D is for Dinner

The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers have started a cross-country food fight on the web site www.LoveYourLentils.ca. More than 20 Canadian chefs have created a recipe that uses lentils as the star ingredient. Throughout the month of May, people can vote for their favourite recipe. The winning chef gets a trip to PEI to hang out with Love Your Lentils judges Michael Smith and Anita Stewart on Food Day Canada. As well, people who vote will be entered in a draw to win a similar PEI prize package.

 

It turns out, the Love Your Lentils contest has turned into a showdown between two local chefs. As of airtime, Chef Norman Aitken from Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar in Westboro was holding down the #1 spot. And Chef Charles Part from Les Fougéres in Chelsea, sat in the #2 position.

 

We invited the competing chefs to our studio to try each other's creations.

 

Chef Aitken's - The Great Canadian Lentil Wild Mushroom Ravioli

 

The Lentils
Ingredients

 

    2 cups of du puy lentils - rinse and look out for small rocks
    6 cups light chicken or vegetable stock
    1 large onion
    3 large carrots
    3 stalks of celery
    3 bay leaves
    Few sprigs of fresh thyme
    Pinch of salt

 

Instructions

 

Cook lentils till just tender. Drain, reserving 4 cups of the stock, and lay lentils out to cool on a sheet tray. Save 3 tbsp of lentils for the pasta. Refrigerate until needed.

 

The Broth
Ingredients

 

    2 large shallots, minced
    3 cloves of garlic, minced
    ½ cup small diced carrots
    ½ cup small diced parsnip
    ½ cup small diced celeriac root
    ½ cup of whole dried mushrooms crushed
    1 bay leaf
    Spring of thyme
    4 cups reserved stock
    Zest of a half lemon
    Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Instructions

 

Sweat the shallots and garlic in large saucepan over low heat.

Add the rest of the diced carrots, parsnip, celeriac and dried mushrooms; cook gently for 5 minutes.

Add the reserved stock and cook on low till the vegetables are just tender.

Season with lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate overnight.

 

Pasta Dough
Ingredients

 

    1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
    6 yolks
    1 tbsp milk
    1.5 tsp olive oil
    3 tbsp reserved lentils pulsed until finely ground

 

Instructions

 

Combine all ingredients and work till smooth, and have developed a little elasticity. Let rest for 2 to 3 hours.
The Filling

 

Ingredients

 

    1 cup of each roasted mushrooms (we use trumpets, chanterelles, morel, oyster)
    1 tbsp unsalted butter
    1 minced shallot
    8 oz butter
    4 large shallots
    5 cloves garlic
    2 tbsp dried green peppercorns crushed
    3 bay leaves
    4 tbsp thyme picked
    Zest and juice of one (1) lemon
    ½ cup of each ricotta, parmesan reggiano, goat cheese

 

Instructions

 

Sauté the mushrooms in a tbsp of butter with the minced shallot until soft but not browned. Reserve.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining butter and sweat the shallots and garlic.

Combine everything in a food processer and pulse to combine. Check and correct seasoning.

Make and fill the ravioli.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook the ravioli for 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile:

Add cooked lentils to the broth and reheat till piping hot.

Place ravioli (about 5 per serving) in warmed soup bowls and ladle on the broth.

Garnish with sautéed mushrooms or some fresh herbs.

 

Chef Part's  - The Great Canadian Beluga Lentil Burger - A Whale of a Burger

 

Ingredients

  
    2 cups cooked black Beluga lentils
    ½ cup cooked split red lentils
    ½ cup cooked split yellow lentils
    1 onion chopped
    2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
    2 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
    2 tbsp green chillies, finely chopped
    1 tbsp canola oil
    1 tsp each of freshly roasted and ground cumin seed, fennel seed, and coriander seed
    ¼ cup black lentil flour (can be made by grinding dry black Beluga lentils in a coffee grinder)
    1/3 cup chopped pecans
    1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
    1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
    1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
    ¾ tbsp lime zest
    Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Instructions

 

 To cook the lentils - rinse the lentils in water, keeping the black lentils separate from the red and yellow. Place the red and yellow lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until tender - about 10 minutes. Do the same with the black lentils - they will take a little longer to cook to tender - about 15 minutes. Drain well. Mash or process the red and yellow lentils to a paste. Leave the black lentils whole. Reserve.

To make the burgers begin by roasting the spices. In a dry skillet, over medium heat, roast the spices until fragrant. Immediately remove from heat and grind finely. Gently sauté the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies in the oil until soft, add spices and sauté a further 5 minutes.

