October 29th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

The weather has turned quite brisk and with the seasons’ harvest of root vegetables, I’ve had soup on the brain. I picked up a handful of Jerusalem artichokes earlier this week and decided to treat myself to a velvety bowl of soup for lunch. Jerusalem artichokes are nothing like the prickly globe artichokes. These are tubers from a type of sunflower, are closer in taste and texture to potatoes and have the appearance of knobby ginger root.

Vegetable puree soups are one of the easiest things to make. Most recipes follow a similar cooking method which is to sautee some aromatics in a pot, usually diced onions, until translucent. Then add whatever vegetable you’re using that’s been cut up into small uniform pieces (so they cook evenly) such as carrots, butternut squash, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, and sautee for a few minutes. (TIP: The smaller you dice your vegetables the less time they have to simmer.)

Then add some herbs, spices or other flavourings like ginger or cinnamon. Pour in some chicken (or vegetable) stock just to cover the sauteed vegetables. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer until the vegetables are soft. I then puree the whole mixture in a blender or with a hand blender directly into the pot, which is so much easier for clean up. I then add seasonings, salt and pepper to taste and an optional addition of heavy cream depending on your preference. Cream is not necessary but it adds a lusciousness to some types of soups. Too much cream and your soup will be ruined because pureed soups have such a delicate vegetable flavour.

I like to add a flourish with some toppings to finish off my soup. Here you can get a little creative. For the Jerusalem artichoke soup, I like to top it with some prosciutto crisps and a sprinkling of chives. Beet soups or cabbage soup call for a dollop of sour cream that gives it an Eastern European flair. Broccoli or cauliflower soup work really well with a dash of hot pepper sauce and some grated sharp cheddar. Be creative and have fun with your soup. It’s a great way to enjoy your vegetables on a bitter cold day and here in Toronto, we’re sure to have many more chilly nights ahead.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

1 lb of Jerusalem artichokes

1 small potato

1 onion

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

2 cups of chicken stock

3 Tbsp heavy cream

salt and pepper

Peel and dice the Jerusalem artichokes and potato. Have a bowl of cold water handy with a squeeze of lemon juice in it and drop the diced artichokes and potatoes into the bowl to prevent discolouration. Dice the onion. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high and sautee the onions about 5 minutes until translucent. Be careful not to brown the onions.

Drain the artichokes and potatoes and add them to the pot with the onions. Add the bay leaf. Sautee for 2 minutes. Add the stock. The stock should just cover the vegetables. If not, add more stock or some water to cover. Bring to a boil then lower to simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

When the vegetables are ready, remove the pot from the stove. Remove the bay leaf and using an immersion hand blender, whizz the vegetables right in the pot until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You may wish to blend in a few tablespoons of heavy cream. I use no more than 3 tablespoons for this soup as Jerusalem artichokes have a delicate flavour and the taste can be easily overwhelmed by the cream. You can also skip the cream altogether to keep this vegetarian (of course using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock). Serve topped with prosciutto crisps and some chive snippings.

Prosciutto Crisps

Super easy to make. I use one slice of prosciutto per serving. Heat a few droplets of olive oil in a pan on medium high just to lightly coat the pan. Add the prosciutto slices and cook until brown a minute or two and then flip to brown the other side. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil. The prosciutto will crisp up as it cools. You can then crumble it with your fingers and use as a topping for soups or salads. If you prefer uniformly sliced prosciutto crisps just cut them into slices of your desired thickness before you drop them into your hot pan. Alternatively you can also broil prosciutto slices on a cookie sheet in an oven, if you prefer not to fry them, but I personally can’t justify heating up my whole oven to make prosciutto crisps in order to avoid a few drops of oil.

October 19th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

I haven’t heard anyone use the old adage “a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” in ages but it seems to me that this is also the way to his philanthropic soul. Food-related charity events are quite a trend for non-profits to raise funds and I couldn’t be happier about this.

Events such as Feast For The Fight, a program that my friend Crystal has been helping to promote, is a dining event where host restaurants will donate a portion of their sales from the day to the Canadian Cancer Society. Events like Feast For The Fight allow you to contribute to a good cause by doing nothing more than what you might do on any given Wednesday, having a bite to eat and a few beers somewhere local. Here’s a list of the restaurants participating in tonight’s Feast For The Fight fundraiser. You’ll find me at one of them.

This event goes right alongside the latest book I’ve been reading, Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbable Restaurant by Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz. First off, one of the guiding principles of Mission Street Food, as set by Myint and Leibowitz, was to build a restaurant business model with a charitable component. On page 63 of their book, you’ll find them discussing the “Benevolent Business” and whether the benefits outweigh the costs. At the end of the day they seem to conclude that it doesn’t matter to them and continued to give money away with the opening of their next three restaurants. If all it takes to be charitable these days is to eat, then count me in. I do it (eat) at least three times a day so why shouldn’t someone benefit from my gluttony.

For a similar reason to why I loved David Chang’s magazine, Lucky Peach, Mission Street Food reads like an artful stream of consciousness, documenting their business wins and woes in a unique and intriguingly arranged cookbook of sorts that’s actually part memories, part cookbook, part kitchen confidential and lots of fun. I suppose, I could learn to be philanthropic, like the theme of tonight’s Feast For The Fight dining event, but this is one book that I will not share with others. Get your own copy.

October 14th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

I’m trying to expand my repertoire and take on new dishes that I felt were a challenge in the past. My post on gnocchi was the beginning and in between I’ve reunited myself with crème brûlée, which isn’t really hard at all once you understand how a bain marie and a kitchen torch works.

