A Recipe for Indulgence

by Mary Bailey

For 15 years, Indulgence, a Canadian epic of food and wine has introduced local farmers to local chefs to create long-term business relationships as well as introducing both to fine VQA wine and regional craft beers. In addition to its key role in fostering our unique prairie gastronomy, Indulgence raises funds for children’s programs by The Junior League of Edmonton (over $100,000 to date) and the Indulgence Slow Food Bursary for NAIT Culinary students.

Ampersand 27, Sun Works Farm, Red Rooster Winery

Chicken Galantine with Char Siu Sauce and Charred Scallion Aioli
Red Rooster Hen House White

Nathin Bye, executive chef, Ampersand 27
A galantine is a traditional French charcuterie technique, deboned chicken stuffed with a ground chicken mixture and cooked, offering two textures and an elegant presentation. Ampersand’s had a subtle Asian flavour and was the hit of the night, garnering the people’s choice award.

Chicken Galantine

2 large chicken legs
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, ground (or equivalent ground chicken, approx 500 gm)
¼ c minced shallot 1 t minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced splash Chinese cooking wine 1 T hoisin sauce
1 beaten egg
salt and pepper

In a pan, sweat the shallot, ginger and garlic, then deglaze the pan with the cooking wine. Set aside to cool. Debone the chicken legs and lay them flat skin side down. Season. In a bowl combine the cooled onion mixture, ground chicken, egg and hoisin sauce. Mix with your hands until well combined. Form this mix into logs the length of the chicken legs and about 1.5 inches in diameter. Place the ground chicken logs on to the deboned chicken leg and roll the leg around the log. Using plastic wrap tightly wrap both of the chicken galantines at least ten times and twist the ends tightly. Secure both ends of each log with string to lock out any moisture. Poach the logs in simmering water until registering an internal temperature of 165 F. Cool. Unwrap the galantines, pat with paper towel and slice. Serve with drizzled char siu sauce and the aioli.

Char Siu Sauce

½ c light soy sauce
5 T ketchup
3 T honey
3 T demerara sugar
splash Chinese cooking wine
1 T hoisin sauce
pinch 5 spice powder
pinch ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepot and simmer over medium heat until thick. Let cool.

Charred Scallion Aioli

1 bunch scallions
¼ c mirin
¼ c soy sauce
½ c good quality mayonnaise
1 T sesame oil

Char scallions on the barbecue or over high heat on a grill. Let cool. In a small saucepot combine mirin and soy sauce, reduce by half. Let cool. In a food processor or blender combine mayonnaise, sesame oil, charred onion and mirin mixture. Blend until smooth.

Royal Glenora Club, Cedar Creek Estate Winery, Vesta Gardens

Moose Wood Acres Duck with Vesta Gardens Spring Greens
Cedar Creek Estate Riesling

Steve Buzak, executive chef, director food and beverage, Royal Glenora Club

The rillette was served with a splash of colour from early spring pea greens, French breakfast radishes, dandelion blossoms, cattail hearts and asparagus pickle, finished with a dusting of fleur de sel and paired with Cedar Creek Estate Riesling.

Duck Rillette

1 4 lb whole duck
¼ c finely chopped thyme, plus 4 sprigs
¼ c kosher salt, plus more to taste

Ingredients B

4 T ground ginger
8 c duck or chicken stock
1 T whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed, plus
freshly ground to taste
10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
4 bay leaves
1 fennel sliced
2 orange wedges
4 star anise
2 T coriander seeds
4 cardamon pods

Ingredients C

1 piece ginger, about 2 inches, peeled and thinly
sliced
⅓ c brandy
⅓ c finely chopped parsley
¼ c grated orange zest
⅛ t ground cloves
duck fat
salt and pepper

Place duck on a baking sheet. Rub with finely chopped thyme, salt, and ginger. Cover with plastic wrap; chill for 6 hours. Shake and rub off excess spice mixture from duck and transfer to a large (8L) pot. Add ingredients B (ginger, stock, peppercorns, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, fennel, orange, star anise, coriander seeds, cardamom pods) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered slightly, until meat is very tender, about 2 hours.

Remove from heat and let cool in the pan until room temperature; cover and chill overnight.

The next day scrape solidified fat from the top and set aside. Remove meat from the bone discarding the skin and bones. Strain and reserve 1⁄4 cup stock; save remaining stock for future use. Transfer meat to a standing mixer. Add stock and ingredients C (ginger, brandy, parsley, orange zest, cloves)
Mix on low speed adding some of the reserved duck fat if desired.

Underseason slightly as the dish will be finished with fleur de sel.

To store: Tightly pack rillette into mason jars. Melt reserved fat plus 1 cup duck fat in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat; pour over rillettes to cover. Keeps refrigerated under the fat cover for up to 2 weeks.

To serve: Push fat aside, garnish with cornichons or pickled vegetables.

Kitchen By Brad, Irving’s Farm Fresh, Benjamin Bridge

Bubbles and Balls
Benjamin Bridge Brut Methode Classique

Chef Brad Smoliak, Kitchen by Brad
Irving’s farm fresh bacon and ground pork mixed with cabbage and rice, rolled into a ball and simmered in tomato sauce and paired with Benjamin Bridge Brut Methode Classique.

Ukrainian Meatballs
These were delectable with a beautifully light texture and rich flavour, highlighted by the refreshing Nova Scotia bubbly.

