Recipe provided by Bistro Provence, Okotoks

Photo by Neville Palmer

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini (cut in half lengthwise)

1 medium Japanese eggplant (cut in half lengthwise)

1 red bell pepper (cut into 1 inch wide strips)

1 red onion, peeled (cut into ½ inch wide wedges, leave root end intact)

2 medium tomatoes (cut in half around middle)

2 tbsp olive oil

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

⅓ cup thinly sliced basil

1½ tsp red wine vinegar

Method:

• Prepare barbecue (medium to high heat).
• Place first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
• Drizzle oil over and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss well to coat.
• Grill vegetables until tender and slightly charred, about 3 to 4 minutes for peppers and 6 to 7 minutes for other vegetables. Transfer to cutting board.
• Place chicken breasts in same large bowl, turning to coat with any remaining oil in bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Grill chicken covered, until cooked, about 6 minutes per side.
• Let stand 5 minutes.
• While chicken grills, coarsely chop vegetables and fill a large clean bowl.
• Add basil and vinegar and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper.
• Slice chicken diagonally into ½ inch thick slices.
• Serve with ratatouille.

Photo by Neville Palmer

Salmon Fillet with Fennel and Pernod

Recipe provided by Bistro Provence, Okotoks

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1½ teaspoons crushed fennel seeds

¼ cup butter (room temperature)

2 tbsp finely chopped shallots

1 large fennel bulb (quarter bulb, then cut lengthwise into ¼ inch thick slices)

2 tbsp fennel fronds chopped, divided

Salmon fillet preparation

2, 6 – 7 oz salmon fillets

2 tbsp Pernod or other anise-flavoured liqueur

• Stir fennel seeds in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 ½ minutes and place seeds in small bowl to cool.
• Mix in butter, shallots, and 1 tbsp fennel fronds, season butter mixture with salt and pepper.
• Melt 1 tbsp butter mixture in the same large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
• Add sliced fennel bulb and ¼ cup water to skillet.
• Cover and cook until fennel is crisp-tender, about 7 – 8 minutes.
• Uncover skillet and sauté until fennel begins to brown, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer fennel to plate.
• Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper.
• Add 1 tbsp butter mixture to same skillet and melt over medium heat.
• Add salmon and cover, cook 5 minutes.
• Turn salmon over and add ¼ cup water to skillet.
• Cover and continue cooking until salmon is just opaque in center, about 5 minutes more.
• Slide salmon to one side of skillet and return fennel to pan.
• Add Pernod, 2 tsp butter mixture, and remaining 1 tbsp chopped fennel fronds and stir to heat through.

Divide fennel mixture between two plates and top with salmon.

Spoon all remaining butter mixture over salmon.

Ed Povhe has always dreamed of owning a restaurant, a small business of his own, a place his whole family could grow with. Ed, along with his wife Marcella, originally from Saskatoon, purchased Bistro Provence in Okotoks in February 2011. Bistro is a new challenge for both of them, with three children in school full time.

The bistro has been a staple of fine French cuisine in Okotoks for over 30 years with Nicolas Desinai as executive chef for the last six years. Originally from Brittany, France Nicolas, has over 20 years of international culinary experience. The Povhe family is proud to continue to offer traditional fine French cuisine in Okotoks.

Photos by Neville Palmer

Grilled Caesar Salad

Print: Grilled Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
3 romaine lettuce hearts cut in half – keep stem ends attached
12 slices of bacon diced and cooked until crispy (save drippings)
4 slices of thick whole wheat bread
½ cup Parmesan cheese grated into large flakes
Caesar salad dressing (recipe follows)

Method:
Heat bacon drippings in large fry pan until liquid again.
Slice bread into 1” cubes and toss with bacon drippings in the fry pan to coat.
Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make the salad dressing and set aside.
5 minutes before serving, place romaine halves on a medium hot grill for 15 to 30 seconds or until lightly charred and slightly wilted around the edges. This works best on a charcoal grill with lots of smoke to flavour the lettuce.
Remove the romaine and brush each half with dressing, croutons, bacon bits and grated Parmesan.
Finish with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Caesar Salad Dressing

(from 2CleverCooks cookbook – people friendly food )

Ingredients:
⅓ cup Highwood Crossing cold pressed canola oil
⅓ cup olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 tbsp finely ground flax seed
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Method:
Put all ingredients in the blender and blend for a few minutes until they are fully emulsified. The flax, garlic and Dijon help to keep the oil and lemon from separating. Makes about 1 cup.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

(strange I know! But oh so yummy – just try it)

Print cookie recipe

Ingredients:
10 strips thick cut bacon
brown sugar for sprinkling
2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Method – Candied bacon:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lay bacon on a parchment covered baking sheet so slices are not overlapping.
Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly on each strip of bacon.
Bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven, flip bacon and drag it through the syrupy liquid that collects on the baking sheet.
Put the bacon back in the oven for another 12-15 minutes until it is fully cooked and very dark (mahogany) in colour.
Remove the strips from the sheet and cool on a wire rack. After they have cooled, chop them or food process into tiny pieces.

