shadymorels

Smoky Scotch and Apple Sour

This is my best attempt to replicate one of my favourite drinks from Veneto Tapa Lounge, “The Satchmo.” Sweet, sour, and smoky manage to all come together in a harmonious fashion, with a subtle compliment of apple and cinnamon.

I have to hand it to the folks at Veneto for their creativity and consistency, as well as their ability to deliver with both classic and contemporary cocktails. These are the people that not only introduced me to classics such as the Vieux Carre and Seelbach Hotel, but also some of my new favourites such as the Satchmo, Aloe Kitty, The Wax Poetic, and Barjonesing. I highly recommend a visit to their location in the Rialto Hotel to give some of these a try; if you don’t know what to order, ask for a Vieux Carre.

Look for an Islay Scotch to add the smoky characteristic that really makes this drink work, I used Laphroaig 10 year. Apple bitters may be hard to find, but Angostura will work in a pinch.

Ingredients:

1.5 oz peaty Scotch

0.75 oz lemon juice

0.5 egg white

0.5 oz honey

3 dashes apple bitters (or Angostura)

Ice for shaking

Apple peels, about half an apple worth

1. Muddle the apple peels in a boston shaker. Add the Scotch, lemon juice, honey, bitters, and egg white. Shake vigorously, then add ice and shake again.

2. Strain with a fine mesh, and garnish with an apple slice.

Enjoy!

Beef Cheek Ragu with Pappardelle

Ragu is simply meat braised with tomato, mirepoix, wine, and stock. It’s a beautiful thing on its own, but it turns magical when elevated with lemon, parmesan, and arugula and served with fresh pappardelle pasta.

Pappardelle noodles are thick and broad, you can even use lasagna sheets cut up in lieu of having actual pappardelle on hand. If you’ve never made pasta noodles before, pappardelle is a great starting point since you can get away with making it without having a machine.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb beef cheeks (about 2) cut into 2 inch pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

3 small shallots, halved

2 garlic cloves, whole

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 carrots, peeled and cut into diamonds

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cups chicken stock

1 lemon, zested

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp fresh Parmigiano Reggiano,

handful of fresh arugula leaves

Salt and pepper

Enough pappardelle pasta for two, homemade if you do that kind of thing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Season beef cheeks liberally with salt and pepper. Heat an oven proof pan on the burner to medium high and add the olive oil. Sear beef shins until they have a nice golden colour, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan, and continue to saute for 5 minutes. Toss the pan a bit while sauteing to ensure the garlic and shallots are browning.

3. Add the tomato paste to the pan, and continue to saute for 1 minute while lighty tossing or stirring the ingredients. The tomato paste will brown quickly, but this is what we want.

4. Add the wine and mustard to the pan, let cook down for 30 seconds, then add the chicken stock (the liquid should almost cover the beef). Transfer the pan to the oven. Braise until the beef can be pulled apart easily with a fork. This should be about 3 hours. If you decide to braise longer, just ensure that there is enough liquid to prevent the beef from drying out.

5. While the braise is finishing, boil some water for the pasta and salt generously. Then toss in the pappardelle pasta. While you’re waiting of the pasta to cook, remove the beef from the oven and add the lemon zest, butter, and Parmesan. Stir to incorporate, then fold in the arugula. Once the pasta is al dente, transfer with a slotted spoon to the pan with the beef. It’s okay if a little water transfers over in the process, if not preferred. Gently fold all the ingredients together and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Seared Scallops in a Coconut Curry Broth

I’m back! Rest assured, I have been doing plenty of cooking over the last three months but not so much writing. However, it now looks like I have enough material to keep a sustained stream of posts running for at least a couple months, so expect weekly updates henceforth!

It’s best to treat this as an appetizer. The overall cooking and prep time is minimal, so it’s a great first course when planning a meal for special occasions. I use a smaller 8″ pan that just fits enough scallops to still allow an individual sear on each, but prevents the coconut broth from over-reducing.

Serves two as an appetizer, but it will be a battle determining who gets to soak up the last drops of the broth.

