Recipes from Terra Madre Day 2014

Thank you to everyone who joined us in December for our annual Terra Madre Day! The feast and the company were both delicious. We wanted to share a few recipes from the tasty dishes we served that evening. Enjoy
~ Slow Food Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands

Albacore Tuna Rolls

Dr. John Volpe, School of Environmental Studies

The tuna rolls are found everywhere throughout Polynesia, Asian and SE Asia, each with regionally inspired tweaks in prep, batter and sauces. These are Japanese via Hawaii rolls… ;) The rolls are visually colourful and textually diverse but the secret is the overall simplicity allowing the tuna - only slightly cooked and raw in the very middle - to remain the focus. Unlike most of the world's tuna rolls, we in BC / PNW have ample access to tuna (albacore) sustainably caught by pole or troll (reject all long-line caught tuna) from healthy local populations Seachoice | Seafood Watch

Special thanks to Cowichan Bay Seafood Store for supplying the tuna for the Terra Madre event! 

Overview

Prepare wasabi-spiked soy sauce paste, tempura batter components and sauces first
Brush tuna loin with wasabi-spiked soy sauce paste
Wrap in nori sheet
Dip in ice-cold tempura batter and fry
Slice and serve immediately on bed of baby greens drizzled with wasabi-mayo and Asian chili sauce

Tempura

3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
black pepper to taste
2 large ice cubes
The key to crispy, light tempura is to have the batter ice cold prior to frying. Therefore combine wet and dry ingredients (except ice cubes) in two separate bowls, place in freezer (or fridge for longer term) until ready.

Tuna

1 troll or pole-caught BC albacore tuna loin (1-2lb) (thawed but in fridge until needed)
Paste:
2 Tbls soy sauce
2 Tbls wasabi paste
2 Tbls water
to make a paste and brush onto loin

Garnish Sauces 

i) wasabi mayonaise
1/4 C mayonaise
11/2 Tbls soy sauce
1 Tbls fresh lime juice

ii) Asian Chili Sauce
Store bought Sriracha is fine. My favourite (and what was served at the Hudson) is Thai sweet chili sauce spiked with Frank's Red Hot. Anything that will add a bit of heat to cut the batter and a tiny bit of fruit to pop the tuna will work.

Process

• Heat a large fry pan with ~1" high smoke point, neutral oil 
• Brush loin with wasabi-soy paste 
• Cut loin into two shorter lengths so easier to handle. Loins should now be roughly the same width as the shorter edge of the nori sheet. 
• Lay nori on countertop and place loin at one end, roll and seal trailing nori edge with water or paste (ends remain open)
• Remove tempura ingredients from freezer, combine dry and wet ingredients and add ice cubes, stir. Batter should have consistency similar to papier mâché 
• Using tongs, dip each tuna roll ensuring complete coverage by batter
• Oil temperature should be 350 degF/180 degC (or bread should brown in 15 seconds)
• Fry rolls one at a time in oil (rolls are fine to sit in tempura batter for a few minutes). 
• Turn rolls occasionally during cooking to evenly brown batter. Maximum cooking time is ~ 2 min. Batter should be light golden and crispy while centre of tuna loin remains near raw (sashimi-like). 
• Adjust cooking time for different sized (thickness) rolls. For instance, if you make smaller rolls to accommodate a smaller fry pan, reduce the cooking time. In all cases, as soon as tempura is light gold in colour, remove the roll (undercooking the tuna is far preferable to over)
• Slice into thick discs and arrange on serving platter atop a bed of young greens (frisée, arugula, mizuna, escarole, baby beet greens … whatever permutation you like)
• Rein in your inner Jaskson Pollock and conservatively drizzle the two sauces in contrasting styles in whatever way is visually pleasing (a pattern of ribbons of Asian chili and dots wasabi mayo  - anything that does not resemble a shotgun blast) 
• Serve immediately and enjoy 

Note:You will need a large fry pan for two reasons; i) a large oil:roll ratio ensures the oil doesn't cool excessively when rolls are added, ensuring the tempura comes out light and airy. If the size of the roll overwhelms the oil, the oil will cool and the tempura will absorb oil resulting in soggy, greasy batter. ii) when the rolls hit the oil, the oil will temporarily foam and expand significantly so having a good bit of extra volume in the pan to accommodate this is essential. Both these points hold for any deep frying (e.g. frites etc.) 

Root Vegetable Soup

Brooke Fader & Oliver Kienast, Wild Mountain 

Brooke: As a chef’s wife, I do a lot of cooking, which is messy, like this recipe for soup… 

Look in the fridge and pantry and gather all root vegetables you can find, but not potatoes (which would make the soup texture grainy). For the event, I had celery root, rutabagas, parsnips, small white “hakuri” turnips, carrots, and some leftover roasted butternut squash. I found some onions, garlic and apples too. The great thing about a blended soup is you don’t have to make sure you are chopping all the vegetables nicely.