Stir in the black lentil flour. Stir in red and yellow lentil paste and the whole cooked beluga lentils.

Remove from heat. When cool stir in the pecans, apricots, fresh coriander, basil, lime zest, and the salt and pepper to taste.

Shape into patties and cook on a hot oiled grill pan, five minutes per side or until golden.

Place in a multigrain flatbread bun with sliced cucumber, avacado, tomato, red onion and a few spinach leaves tossed in plain yogourt. A spoonful of spicy red pepper jelly or sweet lime pickle would also be delicious spooned on top of the burger. Chomp into burger heaven - mmmmm!

This week over at ZenKitchen, Chef Caroline Ishii has been dunking her hands into a big bin full of water and fresh fiddleheads. 30 pounds of them!  Caroline joined Alan in studio to share some ideas for cooking these curled up ferns. She also told Alan about how ZenKitchen has been paired with artist Timothy Hunt for Chinatown Remixed, which has its Grand Opening this Saturday!

 

Chef Ishii's Fiddlehead Ferns with Sesame-Miso Dressing:

Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups fiddleheads submerged in cold water

2 tablespoons ground sesame seeds

2 tablespoons organic fair trade sugar

1 tablespoon sake

2 tablespoons miso

1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Garnish: whole sesame seeds dry-roasted

 

Directions:

 

1. Drain and trim away any discoloured parts and the stalks if longer than 1 inch. Rinse in cold water and drain.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add the fiddleheads and blanch for a few minutes. Drain the fiddleheads, shock them in cold water and set aside.

3. Toast the sesame seeds quickly in a dry pan until they are fragrant and start to pop but watch that they don't burn. Cool the sesame seeds. To grind the sesame seeds, use a Japanese suribachi or spice mill.

4. To the ground sesame seeds, add the miso, sugar, sake and lemon juice, combining thoroughly. Adjust seasonings to taste.

5. In a bowl, gently toss the fiddleheads with the sauce to evenly coat with the drssing. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with whole sesame seeds, dry toasted.

 

Listen to the whole interview here:

That's Hank and Vera Jones standing under the boughs of a Black Walnut tree in the Dominion Arboretum. The Constance Bay couple are nuts about nut trees. And on Saturday at 2 p.m., Hank's leading a Jane's Walk called, "Edible Nut Trees of the Dominion Arboretum."  Hank and Vera took Alan on a walk-about and shared their recipe for Canadian Black Walnut Tourtiére.

 

Canadian Black Walnut Tourtiére

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground California walnuts
1 tsp. each: granulated sugar and salt
1 cup cold shortening, cubed
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup ice water
1 ea. egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 ea. potatoes, unpeeled
2 lb. lean ground pork
1 tbsp. (15 ml) canola oil
2 ea. onions, chopped
2 ea. celery stalks, chopped
2 ea. cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. ea.: salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup chopped roasted California walnuts
1/4 cup Canada wild black walnuts

Method:

 

1. Walnut Pastry: In food processor, blend together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup ground California walnuts, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. salt. Scatter shortening pieces over flour mixture. Pulse just until the dough resembles large peas. Drizzle ice water over mixture. Pulse until no dry patches remain and dough begins to clump. If too dry, add up to 2 tbsp. water and pulse again. Divide into two pieces and flatten into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 1 hour and up to 2 days.

2. Filling: Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, let cool. Peel and shred with a grater. Set aside. In large skillet, brown pork over medium-high heat. Drain. Set aside. In same skillet, heat canola oil and cook onions, celery stalks, minced garlic, 1 tbsp. thyme, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. cloves and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add chicken stock, potatoes and pork back to pan. Bring to boil and cook until sauce has thickened slightly. Roast the Califonia walnuts (but not the black walnuts) in a skillet. Sprinkle in parsley and chopped walnuts. Let cool.

3. Putting it all together: For pie base, roll out dough to about 1/4" thick on a lightly floured surface to a 13" circle and fit into a deep-dish, 10" diameter pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes. For pie top, roll out remaining pastry to same size and refrigerate on a parchment-lined baking sheet until ready to use.

4. Brush chilled pie shell with yolk. Spread pork mixture into crust. Cover with remaining pastry. Firmly pinch edges of both crusts to seal.  Trim the doubled edge and crimp as desired. Use a sharp knife to make ventilation holes in the top crust and brush lightly with remaining yolk (mixed with 1 tbsp. water if desired).

5. Bake in a 375 F oven about 45 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is piping hot. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Serves eight.