Vegetarian

A salad worthy of an impressionist painting!

Diane

My turn to choose the theme! Since I’m always on the look out for healthy alternatives to meat-based meals, I picked Vegetarian.

We are packing more into our Epitourist get-togethers. Our lunch was preceded by a day of foodie excursions to Aloette and Eataly. Sunday’s courses felt relaxed and restorative in contrast to the previous day’s pace.

When Diet for a Small Planet was published in 1971 it was a radical book that chronicled the harmful environmental impacts of meat production and its compounding effects on food distribution across the globe. Today the trend toward plant-based diets is also supported by people with concerns for the ethical treatment of animals and those who want to improve their own personal health. Change often takes time. When Canada revamped the Food Guide in 2019, the government still faced a strong lobby from meat and dairy interests threatened by the move away from animal proteins.

Today there are so many cookbooks and advocates for plant-based meals it’s hard to choose a definitive source: Michael Pollan, Jamie Oliver, Dr. Michael Greger, Angela Liddon… the list continues to grow.

Our own Epitourist menu was a wonderful mix of colour, comfort, simplicity and elegance. Didn’t miss the meat whatsoever!

Menu

Starter | Laura

Muhammara roasted red pepper dip with focaccia and goat chevre 

paired with Prosecco

Salad Course | Kaarina

Five-Spice Peach and Raspberry Salad

paired with Riesling

Main | Diane

Russian Carrot Pie  

paired with Golden Milk

Main | Caro

Steamed celeriac and mushroom pudding with Madeira sauce

paired with Madeira

Dessert | Laura

Lemon Pudding Cake

Digestif | Diane

Pousse-Café / selection of  liqueurs

Muhammara roasted red pepper dip ❦ Laura

Syrian Muhammara Dip

I was last to announce what I would make for our vegetarian feast. As often happens at these long lunches, we get so enthusiastic about what we want to make that we end up with way too much food. The others had already proposed hearty courses, so I thought an appetizer dip would be fitting. But I didn’t want to make a run-of-the mill hummus or cream-cheese based dip. Ottolenghi never fails to offer interesting flavour combinations. I chose his Muhammara/roasted red pepper dip. Muhammara dip comes from Syrian cuisine. I loved the idea of combining red peppers with pomegranate molasses, walnuts, and aleppo pepper. Diane has gas burners, so charring the peppers was easy on her stovetop. The resulting dip was spectacular. We served it with some foccacia and flatbread crackers purchased during our Eataly outing. 

Five-Spice Peach and Raspberry Salad ❦ Kaarina

A true chef d'œuvre!

Thinking outside the pot, I looked for fresh raw colour and bite to add to our menu. I didn’t need to look far. If anyone knows how to pull together a great vegetarian spread, it’s Ottolenghi and I had been reading and cooking from both Jerusalem and Simple this winter. I settled on Five-Spice Peach and Raspberry Salad from Simple:

In a large bowl, whisk together

1-1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

1/4 tsp salt

Just before serving, add

3-1/2 oz raspberries

3 firm peaches, not too ripe, cut into 1/4 inch wedges

2 cups watercress

2 cups radicchio, cut into 3/4 inch slices.

Toss and serve.

What made this salad visually extra spectacular was the rosy radicchio we found in the produce section at Eataly, which was on our Epitourist winter tour of downtown Toronto the day before. The rosy leaves were so beautiful I couldn’t bring myself to tear them, so I tucked them in whole amongst the watercres and peaches. This loose leaf radicchio is less bitter than the tightly packed leaves of a standard radicchio but the watercress along with the shallot had enough bite to balance the sweetness of the fruit.

Wine can be a challenge with salads. What to pair? The peach? The bitter greens? Or the sherry vinegar dressing? Cave Springs off dry Riesling did the job brilliantly.. 

Russian Carrot Pie ❦ Diane

A very creative pairing!

Oh how I loved Molly Katzen’s Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook! Hand written, with simple instructions and whimsical illustrations, it inspired me to make some of my first vegetarian meals. Published in 1974, it may be dated when compared with some of today’s titles, but it still brings a smile to my face. I thought the Epitourists would enjoy Russian Carrot Pie, and they did, although next time, I would cut back a bit on the dill.

Delightful!

For this course, instead of pairing with wine I chose a concoction of coconut milk, oat milk, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. The decision to serve Golden Milk was made on colour alone, but happily the taste nicely complemented the flavours in the pie.

