The annual local food extravaganza by Slow Food Edmonton fed and watered over 400 guests who love good food and drink, and showcased the efforts of 60 regional farmers, producers, ranchers, brewmasters, winemakers, winery principals and agents, chefs and restaurateurs. Here’s a snapshot of the event—a few of the dishes adapted for the home kitchen.
Madison’s Grill, Union Bank Inn
Executive chef Blair Lebsack
10053 Jasper Avenue, 780-401-2222, unionbankinn.com
Four Whistle Farm
Marius and Twiggy de Boer
Millet, Old Strathcona Farmers Market, fourwhistlefarm@yahoo.ca
Joie Farm
Heidi Noble and Michael Dinn
2825 Naramata Road, Naramata, British Columbia
Four Whistle Farm Lamb Meatballs with Braised Lamb Shank*
Lamb Meatballs
| 2/5 lb | ground lamb |
| 1 | ghallot, minced |
| 4 cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 c | ricotta |
| ½ c | fresh-grated parmesan |
| 2 | sprigs rosemary (minced) |
| salt and pepper to taste | |
| canola oil | |
| ½ c | white balsamic vinegar |
Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and roll into golf ball sized balls. Pan fry meatballs in a mediumhot pan until meatballs are browned on all sides. Do not over-crowd pan. Cook in batches if necessary. Once all meatballs are browned, remove from pan and drain oil. Deglaze pan with white balsamic vinegar and reduce until only a light coating remains. Return the meatballs to the pan. Reserve.
Braised Lamb Shanks
| 1 | lamb shank |
| ½ | onion cut in large dice |
| 2 cloves | garlic |
| 1 | small carrot cut in large dice |
| 4-5 c | beef stock |
| 2 glugs | white wine |
| canola oil |
Preheat oven to 310°F
Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of canola oil in a hot oven-proof pan and sear lamb shanks on all sides. Remove shanks, add onion, carrot and garlic, saut. for a few minutes and allow to caramelize, then deglaze the pan with the wine. Allow wine to reduce by half, add lamb shanks and enough beef stock to go . of the way to the top of the shanks. Bring to a light simmer. Place a piece of parchment paper directly on top of shanks and cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil.
Put in oven and braise for about 3 hours or until fork tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Pull meat off the bone and shred into small pieces. Strain sauce
Finishing the dish: Use large heavy bottom sauté pan or braising pot. Add the meatballs back into the pan and enough of the braising liquid to bring it about ½ of the way up the meatballs. Slowly simmer the meatballs to finish cooking them while the liquid is reducing. Add the shredded lamb shank into pan. This should take about 15 minutes to finish cooking the meatballs and have the liquid reduce down to a nice glaze. Turn the meatballs in the pan so the glaze and shredded lamb shank completely coats and sticks to the meatballs.
Add a few leaves of chopped fresh mint and toss again.
Serve on pea and asparagus couscous.
LUX steakhouse+bar
Chef Tony Le
10150 101 Street, 780-424-0400, luxsteak.com
Irving’s Farm Fresh Sausage
Alan and Nicola Irving
Round Hill, irvingsfarmfresh.com
Ex Nihilo Vineyards
The Harder and Paulsen Families
Lake Country, British Columbia, exnihilovineyards.com
Braised Irvings Farm Fresh Braised Bacon with Peach and Sour Cherry Bacon Jam
Ex Nihilo 2007 Riesling
Braised Irvings Farm Fresh braised bacon with peach and sour cherry bacon jam paired with Ex Nihilo 2007 Riesling.
| 1.25 lbs | Irvings Farm Fresh bacon slab |
| 2 c | water |
| 2 c | beef stock |
| 1 each | bay leaves |
| 1 T | peppercorns |
| 2 T | brown sugar |
| 2 t | honey |
| 1 t | salt |
| 2½ t | chili paste |
| 1 oz | ginger |
| ½ c | carrot |
| ½ c | onion |
| ½ c | celery |
Grill whole bacon slab until fully caramelized. Place all ingredients in a large pan. Cover with tin foil. Bake in oven for 4 hours at 350.F. Remove from liquid and place on cooling rack to stop cooking process.
To serve, heat remaining braising liquid and pour over bacon portions.
Serves 10.
Bacon Jam
| 1 sm piece | Irvings Farm Fresh bacon slab cut into medium cubes |
| ½ c | frozen peaches |
| ½ c | frozen sour cherries |
Using a pot sauté bacon until majority of the bacon fat is rendered.
Add peaches and caramelize. Add cherries and cook until fruit is soft. Using an emulsion blender, blitz until smooth then strain with fine strainer. Makes about . cup.
Cafe de Ville
Chef Paul Campbell
10137 124 Street, 780-488-9188, cafedeville.com
Belle Valley Farm Alpaca
Mike Lutz, Morinville, mikelutz27@hotmail.com
Mission Hill Family Estate
Okanagan Valley, missionhillwinery.com
Spiced-crust Roasted Belle Valley Alpaca with Yorkshire Pudding and Pan Jus
Mission Hill 2006 Shiraz Reserve
Yorkshire Pudding
| canola oil | |
| 1 c | flour |
| ½ t | salt |
| 1 c | milk (at room temperature) |
| 4 | eggs (at room temperature) |
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Make well in center. Add eggs and milk. Mix until well combined. In a muffin tin (or Yorkshire tin if available) pour 1 tsp of canola oil into bottom of all tins. Place in oven and allow oil to heat until oil is very hot. about 15-20 minutes (watch your pans) Remove from oven and quickly add 2T of batter to each tin and place back in oven. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and continue to bake for another 10- 15 minutes. Avoid opening the oven until the last few minutes of cooking to avoid collapsing the Yorkshires. Make sure Yorkshires are dry and firm before removing from oven. Makes 12.