½ c ground bacon ends (4 oz.)
½ c finely chopped onions
1 c finely chopped cabbage
1 T paprika
1 t crushed garlic
1 t marjoram
1 t kosher salt (may need to add more depending
on saltiness of bacon)
½ t coarse black pepper
1 c ground back bacon
1 c cooked short grain rice
1 t egg

Cook ground bacon over medium low heat just till the fat starts to render out. Add onions and cabbage and cook for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables start to soften. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over low heat until all the vegetables have cooked down and the mixture is a deep rich colour. Remove from heat, chill until cold.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, mix together the cooked bacon and cabbage mixture with the ground pork bacon, egg and rice, mix until well combined. Pan-fry a little patty to see if seasonings need to be adjusted. Adjust with salt and pepper if need be.

Tomato Sauce

1½ c chicken stock
2 c canned tomatoes (La Pavoncella – just saying)
1 t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
1 t pakrika
1 t white sugar
2 t paprica
½ t marjoram

Place all ingredients in pot, and simmer until reduced by half, to smooth out the sauce use a stick blender.

Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse, Straw Man Farm Bison, 50th Parallel

Bison Top Sirloin wrapped with Bacon, with Pickled Green Papaya and Chimichurri sauce
50th Parallel 2013 Pinot Noir

Chef Archimedes Cailao, Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse
Give your next barbecue a little Brazilian flavour with these easy to do, delicious to eat bison bites.

Bison Top Sirloin

2 lbs bison top sirloin
1 lb bacon
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 t mustard
salt and pepper
bamboo skewers

Soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes in cold water.

Cut the steak into 1-inch cubes and season. Cut bacon slices in half. Add chopped garlic and mustard and mix together. Wrap steak with bacon and skewer, 2 to 3 pieces per skewer. Grill over medium heat or cook in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and the bison is medium. Serve with pickled green papaya, roasted summer vegetables and chimichurri sauce.

Pickled Green Papaya

2 medium size green papaya
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
2 t shallots, sliced thinly crosswise
1 large garlic clove, sliced thinly crosswise
1 t salt
½ t whole peppercorns

Pickling Solution

1 c vinegar
1 c white sugar
1 T pickling spice
1 t salt

Peel the papaya and discard seeds.

Shred, using a vegetable grater or a cheese grater with bigger holes. Put the shredded papaya in a bowl, sprinkle with the teaspoon of salt and toss. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour, squeeze by the handfuls, discarding the juice.

In a saucepan mix together the pickling solution and bring to boil stirring until sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Put everything in a bowl and pour the cooled pickling solution on top and mix well.

Refrigerate covered and let pickle for a day or so before serving.

Chimichurri Sauce

1 c lightly packed chopped parsley
½ c lightly packed chopped arugula
¼ c lightly packed chopped cilantro
4 cloves cloves garlic, minced
1½ c canola oil
½ c extra virgin olive oil
1 T coarse sea salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
½ t chili pepper flakes
½ t habanero flakes
½ c red wine vinegar
½ c white wine vinegar
¼ c dried oregano leaves

Combine finely chopped parsley, cilantro and arugula. Add oils. Add remaining ingredients and mix well until emulsified.

Chill for 24 hours before using.

XIX Nineteen, Four Whistle Farm, Culmina Family Estate Winery

Chicken Liver Pate with a Saskatoon Berry Gastrique
Culmina Hypothesis 2012

Andrew Fung, executive chef X1X Nineteen
The silkiest chicken liver mousse imaginable, and one of the most compatible pairings of the night.

Chicken Liver Mousse

4 t ground prosciutto
½ med onion, diced (just under a cup)
4 t diced shallots
1 scant c dry red wine
4 t brandy
1 chicken liver (approx 250 gm, soaked overnight with milk, rinse clean with water and strain)
4 t whole eggs
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper
.85 gm (0.03 oz) sweet spice mixture: (40g star anise, 16g dried ginger, 12g vanilla bean, 12g cinnamom, 6g nutmeg, 10g dried orange peel, 4g dried cloves, ground together and sifted)
.9 c (7 oz) t clarified butter

Sous vide: preheat a water bath to 154°F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook prosciutto, onion, and shallot until soft. Add red wine and brandy to the pan and boil for about 1 minute. Turn off heat and rest for 10 minutes. Strain through a chinoise to extract most of the liquid. Let the liquid cool.

In a blender, combine liquid with the rest of the ingredients except butter. Blend just until smooth, don’t blend too long or the heat from the blender will cook the livers.

Once the livers are thoroughly blended, slowly add the butter while slowly blending to keep the mixture emulsified.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Transfer the puree to mason jars. Twist the lids until finger-tip tight. Place jars into pre-heated water bath and cook for 2 hours. After 2 hours, use a digital thermometer to check the core temperature, is should be 154°F, if not put back in the water bath and cook longer.
When it reaches a core temperature of 154°F transfer to a ice bath and chill completely. Refrigerate immediately after cooling.

Chef ’s note: If you don’t have a sous vide machine, bake in 325oF oven with a water bath until it reaches 154°F (about 1.25 hours).

Once cool, spread mousse on crostini and top with Saskatoon gastrique, drizzle honey and sea salt on top.

Saskatoon Berry Gastrique

1 T oil
1 T minced shallots
3 T Saskatoon berries
1 t minced fresh thyme
1 t curry powder
¼ c red wine
6 T veal reduction
2 t red wine vinegar
¼ c apple juice
1½ t whole cold butter
salt and pepper

Sauté shallots and berries on medium heat until the berries begin to bleed colour, add thyme and curry powder. Add wine and apple juice, veal reduction and red wine vinegar. Reduce liquid to syrup state, add cold butter. Add salt and pepper to taste.