Steamed celeriac and mushroom pudding with Madeira sauce  

❦ Caroline

Savoury Pudding!

  
I turned to Dani Valent’s In the Mix — Great Thermomix Recipes for Diane’s vegetarian theme. Australian based cook, Valent sourced recipes from chefs and bloggers far and wide to put together this beautiful cookbook. Steamed Celeriac and Mushroom Puddings, is British chef Madalene Bonvini-Hamel’s creation. Completely vegetarian, it is elegant, comforting and deliciously savoury.
 
Filling

50 g butter
70 g mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
20 g flour
1/2 onion, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic
1/2 stalk of celery, cut into 1 cm dice
1 small carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
250 g celeriac cut into 1 cm dice
30 g Madeira
150 g vegetable stock
1 tbs chopped parsley
1 tbs chopped chives

Melt 25 g butter in a frying pan. Cook mushrooms with a little salt and pepper for 8 minutes at medium-high temperature. Set aside. Melt remaining butter, add onion, garlic, celery, carrot, celeriac and flour. Cook 10 minutes on medium-high until nicely caramelized. Add the Madeira. Cook for 4 minutes. Add the stock and cook on medium heat to reduce for 5 minutes. Return the mushrooms. Stir in parsley and chives. Adjust seasoning. Allow to cool on a cookie sheet.

Pastry

300 g flour
15 g baking powder
150 g frozen butter
salt and pepper to taste
100 g chilled water

Mix flour, baking powder, butter, salt and pepper. Add the chilled water. Gently knead. Lightly oil 6 ramekins. On a slightly floured surface, roll the pastry to about 4 mm thick. Line the ramekins with the pastry. Spoon the cooled celeriac filling into each ramekin, filling it to the top, dampen pastry rim with cold water and seal each pudding with a pastry lid. Make a team hole in the centre of the lid. Pour 1 litre of water into a pot. Set steaming basket in. Place the pudding ramekins on basket. Cook for 60 minutes on medium-high. Make sure that there’s sufficient water at all times. Keep a kettle of boiling water handy to top up.

Madeira Sauce

50 g dried mushrooms
30 g olive oil
1 sprig of thyme, leaves only
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
100 g madeira
500 g vegetable stock
100 g 35% cream
50 g butter

Pulverize the dried mushroom in a food processor. Add the olive oil, thyme, garlic and onion and chop. Transfer the mixture to a frying pan. Add bay leaf and cook on medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the Madeira and cook for 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock and continue to cook until stock has reduced by half. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Discard solids. Pour sauce into saucepan along with cream. Heat for 3 minute until it just begins to boil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Before serving, add the butter and whisk.


Lemon Souffle Pudding ❦ Laura

Because I can never resist making something as a sweet end to the meal, I chose to make a simple lemon souffle pudding. This is an old family recipe from the mother of Jason, my neighbour on Wolfe Island. He always makes it for impromptu neighbourhood potluck get togethers.

Digestif ❦ Diane

Lovely colours of a pousse-café

I came across Pousse-café when I was searching for a digestif to finish our meal. Literally "coffee-pusher" in French, it is an alcoholic beverage consumed after the coffee course. Pousse-café has now evolved to mean a layered drink composed of different  liqueurs.

I thought this would be a fun twist and an appropriate reminder that although people sometimes equate vegetarian with healthy and virtuous, it’s not always the case.

Besides, I have a cupboard full of different liqueurs to experiment. The heaviest liqueur is poured first on the bottom, and so on. We had the most success with a trio of grenadine, chartreuse and then Cointreau. Use a bar spoon and steady hand to pour the liqueur. Choose liqueurs that are actually palatable if you intend to drink your creation.

Aloette

 

Cold Snap

A field trip. Of course we wanted to go to Aloette! Their website promises “a refined take on bistro fare paired with sophisticated and affable hospitality.”  Caroline, Kaarina, Laura and I had been looking forward to this lunch for quite some time. The experience delivered.

Aloette is currently rated number 35 on Canada’s 100 best restaurants, just down two flights of stairs from Alo, rated Number 1 at Canada’s 100 Best. Alo can take months for an available opening. Aloette is more accessible, and although reservations aren’t required, limited bookings are available for the convenience of guests. When we arrived, all the tables were filled, so it’s a good thing we made reservations.