Method – Cookies:
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in a large bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in morsels and bacon pieces.
Spoon dough (about a tablespoon per cookie) onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 9 to 11 minutes.
*At Stirr! we tend to go a little under 9 minutes so they come out just underdone, these taste even better when cooked on a disposable baking sheet – right on the grill!

Photo by Neville Palmer

By  Jamal Malih and Madja Ourahma

Little New York  Bistro, Longview

Serves: 4

Download and Print the Recipe

Ingredients:

¼ cup cubed butter

1 ¼ loaves of bread, cubed

½ cup blueberries

2 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1/3 cup of sugar

1 ¼ cup 35% cream

1 ¼ cup coconut milk

4 tbsp Malibu white rum

¼ cup sweetened coconut flakes

Method:

• Place butter and sugar in an oven proof dish.
• In a large bowl mix together the cubed bread, butter and blueberries.
• In a separate bowl beat the whole eggs, yolks and sugar until thick and creamy, then whip in the cream, coconut milk, rum and coconut flakes.
• Pour the egg mixture into the bread and butter and mix. Let stand for 20 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the custard.
• Preheat the oven to 350F. Boil some water. Place bread butter mix into the ovenproof dish with all the custard, then stand the dish in a roasting pan and surround it with boiling water.
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown on top. Allow the pudding to cool slightly prior to serving.

Other recipes from Little New York Bistro

Stuffed Pork with Mango Ginger Sauce

About Jamal and Madja and the Little New York Bistro

Photo by Neville Palmer

By Jamal Malih and Madja Ourahma, The Little New York Bistro, Longview

Ingredients:

one pork loin

¼ lb spinach

½ cups of pitted Spanish olives

1 cup of breadcrumbs

¼ cup of olive oil

1 tbsp of grated ginger root

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 350ºF
• For the stuffing, place the spinach, garlic, breadcrumbs, olives, ginger and half the olive oil in a food processor and pulse to blend roughly.
• Take the pork loin and make a long incision from the head of the loin to the butt of the loin. Rub the stuffing in the inside of the created pocket.
• Brush the loin with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 40 minutes.

Mango Ginger Sauce

Ingredients:

8 oz. mango pulp

1 one inch piece of ginger minced

1 shallot finely diced

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup chicken stock

olive oil

salt and pepper

Method:

In a saucepan pour enough oil to glaze the bottom of the saucepan and bring to moderate heat. Add the shallots and ginger and soften until aromatic. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce by half, add the chicken stock and mango pulp and simmer lightly to desired texture. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pour over pork loin and serve with steamed carrots and green beans.

About Jamal and Madja and the Little New York Bistro

-30-

Photo by Jill Marie Calitz

Printable Recipe Download

Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients:

1 lb fingerling potatoes

olive oil – enough to lightly coat potatoes

2 eggs

5 cloves garlic

½ cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp pimenton or smoked paprika – hot

smoked olive oil

salt and pepper

Method:

• Boil potatoes until just tender then toss with the olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
• Preheat BBQ or smoker to 350 F.
• Place potatoes over a smoke pouch (a tin foil pouch filled with wood chips) then cook in a smoker or BBQ 15 minutes or until skins are crispy.
• While the potatoes are smoking, make the sauce in the blender by combining and mixing eggs, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
• While the blender is running slowly drizzle in the ½ cup olive oil – not too fast or the sauce will break.
• Right before serving, drizzle the potatoes with the smoked olive oil and serve with the garlic allioli.