Soup

2 medium onions

2 large cloves garlic

½ large celery root

1 large rutabaga

2 medium parsnips

2 small apples

4 medium carrots

½ roasted butternut squash

In a large sauce pan, sauté your onions with vegetable oil. Add your garlic and then the rest of the vegetables. Allow to simmer for a moment and then add cold water until the vegetables are covered. If you have some white wine, deglaze first. Bay leaves are always good. Cover and turn down. Cook until vegetables are soft. Cool, blend, and pass through a sieve twice for a lovely texture. Reheat and season to taste with Vancouver Island sea salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar. Garnish with fresh slaw.

Slaw

apple

hakuri turnip

walnuts

walnut oil

parsley

salt

This is where you show off your knife skills. Chop it up nice and small.

Beer Braised Brisket & Kimchi on Savoury Nodding Onion Pancake

Brooke Fader & Oliver Kienast, Wild Mountain 

A note from Brooke: I really like this recipe because it is super delicious and employs preservation techniques (kimchi) and a tough cut of meat (brisket). It’s inspired by a Korean dish, but using local ingredients; a fine example of the inclusiveness of Canadian West Coast cuisine!

Kimchi

I like to ferment foods, and I made some kimchi for the event that Oliver served on his brisket. This is where I must refer you to Sandor Ellix Katz and his book the Art of Fermentation for simple directions and explanations. I encourage everyone to try fermenting their own foods. On top of digestive benefits, fermenting is a great way to preserve the harvest and add unique flavour to your cuisine. My kimchi for the event was made up of carrots, hakuri turnips, daikon, fennel, napa cabbage, chilis, garlic, leeks and ginger. 

Beer Braised Brisket

2 cups local dark beer

2 leaves fresh bay

½ tsp. toasted black peppercorns

1 litre strong beef stock*

1 large carrot

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

½ cup diced celery root

small bundle fresh thyme

2 lb. Ravenstone Farms brisket, grass-fed and island raised

• In a pot, ring everything except brisket to a simmer and skim top.
• Salt well and sear the brisket in a smoking hot pan on all sides until golden brown.
• Deglaze pan with a ladle of braising jus.
• Add brisket to pot with drippings, cover and bake in a 300 degree oven for 3-4 hours until tender.
• Let cool 20-30 minutes.
• Remove meat and strain jus.
• Combine jus and meat, cover and refrigerate over night.
• Next day, heat until jus is warm and then remove the meat.
• Reduce the jus until tasty and slightly think.
• Shred the meat and return to the reduced jus.

* use homemade beef stock or Ravenstone beef stock… mass produced stocks, even organic ones, can taste of dirty dish water.

Savoury Nodding Onion Pancake

1 cup flour (sifted Red Fife Wheat is best)

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ cup milk

½ cup yogurt 

(or substitute milk AND yogurt for 1 cup buttermilk)

1 egg

2 tblsp. nodding onion (chive or scallions work well too)

good pinch of fresh ground black pepper

• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Whisk wet ingredients separately and then add to dry, stirring only briefly until barely incorporated.
• Let sit 10 minutes.
• Cook like mini pancakes in a cast iron pan.

To serve: mini pancake + brisket + kimchi! Enjoy with friends.

Cocktail Recipes

Ampersand Distillery

Ampersand is a fantastic addition to our food and beverage community. Their craft gin from Cowichan Valley is incredibly nuanced and floral, I really like to let the botanicals shine through.

Ampersand Gin Flip

2 oz Ampersand Gin

1 oz local honey syrup

1 fresh egg

½ oz heavy cream

Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into a chilled glass.
Can also be served warm - mix in a pan over heat and serve in a tempered glass or mug.

Brooke’s Gin Fizz

2 oz Ampersand Gin

2 oz. quince syrup*

Pour over ice and top with some sparkling water.
Garnish with flowering mint sprig.

* Quince is a hard fruit. Drop whole into boiling water to remove fuzz, like with peaches. Remove and chop, discarding seeds and stems. Put quince in a sauce pan with enough cold water to cover fruit. Bring to a boil and simmer. Cool, strain and return to pan. Add sugar to taste.

Thanks to the other participants from Terra Madre day
who shared their original ingredients & knowledge with us!

David Mincey's Chocolate Project 

Silk Road Tea 

The Whole Beast Artisan Salumeria

Ravenstone Farm and Butcher Shop 

Fol Epi 

Unsworth Vineyard

Moonstruck Cheese