Considering the calibre of the food and service, Aloette offers exceptional value.

Housed in a heritage building, the restaurant design makes the most of its narrow space, with vaulted ceilings and windows looking onto busy Spadina Avenue. Rich textures and muted colours make for a relaxed ambiance, in contrast to the frantic pace on the other side of the glass. Laura noted that it was noticeably easy to hear each other at our table. The baffled ceiling is a prominent feature in the restaurant that really cuts down on the noise, which is such an unwelcome part of most Toronto dining rooms these days. 

The server was well versed in the menu, made informed recommendations, and was able to answer our questions. We sipped cocktails while waiting for the small plates to arrive. The Cold Snap was prettily presented in a small coupe glass, a refreshing mix of Seedlip garden, verjus, sherry vinegar and thai basil.

We agreed to share small plates. This is the opportunity to sample more dishes, but with everything tasting so over-the-top delicious, it was especially hard to exercise restraint. 

Everything was so visually stunning with flavours and textures perfectly balanced.

Toast with whipped roasted yeast butter was served to awake our tastebuds. Caroline wondered "Who ever dreamed that up? And where can I find that recipe?" 

Perfect roasted yeast butter

  

Our first course was roasted squid with side stripe shrimp, 'nduja, potato, and cerignola olive, which brought murmurs of pleasure.

First course!

Next, beef short rib with chimichurri, spinach, and onion ring; served with thai salad of peanut, mango, zucchini, kohlrabi. Kaarina remarked the fresh crunch of the Thai salad was a match made in food heaven when paired with the richness of the beef short rib. We all agreed with Caroline's assessment that the beef short rib was melt in your mouth, fall apart delicious! 

One more course... potato gnocchi of sweet potato with bacon, sage, chestnut; served with crispy squash and brown butter hollandaise, sage, and parmesan, with pumpkin seed. Some were skeptical when the server suggested the pairing, however Kaarina observed the combination was the smoothest, tastiest comfort food of this 2020 winter. Caroline felt the gnocchi was light as air and wondered about chemists in the kitchen.

Gnocchi and squash...hhmm!

We wanted to sample the rest of the menu! Hamachi crudo, glazed pork belly, iceburg wedge, burger and fries, fried chicken...

 It was evident there were strict codes of service when the request to leave the water pitcher on the table was denied. Instead, servers returned frequently to top up the glasses. The four of us were split on opinion on this, with 2 annoyed by frequent interruptions and 2 happy for the extra real estate on the table.

Laura added the chef, Patrick Kriss, grew up in Scarborough and attended George Brown college. He spent time working in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and Daniel Boulud’s eponymous restaurant in New York City. His Toronto restaurants are widely acclaimed, with good reason.

Aloette was definitely a teaser for what dinner at Alo would be like. One day the Epitourists will have to check that out!

Vietnamese

 Menu

Fresh Spring Rolls

Bánh Xèo Vietnamese Crepes

Cà tím nướng mỡ hành Grilled Eggplant

Ka Cho Tofu Braised in Caramel Sauce

Cá Chiên Sea Bass with Green Papaya Salad and Ginger Lime Dressing

Pho Vietnamese Hotpot 

Báhn Flan Crème Caramel

Wine Pairings: Clean Slate Riesling Mosel, Pierre Sparr Gerwurztraminer Reserve 2017, Thirty Bench Riesling, Domaine Wachau Riesling

Laura

The Epitourists have occasionally experimented with Middle Eastern flavours, but we mostly stay within the comfort zone of Western cuisine. This month we decided to expand to the Far East with a Vietnamese theme. The fresh flavours and bright colours seemed a fitting antidote to a rather grey January in Ontario. 

For some inspiration, Diane, Kaarina and Caroline visited a Vietnamese restaurant in Toronto. They intended to go to top-rated Pho Hung but it was the week after Christmas, and they were closed. So they ended up at Saigon Lotus, a vegan Vietnamese restaurant.

This month the feast was held at my house on Wolfe Island. Fortunately there is a really good Asian grocery store in nearby Kingston, so I was able to find everything I needed for my dishes. I chose to make fresh spring rolls. There are so many recipes for these rolls, but the common element is assorted shredded fresh vegetables wrapped in soft rice paper wrappers. Sometimes shrimp is added, but I chose to keep them just a colourful assortment of veggies including green and red cabbage, red pepper. cucumber, green onion, carrot, Thai basil, cilantro, and mint. The dipping sauce Nuoc Cham, a very simple yet versatile staple of the cuisine.