Next I decided to try using salt cod. Salt cod has been used in recipes for hundreds of years. Essentially the cod is dried and salted to extend it’s shelf-life. Many cultures have recipes that use salt cod including bacahlau famous in Portugal and Spain, ackee and saltfish in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, and in Northern Europe, parts of Africa and all over China. In fact China uses this preservation method for many types of seafood including mussels and oysters and too many types of fish to list to here. Check out this blogger’s post for a varied list of Chinese dried fish products complete with great photos.

Now back to the cod. Cod has been fished off the shores of Atlantic Canada specifically Newfoundland for hundreds of years but overfishing has created a dent in supply that may never be recovered. Other white fish can be found using the same dried and salted preservation method and depending on your recipe, makes a fine substitute.

One thing I’ve heard about working with salt cod is that cooking with them takes a long time. What should be clarified is that the time is really in the prep in order to desalt the cod. You have to put the salt cod in a large bowl of cold water at least 24 hours in advance, and change the water regularly, every few hours, in order to rid the fish of the excess salt. There will still be saltiness left in the fish after a day which brings me to my next important point. Don’t add additional salt to your recipes until you’ve tasted the near-final product, otherwise you might end up with an inedible dish. More likely than not, you won’t need any.

My recipe is shown below for salt cod cakes. I’m not a huge fan in general of crab cakes or fish cakes but my sons are and if it vouches for anything, Cole ate three of them in one sitting.

Salt Cod Cakes

1 lb salted cod fish

2 cups of milk

2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed

1 large or 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in quarters (Russet potatoes also work as you’re essentially making mashed potatoes to mix with the desalted cod)

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 small onion, diced

freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup of flour (1/2 cup for cod cake mixture, 1/2 cup reserved for dusting form cod cakes)

1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola, olive oil or grape seed oil are all fine to use)

A day in advance, place the salt cod in a large bowl of cold water. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Every few hours change the water and replace with fresh, cold water. The next day, drain the salt cod and cut into fillets (if they are not already cut up or in pieces) just small enough to fit into your saucepan. Heat milk in the saucepan and add the garlic. When the milk nears boiling add the salt cod fillets and reduce heat to low to simmer for 20 minutes. In a separate pot filled with water, add the potatoes and boil on high until the potatoes are cooked (test with a kitchen knife and when the potatoes slide right off the knife when poked, they’re ready). The potatoes and fish should be ready around the same time. Drain both the fish and potatoes and allow them to cool.

Once cooled, place the potatoes into a large mixing bowl and give them a rough mash. Gently flake the fish into the bowl and add the Old Bay seasoning, egg, grindings of pepper, onion and 1/2 cup of flour and mix until evenly combined. Form the cod cake mixture into hockey puck-sized patties and dust with flour on both sides before setting the formed patties onto a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight so the cod cakes have a chance to set up. This is an important step so the cod cakes don’t fall apart when you cook them, however, you can sneak one or two to fry at this point if you really can’t wait.

To fry the cod cakes, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cod cakes in batches until they are golden brown on both sides about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with wedges of lemon and tartar sauce, if you wish.

October 5th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

It’s not easy to know all the protocols of other cultures and even if you do sometimes you just forget to follow them. I’ve made a few memorable flubs in past years. I remember one night baking several Quiche Lorraine tarts for the school day care only to discover that they were never served. Apparently, ham is a banned substance as some kids aren’t allowed to have pork for religious reasons. Of course once they said this I got it, but I definitely wasn’t thinking this when I was pouring cheesy ham quiche fillings into tiny tart tins well into the wee hours. I was just thinking finished!! The caregivers took them home so some tummies did luck out. I feel bad for those pork-less kids. But I did learn a valuable lesson and that is don’t bother making treats for school in this environment of pork-offended, nut-less, gluten-free, lactose-intolerant diets.

Vegetarians and I don’t really mix either but I will tolerate their idiosyncrasies as long as they don’t mind me gnawing on some ribs or sucking the marrow out of a bone. And ever since the quiche debacle, I’ve been pretty good with kiddie birthday parties, remembering to order cheese pizzas for the veg heads. (Most little kids don’t like green stuff on their pizza so cheese is really the only way to go. They can go home and have a balanced meal later.)

I think my most embarrassing faux pas was at Julian’s Grade 6 graduation last year. We still talk about it and I cringe whenever anyone brings it up. I figure exposure therapy will help me get over this so I’m sharing it here. It was an emotional ceremony for me. Julian had won an award for outstanding academic achievement and I was more than the proud mom. I also knew that these would be the last days he would get to hang out with this wonderful group of friends, as he was the only one accepted to his new school.

After the final performance, a choir recital of “To Sir With Love” suggested by another student’s dad, Mohammed, affectionately called “Mo” by the kids in the school, I turned to him and gave him a hug. Arms clenched by his side and back stiffening, I only realized then that I was hugging a devout Muslim. Eek! I released my embrace as gracefully and quickly as I could and Mo, ever the gentleman, laughed it off however ill at ease. His lovely wife donning the traditional head scarf/veil, darted her eyes at me askance. Imagine me shrinking. I wished I could have then.

Sadly this will be what I think of most when recalling that beautiful graduation ceremony and I will surely be the butt of “remember when” jokes for years to come with my boys. I’ll be signing up for cultural sensitivity lessons any day now.