Recipe provided by Stirr! Adventures in Food, Black Diamond

Chef Jason Rossington, Dude with Pig

More about Jason: chef profile

(Stuffed Veal Rolls in Tomato Sauce)

By Madrina’s Ristorante, Bragg Creek

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

2 ½ cups chopped mushrooms

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp chopped parsley

4 – 6 tbsp chicken stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup ground cooked pork or chicken sausage

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 piece canned red pimiento, chopped

8 veal scallopini, each weighing 2 oz

1 ½ cups plum Italian canned tomatoes, chopped

• Heat half the oil in a casserole dish. Add mushrooms, garlic and parsley and cook gently for 15 minutes, adding a little of the stock to moisten if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste, then transfer to a bowl. Add pork, Parmesan, egg, pimento and a pinch of salt; stir well to mix.
• Beat the veal with a mallet to flatten, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and spread with the stuffing. Roll the veal around the stuffing and tie securely with string.
• Heat the remaining oil in the casserole dish, add the veal rolls, then fry over moderate heat for 5 minutes until browned on all sides. Add the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste, then cover and cook gently for about 45 minutes until the meat is tender.  Turn the meat during cooking and add a few tablespoons of stock to moisten if necessary.
• Remove the meat from the casserole dish and untie the string. Arrange in warmed serving dish and pour cooking juices over top. Serve immediately.

Other recipes in Routes:

Roasted Tomato and Chorizo Stuffed Turnovers, Mark Klaudt

Braised Beef with Root Vegetables, Chris Martin

Sunburnt Lemon Tart (Editor’s favourite!), Jennifer Douglas

Raspberries in Pinot Grigio Jelly, Madrina’s Ristorante

Photo by Neville Palmer

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

750 ml bottle Pinot Grigio

1 1/3 cup raspberries

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways

5 sheets gelatin

1 cup caster sugar

Method:

• Soak gelatin sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.
• Combine wine, sugar, and vanilla pod. Bring to near boil and set aside.
• Remove vanilla pod. Add wrung-out gelatin sheets to hot liquid and stir well to dissolve. Strain into large jug.
• Equally divide the raspberries into 6 martini glasses and pour the strained wine over them.
• Allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
• Garnish with whipped cream, mint or basil leaves and lemon zest.

By Mike Perrotta, Wild Thyme Café, Nanton

Gnocchi di Patate PDF

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

4 ½ pounds russet potatoes

salt

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 egg yolks

melted butter

grated parmesan cheese

Method:

• Wash, but do not peel the potatoes.  Boil them in salted water until soft.
• Remove potatoes from pot, now peel and mash them in a large bowl until quite smooth.
• Add flour and salt to taste.
• Beat in the egg yolks and mix to a firm dough.
• Break dough into pieces and shape them into long rolls, about the thickness of your finger.
• Cut the rolls into pieces about 1 inch long.
• Press each piece against a lightly floured cheese grater to make a sickle shape then spread out on to a pastry board or table to dry.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the gnocchi a few at a time.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove gnocchi as they rise to the surface, then drain well.
• Put them directly onto a hot dish and dress with melted butter and Parmesan cheese.

Alternative: Gnocchi can also be dressed with either meat gravy or your favourite tomato sauce.

Gnocchi is best served right away or within a couple of hours. Don’t refrigerate fresh gnocchi for more than two or three hours, as they may become soggy. They can also be frozen for later use.

Italian born Mike Perrotta worked in Switzerland for 10 years, where he trained as a chef, before coming to Canada in 1976. He operated two restaurants in Calgary, Pinocchio Pizzeria and De Michelangelo. In 2006 he made a lifestyle choice and moved to Nanton where and opened The Wild Thyme Café. He has not looked back.

Ingredients:

2 heads of butter leaf lettuce – individual leaves

18 cherry tomatoes, halved

8 leaves of fresh basil – chiffonade (cut into thin strips)

½ cup creamy chevre (goat cheese)

½ cup balsamic vinegar reduced to half*

½ cup cold pressed canola oil

Maldon sea salt for sprinkling

Method:

• Place lettuce on a serving platter then add tomatoes and basil. Sprinkle evenly with chevre. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and canola oil. Garnish with a tiny bit of Maldon sea salt.
• Serve with grilled halibut or pork tenderloin, and roast potato for a simple, healthy but elegant patio dinner.

Serves: 6

*Bring vinegar to a boil. Simmer, watching carefully and lowering the heat if necessary, until it is a little thinner than you want it – it will keep reducing when you take it off the heat. It should only take 2-4 minutes.

By Darren Nixon, chef and owner of Divine restaurant, Okotoks

Recipe by Beverly Pell, Heartland Cafe, Okotoks

Download Applespice Muffin recipe PDF