Spice-crusted Roast Alpaca
| 1 | inside round alpaca roast (2-3lb) |
| 1½ t | dried garlic chips |
| ½ t | whole coriander, crushed |
| ½ t | dried thyme |
| 1 t | black pepper |
| 1 t | coarse salt |
| ½ c | red wine |
| 1½ c | brown stock |
| 1 | carrot cut into 1 inch pieces. |
| 1 | large onion cut into 1 inch pieces. |
| 1 stalk | celery cut into 1 inch pieces. |
| 2 sprigs | of fresh thyme |
| 4 cloves | garlic |
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, mix garlic chips, crushed coriander, dried thyme, pepper, and salt. Reserve. Place cut vegetables into bottom of roasting pan, along with garlic, fresh thyme, wine, and brown stock. Heat frying pan with a little canola oil. Sear all sides of roast until brown crust is achieved. Remove from pan. Press reserved spice mix into all sides of roast. Place in roasting pan and bake at 350.F until internal temperature reaches 125.F. Remove from oven. The internal temperature will continue to rise after roast is removed from oven. It is important not to cook alpaca past medium rare (135.F) as it will become tough and dry. While meat is resting, take juices from bottom of pan and re-heat for serving (Alpaca is lean. There should be no need to skim fat from juices.) After resting, slice and serve in the Yorkshires. Serves 6.
Tzin Wine & Tapas
Chef Neil Chamberlain
10115 104 Street, 780-428-8946, tzin.ca
Irving’s Farm Fresh Sausage
Alan and Nicola Irving
Round Hill, irvingsfarmfresh.com
Sandhill Winery
Okanagan Valley, sandhillwines.ca, andrewpeller.com
Irvings Farm Fresh Berkshire Pulled Pork Chili with a Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake and Smoked Cheddar Shallot Cream*
2008 Sandhill Chardonnay
Pulled Pork
| 5 lbs | Irvings Berkshire pork shoulder |
| 2 btls | apple cider |
| ½ lb | wild boar bacon, chopped in a fine dice |
| 3 c | diced celery |
| 3 c | diced onion |
| 3 c | diced red bell pepper |
| ½ c | fresh chopped garlic |
| ½ c | roasted garlic |
| 1 c | fresh chopped parsley |
| 1c | fresh chopped oregano |
| ½ c | Hot Hungarian Pepper |
| ½ c | chili powder |
| 2 T | sea salt |
| 2 T | black pepper |
| 14 oz | black beans |
| 14 oz | baked beans |
| 28 oz | red kidney beans |
| 56 oz | crushed tomato |
| 3 T | sugar |
| 3 | fresh jalapeno peppers |
Preheat oven to 325°.
Season pork shoulder well with salt and pepper and place in a deep baking dish. Pour apple cider over until meat is ½ covered. Cover and bake for 3 hours, remove cover and bake for another hour. Remove shoulder from dish and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. Remove crackling and fat cap, pull pork with fingers or fork so it is shredded. Cover and refrigerate pulled pork.
Chili
In an 8-quart stock pot slowly render bacon. When it’s crispy, add all vegetables (except jalapeno) garlic, parsley, and oregano. On low heat, sweat ingredients until soft. Add paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add crushed tomato, all beans, and sugar. Stir to combine, add . bottle cider, reserve the rest. With the point of a knife, slice each jalapeno down one side to the center, add whole jalapenos to chili, stir. Uncovered on low heat, bring chili to a simmer, add pulled pork. Simmer on low heat for 4 hours, stirring frequently from the bottom. (Note: “This is a minimum. My Indulgence chili cooked for 12 hours,” Neil Chamberlain). Cook until desired thickness is reached. If too thick, use reserved cider to thin out chili during cooking. Correct seasoning if necessary. Serves 6 with leftovers.
Moriatry’s Bistro & Wine Bar
Chef Jason Read
10154 100 Street, 780-757-2004, edmontonpubs.com
Greens Eggs & Ham
Mary Ellen and Andreas Grueneberg
Leduc, Downtown Farmers’ Market
Averill Creek Vineyard
Andy and Wendy Johnston
Cowichan Valley, averillcreek.ca
Seussian Flatbread: Chorizo and Duck Egg Quiche with Heritage Greens Pesto, Green Crème Fraiche and a Dam Chip.*
Averill Creek 2007 Prevost
Quiche
| 6 lbs | duck egg yolks or 12 chicken egg yolks |
| 1 T | paprika |
| ½ t | kosher salt and black pepper |
| 3 c | heavy cream |
| 2 | chorizo sausages, cooked and crumbled |
| 1 c | gruyere or Gouda cheese |
Preheat oven to 350°F
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place yolks in a stainless steel bowl. Add the paprika, salt, and pepper. Whisk gently until the spice is evenly distributed. Add the cream and mix until the egg and cream are one. Grease a square cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the custard (egg and cream mixture) into the pan. Sprinkle with the crumbled sausage and cheese. Place this in your oven at 375°F for 30 minutes (it will jiggle like jello when done). Let cool, then chill in the refrigerator.
Makes 8-10 lunch-sized servings or approx 30 appetizer-sized portions.