Recipes

🍒 Buy Canadian, local Cherries - they are worth it. They are a fragile fruit, with a super limited season that are hand harvested & available only from some very specific growing regions in the world (we are lucky enough to be near one of them)! If the cherry farmer can actually avoid hail storms, birds, pests & other natural challenges that come with farming fruit, the cherries are then transported by refrigerated truck, warehoused & redistributed to retailers. Canadian Cherries are around $4.99/lb this year and worth every single penny. Pay for them. Support our Canadian Farmers and their employees. 🍒  Shop local. Eat local. Our Canadian farmers need you but not nearly as much as we need them.❤️

Cherry Risotto Crème Brulée

If ever you were thinking about getting a blowtorch for your kitchen, this is the last excuse you'll ever need!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh Bing Cherries, pitted
• 4 tablespoons Kirsch
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 2/3 cup Arborio Rice
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1/3 cup Sugar, plus 6 tablespoons for topping
• 5 large Egg Yolks
• 1 1/2 cups Whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Put the cherries in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the kirsch. Let stand for 15 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, rice, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the rice is al dente and about 1/2 cup milk remains. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1/3 cup sugar. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale in colour. Whisk in the cream and the remaining 2 tablespoons kirsch or, alternatively, the vanilla extract. Stir in the rice mixture.
4. Place six standard-size flan dishes in a baking pan. Reserve a dozen cherries for garnish and divide the remainder among the dishes. Divide the custard mixture and any juices from the cherries among the dishes (discarding the cinnamon stick). Pour warm water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the centre of each custard still jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and lift the dishes from the hot water. Let cool briefly, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
5. When ready to serve, place the dishes on a baking sheet and evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Using a hand-held blowtorch, caramelize the sugar. Garnish the top of each dish with a cherry or two.

Prep Time: 145 Minutes

Cook time: 60 Minutes

Salad Of Butter Lettuce, Radishes With Herbs And Sherry Dressing

Yields: 2 portions.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of butter lettuce, leaves left whole, rinsed and dry
• 1 shallot, shaved into thin rounds on a mandolin
• 5 radishes, sliced on a mandolin
• 30 ml of assorted chopped herbs, favourite kinds
• 50 ml sherry vinegar
• 50 ml olive oil
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Toss all the ingredients with sherry vinegar, olive oil and pinch of salt in a bowl. Serve chilled.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 0 Minutes

Vegetarian Mushroom Burger With Wild Mushroom Duxelles, Herbed Goat’s Cheese And Pickles

Yields: 2 portions.

Ingredients:

• 2 portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed
• 2 favourite burger buns, preferably potato
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 100 ml white wine
• 500 ml chopped assorted mushrooms
• 15 ml porcini powder
• 100 ml heavy cream
• 100 ml fresh goat’s cheese
• 30 ml assorted favourite herbs, chopped coarsely
• 10 slices of bread and butter pickles, or favourite kind
• 30 ml marinated onions, from the first recipe
• 2 slices of cured tomatoes, from the first recipe
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. In a heavy skillet sauté the mushrooms until they release their liquid and it is dry. Add more olive oil, shallots, garlic until translucent. Add white wine and reduce until dry, add the heavy cream and cook until dry as well. Season with porcini powder and cool.
2. Heat a heavy skillet or your grill on high, Season the mushrooms on both sides. Add 20 ml of duxelles mix to the cavity of the mushrooms and cook on high heat, on non stuffed side around 5 minutes or the mushrooms are cooked through and the filling is hot. Warm the buns in a 325F oven. Mix goat’s cheese with assorted herbs, check for seasoning. Spread the cheese mix on the buns, dress with grilled mushroom patty, tomatoes, onions and pickles.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Classical Cheeseburger With Smashed Patties, Onions And Cured Tomatoes

Yields: 2 portions.

Ingredients:

• 4 freshly ground beef chuck patties, 3 oz each.
• 2 favourite burger buns, preferably potato
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 10 ml sherry vinegar
• 50 ml mayonnaise
• 10 ml ketchup
• 2 slices of mature cheddar
• 1 beef steak tomato, sliced 1/4’’ thick
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325F. Heat up your grill or a cast iron pan on high until very hot.
2. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. Toss onions with salt and sherry vinegar and let it marinade. Put the burger buns in the oven.
3. Season the patties with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Sear on each side around 2 minutes or until the desired doneness is achieved. When you flip the first side, also place the cheddar on top and let it melt. For assembly, mix the mayo with ketchup and spread equally on buns, dress it with onions, two patties and a slice of tomato.
4. Serve hot.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

We're at peak BC strawberry and cherry season! Get those fresh berries while you can and top this week's desert with fresh fruit or boil down the riper, less attractive fruit into a compote! Raspberries should start to appear locally next week too!

Mascarpone and Classic Vanilla Panna Cotta

We like serving Panna Cotta in individual ramekins or martini glasses - this way there’s no pressure to unmold them cleanly, and they are easy to serve. Individual bowls are great for deck parties and distance picnics too - they are easy to eat while standing. They also look great served in Chinese soup spoons for a reception!

The recipe works with or without the mascarpone (the recipe quantities do not change if you omit the mascarpone). We also like to change this recipe up with Pure Maple Syrup and BC Blueberries when they are in season. The Panna Cotta truly is a great, versatile recipe that every chef should have in their pocket.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp plain gelatin
• 1 L half & half or 18% coffee cream
• 1/2 cup mascarpone
• 1/4 cup honey*
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract, Madagascar vanilla bean paste, or a vanilla bean*
• Fresh BC Strawberries, Cherries and Raspberries
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Pour about a cup of the cream into a medium pot and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the gelatin soften.
2. Set the pot over medium heat and stir, without letting the cream boil, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This should take 2-3 minutes. (If you are using a whole vanilla bean, cut it in half lengthwise using the tip of a sharp knife and scrape the seeds out and add it to the cream, along with the scraped pod.)
3. Add the rest of the cream, the mascarpone in spoonfuls, the honey and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, until the mascarpone is melted and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
4. If you used a vanilla bean, remove the pod. Pour the mixture into individual wine glasses, small dishes or ramekins. (If you want to unmold them onto a plate to serve them, spray the ramekins with nonstick spray first.) Put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, until set.
5. Serve in the bowls or unmolded onto a small plate and topped with fresh or puréed berries. Serves about 8.

Prep Time: 120 Minutes (time for dessert to set)

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Pan Roasted Bear Scallops With Morels And Peas

Yields: 2 portions.

Ingredients:

• 6 large great bear Great Bear Scallops, shucked and cleaned
• 100 gr of fresh morels, cleaned and sliced
• 50 ml spring peas, shucked
• 50 ml snap peas, strings removed
• 50 ml snow peas, strings removed
• 10 sprigs of pea greens
• 100 ml butter
• 30 ml sherry vinegar*
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Season the scallops lightly with salt and let it rest. In a large pan sauté shallots, garlic, thyme with half the butter until soft with no colour. Deglaze with sherry and add morels, cook for 2 more minutes, season with salt, add white wine, cook for 1 minute. Keep warm.
2. In a separate pan heat up grape seed or a neutral oil until it lightly smokes. Sear the scallops on one side for about 2 minutes without touching it. Flip the scallops carefully and add the remaining butter into the pan, turn off the heat and baste with foaming butter for 20 seconds. Also please turn the heat back on the morel on high. Add snap peas, snow peas and the shucked peas, sauté for 2 minutes or until the peas are cooked, correct seasoning. Transfer the pea-mushroom mix on a plate. Add scallops and lightly drizzle the brown butter from the scallop pan. Garnish with pea greens and serve.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes