lemon – shady morels

Lamb Merguez, Cous Cous, Spiced Carrots, and Lemon Yogurt Tahini Sauce

This meal was just constructed and subsequently devoured. I feel compelled to write about the experience while basking in the aftermath of its epic-ness. There’s nothing overly complicated about this food, it’s just simple and fucking tasty. In my opinion, that is the epitome of good food.

The ingredients are Moroccan inspired. I love Moroccan food. The flavours are bold, exotic, spicy, refreshing, and soulful. Try this recipe if you find yourself making the same things over and over again, it will knock your panties off! If you end up making this over and over again, well then I can’t help you, but I also can’t blame you.

If you happen to live in Vancouver, travel to Granville Island to obtain the Merguez sausage from Oyama Meats. These guys know what they’re doing.

Ingredients:

Spiced carrots:

4 large carrots, peeled and quartered

One handful of parsley, minced

Half a clove of garlic, minced

Juice of one lemon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

0.5 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of salt

Lemon yogurt tahini sauce (AKA holy shit this stuff goes with anything):

2 tbsp greek yogurt

2 tbsp sesame tahini

1 tbsp runny honey

Juice of one lemon

Half a garlic clove, minced

Cous Cous:

1 cup cous cous

2 cups water

1.5 tbsp butter

Half a handful of parsley, chopped

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch of salt

4 lamb merguez sausages, from Oyama if you live in Vancouver

One poached egg

Pea shoots or parsley for garnish

Directions:

Spiced Carrots:

Place 1 cup of water in a small saucepan, add carrots and bring to a boil until the carrots are cooked. About 8-10 minutes.
While the carrots are cooking, combine the spices in a bowl.
Drain the cooked carrots, and add to the spice bowl. Toss to incorporate, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let sit for an hour or make the day before and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature.

Lemon Yogurt Tahini Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. It is now ready to serve.

Cous Cous:

Place the cous cous and water in a saucepan with a half tbsp of the butter and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
After five minutes, fluff up the cous cous with a fork, and add the parsley, butter, lemon, and a pinch of salt to taste.

To finish:

Cook merguez on a cast iron pan over medium high heat until cooked through.
Serve sausage over bed of cous cous, with a poached egg and parsley or pea shoot garnish. Serve carrots and lemon yogurt tahini sauce on the side.

Pairs well with mint tea. If you’re looking for wine, go with Stag’s Hollow Pinot Noir.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Honey Lemon Thyme Almonds and Pomegranate

I made this panna cotta to end an epic four course meal with wine pairings. For me, this was the highlight of the whole meal, and I’m not normally a dessert person!

It’s a simple dessert, amplified by a few exotic ingredients. The thyme really works well, and it’s an interesting touch to contrast the sweetness of the dish. The buttermilk in the panna cotta adds a tartness that balances the dish as well. Texture wise, the almonds and pomegranate add a crunch that I feel has been missing every other time I’ve eaten panna cotta!

All in all, this is a very solid dessert that I’m very proud of! You should go and make it tonight.

Makes 4

Ingredients:

For the panna cotta:

2 teaspoons of powdered gelatin

2 tablespoons hot water

1 tsp vegetable or coconut oil (for ramekins)

1.5 cup heavy cream

0.5 cup granulated sugar

1.5 cup buttermilk

1 vanilla bean

For the honey, lemon, and thyme almonds:

1 cup shaved almonds

0.5 cup liquid honey, 0.25 cup reserved for plating

Fresh thyme, just the leaves from a couple sprigs. Reserve a couple of whole sprigs for plating.

Lemon zest, the long stringy type, not from the microplane. Reserve the lemon for a bit of juice as well.

Seeds from half of a pomegranate

Directions:

1. Place hot water in a ceramic bowl or ramekin, then sprinkle with the gelatin to absorb. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, use a paper towel to lightly spread the oil between four ramekins and prevent sticking.

2. Combine heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium. Stir continuously to dissolve sugar and prevent burning. Just before a boil, remove from heat and add the gelatin, buttermilk, and vanilla bean. When adding the vanilla bean, make an incision lengthwise and scrape the beans into the cream mixture with the back of the knife. Lightly stir mixture to combine, then transfer to the individual ramekins and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a thin layer on a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until just starting to toast. Remove from oven, and combine in a bowl with the honey, lemon zest, and thyme leaves. Squeeze just a half of the lemon juice into the mixture, then transfer to the cookie sheet (doesn’t need to be in a thin layer at this point) and place in the oven for 5 minutes. The ingredients should combine into a sticky, oozing consistency. If the ingredients cool, it may turn hard like an almond brittle, but just pop it back into the oven for a few minutes right before servicing and it will soften up enough to plate.

4. To plate, place a dollop of honey on the plate offset from center. Invert the ramekins on the plate, and the panna cotta should slide right out. If not, heat the ramekin with some warm water for a few seconds, then try again. Sprinkle the almond mixture over the panna cotta, and top with the fresh pomegranate seeds. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme, and its now ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Steelhead Trout with Chanterelles

Early autumn is my favourite time of year. West swell begins to roll into the West Coast again, re-surging the various reef and point breaks back to life; the days are still reasonably long; amazing produce is abundant and inexpensive; and a plethora of delicious wild fungi begin to pop up in the coastal temperate rainforest, just waiting to be found by those keen enough to look. It’s an inspiring time of the year when you’re obsessed with creating food.