Springrolls, Braised Tofu and Crème Caramel à la Kim Thuy

I also made Ka Cho, tofu braised in caramel sauce. It sounds strange, but the simple process of caramelizing sugar, adding water and soy sauce turns tofu into a savoury, nuanced dish. 

There aren’t a lot of Vietnamese desserts, but báhn flan, or crème caramel, is popular. It came as an import from France but has become a staple dessert all over Vietnam. There are so many recipes available for this dessert. I used the recipe in award-winning fiction writer Kim Thuy’s Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen. 

Caroline

Unfamiliar territory... What to make? My quest lead me to Jn Cooking Channel on YouTube. Informative, organized and clear this website proved to be a perfect springboard to Vietnamese food whats and hows.

The idea of making crêpes Vietnamese style or bánh xèo appealed to me because it is somewhat familiar, well the crêpe part is. The batter consists of rice and tapioca flour, coconut cream, turmeric, canola oil and beer. Traditional fillings are pork belly, shrimp and soya beans. A traditional
Nước Chấm or fish sauce based dipping sauce gives this dish great zing with its bird's eye chili.  The videos I came across never covered the "how to eat" this crispy delight. A quick search brought me to this short clip from Noodlies: 

The fun in Asian cuisine is the sampling of many dish. A recent visit to Saigon Lotus, a Toronto Vietnamese restaurant, had me tasting an eggplant dish that wowed me away. Served along side some jasmine rice, this grilled eggplant or Cà tím nướng mỡ hành is sure to delight!

Grilled Eggplant with Jasmine Rice

Kaarina

There was no red snapper to be had that Thursday morning just as I was heading to Wolfe Island for the Epitourist’s Vietnamese cook off. My plan was to deep fry a whole snapper and pile green papaya salad and ginger lime dressing on top for a dramatic presentation a.k.a. Cá Chiên.

The theatricals had to be scratched and  Plan B went into effect. Instead of snapper I scored superbly fresh Black Sea Bass at Diana’s Seafood on Lawrence St. E. A firm white fish with delicate flavour from the northeast Atlantic. No cause for complaint. As the fish is simply dipped in egg and potato starch and dunked in boiling canola oil for two minutes, any Vietnamese flavouring needed to come from the sauce and/or the accompaniments. Green papaya — which is simply a raw papaya, available along with green mangoes in Asian green grocers, isn’t exactly flavourful. Enter Nuoc Mam Cham — the workhorse of great Vietnamese flavours.
Nuoc Mam Cham flavours scores of Vietnamese dishes. We used it as a dipping sauce for the fresh roll, with the shrimp and pork filled Vietnamese crepes, as a dressing for the green papaya salad and a sauce for the deep fried Black Sea Bass.

Black Sea Bass with Green Papaya Salad

Nuoc Mam Cham
In a pot over medium heat, bring a quarter cup fish sauce, quarter cup rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar and half cup water to just short of boiling. Set aside to cool. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, one minced bird's eye chili and 2 tbsp lime juice, and stir to combine. Make a day ahead (or not) and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Diane

Years ago, when I first arrived  in Toronto, there had been such a glowing review of a Vietnamese restaurant's hot pot, I just had to make a visit. Delicious broth kept so hot, diners could essentially cook their own meal at the table by spearing meat and veg and poaching in the golden liquid. Once cooked to satisfaction, wrapping the tasty bits as contents inside a lettuce leaf and dressing with a light sauce. After the wraps are enjoyed, a delicious soup to finish the meal.

One of my favourite Asian markets is closing the end of January so I had to find another. Sunny Supermarket  is just a short drive away and had the lemongrass, oyster mushrooms, quail eggs and raw beef. For the broth itself I picked up the best quality beef bones I could find at St. Lawrence market.

I bookmarked an authentic pho recipe, packed up the ingredients, and travelled with Kaarina to Wolfe Island.

Bone broth is so full of goodness — all that collagen is being touted as better than botox, a cellulite reducer, great for arthritis and healing for the digestive tract. Three hours in the Instant Pot brought all the little pearls to the surface.

As the soup was the last course of the night, we were able to make use of all the other veg that was prepped and still left over: carrots, cabbage, red and yellow peppers, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, fresh coriander, mint, thai basil.

