We love Alberta food. We also love great food from other parts of Canada, especially seafood from PEI.
by Mary Bailey
The PEI Culinary Showcase at the Atrium at Sabor was a blast. Guests chatted and drank cocktails from the Deep Roots Distillery while enjoying a series of delicious bites. Christian Mena from Sabor circled the room with oysters Rockefeller, seafood chowder and other tasty canapes, while Sabor chefs Lino Oliveira and Bishan Joshi prepared a massive paella. Chef Davina Moraiko, along with Tony Lee from Intercity, doled out moules et frites (delicious) while Rob Tryon from Effing Seafoods shucked sweet and briny oysters and served them with a variety of hot sauces from Maritime Madness (the jalapeño apple favour was a big hit).
Left: Chefs Adam Loo and Chris Gibb from ADA Culinary Studios in Charlottetown.
Right: Chefs Davina Moraiko and Tony Lee (Intercity Meat and Seafood).
Chefs Adam Loo and Chris Gibb from ADA Culinary Studios in Charlottetown handed out mini lobster rolls, uber rich and delicious—glad they were mini.
Chef Roy Oh from Calgary’s Roy’s Kitchen made a toothsome and tender Korean braised beef short ribs and chef Rogelio Herrera (Calgary’s Modern Steak) served PEI Certified beef tartare. Did you know that some PEI beef is finished on potatoes? Maybe that’s what made the beef so juicy and full of flavour. Chefs Sterling Cummings and MacKenzie Pavka from Calgary’s Bridgette Bar created a delicious wolffish dish with PEI potato dumplings in a horseradish broth. About that wolffish. Also known as ocean catfish and loup de mer, it’s native to the North Atlantic and it’s endangered. Amar Seafood in Victoria, PEI has a different approach—farmed fish is getting a crucial upgrade. Utilizing deep underwater wells, Amar raises the fish on land, with no hormones or antibiotics, just cold clean seawater. The water remains at the same salinity and temperature all year long and being land-based, there is no risk of the fish ending up back in the sea. The water is filtered and returned to the ocean at the same temperature.
Lino Oliveira, Sabor, making a jumbo paella.
The guiltiest pleasure was the Cow Chips, ripple potato chips dipped in milk chocolate made by Anne of Green Gables chocolates. Yup, salty, sweet, all the good things—don’t put me within a mile of these.
Want to taste for yourself? Check out the Fall Flavours Festival, September 24- October 10, fallflavours.ca
Food Island Recipes
Oysters Rockefeller
| ½ c | unsalted butter |
| 1 | shallot, finely diced |
| ½ c | fennel, finely diced |
| 2 cloves | garlic, finely minced |
| 2 c | spinach, finely chopped |
| ¼ c | tarragon, finely chopped |
| 1 c | parsley, finely chopped |
| ½ c | breadcrumbs |
| 2 T | Pernod |
| pinch of salt | |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 24 | PEI oysters, scrubbed, shucked and kept on the half shell |
| 4 c | coarse or rock salt |
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium high heat, add shallot, fennel and garlic, cook for 2 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add spinach and herbs, cook until it reduces by half. Stir in breadcrumbs and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add Pernod and season. Remove pan from heat.
Cover a large baking tray with coarse salt to keep oysters from tipping over (or use a scrunched-up piece of foil). Arrange oysters on the tray, place a heaping spoonful of the herbed breadcrumbs onto each oyster.
Bake oysters for 6–8 minutes until the mixture is bubbling and the oysters have started to curl up at the edges. Serve hot.
Serves 6-8.
Champlain’s Mussels
Cooking mussels under pine needles is considered to be one of Canada’s first recorded recipes, attributed to Samuel Champlain. However, research by food historian Joanne Power discovered that Champlain borrowed the idea from the fisherman of Brouage, where he grew up. This is a wonderful camping recipe for mussel lovers.
| 3 kg | mussels |
| 1 lg | bag of dried pine needles |
| pine board, at least 1 inch thick, about 18 inches square |
Soak the pine board in water for about an hour before using. Find a safe place for the board. Discard any open mussels and arrange in the shape of a cross at the center of the board. Fill in, enlarging the circle as you go. Cover with pine needles, about 6-8 inches thick. Light each corner and as they burn, cover with more needles (4-5 inches thick). Fan the flame to encourage it to consume all the pine needles. The shells will become nearly black. When the fire has petered out, fan the ashes off the mussels (a piece of cardboard works well). Place all the open mussels on a serving plate.
Serves 4-6 depending on your love of mussels.
Deep Roots Distillery Maple Espresso Martini
| 1 oz | Deep Roots Ocean Pearl Vodka |
| .5 oz | Deep Roots Maple Cream |
| .5 oz | Deep Roots Coffee Liqueur |
| 1 oz | freshly brewed espresso |
All the ingredients to a shaker. Fill with ice and shake for about 20 seconds to create the crèma foam.
Double strain into a chilled coupe
Garnish with three coffee beans
Makes 1 cocktail.