Ingredients:

150g Scallops (the extra large ones)

1 Tbsp Curry powder (I used Madras)

1 Tbsp Olive oil

2/3 cup coconut milk

1 Shallot, minced

1 Thai red bird chile, roughly chopped

1 Lemongrass stalk, outer layers removed and cut into 4-5cm pieces

2-3 Chives, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp butter

2 Slices of good white bread

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the scallops in half, so that you create two cylinders out of one scallop instead of two half-moons. This also creates an even number of scallops, which is imperative when it comes time to share this dish with another. Coat each side of the scallop generously with the curry powder, sprinkle on some salt and pepper too. Heat a sauté pan to medium-high and add the olive oil. With some tongs, gently arrange the scallops in the pan, being careful to not overcrowd (or else they will steam and not sear). Sear for 1-2 minutes, then flip and add the coconut milk. Turn down heat to medium.

2. Immediately add the shallots, lemongrass, and chile to the pan and give it a light swirl to incorporate the ingredients. Continue to cook on medium for 2 minutes, then add the chives and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low while you get the toast ready.

3. Heat a separate pan to high for the toast. Butter the bread generously, place butter side down into the hot pan, and toast until the buttered side is crispy and golden, but the other side still has a lot of give.

4. Serve the scallops still in the pan with the coconut broth, with toast on the side to soak up the rest of the fragrant broth.

Enjoy!

Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Squash, and Crispy Sage Leaves

This is a very simple autumn inspired dish. It will work with a wide variety of squash, and each one will give the dish a different flavour and character so there is tonnes of room for variation by following the simple formula of this recipe.

I love the combination of brown butter and sage, but the lemon is really what brings the whole dish together. Opt for fresh gnocchi instead of store bought, and you won’t be disappointed! You could even take it one step further than I did by making butternut squash gnocchi instead of regular potato.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh potato gnocchi (either store bought or fresh, recipe for this to follow)

1 small squash (about 500g), acorn, gem, or butternut squash work well

1 small bunch fresh sage

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup butter

1 lemon

1 tbsp hard cheese such as grana padano, or parmesan

Directions:

1. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds, season the inside with salt and pepper, and add a small glug of olive oil to each and roast for 30 min at 350 degrees F, or until done (timing based on gem squash).

2. Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large saute pan and place on medium heat. Pick the sage leaves from the stem, and carefully arrange in the pan to avoid overlapping. Continue to saute until the sage leaves are crispy, but not burnt. Pick out individual leaves as they crisp up if the heat is uneven. Set aside crispy sage leaves for later and reserve the pan for the gnocchi (step 5).

3. Bring a pot of water to boil and salt as you would for pasta. Add the gnocchi and drain with a colander once the gnocchi has floated to the surface. Ensure you remove as much water as possible to avoid oil splatters in the next step.

4. While the gnocchi is cooking, turn a small saucepan to medium-high heat and add the butter. Cook until the color begins to turn golden brown and the aroma changes, then remove from heat. Ensure you do not remove from the heat too late, as the butter will continue to brown somewhat.

5. Heat the large saute pan to high heat, and add a glug of olive oil. Add the gnocchi to the pan to saute, ensuring they form a single layer. If the pan is too small for this, work in batches. Saute the gnocchi until they develop a nice golden brown exterior with a slight crust. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the squash, brown butter, and the juice from the 1 lemon. Toss the ingredients lightly and continue to saute for 1 minute. Add the crispy sage, reserving a few for garnish. Season generously with salt and pepper, and toss to incorporate all the ingredients.

6. Grate the cheese over the gnocchi, and garnish with the reserved crispy sage leaves.

Simple Sous Vide Beef Shank

Originally, I imagined that any cheap cut of meat cooked with the sous vide method would emerge tender and juicy after many hours. This is simply not true. I have learned that sous vide cooked meat can emerge tender, flavourful, and even medium rare but bizarrely enough also dry. For this reason, the beef was somewhat underwhelming directly out of the sous vide bath.

I sought to improve the dish by changing the sauce, which worked, but I also think this method for beef may simply benefit a different style of dish. It would work very well for a ravioli or other stuffed pasta, where the lack of moisture would actually be a benefit. I am intending on trying this in a future post, so stay tuned. I am also planning on documenting several different iterations of temperatures and cooking times to see if the moisture level can be improved by changing these variables.

