Continue stacking the sheets of phyllo, brushing each with melted butter, until you have a stack of 6. Brush the top sheet well with butter. Cut into 12 even squares. Press the squares evenly into 12 muffin cups. 

For these tarts, I used whole wheat phyllo. It works beautifully, just as the more common phyllo pastry made with white flour.

Filling; In a bowl, beat the egg well with a whisk, then whisk in the sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla and lemon juice. Stir in the nuts.

Spoon the filling evenly into the prepared phyllo cups, being careful not to let the filling come up above the pastry (They will appear about half full.) Bake in the bottom third of a 375°F (190°C) oven until the pastry is golden, about 15 minutes. Place the pan on a rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 tarts.

A footed cake stand shows off a beautiful (and delicious) Blueberry Frangipane Tart.

The request came in early spring to teach a cooking class at Viewpointe Estate Winery on Lake Erie, near Harrow, Ontario.  The winery sounded interesting and ambitious, especially with its added focus on culinary arts and it's being part of Lake Erie's north shore  burgeoning wine area.  Esther Reaume, the winery's event coordinator who did the inviting, is the sister of Ann McColl who owned one of Canada's finest cookware stores in London, Ontario until her retirement a few  years ago. I had been a cooking guest at Ann's shop many times and relished each visit. Esther, like her sister, owned a cookware store beloved of cooks in Windsor where it was located. The clincher - it had been a few years since I visited the warmest, most southernmost and surely one of the lushest growing area in Canada. It was time to check out the winery and surrounding region. Yes!

Esther and I agreed that the cooking class would celebrate wine country and its abundant produce. The area's famous for its greenhouses, with roadside stands proclaiming the availability of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Essex County, where Viewpointe is located, is peach country, and is a berry-growing region when June brings strawberries, and bowls filled with raspberries and blueberries carry on right through to Thanksgiving. You would need at least two extra sets of hands to count all the fruit and vegetables that comes from this county where Windsor, Ontario is located. As for wineries, they've gone from the two pioneers, Colio Estate Wines Ltd. and Pelee Island Wines Ltd. to numbering in the high teens ... and growing. Lake Erie North Shore is a designated viticulture area.

Jean Fancsy, wife of partner Steve Fancsy, pours a serving of a Viewpointe Chardonnay mixed with passion fruit juice and a veritable salad of fresh berries and melon. It's a 'winetail", and very summer-cooling.

Blueberries proved to be the inspiration. When Heather Howe. Adell Shneer and I were creating new recipes for The Complete Canadian Living Baking (Transcontinental Books, 2008, $34.95) we knew the book that called itself "complete" needed a frangipane tart. But we had already done the traditonal one - plums nestled into a ground almond filling in a previous book, and couldn't just republish the recipe.

So, we moved on from plums, choosing blueberries to blanket the frangipane filling. And for the gloss? Melted red currant jelly or seedless raspberry jam added just the right sheen and sharpness to mild mannered blues. Edging the tart with sliced almonds was the last touch needed to create a new tart. And while I'm pretty fond of a classic top and bottom crust blueberry tart, the frangipane version is a dazzler.

The pat-in-pastry starts out by whisking the dry ingredients.

Blueberry Frangipane Tart

To say this tart was a hit with the guests/students seated at tables around the demo area in Viewpointe's large kitchen and teaching area, would be an understatement. A big understatement. The pat-in crust is easy to do and baked golden brown has a real shortbread quality. Almonds complement blueberries, and of course, blueberries are both local and special. Resident chef and cooking school instructor Mary Ann Marshall plated wedges of the tart with a dollop of whipped cream and a quick sauce of simmered blueberries, sugar and water. The blueberries for the sauce were frozen and a gift from Klassen Blueberries - one of Ontario's largest cultivated blueberry farms just down County Road 50 East from the winery.

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) blueberries, wild low-bush or cultivated high bush

1/3 cup (75 mL) seedless raspberry jam or red currant jelly

1/3 cup (75 mL) sliced almonds

1 tbsp (15 mL) icing sugar

Pat-In Sweet Pastry:

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tbsp (30 mL) granulated sugar

4 tsp (20 mL) cornstarch

Pinch salt

3/4 cup (175 mL) cold unsalted butter, cubed

Frangipane Filling:

2/3 cup (150 mL) blanched or unblanched whole almonds

1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar

2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, softened

1 large egg at room temperature

1/4 tsp (1 mL) almond extract

. Set out a 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom.

. Pat-In Sweet Pastry: In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture clumps together. With floured hands, press evenly over bottom and up side of tart pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

By the time the butter has been cut to this ragged-looking stage, the pastry will pat in evenly and won't be dry and crumbly.

