6 BC Chefs Share their Favourite Seasonal Recipes

Chef Lee Humphries – Local Restaurant, Summerland

Originally from southern England, Chef Lee Humphries began his cooking career at a young age on his family farm in Cornwall. He came to BC over a decade ago and has spent time in the kitchens at West and C. He is now comfortably settled in the Okanagan at Summerland’s Local restaurant in the heart of wine country.

Twice Cooked Pork Belly with Avocado Puree, Quinoa Salad, Lime and Cilantro

Serves 5

Pork Belly

Ingredients

• 1lb pork belly
• 100 grams salt
• 50 grams sugar
• 1 sprig rosemary (chopped)
• 2 sprigs thyme (chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 5 pieces star anise (crushed)
• 2 litres vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients except vegetable oil.
2. Sprinkle mixture on belly, both sides, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
3. Rinse pork belly.
4. Place into pot and cover with vegetable oil.
5. Cook at 275 F for 3 hours until tender.
6. Cool and remove from oil and set in fridge.
7. Once cool, portion into cubes, dip into tempura batter and fry until crispy.

Tempura Batter

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups of seltzer water
• Salt

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients

Avocado Puree

Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• 1 lime
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Crush all ingredients with the back of a fork and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lime Gel

Ingredients

• 100 ml lime juice
• 1 gram agar agar

Instructions

1. Add agar to lime gel and bring to a simmer.
2. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Refrigerate until sets into a jelly.
4. Puree until smooth.
5. Season with salt.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 100 grams quinoa
• ½ onion finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 100 ml water

Instructions

1. Cook onions, carrot and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add quinoa.
3. Add water and cook until boils.
4. Simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Remove and cover with saran wrap and allow to steep.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

To Build the Dish

1. Place a smear of avocado puree on the plate.
2. Add quinoa salad on top of avocado.
3. Place deep fried twice cooked crisp belly on salad.
4. Garnish with lime gel dots and cilantro leaves.

Chef Shelome Bouvette – Chicha Restaurant, Vancouver

Shelome Bouvette recently opened Vancouver’s Chicha Restaurant on Broadway near Main Street, one of the very few Peruvian restaurants in Vancouver.

While not of direct Peruvian descent, Bouvette headed to Peru prior to opening to observe and absorb true Peruvian cuisine. Having previously led the kitchen at Lolita’s Mexican restaurant on Davie as well as being a key chef at Vancouver’s Bin 942, Bouvette is no stranger to South and Central American cooking. Chicha’s menu is heavy on seafood and this fish ceviche is an easy way to celebrate BC’s own seafood with a Peruvian twist.

Classic Peruvian Fish Ceviche

Serves 4

For this recipe try to find the freshest possible white fish and limes. In Peru they say a great Ceviche doesn’t need more than five ingredients; fish, lime juice, chili pepper, onion and salt. Many variations have appeared in the culinary world including ingredients such as garlic and sugar to make it less acidic.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fish, cut into bite sized pieces (halibut, sole, ling cod)
• 1 red onion, cut in thin slices, lengthwise
• 1/2 Aji Amarillo chili, finely diced, or 1 tbsp Aji chili paste (found at specialty Latino markets)
• 5 ice cubes
• 1 cup of lime juice
• 1 tbsp iced water
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves
• 1/2 habanero chili, finely sliced
• 2 sweet potatoes, cooked and cut into thick slices
• 4 leaves Bibb lettuce
• 2 corn on the cob, cut into 4; 2 pieces per serving

Instructions

1. In stainless steel bowl, combine fish and onion. Wash under cold running water. Drain.
2. Season with salt and Aji Amarillo.
3. Add ice cubes, lime juice, and iced water.
4. Let rest for 5 minutes, discard ice cubes before serving and sprinkle with cilantro leaves and chopped habanero.
5. On one side of the plate, put a lettuce leaf.
6. Place 2 slices sweet potato and corn over the lettuce leaf.
7. Place ceviche in the centre of the plate.
8. Serve immediately.

Chef Carol Chow – Fraiche Restaurant, West Vancouver

Chef Carol Chow is back in West Vancouver at Fraiche restaurant after several years overseas in London and Shanghai. Chow had previous stints at Gusto di Quattro, Teahouse and Hart House, and is no stranger to local cuisine. At Fraiche she uses the best west coast ingredients in a setting that could possibly be considered the best view in the entire province.

Poached Sole with Truffle

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 5-6 oz. fillets of sole, skinned
• softened butter
• 1 tsp shallot, finely minced
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp parsley or thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp softened butter
• Salt
• Minced truffle, as much as you want

Vinaigrette

• 1 truffle, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 3 tsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp truffle oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Trim 4 fillets of sole (removing tail end, belly, etc.)
2. Place trim in food processor. Add butter and salt and puree trim until smooth.
3. Remove puree from food processor and pass through a fine mesh strainer.
4. Place puree or farce in mixing bowl and add shallots, herb and lemon zest.
5. Refrigerate farce until well chilled.
6. Place 4 pieces of saran wrap (10 inches long) on work table and brush bottom quarter of saran with softened butter, leaving 1 inch on either side.
7. Place 1 sole filet, skinned side up, on buttered saran.
8. Season with salt and pepper, spread ¼ farce on sole.
9. Roll tightly and tie ends.
10. Repeat with remaining 3 fillets.
11. Bring shallow pot of water to simmer and place wrapped fish in water. (You may need to place a plate on top of fish to keep submerged).
12. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until fish feels firm.
13. Remove from water and let rest for a few minutes.
14. Remove from saran and place on plate, then garnish with truffle vinaigrette.