Hot Pho!

Salt Fat Acid Heat | Four Elements | Four Epitourists

Mastering the elements of good cooking!

This is not "your typical cookbook". Colourful charts and whimsical illustrations (rather than photographs to free the reader from the idea that there's only one perfect image for every dish!). The hows and whys content truly reflect Samin's energetic and creative self!

Menu

Pasta alla Puttanesca

Salad of Roasted Beet, Preserved Lemon and Tahini-Yogurt
—with Smoked Mackerel

Maiale al Latte with Roasted Squash, Sage and Hazelnut Panzanella

Amalfi Lemon Tart

Theme cocktail: Caesars!

The four elements celebrated!

Kaarina | SALT

Samin's Pasta alla Puttanesca

I settled on Samin’s own recipe for Pasta alla Puttanesca to showcase layering of salt in a dish. This Italian classic features salt in several guises — anchovies, capers, olives and (optional) parmigiana — each delicious in small doses. All together, all at once, they make a big statement. Huge umami delicious, salty statement.

Having spent the last 30 years searching for ways to reduce my salt intake, drawing Salt as my assignment was a challenge. Yes, of course I agree that salt is essential in good cooking, the basic seasoning for pretty much everything. But little goes a long way. I experimented for a month, following Samin’s directions but never quite got the knack of it. I found her approach with salt way too heavy handed and will return to using the salt grinder, shaker and a measuring spoon.

There’s nothing subtle about Pasta alla Puttanesca, so a bold wine is in order. California’s Seven Deadly Zins was up to the task. A rustic Primotivo from Puglia would be equally appropriate.

California's Seven Deadly Zins Old Vine Zinfandel!

Caroline | ACID

"Acid is salt's alter ego. While salt enhances flavours, acid balances them." 

Roasted beets with preserved lemon and tahini-yogurt from our beloved Ottolenghi's Simple (and he's on my menu two nights this week)! The preserved lemon and tahini-yogurt blanket the roasted beets with layers of acidity. As per the chef's recommendation, I serve this with a smoked mackerel. Wine pairings are Sancerre -- Henri Bourgeois Les Baronnes and a Mailly Exception Blanche Grand Cru Brut Champagne 2007! After all, Christmas is just around the corner. The acid component of the salad pair well with the Sancerre and highlight the wines butteriness. The Champagne takes the smoked mackerel to heaven! Interesting exercise in pairing.

Roasted beets with preserved lemon and tahini-yogurt

Diane

Michael Pollan, one of my favourite food writers, wrote the introduction to the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and revealed Samin gave him some cooking lessons after she attended his class on food writing. His observations on sauteing an onion: "...there was an intricate evolution unfolding in that pan as the rectangles of onion went from crisply acidic to clean and sweet to faintly smokey as they caramelized and then bittered slightly as they browned. Samin showed me how half a dozen distinct flavours could be teased from that humble ingredient, all depending on how you managed principle number four, heat."  

That insight motivated me to buy a copy of Samin's book and choose the element of Heat for the Epitourist feast. 

At the end of every one of her Heat classes, Samin shares a finished braise with her students. The book dedicates more than a few pages on classic braises and stews from around the world, however the dish I ended up preparing was a braise of pork in milk: Maiale al Latte, as it seemed we were trending to Italian flavours. Slow cooked over two and a half hours, the aromas wafting from the oven created a wonderful background to festivities.

Maiale al Latte!

Laura

I really enjoyed this month’s theme, which diverted from our usual focus on regional cuisine. All four of us really enjoyed Samin Nostrat’s Netflix series and wanted to delve more into the themes and recipes.

I was tasked with exploring fat. In her book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Samin writes, “Fat adds its own unique flavor to a dish, and it can amplify the other flavors in a recipe. Simply put, fat makes food delicious—and one of the most important things any cook can learn is how to harness its magic.” I wanted to explore this idea by detouring from the obvious meat fat. I chose to make a salad and focus on using butter instead of oil in the dressing.  I wanted to make a hearty salad that would reflect the season as well as working well as a side dish, so I chose her Roasted Squash, Sage and Hazelnut Panzanella. Browning the butter adds another element to the flavour of the fat, and it stands up well to the bold flavours in the salad. The recipe for the croutons and vinaigrette is here https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/warm-winter-panzanella-d-is-for-dinner-1.4983972. You’ll have to borrow or buy the book for the rest of the recipe. Failing that, just roast squash in the oven, sauté chopped kale in olive oil with some onion and garlic, toast some chopped hazelnuts and fry some sage leaves. Then put the salad together using the method in the link above.