I compared this dish with two sauces, first was a simply sherry pan sauce (pictured above) and the second was a red wine reduction sauce. The red wine reduction was a far superior accompaniment to the beef, and also filled the gap that I felt was missing due to the slight dryness of the beef.

Ingredients:

500g beef shank, bone removed

1 sprig thyme

1 garlic clove, halved lengthwise

8 whole peppercorns

1 tbsp olive oil

For the red wine reduction:

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp minced shallot

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp butter

1. Set sous vide bath to 75 degrees C and timer to 12 hours.

2. Lightly season the beef shank with salt, and place in the zip lock bag with the olive oil, thyme sprigs, and garlic clove. Remove air with the water bath method, seal tightly, and place in the sous vide bath for 12 hours.

3. Once the beef is done, remove from the sous vide bath and ziplock bag. Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add a glug of olive oil. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the beef and sear for 90 seconds a side, or until a nice caramelization develops. This will happen a lot faster than with raw beef, so monitor the beef closely when it is searing. Set the beef aside, and reduce the heat to medium.

4. Add the red wine and shallots to the hot pan and reduce by a half. Add the mustard and whisk to incorporate for about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and add the butter while whisking continuously. Serve with the beef.

Enjoy!

Sous Vide Five Spice Pork Belly with Lime Emulsion

This dish was the result of an entire night dedicated to sous vide pork belly. Three variations were conceived based on the original base recipe, and this one emerged the unanimous favourite among the testers. It was an unforgettable experience, and I’m also grateful that I didn’t inadvertently put anyone into cardiac arrest by serving three courses of pork belly.

There were some amazing contrasts happening in this dish which prevented it from being too heavy. The richness of the pork belly was cut by the tart lime emulsion, and complimented by the exotic five spice. The crisp sear on the pork belly created a pleasing texture contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth delicateness of the sous vide pork. It really was an explosion of flavours and textures so this would best serve as a starter or tapas style dish, and would be overpowering as a main.

The basic method involved a five spice brine for 12 hours, followed by a 10 hour sous vide at 80 degrees C. The pork belly was exceptionally flavourful, tender, and juicy right out of the bath. Searing and serving with a complimentary sauce took it to a whole other level, and really showed the capabilities of the sous vide method.

For the brine:

1 L water

1 cup salt

1/8 cup Chinese five spice powder and 1 Tsp peppercorns in a cheesecloth satchel

2 Star Anise

For the pork belly:

500g good quality fresh pork belly, cut into 1 inch wide strips

1 Tbsp Chinese five spice powder

For the lime emulsion sauce:

3 Limes juiced, zest of 1 lime set aside

1 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Bring 1 L of water to a boil, remove from heat and add the salt, spice satchel, and the star anise. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Pierce pork belly with a knife all over. Place in brine and refrigerate for 12 hours.

3. Set sous vide to 80 degrees C. Rinse pork belly after the brine is complete to remove excess salt. Pat dry with a paper towel and season with the remaining five spice powder. Place the pork belly in a Zip-Loc bag and remove air with the water bath method. Ensure the Zip-Loc bag has a good seal, and place in the 80 degree C water bath for 10 hours.

4. Just before the sous vide bath is finished, combine the lime juice, sugar, and lime zest. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and simmer until reduced to a third. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter to emulsify. The sauce can be held tepid, and re-heated carefully when the pork is finished. Ensure the sauce is whisked while being re-heated.

5. After 10 hours in the sous vide bath, remove pork belly from Zip-Loc bag with some tongs and set aside. Place a small saucepan on high heat, wait for pan to be piping hot then sear pork belly for 90 seconds a side, or until a beautiful golden brown colour and crispy exterior has been achieved. The caramelization will actually happen quicker than you think at this point, so you will need to watch it to ensure the pork belly doesn’t burn.

6. Pour the lime emulsion into a shallow pasta dish, then top with the crispy pork belly. Garnish with julienned green onions, cilantro, or thai basil.

