Menu
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Pippa Goat Crottin and Chive Omelet with Steamed Green Beans
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Red Fingerling and Smoked Trout with Asiago Cheese
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A Salad of Radishes and their greens with Baby Kumatoes
Caroline
It is surprising that this woman has no formal culinary education yet, she has influenced the paths of so many young chefs, food writers and founders of notable food-related businesses. Her love of bringing people together around a table with the freshest of ingredients is the base of her philosophy. And her class is about a philosophy of food. She encourages her pupils to “cook with spontaneity, building your confidence so that you can leap away from a script.” Her teachings are those of our “grandmothers and our grandmothers’ grandmothers”. Fresh. Organic. Harmonious. Natural. Biodiverse. Sustainable. She balks at the fast food culture that has taken over our lives but, she is hopeful.
“Don’t go to the market or store with a shopping list. Buy what looks alive and inspiring, and plan your menus when you get home.”
— Alice Waters, The Farmer’s Market / Learning from the Source
With this quote as our shopping guideline, we headed to the Uxbridge Farmers’ Market.
I blazed through the market and quickly filled my basket: butternut squash, local ginger root, fresh farm eggs, fingerling potatoes, leeks, pectin free sour cherry jam, black olive sourdough bread, two cheeses (Pippa goat cheese crottin and Shepherd’s Harvest aged sheep cheese), garlic and ears of fresh corn.
I had a couple of soup ideas in mind or maybe a simple herb and cheese omelet.
When we got back to the kitchen, we laid out our market purchases and began jotting down ideas: soups: butternut squash and ginger, leek and potato, broccoli and leek with blue goat cheese, leek and mushroom with a brie on black olive sourdough crostini, Pippa goat crottin and herb omelet, salads: radish and their greens with tomato, beet on a bed of spicy greens with chèvre, mushroom on a bed of spicy greens with chèvre, fingerling potatoes and smoked trout with Asiago … so many inspired ideas!
Kaarina ❧ Leek and Mushroom Soup with Goat Cheese Crostini
I came home from the market with enough red and golden beets, radishes, white Sicilian eggplants, zucchini, broccoli and bitter greens to feed an army of vegetarians for a week. And I didn’t use any of them in my Alice Walters Market Lunch. The leeks and mushrooms, Shiitake and Cremini, were the clear winners. They found their way into the soup pot for our first course. A few tablespoons of crème fraîche stirred into the pot at the end and goat cheese crostini floated on top finished the dish. The recipe was a riff on this Leek Soup with Brie Toasts . I did not use any flour to thicken.
The bloomy cheese — Mason’s Delight from River’s Edge Goat Dairy in Arthur, ON — delivered just a bit of zing while the dark vegetable ash veins running through it added all kinds of visual appeal. So artsy I wish I could take credit for planning it.
Caroline ❧ Pippa Goat Crottin Chive Omelet with Green Beans
The omelets quickly came together and Diane steamed some green beans which when ready, were tossed into the empty omelet pan with a generous amount of butter, salt and a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes.
More about the Pippa Goat Crottin: “From Grey County, this is Wild Meadows Farm’s most exclusive cheese, inspired by the classic crottin style cheeses found in the south of France. This style of cheese is a rare find in Ontario. Pippa is creamy, with some firmness, and has woodsy and mushroom notes, complete with a gentle bite. It is made from WMF fresh chèvre. It is hand rolled and aged until a soft white mold rind grows on the outside.”
Oh how we love thee cheese!
Diane ❧ Red Fingerling and Smoked Trout with Asiago Cheese
and Salad of Radishes and their Greens with Baby Kumatoes
The Sunday market was filled with colourful produce and offerings from local artisans. My first stop was a garlic producer who had 6 different types on display, each with different colours, sizes, and smells.
In addition to fresh squash, beets, cherry tomatoes and herbs, my arms were laden heavily with meats, smoked fish, cheese, and some gin from a local distillery called The Durham.
The only preparation really required for my first 'dish' was to boil the red fingerlings. I tried using Caroline's InstantPot, just to see if it would help retain the potato's flavour more than a regular boil. They were delicious! The smoked trout was served alongside, with a dollop of crème fraîche and fresh parsley. The Asiago was smooth, semi-soft, and slightly aged for a sweet and nutty flavour. All the tastes and textures worked quite well together, although next time I would add some crunch with crackers or pickles.
When Alice raved about her Japanese Suribachi ("grinding-bowl") in her MasterClass I was inspired to buy one for myself. It's a beautifully crafted bowl, with ridges perfectly designed for grinding spices and pressing garlic; the bowl has a gentle lip to make it easy to pour the finished dressing over the salad. Here's a quick demo of Alice Waters using the suribachi to prepare a garlic vinaigrette with Martha Stewart.
It really is a pleasure for all the senses to prepare a vinaigrette and simple salad. The sound of the knife chopping on the wooden cutting board and friendly chatter in the kitchen. A small taste of the bitter greens told me they wanted a touch of honey added to the dressing. The tomatoes calling for pepper and the radish wanting some salt. All the veg were colourful and beautiful — the black radish dark as black pepper on the outside and porcelain white inside, and as soon as they were cut open a zesty scent burst from the skin. A few tiny watermelon radishes were stolen from Kaarina, because they added such a pretty element to the plate with their blushing centres. Music garlic enlivened the dressing, along with aged sherry vinegar. The fresh greens sat in the dressing for awhile to soften them up. Alice Waters mixes her salads with her hands, gently tossing and arranging, so in addition to sight, smell, and taste, there is the added pleasure of touch. ❧