. With fork, prick pastry at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals all over; bake in bottom third of 350°F (180°C) oven until light golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool on rack. 

. Frangipane Filling; In food processor, finely chop almonds with sugar. Add flour; pulse to combine. Add butter, egg and almond extract; pulse until well blended, about 1 minute. Spread evenly in tart shell.

. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over filling. Bake in bottom third of 375 °F (190°C) oven for 25 minutes.

You can always add a few more berries to fill the top surface.

. Meanwhile, place seedless raspberry jam in small saucepan or liquid measuring cup. Heat on stovetop or in microwave oven, stirring often, until melted and smooth. 

Remove tart from oven. Brush top of tart with all but 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the jam. Sprinkle sliced almonds on glazed berries around edge of the tart - like a wreath around the berry centre.  Return to oven to bake until almonds are toasted and cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Set aside at room temperature for up to 8 hours.)

To remove the outside ring, support the base with your hand, letting the cold ring slip down. Then, transfer the tart to wide flat serving plate.

. Remelt remaining jam; brush or spoon over visible blueberries.

The easiest way to melt the seedless jam or jelly is in the microwave. Add a little water to the seedless jam if necessary to help it melt.

Dust almonds with icing sugar. Remove ring and, supporting the tart with a large wide spatula, transfer to a flat serving plates. Dust the edge of the plate too, if you like.

Place the icing sugar in a small fine sieve. Hold it over the almonds, tapping it on the side to send a shower of icing sugar over the almonds.

. Makes 8 to 12 servings. I fancy the 12 servings as an elegant slim wedge of the tart looks lovely on the plate - and is frankly quality over quantity. Vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream are good additions.

Tips:

. You can make the tart shell a day ahead and let it stand still in its tart pan on a rack. The frangipane filling is also a day make-ahead but needs to be refrigerated in an airtight container. It will be easier to spread if you pull it out of the fridge an hour or so before filling the tart.

. When cutting the tart, use a chefs knife and wipe the blade between cuts.

Where to Find the Good Stuff in Essex County

First, check out Essex County Buy Local, a brochure that, on one side is map that  locates farms, roadside stands, markets and vineyards that sell directly to consumers.  The products range from Lakeside Jersey Dairy's 40% cream to Chana Food's whole wheat, chick pea and spelt flour with much more that includes muskmellon, greenhouse cucumbers, cauliflower, apricots, cherries, gooseberries, beans, beets and blueberries. 

The Buy Local brochure also has a listing of farms and wineries by district. So, if you're in the Leamington area, you'll easly find Jones Popcorn and Highline Mushooms. Meanwhile, a little further west in Kingsville, the listing includes Raymont's Berries, Cornland Corner, Sun Parlor Honey Ltd. and Pelee Island Winery.

Maps are available from the sponsors which include the county's municipalities, Scotiabank, RBC, the Essex County Federation of Agriculture (ECFA), and Windsor Essex Trolley Tours - a not-for-profit community organization that offers great service for visitors and local alike to tour the county, see the sites, stock up on local produce without having to drive and pour over a map at the same time. Check out www.wetrollytours.com. Upcoming tours include one this Sunday, June 28, Harrow, Take a Peek Tour and continue Sundays. Custom tours are available. 

To download the super-helpful map and charts, go to www.ecfa.ca and click on Buy Local. 

Viewpointe Estate Winery that hosted the cooking class, holds regular culinary arts classes lead by Mary Ann Marshall. The winery's opening celebration is June 27 and June 28 with tours of the barrel cellar, sensory and culinary experiences.

Mary Ann Marshall cooks global with local foods. On the patio of Viewpointe Estate Winery you can sample a selection of Mary Ann's tapas-style snacks with a glass of the winery's finest.

And of course, there's the opportunity to sit on the patio and enjoy the amazing view out over Lake Erie. But be careful, patio viewing can be so restful you may never want to leave.

These plump tender mussels are of the hightest quality. The curry/ginger/garlic/cream broth is wonderful to slurp. Try a dry Riesling to complement the curry flavours and the mussels.

Fabulous mussels grow in PEI...and the best mussels dishes are cooked right in downtown Charlottetown, steps from the water. The name of the place is Flex Mussels and the chef partner in the stylish/casual eaterie is Garner Quain. He began his career steaming these tasty blue mussels Mytilus edulis with a mussel and fry shack back in 2005, in nearby Summerside.