Trout with Chanterelle mushrooms is a classic and elegant combination. The dish could be further simplified to the point where the only additional ingredient is salt and pepper and it would still be outstanding. By adding a few finishing touches, the standout flavours are not compromised, but subtly accented. Exercise restraint when adding the ingredients, especially the butter, cream, and sherry. Cooking the trout requires some finesse as well, as the success of the dish hangs on achieving a beautiful crispy skin.

After a quick and unsuccessful search of the North Shore mountains in the morning, I decided to satisfy my Chanterelle fix by stopping by the Trout Lake Farmer’s market at noon

Ingredients:

2 or 3 portions cut from the freshest Steelhead or Rainbow Trout fillet that you can find (or catch)

1 tbsp olive oil

0.5 pounds of fresh golden chanterelles

1 shallot, minced

1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves only

1 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cream

Juice of half a lemon

Dash of sherry

1 sprig of fresh dill, roughly torn

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Season trout fillets generously, proper seasoning is essential when cooking trout. Heat a saute pan to medium heat, add olive oil, then add the trout fillets skin side down just as the oil starts to heat up. Do not wait for the pan to heat up to searing temperatures, since the skin will shrink and ruin the fillet if heated too quickly. Continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and comes away freely from the pan. If the skin is sticking, the pan is either too hot, or hasn’t crisped enough. Flip the trout and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a plate in a 180 degree F oven to hold while mushrooms cook.
Searing trout with the company of some Main St Pilsner
For the next steps, you’ll need to work quickly so that the trout does not sit more than a few minutes. Turn the heat on the pan up to high, and wait 30 seconds or until it reaches searing temperatures. Add the chanterelles to the hot pan, ensuring they are not crowded (otherwise they will steam and not caramelize). Allow to cook undisturbed for 2 minutes.
This is about as crowded as I’ll ever cook mushrooms. Any more, and they will steam.
Add the shallots, butter, and thyme to the pan then toss the ingredients together in the pan to incorporate. Cook for 1 minute, then add the lemon, cream, and sherry. Continue to swirl the pan and allow liquid ingredients to reduce for 1 minute, or until a sauce like consistency is reached. Remove from heat, then add half of dill.
Spoon the mushrooms onto a warm plate, then top with the trout fillet. Garnish with the remaining half of dill leaves.

Enjoy!

Lemon Braised Fennel

Just a little Wednesday morning quickie.

This is a super simple dish! Serve it as a perfect side, add it to a risotto for an incredible depth of flavour, or just eat it for an amplified fennel experience. I served it as a separate course as part of a light Valentines dinner I made to serenade my better half.

Ingredients:

1 fennel bulb, quartered 1 lemon

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 shallot

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 sprig of fresh thyme

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat pan to medium high, add olive oil, and add the fennel. Flip once a nice golden brown colour is developed, then remove from heat.

2. Add chicken stock and lemon juice to pan, then add the shallot, garlic, lemon zest, and half of the thyme.

3. Braise for 45 minutes, then remove. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves and a touch of olive oil. Crack some pepper over and serve.

Sous Vide Lamb Belly with Mint and Pea Puree

This dish epitomizes spring on a plate. This was the intention prior to making lamb belly for the first time; I knew the flavour combinations I wanted to incorporate, I just didn’t know how to execute it. To see the ingredients come together so harmoniously after the creative process of getting there from a relatively vague initial concept, is what makes me really love cooking.

Sourcing the lamb belly may be a bit difficult at the run of the mill grocery stores, but if you go to any good butcher they will be able to help you out. If you go to an exceptionally good butcher, like Windsor Quality Meats, they will pull out a hanging lamb from the back and cut off the belly in front of your eyes.

Ingredients:

For the lamb, start the prep 48 hours ahead:

1 side of lamb belly, about 2-3 pounds

4 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp sugar

Zest of two lemons

A couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Game plan for the lamb, start 36-24 hours in advance. 48 hours lines up nicely for timing if you start the cure in the evening.

Directions:

1. Mix the salt, sugar, rosemary, and lemon zest in a bowl. Sprinkle a layer in a baking dish, then set the lamb on top, then cover with the rest of the mixture. Firmly press the curing mixture into the lamb. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

2. Thoroughly rinse the curing mixture off the lamb, then set on a cutting board and cut it in half into two broad strips. Do not season the lamb with any more salt, it will be perfectly seasoned at this point already.

3. Roll up each strip of lamb belly like a jelly roll, press down to ensure it is packed tightly together, then tie with kitchen twine. You want the rolls to be as tight as possible with no air gaps.

4. Place each roll of lamb into a ziplock bag. Add a glug of olive oil to each, just to take the space of any small air pockets. Remove the air with the water pressure method, or vacuum seal if you have one.

5. Cook the lamb in a 70 degree water bath for 12 hours.

6. Remove the lamb and transfer to an ice bath the cease cooking. It is now ready for finishing, or you could hold it in the refrigerator until use. To finish, cut off 3/4 inch slices of the lamb belly, and sear in a very hot pan with a bit of oil until some nice colour and texture develops, about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat for the other side, then serve.

For the mint and pea puree:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly shelled peas

3-4 sprigs of fresh mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp good olive oil

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 cup of water, to bring puree to the desired consistency

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients except for the water in a food processor. Pulse until it turns into a fine puree.

2. Slowly add water and continue to puree until the mixture is about the same consistency as cream.

To plate, pour the mint and pea puree onto a white plate to make a pancake size circle. Top with a garnish of fresh spring vegetables. I chose simple parboiled potatoes and carrots, finished with a quick pan sear. As a finishing touch, I sprinkled with fresh peas and fava beans in order to really get the feel of spring on the plate. Top the vegetables of your choosing with the beautiful seared lamb belly and serve right away.

Enjoy!