Enjoy!

Mayonnaise

If you’ve never made real mayonnaise before, your life is about to change. It’s actually an insult to mayonnaise that we call the store bought, processed, fallout-proof oil emulsification by the same name. Real mayonnaise is extremely easy to make after you understand the process, and all the ingredients can usually be found in any fridge and pantry. Variations on the base recipe are endless, and opens up a whole new world of sauces. To suggest a few variations on the base product: garlic and lemon (aioli), reduced red wine, smoked paprika (serve with jamon and manchego croquettas), wasabi, and of course sriracha. I’ve even heard of fish roe mayonnaise, but I have yet to try it.

This is the start of mayonnaise. Egg yolk, diijon mustard, and salt. There’s only one more ingredient past this point, but technique is the important thing.

To make, you’ll need the following (makes about 1/2 cup of mayo):

1 egg yolk

1/2 tbsp of diijon mustard

pinch of salt

Oil, vegetable oil for a light mayonnaise, olive oil for a richer, more flavorful mayo

Directions:

1. Place egg yolk, mustard, and salt into a bowl or pestle and mortar. Mix gently with a fork or whisk to incorporate.

2. Here is the crucial part. Add the oil in a small stream (think hourglass stream) and whisk with egg yolk mixture regularly, but not too rapidly. Too little oil is will not be an issue, too much and your mayonnaise will break. Continue to add the oil in a steady stream until the emulsification sets, then you can increase the rate at which you’re adding oil. Continue adding oil and whisking continuously until the desired firmness has been reached. If too firm, add some lemon juice to reduce the viscosity.

3. Your mayonnaise is complete, now is the time to enjoy as is, or create a variation with whatever flavor combinations you can think of.

Enjoy!

Cod Cheeks with Sauteed Pea Greens, Wasabi Vinaigrette, and Crispy Shallot

Sometimes creativity is inspired out of a lack of choices, this is one of those cases. I had recently returned from a trip to God’s Pocket Resort, located North of Port Hardy, BC. Our fridge was nearly empty after returning, but I was keen to taste the bounty of the trip. This particular ling cod was caught on the way back from surfing a remote beach break on the West coast of Canada’s mainland. Catching the fish was a magnificent end to what was already an incredible and unique adventure.

Filleting a fish like this is no easy task for us novices, but the advantage is you can take some cuts typically unavailable at your local fish monger and especially rare at the supermarket. In this case I’m talking about the cod cheeks, but I’ve heard that salmon belly is quite delicious as well, stay tuned for future posts! Halibut cheeks are more readily available, and can be easily substituted in this recipe:

1 Shallot, thinly sliced

About 2 tbsp light olive oil, or grapeseed oil (a few glugs, technically speaking)

2 Cod (or halibut) cheeks

Good bunch of pea shoots

Wasabi vinaigrette, ingredients follow

Salt and pepper to taste

For wasabi vinaigrette:

1 Tbsp wasabi mayonnaise, (or 1 Tsp. wasabi paste + 1 tbsp mayonnaise)

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp light olive oil or equivalent

Mix all vinaigrette ingredients together, whisk to combine, and set aside for use.

To make:

1. Preheat large saute pan to medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil and the shallots. Saute shallots for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a nice golden brown colour and crispy texture develops. If the shallots are browning too quickly, lower the heat. Keys are to keep the shallots spaced enough that oil surrounds each individual piece and to saute long enough to develop the crunchy texture. Set aside once cooked.

2. Heat the same pan to medium high, then add another small glug of olive oil. Season cod cheeks with salt and pepper, and saute for 5-6 minutes. These will cook quite quickly, so the challenge is to get some color without overcooking. Set aside once done.

3. Heat saute pan to high, then add pea shoots and toss for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add Wasabi vinaigrette to pan and toss a few times. Transfer to plate, and top with cod cheeks and crispy shallots. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

The Nicaula

Who doesn’t want a cocktail named after them? Like Paula and Nicole, this cocktail is very interesting, while also sweet, balanced, and complex.