Roasted Squash, Sage and Hazelnut Panzanella

Caroline

As this was a sleepover dinner, dessert was in order. I stick to my assigned element and opt for an Amalfi Lemon Tart from Oliver's Jamie Cooks Italy. The crust calls for 1/3 cup of Greco di Tufo white wine. It is a new wine for us. And as Jamie suggests: "If you're feeling the Italian vibe, a little slice for breakfast with a black coffee is a real treat." And so, the next day for breakfast, a little tart was enjoyed with an expresso and a tasting of the Greco di Tufo.

Andalusian Discoveries

Plaza Rib Rambla, medieval Granada'a main square

Kaarina 

Mike and I were sipping a glass of Rioja at an outdoor cafe across from our hotel in Granada’s ancient Plaza Bib Rambla when our waitress surprised us, placing a slate of mysterious golden fritters on our table. We hadn’t ordered food but tucked right in, happy that we had stumbled on a traditional taverna like El Laurel, which still serves a complimentary tapa with a drink, a custom that is quickly vanishing across much of Spain. That night was our introduction to Berenjenas con Miel Cana — an Andalusian specialty that has its roots in southern Spain’s 700-year Moorish history. Deep fried aubergine, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside and drizzled with a dark brown cane honey. Eggplant has never tasted so good. From the first bite it was clear that this was going home with me to our next Epitourist lunch.

Deep fried eggplant drizzled with cane honey

Before I left on my October tour of Spain’s major Moorish sights, the Epitourists had agreed that we would cook an Andalusian feast on my return. So I was on a mission to find dishes I had never tried before but could take home and cook in my own kitchen.

Ronda - Puente Nuevo was built almost 300 years ago

I found the second dish for our menu in Ronda, the stunningly beautiful Andalusian White Hill Town that straddles a deep 390-foot gorge. Restaurante Las Maravillas’ tapas menu translated Carrillada as “braised pork cheeks.” Who knew the tenderest, tastiest cut from a pig fits into the palm of your hand? I pledged, on my return to find pork cheeks (aka jowls) in Toronto. (Order ahead from Sanagan’s Meat Locker / in Kensington Market.) I used a Nigel Slater’s Pigs Cheek recipe from the Guardian  with good success.

Pork cheeks and company!

Meanwhile, my Epitourist mates were researching Andalusian cooking online. Diane found a stew using spinach and chickpeas, ingredients that — like aubergines — were brought to Spain by the Moors. She mentioned the dish in an email, and that evening I spied Espinacas con Garbanzos on the menu at what had already become our favourite tapas bar in Sevilla: Las Teresas, a three-minute stroll from our hotel through narrow “kissing streets” of medieval Barrio Santa Cruz. 

Sevilla's Kissing Street and Las Teresas

Las Teresas’ Espinacas con Garbanzos was quite good, of course, but paled in comparison to the delightful dish Diane meticulously constructed in my kitchen in Toronto and served promptly as soon as the spinach was cooked.

Diane's Espinacas con Garbanzos

Diane

My research led me to the Hola Foodie site and a dish described as ‘bueno, bonito y barato’, which translates into ‘good, beautiful and cheap.’ Like many other peasant recipes from southern Spain, chickpeas and spinach are a fine example of how to make the most of simple and humble ingredients. Andalusian Chickpeas and Spinach somewhat surprised me as I don't quickly connect southern Spain with either of the main ingredients. Plain food, but so delicious when seasoned with the cumin, garlic, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. The recipe noted frozen spinach was acceptable, but fresh was definitely more appealing.

Andalusian Fall Feast

A salute to Jerez!

Kaarina
 
Our late October feast opened with a salute to Jerez, Andalusia’s most famous wine region, in the southeast corner of Spain. A tasting of three dry sherries, accompanied by toasted almonds and orange-stuffed olives, segued to mushrooms in sherry, braised pork cheeks, spinach and chickpea “stew”, braised bulls tail and culminated in sweet tortas and Spanish cheeses. The three sherries — Lustau’s Almacenista Fino, Manzanilla Deliciosa en Rama from Valdespino and an Amontillado, also from Lustau — are all dry, although the Amontillado might be considered a little less so. Oxidization imbues it with nutty and dry fruit flavours appealing to red wine drinkers, which indisputably we are.