Chef Tina Fineza – Service Excellence Consultants

Chef Tina Fineza and her partner Annette Rawlinson operate Service Excellence Consultants providing front and back of the house advice and training to restaurants. Fineza recently revamped the menu at East of Main, opened La Mezcaleria, and teaches at Dirty Apron as well as assisting at Terra Breads in menu creation.

Fineza is known for her expertise in Asian cuisine, but can easily replicate culinary styles from around the world.

Sesame Seed Tuna Tataki, Purslane, Rau Ram, Tatsoi Kalamansi – Thai Bird Chili and White Soy

Serves 2

Notes from Fineza – We love gathering all kinds of greens from our garden. All of these greens were from our garden except for the red onion. We especially love purslane for its succulent lemon flavour. Most of the Asian greens here are vibrant like the rau ram with its cilantro taste, shisho for a minty flavour, baby kale for its nuttiness, and garlic scapes to add the highlight of garlic.

When tomatoes come into play in our garden, it can be a simple salad of red onion, tomatoes and purslane with a lemon vinaigrette, eaten with tuna.

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces of albacore tuna coated in sesame seeds and seared rare, tataki style
• 1 cup of purslane
• Baby kale leaves
• Tatsoi
• Mustard greens
• Cilantro
• Rau ram (Vietnamese coriander)
• Baby swiss chard
• Garlic scapes (grilled)
• Gailan flowers
• Mustard green flowers
• Young sorrel
• Pea tips and sweet peas
• Shiso leaves
• Fine sliced red onion

Vinaigrette

• 1/8 cup (Philippine lime) Kalamansi juice
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 Thai bird chili diced fine
• 1 clove garlic diced fine
• 2 tbsp white soy sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Coat the tuna in sesame seeds and sear in a pan on medium heat. Sear all sides, leaving the centre rare.
2. Set aside in the refrigerator.
3. Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients and shake very well in a mason jar.
4. Gather all your young greens from our garden.
5. Slice the tuna in half inch slices.
6. Arrange the tuna on the plate and dress your salad.

Chef Chris Whittaker – Forage Restaurant, Vancouver

Chef Chris Whittaker came west from Thunder Bay, and has always been devoted to local, sustainable cuisine. At the recently opened Forage on Robson Street, he makes his own preserves, deals directly with local suppliers and is usually one of the first to get seasonal produce as it arrives in the city.

BBQ Lamb Ribs

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lamb breast ribs
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 4 oz diced mirepoix (a mixture of two parts chopped onion to one part each of chopped carrot and celery)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups craft beer
• 2 bay leaves
• Pinch dried thyme

Instructions

1. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer. Place the ribs carefully in the oil and sear until deep brown on all sides. Reserve the ribs.
2. Add the mirepoix to the pan and cook, stirring from time to time, until golden brown. Add the tomato paste and cook until it turns a deeper colour and gives off a sweet aroma, about one minute.
3. Add the beer to the pan, stirring to release any drippings. Return the short ribs to the pan along with any juices they may have released.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cover the pot and transfer it to a 275°F oven. Braise the ribs for 45 minutes.
5. Add the bay leaves and thyme and degrease the liquid if necessary. Finish braising the ribs until fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Transfer to another holding container and moisten with some of the cooking liquid.
7. Keep the ribs warm while finishing the sauce.

For the BBQ Sauce

Continue to simmer the cooking liquid until it has a good flavour and consistency. Skim thoroughly to degrease the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and strain. Add to the sauce:

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 6 tbsp red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. Cook sauce for 5 minutes on medium heat.
2. Lamb ribs can now be grilled on barbeque and glazed with sauce for 30 minutes on medium low heat.
3. Continuously baste with the sauce during this process. Smoking chips can be added to your BBQ during this process for increased flavour.

Chef Bill Jones – Deerholme Farm, Duncan

Chef Bill Jones is the owner of Deerholme Farm in the Cowichan Valley and the author of 10 food and cooking books. Jones has cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and now makes his home on Vancouver Island where he specializes in wild foods from the forest, fields and oceans, and teaches foraging and cooking at his farm.

His latest book, The Deer­holme Mush­room Book, is filled with great recipes, tips and infor­ma­tion on wild and cul­ti­vated mush­rooms.

Wild Mushroom Salad with Cauliflower, Dill and Rosehip Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Rosehip butter is packed full of nutrients and vitamin C. You may have to search a little to find it in health food stores or in specialty food shops catering to Germanic and Nordic clients. Alternately, you can find rosehip syrup in some stores and it makes an acceptable substitute for the butter. You can also use apple butter or even orange marmalade as a nice substitute.

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower head, cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 cups chopped mushrooms (chanterelle, button, pine, etc.)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp rosehip butter (or rosehip syrup or apple butter)
• 1 tbsp mustard (yellow or grainy)
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot of boiling salted water.
2. Cook the cauliflower until tender and then drain.
3. Return the cauliflower to the pot and while it’s still hot, add 2 tablespoons of the cider vinegar and the honey. Toss to mix.
4. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter. When it’s sizzling, add the mushrooms and sauté until they begin to brown.
5. Add the mushrooms to the cauliflower and toss to coat. Season well with dill, salt, and pepper.
6. In a small bowl, combine the rosehip butter, remaining 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar, and mustard.
7. Whisk until smooth, then add the oil in a slow stream while whisking until thick.
8. To serve, arrange the salad on a platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature or chilled.