Chef Quain serves 23 different steamed mussel dishes, priced from $16 to $20 per pound, depending on the ingredients that swim along with the bivalves. Flavours are as different as  you  taste in Thailand, India, Peking, Provence and Ireland and with ingredients from saffron to wild mushrooms to lobster to enhance the plump mussels. Other "not mussels" are available - seafood includes PEI oysters, Kim Dormaar's pepper smoked salmon, PEI oysters, fish and chips, halibut with hummus and the classic Maritime sandwich, lobster rolls. So nobody is left out, there are meat and poultry dishes, but in an eatery called Flex Mussels, go for the mussels. And there's always room for a round of hand-cut fries.

As a mussel aficionada, I had a delicious time with the Bombay Mussels - the restaurant's most popular steamed mussels. There was just enough curry, ginger and garlic-flavoured broth to scoop up with the empty shells, and soak up with slices of an excellent baguette.

This tropical combo of mango, ginger and coriander complement fresh sea-seasoned mussels.

Bombay Mussels

This makes a lovely supper for two - or appetizer course for four. The recipe has been slightly adapted. 

2 lb (1kg)  mussels

1 tsp (5 mL)  vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped 

1 tsp (5 mL) finely chopped gingerroot

2 tbsp (30 mL) mango puree or finely diced mango

1 tbsp (15 mL)  mild curry paste, Patak recommended

1/4 cup (50 mL) white wine

1/2 cup (125 mL)  whipping cream (35%)

1/4 tsp (1 mL)  sesame oil

4 full sprigs of fresh washed coriander (cilantro),  roots removed and chopped

Half lime

1  crusty French baguette, sliced.

. Check mussels, discarding any that don't close when tapped.

A little gape is not unusual for cultivated mussels. Always keep them in the refrigerator until just before cooking.

Fresh live mussels close obediently - give them a minute or two just to be sure. Discard any that continue to gape.

. Pull out and snip off any beards and rinse; set aside. 

There's no mistaking the "beard" the common name for the byssus of a byvalve mussel. According to The Food Encyclopedia (Jacques L. Rolland and Carol Sherman, Robert Rose publisher) the byssus is "made up of a network of silky filaments it secretes and uses to adhere to rocks."

. In 4 to 6 quart (4 to 6 L) saucpean, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, mango and curry paste; fry for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. The goal here is to warm the ingredients just enough to ‘awaken’ them. Exercise caution, as excessive heat makes the curry bitter.

The combination of fresh ginger, garlic and mango is aromatherapy of the most enchanting kind.

 . Stir in the wine, and using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot smooth.  Add the cream, sesame oil and half of the coriander. Bring to a boil over high heat; add the mussels. Stir to coat evenly.

A wide saucepan with a heavy bottom is the best for cooking mussels. There's room for the mussels to open, and covered, the liquid comes back to the boil immediately, steaming the mussels quickly, without toughening them.

. Cover and  steam for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring gently midway, until the mussels have opened wide. Discard any that have not. 

Be sure to check mussels at the beginning of the suggested time.

. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a warmed serving dish. Reduce the sauce by a third or to desired consistency, about 2 minutes Meanwhile, squeeze the fresh lime over the mussels. Pour the reduced sauce over mussels and garnish with remaining chopped coriander. Serve immediately with plenty of crusty baguette.

© flex musssels, inc. 2008

Mussel Pointers:.

When choosing fresh mussels, first shop in a fishmonger's or grocery store with a high turnover. Look for tightly closed shells and a sweet ocean salt-water fragrance. If a slightly open mussel does not close in response to a light ‘tap’ or squeeze, discard it.

The clerk at the fish counter will often wrap your mussels in a plastic bag. Keep in mind that mussels need air. So, as soon as you get home, transfer the mussels onto a rack in a shallow bowl and refrigerate, uncovered in the lowest part of your fridge. Plan on eating fresh mussels the day you buy them. If you have to wait, cover the mussels with a light clean tea towel you've wet and wrung out. Mussels will last a day or two in your fridge.

Although today’s cultured mussels arrive at the market cleaned, you may find a few that still have their “beards”, the super-strong threads that mussels use to attach themselves to rocks in the wild, or to the long mesh socks in which they grow when cultivated. Pull the beard out and towards the pointed end of the shell. Cut off on the sharp edge of the shell, or snip off with scissors. Then rinse the mussels in cold water. Gone are the days when you had to scrub mussels - Canadian farmed mussels, whether from Iles de la Madeleine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland or PEI are prescrubbed - a few minute to check and they're ready for the pot. 

The key to making great mussels is speed.  Have all of your ingredients ready before you cook the mussels. To prevent overcooking and toughening, work with  high heat and a short cooking time.