 

As the meal progressed, we learned to appreciate the contribution this golden libation plays in Andalusian culinary tradition — not just as a sipper but as an indispensable ingredient.

¡Hola! ¡Olé!

 

Roasted almonds and olives are the most common tapas offered — often gratis with a drink — in tavernas across southern Spain. We were fascinated how each changed the taste of a sherry.

Diane

 

Although I didn’t hop on a plane and ramble la Alhambra, I did explore the recipes of Spain to prepare for the Epitourist gathering. Hola Foodie was a great source for salivating over the possibilities. Sunny Andalusia, home of Seville oranges and olives, inspired this natural pairing for Orange Stuffed Olives  I let the olives marinate several days before stuffing them, and although they were wonderful pops of flavour, I can't help but think our readily available ingredients pale in comparison to the real thing.

Laura

 
It’s no secret I love mushrooms, and living across the road from a gourmet mushroom farm is close to nirvana for me. I often sauté them up in butter and some white wine and serve them with crusty bread. When researching my Andalucian tapas contribution, I came across several references to mushrooms cooked with sherry, or Jerez to be properly Spanish. 

Blue oyster mushrooms, olive oil and sherry!

 

There’s not really a recipe, it’s more of a cook-by-feel thing. You’ll know what I mean when you’re making it. Here’s what I did: Thinly slice one large onion. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until it’s turning golden brown. Then add one pound of mushrooms. I used some beautiful blue oyster mushrooms from Kelly’s Gourmet Mushrooms on Wolfe Island. Oyster mushrooms just need a bit of a trim on the stem and then can be pulled apart into pieces if the caps are large. Smaller ones can be left whole. Keep the heat quite high and don’t crowd the mushrooms in the pan. The aim is to sauté them until they are golden. Then add in sherry. I used Emilio Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado. I’m not sure how much I added. I started with about a quarter cup, let it evaporate, and then kept adding more, along with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat to low. Cook, allowing the flavours to meld together for about 20 minutes until it’s a lovely soft, golden mixture. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with sliced baguette or other crusty bread.

Caroline

 

With their bull fighting tradition, Rabo de Toro (bull’s tail stew) is deep-seated in the Andalusian food repertoire. I looked to Chef José Andrés to guide me. Kaarina introduced us a couple of years back through his 

Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America cookbook.

 

Unlike most Rabo de Toro recipes that I came across, Chef Andrés’ calls for half a bottle of sherry as well as the usual full bottle of Spanish wine. The addition of the sherry is well worth it, making the sauce both sweet and savoury. Typically, fried potatoes would be served with this stew. For a lighter “more tapas” fare, I opted for Chef Andrés suggestion of fresh bread as a side to sop up the rich sauce. ¡Buen provecho!

 

Rabo de Toro

 

Laura

 

We rarely have room for dessert at these feasts, so I decided to try making tortas de aceite. These slightly sweet, crispy cracker-like biscuits are a specialty of Seville. They are often served with a glass of sherry. They were the perfect end to our meal paired with Diane’s Spanish cheeses, more sherry and wine. 

Torta de aceite, a perfect finish!

 

Diane

 

I couldn’t resist a visit to Alex Farm Fresh cheese for Spanish cheeses.  Strong flavour profiles appealed. The product notes for Montenebro read: "A rind composed of ash and mold means insistent flavor... the damp, cakey, acidic paste near the rind is fierce, with unmistakable overtones of black walnut. Inside the core remains salty, lactic, and soothing." I also selected  Valdeon, "a Spanish blue cheese, wrapped in either sycamore, maple, or chestnut leaves. It has a very intense blue flavour."

In addition to the sherries, we enjoyed an elegant Rioja from the old vine master Marques de Riscal and a full-bodied Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon Balbas Reservas 2006 from Ribera del Duero.

 

Balbas Reservas 2006

 

Boat Food

Diane

If Rob and I are Yondering...

Even when I have my cooking mojo working for me, I appreciate the ease of pulling together an appealing plate without needing to turn on the stove or fire up the barbecue. Especially if Rob and I are Yondering for a ten hour day, or have just dropped anchor after a long sail, I'm glad to have some cold cured meats, cheese, crackers, nuts and pickles for a refreshing quick bite.

