8/11/2019 Chef's Tips Culinaire Magazine September 2012 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/chefs-tips-culinaire-magazine-september-2012 1/4 CHARCUT While a restaurant known for its rotisserie meats might not be the rst place that pops into your mind when you think of vegetables, John Jackson and Connie DeSousa of CHARCUT Roast House prove their talents are not limited to cooking meat. CHARCUT’s menu features in- season vegetables, with produce from local farms in Innisfail and fruit from the Okanagan. Jackson suggests trying to avoid overcomplicating vegetable dishes. “Let the natural avours shine. It is about simplicity and showcasing them to their fullest. Example dishes would be our Poplar Bluff potatoes and heirloom carrots slow roasted in the pan drippings from our smoker rotisserie. Or to simply toss black kale with a little olive oil and sea salt then roast until slightly crisp. This served with a slow cooked egg and preserve lemon is delicious!” CHEF’S TIP: “When cleaning artichokes use a peeler as Connie did on Top Chef Canada. That is how she won the challenge. It curves better than any paring knife and is super accurate.” While our city will probably never slap “I LOVE ALBERTA PARSNIPS” on the bumpers of its pick-up trucks, Calgary’s “Cowtown” reputation hasn’t stopped chefs from embracing vegetables in their cooking. These chefs prove that properly prepared vegetables can be as juicy and avourful as the hunk of steak on your plate, and that there are no limits to taste when vegetables are the main dish. We’ve asked local chefs who thrive at working with vegetables for their best tips on preparing and cooking them. Chef’s Tips story and photos by Silvia Pikal I :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Transcript
8/11/2019 Chef's Tips Culinaire Magazine September 2012
While a restaurant known for its rotisserie meats might not be therst place that pops into your mind when you think of vegetables, John
Jackson and Connie DeSousa of CHARCUT Roast House prove theirtalents are not limited to cooking meat. CHARCUT’s menu features in-season vegetables, with produce from local farms in Innisfail and fruitfrom the Okanagan.
Jackson suggests trying to avoid overcomplicating vegetable dishes.“Let the natural avours shine. It is about simplicity and showcasingthem to their fullest. Example dishes would be our Poplar Bluffpotatoes and heirloom carrots slow roasted in the pan drippings fromour smoker rotisserie. Or to simply toss black kale with a little oliveoil and sea salt then roast until slightly crisp. This served with a slowcooked egg and preserve lemon is delicious!”
CHEF’S TIP: “When cleaning artichokes use a peeler as Connie didon Top Chef Canada. That is how she won the challenge. It curvesbetter than any paring knife and is super accurate.”
While our city will probably never slap “I LOVE ALBERTA PARSNIPS” on the bumpers of itspick-up trucks, Calgary’s “Cowtown” reputation hasn’t stopped chefs from embracingvegetables in their cooking. These chefs prove that properly prepared vegetables can beas juicy and avourful as the hunk of steak on your plate, and that there are no limits totaste when vegetables are the main dish. We’ve asked local chefs who thrive at workingwith vegetables for their best tips on preparing and cooking them.
Ev Foley, chef and kitchen manager of The Coup, studied at theCulinary Institute at Vancouver Island University. Her passion for foodbegan at an early age.
“I have loved food and cooking ever since I can remember,” Foley said.“My mother always made vegetarian fare from Moosewood and Laurel’skitchen cookbooks. There was always amazing food on our table. At 13I gravitated towards trouble, so I cooked for my family to get out of beinggrounded! It always worked!”
The Coup’s eclectic menu relies on local vegetables to providefreshness and avour, which includes bringing in products from Leaf andLyre, an urban gardening project.
“It keeps us on our toes because we don’t know what will turn up in ourorder. It’s loads of fun and we can create some quality food with theseproducts. There are so many intriguing, bountiful gardens, greenhousesand farms around us. I encourage people to explore their local growers!”
CHEF’s TIP: “Roast lovely local peppers. They are too easy to prepareand these simple vegetables give your dish rich colour, sweet texture and
avourful depth!”