Mezcal is an amazing spirit. It is the scotch of tequila, but plays a little bit more nicely when it comes to cocktails. It can be hard to find, but it is worthwhile to pick up a bottle when you stumble across it. In Vancouver, try Legacy Liquor in Olympic Village.

The apple bitters I’ve used in this recipe were homemade. You can find apple bitters in specialty liquor stores, or better yet make them yourself! Other fruity bitters would work as well with the mezcal.

1 oz Mezcal

1/2 oz Amaro

5 dashes apple bitters

1/2 lemon

1/2 egg white

1/4 oz honey

To make:

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well, strain into coupe glass and garnish with an apple slice.

Enjoy!

Obligatory Morel Mushroom Recipe

A quick look at a dish conceived around beautiful fresh morels and one of my favourite concepts for cooking wild mushrooms.

Normally I conceive of a dish for dinner while shopping for groceries and not before, I like to be inspired by what is fresh, special, or even economical. On this particular day I stumbled across some rare early summer time jewels not normally available in your every day produce section, fresh morels!

My first inclination for these brainy shaped wild mushrooms was to saute them up with fresh thyme, shallot, white wine, and finished into a nice cream sauce. Normally morels and cream are a wicked combination, but dried morels are really better for that type of sauce due to their concentrated flavour. Also – you can pick up dried morels any time of the year, so I wanted to do something that showcased the freshness of these rare beauties.

What I decided to do was based on a mushroom bruschetta, which is one of my favourite things to make and serve to friends in my kitchen. The concept is simple, fresh wild mushrooms tossed onto a hot and dry cast iron pan (it brings out the woodiness and beautiful umami flavour of the mushrooms); then quickly sauteed in a piping hot pan with a glug of oil and some shallot or garlic, fresh herbs, scallions, and julienned chili; then finished with a splash of whatever alcohol you may have available, sherry and white wine are my favourites. Of course, once the alcohol is reduced to a nappe consistency it’s taken off the heat and finished with a generous knob of butter. Keys throughout the process are to maintain a high temperature, and not to overcrowd the pan. Once autumn rolls around again, I will do up a post about a version I’ve made with fresh chanterelles over a fire pit during a surf trip in Tofino.

The brushetta in this dish consists of fresh morels, thinly sliced garlic scapes, roasted shallot, dry vermouth, and butter. Served with a simple pan roasted chicken breast and sauteed potatoes (which I take very seriously, and will warrant a post of their own in the future).

Official recipe to follow, but for now enjoy the food porn!

Recipe:

1 Chicken breast, boneless and skin on.

1/4 cup of butter

1 large shallot, halved

1 Sprig fresh rosemary, intact

Handful of fresh morels, about 6-8 per chicken breast, halved

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup of fresh garlic scapes, thinly sliced

1/8 cup dry vermouth, white wine, or sherry

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Put nonstick oven-proof frying pan on medium-high heat and toss in a glug of olive oil.

2. Liberally season the chicken with the coarse pepper and salt, place (not toss) in the pan. Cook for about 5-6 minutes and flip once a nice golden brown colour has developed. Immediately add 1 tbsp of butter, as well as one of the shallot halves and the rosemary. Baste the chicken in the beautiful shallot-rosemary-butter sauce a few times, then toss the whole pan in the oven until the chicken is cooked through.

3. While the chicken is cooking, put another saute pan on high heat. Toss on the fresh morel mushrooms and dry saute until golden brown. You should be getting a beautiful nutty aroma at this point off the mushrooms. Set the mushrooms aside once browned and reduce heat to medium-high.

4. Add a glug of olive oil to the pan, then add the garlic scapes. Julienne the other shallot half, then add to the garlic scapes. Toss this around a few times with the oil so that good colour begins to form.

5. Toss the morels back in the pan with the garlic scapes and shallot, turn the heat to high. Wait about 30 seconds, then splash in the vermouth. We’re aiming for the vermouth to reduce to the nappe consistency in about 15 seconds, so there needs to be enough heat in the pan to achieve this without burning the mixture. Take the pan off the heat, and add 1 tbsp of the butter, season to taste and toss the mixture. Serve immediately over the chicken.

Enjoy!