So for my course, I chose a charcuterie board. As this was the Epitourists, I provisioned at St. Lawrence Market, with stops at Scheffler's Deli, Future Bakery, and Kozlik's mustards, to pull together a charcuterie platter:  saucisson (truffle and blueberry); salami (hot and not); provolone wrapped in sundried tomato; prosciutto wrapped feta; marcona almonds; pickled garlic, onions and mixed vegetable; hot gherkins; roasted artichoke; pretzels; and a selection of mustards (dijon, honey mustard, balsamic fig and date, triple crunch).

 

To accompany, a quick cocktail with lots of ice: Whisky Soda.

Kaarina

Medina, our 30-foot Ticon Sailboat

I learned early on that we like to eat on the boat the same kind of food we eat at home. But that hasn’t cured me. Spring after spring I carry a carefully curated supply of cans and packages of dried foods onto the boat. And every fall I carry the same cans and packages off the boat. Most of the stuff simply doesn’t get eaten.

We like our food fresh.

On Medina, our 30-foot Ticon sailboat, dinner has become a ritual, especially when we’re at anchor. I plan, shop and prep. Mike barbecues. The menu is simple: Meat and a salad, mini potatoes or fresh corn in season. Lots of tomato salads. Grilled peppers. Guacamole.

Wilted Spinach and Carmelized Onions with Feta Dressing was this summer’s new favourite. It’s quick - 10 minutes - to make. Simple, fresh and quick! No fancy ingredients required. Except for the sherry vinegar, everything is available in most supermarkets. Onions, spinach, olive oil, feta cheese. (You can substitute balsamic for the sherry vinegar, which has become hard to find. I picked it up at St. Lawrence Market, lower level.)

 

Wilted Spinach and Carmelized Onions with Feta stands up on its own as a salad course, which is how Epitourists had it on Ruby Tuesday. I also like to serve it together with a steak, pork or lamb chops and I’ve carted it off to potlucks on land and on the water.

Caroline

AB is a good ol' boat!

Seven consecutive weeks on the water this season! The more you do, the more things happen. And happen they did. A small shroud popped while I was under sail. It was more like a very loud bang. Needless to say, it scared the bajesus out of me. That put an end to the race around Waupoos Island. We managed to duck out without incident, lower the sails and limp back to the anchorage. Dang. Good thing she's keel stepped. Dave, the owner of Marine Outfitters had her fixed up in no time. He even gave me the keys to his car so I could re-provision. And then, she sprung a leak in her exhaust pipe. Carbon monoxide is a bad thing in a confined space like a boat. Had to get that fixed too. What can I say. AB is a good ol' boat. I will admit that madness overtook me and I put her up for sale and bought me a trawler. Yup. A trawler.

I do digress. This is suppose to be about Boat Food. Yes. I looove to cook onboard. The space is small and like a maestro conducting an orchestra, I can put together a fine meal while standing in one spot. I have, over the years, compiled a yummy repertoire of boat foods. Some from scratch while others are just plain cheatin'. And plain cheatin' is what I chose for our September Epitourist lunch onboard ma new trawler Ruby Tuesday (semi cheating... I did bake dessert.) This boat food is a no-brainer. It comes ready made. In a box. Requires no refrigeration. Keeps forever. Will overwinter nicely inside your galley pantry. Calls for a glass of ruby wine or two, fresh bread and a simple salad and like Bob's your uncle, dinner is served. What is it you ask? It is cheese fondue in a box! Dipping ingredients consisted of fresh sourdough bread, grape tomatoes, roasted baby potatoes and cauliflower florets, Granny Smith apple slivers. For libation, I experimented with cider but must say that the ruby won hands down!

Our Epi Lunches go on for a forever long time! After five hours of sipping and noshing, dessert is the last thing on your mind. BUT, I was very excited about this finale. I will admit that Ruby Tuesday is lacking a decent oven. Decent ovens on boats are hard to come by. On AB, I had an oven but could only cook/bake ingredients that stood no taller than 4 inches. Well, Ruby has, wait for it, a toaster oven! HA! Yes. I kid you not. Have oven will bake (but only when connected to shore power 😶). So, in my little toaster oven, I baked an Orange and Black Olive Chocolate Cake. Rich, moist and a flavour combination that will blow your mind! Try it. You will like it.