2 peppers (red or yellow)125 mL (1/2 cup) sundried tomatoes (in oil)750 mL (3 cups) toasted cashews60 mL (4 Tbs) local basil15 mL (1 Tbs) curry powder 2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) tandoori masala1.25 mL (1/4 tsp) cayenne powder 125 mL (1/2 cup) sundried tomato oil2 garlic clovesSalt to taste
1. Cut in half and deseed local organic peppers. Flatten thepeppers with your palm - give them a good squish!
2. Broil on high for 25 minutes on the top oven rack.
3. Place in an airtight container for at least 30 minutes, or until coolthen peel - the skin will fall right off!
4. While peppers are in the oven, process garlic rst in a foodprocessor and add all other ingredients. Leave a little bit chunky.It is great on everything, from a sandwich spread, pasta sauce, orwrap it up in grilled eggplant slices!
Try pairing this dish with:Poggerino Il Labirinto from Italy $21-$24
Domaine du Bourdieu Rosé from France $19-$20
Phillips Hop Circle from Victoria B.C. (6 x 341 mL) $12-$13
Roasted Pepper Cashew PestoServes 6
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8/11/2019 Chef's Tips Culinaire Magazine September 2012
Glory of India chef and owner Jassie Bakhshi trained at the CulinaryInstitute of America and lived in 56 cities in nine countries beforesettling in Calgary. He opened Glory of India in 2002, bringing his worldexperience and infectious enthusiasm for Indian cuisine to Calgarians.
He admits that his restaurant is better known for its butter chicken,but gives the same attention to vegetables in his Delhi-style menu. Thevegetarian section boasts such dishes as clay oven roasted eggplants,and vegetable dumplings with paneer cooked in a rich almond andcashew gravy.
“We work for food, but we often don’t pay attention to what we areeating,” Bakhshi said. “It’s important to put your love and passion intoyour food.”
CHEF’s TIP: “Pakoras will turn out crispier if a little corn our is addedto the chickpea our while preparing the batter. Don’t follow the recipeline by line. Use your instinct and change it to what you like. It’s yourfood; eat it in your style.”
240 mL (1 cup) chickpea four 30 mL (2 Tbs) oil5 mL (1 tsp) ground cumin5 mL (1 tsp) coarse coriander seeds5 mL (1 tsp) ginger and garlic paste7 mL (1 1/2 tsp) saltPinch baking soda1-2 green chillies, chopped120 mL (1/2 cup) water 1 potato
1 small caulifower (or your favourite vegetables)
Oil to fryPinch Chaat masala, optional
1. Mix together our, ginger and garlic paste, cumin, coriander,oil, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and mix with water untilthe batter is thick and not too runny.
2. Dip vegetables in batter and fry in 350º F hot oil for 2-3minutes until golden brown.
3. Sprinkle chaat masala on top of pakoras and serve withketchup or mint chutney.
*(Chaat masala is available at Silk Road Spice Merchant in Inglewood)
Try pairing this dish with:Joseph Drouhin Laforet from France $19-$20 Graham Beck Brut from South Africa $26-$28
Erdinger Weissbier (500 mL) $3-$4
Vegetable PakorasServes 4
22 CULINAIREMA GAZINE.CA ● SEPTEMBER 2012
8/11/2019 Chef's Tips Culinaire Magazine September 2012
Recognizing a demand for vegetarian and gluten-free food inCalgary, gratitude café chef and owner Kristi Reich created a menuthat caters to a diverse clientele. Dishes like cashew french toast, rawMexican enchilada lettuce cups and gluten-free rustic thin crust pizzaoffer a twist on familiar foods.
Everything at gratitude café is made from scratch, and the kitchentakes advantage of Calgary’s organic markets to create a daily soup.
“When you work with all types of veggies there is no wrong answer.No matter what kind of dish you are making, all veggies go togetherand it will always work out perfectly as long as you focus on the properherbs and spices!”
CHEF’s TIP: “I recommend that you wrap everything in “leaves”and learn how to sprout. It is an awesome and healthy way to ingesta delicious assortment of living foods. Wrapping your food in greenleaves is a great alternative to bread and the creative ideas for the
llings are endless!”
2 leaves of kale, collards or swiss chard30 mL (2 Tbs) guacamole30 mL (2 Tbs) nut butter 10 mL (2 tsp) hemp seeds2 sheets of nori paper, shredded120 mL (1/2 cup) sprouted quinoa, lentils or beansVegetables of your choice
1. Pick up some collards, swiss chard, butter lettuce or kale leavesas your “shell.”
2. Layer with ingredients and roll up.
Try pairing this dish with:Vignoble Barron Lucky Bug from France $18-$20
Winery Guy Chaumont Givry Chardonnay from France $24-$26
Wild Rose Brewery WRaspberry Ale (6 x 341 mL) $12-$13