Don’t overload a pot with mussels. For this recipe and others that include 1 to 2 lb (500 g to 1 kg) mussels, use a 4 to 6 quart (4 to 6 L) saucepan with a heavy bottom and tight-fitting lid. If you're cooking in quantity, consider making several batches 

Flex Mussels is at 2 Lower Water Street (PO box 25008), Charlottetown PEI C1A 9N4. You can call 902-569-0200 or email at info@flexmussels.com. Check the website www.flexmussels.com where you can watch the musselcam - mussels do grow slowly so you'll need to check back often.

Ricardo Larrivee has the kind of boy next door look and charm that has made him a print, radio and tv star. But his work is not just personality and appearance, his recipes are rigorously tested and edited.

Ricardo Larrivee is a neat guy. Passion to burn. Talent to project his love of food and its importance in the lives of Canadians. He wants everyone to know how to cook, and he wants everyone to sit down together and eat.

No time! Too much going on! You counter. According to this father of 3 whose successful Ricardo and Friends plays on Food Network Canada, whose magazine Ricardo and cookbooks are bestsellers, everyone deserves an hour to have dinner with family. About  half of it to cook, the rest to eat and spend time with these people you love most. Sitting around the table, Ricardo recounted, there might not be a lot of talk at the beginning. You know the situation: "What happened at school today", parent asks. Child's answer: "Nothing" and so it goes, but after a few minutes, real conversation began as food gets passed around and everyone relaxes. Kids learn how to help and to enjoy food, even as they take the requisite "one bite" of something new.

Ricardo was in Toronto recently to promote his newest cookbook, Ricardo, Meals for Every Occasion (Whitecap, $35), and together we had a public conversation as part of the arts program of First Canadian Place. He talked about how eating together generates conversation not just with family. For example, the idea for the handsomely photographed book, came out the kind of glow-time around the table at the end of a dinner with friends. They found themselves discussing the sometimes awkward, sometimes challenging entertaining situations they found themselves in and needed solutions. What do you do, for example, when people arrive before dinner and stay on? Or, stay over. What do you serve people who come from Europe and think Canadians eat wild food all the time. What's on the menu when the guests are always late, or when someone important, say your boss is coming for dinner, or when it's men only and they can't be trusted to follow a recipe?

Ricardo takes a lighthearted approach to these situations and the food, but the solutions are practical with just that touch of inventiveness that gets someone turning  the pages of the book have regular "Great idea" moments, as she patches a sticky onto the page.  Here are a couple of "Great idea" stickies you too might enjoy too.

A quick and easy appetizer tray with Dukka in the bowl at the top, and the Red Bell Pepper Spread bottom left. Good bread, olives and extra virgin olive oil give guests something to nibble on while you, the host, gets cracking with dinner.

Red Bell Pepper Spread

When friends and family drop in...and stay, a few quick recipes go a long way to keeping you smiling and still happy to see them. You love them, after all. Ricardo claims this recipe is too simple to be a proper recipe and tried adding all sorts of things. Eventually he gave up and went back to the original 4 ingredients. "Sometimes, simpler really is better."

4 red bell peppers, halved and cored

1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 With the rack in the top position, preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2 Place the peppers on the baking sheet, skin-side up. Brush lightly with some of the oil. Broil until the skins blacken, about 15 minutes.

3 Place the peppers in an airtight container. Let cool and slide the skins off.

4 In a food processor, puree the peppers with the remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with mini pitas, spread on slices of baguette as hors d-oeuvres or as a dip for crudites. 

. Makes 1-1/2 cups (375 mL).

Dukka

Strange name for a seed and nut combo originally written about by Claudia Roden in her landmark book, The Book of Middle Eastern Food  back in the late '60s. The book introduced North African and Middle Eastern food to a world that knew very little of its delights. In England, it created an enormous interest  and caught on in Australia. When she and I were both in Adelaide, Australia for the first Tasting Australia conference/celebration in 1998, she was intrigued to see one of her recipes from the book, the recipe for dukka, so popular and widespread, with so many variations - and so far from its origins. Ricardo tasted dukka in New Zealand, and comments that it's a way better paired with olive oil than the usual oil and balsamic.  "Super classy" is Ricardo's description.

2/3 cup (150 mL) whole blanched almonds

2 tbsp (30 mL) sesame seeds

2 tsp (10 mL) turmeric

1 tsp (5 mL) onion salt

1 tsp (5 mL) celery salt

1 tsp (5 mL) cumin

1 tsp (5 mL) ground coriander

Cayenne pepper to taste

Olive oil

Cubed bread for dipping

1  Using a mortar and pestle or a small food processor, crush the almonds into small pieces. Add the remaining ingredients except the olive oil and bread and mix well. Transfer to a small bowl. Pour the olive oil into another bowl. Serve with bread cubes that diners dip first in the oil and then into the dukka. 

Serves 6 to 8

.