Pea Shoot Pesto on Manitoba Arctic Char with CBC

It was my pleasure to present the following recipes yesterday on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.

Gimli Fish carries this fantastic fish.  So delicious and healthy!

(Photo by Karen Peters.  Features Pea Shoot Pesto on Arctic Char about to be baked.)


Pea Shoot Pesto
Ingredients:
1/4 lb fresh, young pea shoots (or pea tips!)*
1 bunch chives, chopped (or spring onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted Almonds
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the pea shoots, chives, garlic, cheese, olive oil, pine nuts salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, pulse until a thick paste forms.

Enjoy with pasta, fish or other pesto uses.



On Arctic Char

Spoon over Arctic Char fillet and bake at 350ºF for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Enjoy!

Saturday on CBC's Weekend Morning Show - Squash Köfte and a taste of Spring

I am presenting the following recipes tomorrow on CBC' Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.  

Easy to prepare in advance and a taste of Spring all year round if portions are frozen.  The Köfte were a big hit with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike at my restaurant.  Try with Quinoa instead of Bulgur if looking to be gluten-free.

(photos after Saturday)

Squash Köfte

1 small squash, about 2 ¼ lbs (baked and scooped out of skin)

3 tbs olive oil

1 red onion, finely diced

1 tbs Harissa

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

9 ounces medium-fine bulgur

generous pinch salt

1 egg

(optional, 1 tbs Turkish Baharat)

Sauté onion, pepper paste and spices in olive oil until softened over a low heat for about 15 minutes.

When pumpkin is scooped out, puree or mash.  Add to onion and spice mixture. 

Rinse bulgur and add to the squash mixture.  Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix in eggs and then cool.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  On a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, form squash mixture into oblong patties.  Bake until firm, about 15 minutes.  Cool.   At this point, the köfte can be wrapped and frozen for future use.

In a pan, heat olive oil and fry köfte until crispy.  Serve with grilled vegetable on flatbread with a yoghurt tahini sauce.

Enjoy!

Pea Shoot Pesto
Ingredients:
1/4 lb fresh, young pea shoots (or pea tips!)*
1 bunch chives, chopped (or spring onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (or almonds)
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the pea shoots, chives, garlic, cheese, olive oil, pine nuts salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, pulse until a thick paste forms.

Enjoy with pasta, fish or other pesto uses.

Local Fare for Assiniboine Park Conservancy

This week I had the pleasure of presenting local ingredients in the following recipes for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy at the Madison Square MLCC.  APC Education Coordinator Bonnie Tulloch led the discussion on local ingredients and I presented these recipes with beverage pairings on behalf of the MLCC.

Pea shoots can be grown year round from seed in your window or look for them in your local market and grocery stores.  The pesto was served over local Arctic Char.  Notre Dame Dairies for the local butter in the pasta, which is local Nature's Pasta.  Squash is coming into season now.  Look for a wide variety in the markets.  The eggs are also local from Nature's Pasta and the Saskatoon berries are from Neechi Foods.

Next week, Soup!

1. Pea Shoot Pesto
Ingredients:
1/4 lb fresh, young pea shoots
1 bunch chives, chopped (or spring onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts (or almonds)
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the pea shoots, chives, garlic, cheese, olive oil, pine nuts salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, pulse until a thick paste forms.

Spoon over Arctic Char fillet and bake at 350ºF for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

2. Sage Butter pasta (Burro e salvia)

1/3 cup butter.
Bunch of fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Black pepper.

Wash and dry the sage leaves. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sage. Cook very gently over a low flame taking care not to let the butter burn. Pour over cooked pasta and stir through well together with freshly grated parmesan. This super-quick sauce is ideal with 'naked ravioli' (ravioli filling without the pasta) but is also suitable with any short pasta. In this case, drain the cooked pasta keeping back a little of the water. Return the pasta to the saucepan, add the sage and butter and stir over a low heat for a minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in a good helping of grated Parmesan.

The sauce should look smooth and creamy; if it has dried out too much, add a few drops of milk or fresh cream. Grind a little black pepper over when serving.

Enjoy!

3. Sautéed Squash with Pear

1 small squash or pumpkin (size of a small cabbage)- NOT Spaghetti Squash
1 ripe pear
1 tbs. butter
drizzle olive oil
freshly grated nutmeg
1 oz Frangelico
salt and pepper

Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Save seeds on paper towel to dry for planting in Spring. I used a small version of the bumpy salmon coloured squash in the top photo.

Cut seeded squash into four pieces to make peeling easier. Peel and slice into wedges. Heat a sauté pan to medium heat. Melt butter with a drizzle of olive oil. Place squash slices in pan and slowly cook for ~20 minutes or until soft and beginning to brown on both sides. Add chopped pear, salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium high after pear has softened and add the Frangelico. Allow the liquid to cook down a bit.

Can be prepared in advance and warmed up. A nice side dish for a wide range of holiday feasting.

Enjoy!

4. Pavlova with Saskatoon sauce

4 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature (Farm fresh or Vita Eggs)
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 180ºF.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper, using a 9-inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won't get a pencil mark on the meringue.)

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk
attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny
peaks, about 2 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the
meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Invert the meringue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with
sweetened whipped cream.

This morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show - Pea Shoot Pesto on Arctic Char and Gai Lan

This morning I had the pleasure of presenting a beautiful local Arctic Char topped with a very simple Pea Shoot Pesto on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host Agatha Moir.

The Pea Shoot Pesto is so easy to make and gives such a fresh and Spring-like taste to everything. Looking out at the effects of a blizzard, I began yearning, in earnest, for Spring to arrive. This will give you the taste for Spring. The pea shoots are available at DeLuca's on Portage Ave. and the beautiful Arctic Char is available exclusively at Gimli Fish.

The Gai Lan is simply stir fried in sesame oil, a bit of grated ginger, a quick dash of soy sauce, lemon zest and some white pepper.

Pea Shoot Pesto
Ingredients:
1/4 lb fresh, young pea shoots
1 bunch chives, chopped (or green onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted Almonds
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place the pea shoots, chives, garlic, cheese, olive oil, almonds salt and pepper in a food processor or blender, pulse until a thick paste forms.

Spoon over Arctic Char fillet and bake at 350ºF for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Enjoy!