Mandarine Restaurant Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
½ tsp minced garlic
¼ cup finely diced white onion
¼ cup finely diced carrot
¼ cup finely diced green pepper
¼ cup finely diced red pepper
¼ cup finely diced water chestnuts
¼ cup finely diced celery
½ cup chopped cooked chicken breast
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp salt
Pinch granulated sugar
4 large Boston or Iceberg lettuce leaves
⅓ cup hoisin sauce

Directions: Heat the oil in a wok or skillet set over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the garlic until fragrant but not browned. Add the onion, carrot, red and green peppers, water chestnuts, celery, chicken, black pepper, Salt and sugar to the wok and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.

To Serve: Spoon ¼ of the mixture into the centre of each lettuce leaf, top with a little hoisin sauce. Fold lettuce wrap around the mixture and enjoy! Please wash your hands before and after preparation and cooking.

Artichoke and Basil Risotto

The key to making risotto is continuous stirring throughout the cooking process.

The process is a combination of two main ingredients: Basil oils and the risotto itself.

Basil oil
Salt
2 cups lightly packed basil leaves
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp water

Risotto
6 to 7 cups vegetable stock
1 ½ cups dry white wine
2 large onions or 4 leeks
½ cup olive oil
2 ½ cups arborio rice
1 can whole artichokes, drained and chopped

1. Blanch the basil leaves in salted boiling water for 30 seconds then plunge into ice water. When cool, drain and press in towels to dry. Blend basil leaves with olive oil in a blender until fairly smooth. Add salt and water and blend until a smooth green paste is formed.

2. Pour the vegetable broth and 1 cup of the wine into a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low and keep warm while preparing risotto.

3. Finely chop onion or leeks. Sauté onions (or leeks) in ½ cup oil until soft (about 12 minutes). Add rice and stir until glossy and coated, about 3 minutes.

4. While stirring constantly, add remaining ½ cup wine to rice. Stir until rice absorbs wine. Ladle in about ½ cup hot-broth mixture. Gently stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process with the remaining broth, about ½ cup at a time. Adjust heat, as needed, so mixture is just simmering throughout cooking.

5. Stir gently and constantly until rice is tender with a bit of bite and almost all broth is absorbed, about 22 to 25 min. Mixture should be slightly saucy but not soupy. If using canned artichokes, stir into risotto in the last few minutes of cooking just to warm. Stir in basil oil 1 tbsp at a time until pale green and delicious tasting. Keep the colour by stirring it into risotto immediately before serving. Serve any remaining basil oil on the side, allowing guests to add to their liking.

6. Divide risotto between serving dishes.

Makes 8 main servings or 16 side-dish servings.

Seared Lamb Chops & Pearl Onions with Mashed Peas & Mint Tahini

Lamb and mint are a perfect pairing, but so too are peas and pearl onions. Add tahini to the mix, and the gang’s all here! A vibrant plate to perk up any mid-winter meal, and the minted tahini is superb on the juicy lamb chops. Use rib, loin or shoulder chops for this recipe.

LAMB & ONIONS
8 lamb chops, about 1½ lbs
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 bags, each 10 oz, pearl onions

MINT-TAHINI SAUCE
½ cup tahini, well stirred
¼ cup water
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bunch mint, about ½ cup
Salt and pepper to taste





MASHED PEAS
4 cups frozen petite peas
½ cup full-fat (14%) sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
⅓ cup water
1 tsp sugar
Juice of half a lemon

1. Marinate lamb in olive oil and garlic on the counter for 30 minutes, turning halfway through. To peel pearl onions, trim the ends and drop in a pot of boiling water for less than a minute. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. The peels should pop off.

2. For sauce, add tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and mint leaves to a blender. Purée until smooth. Season and taste. Cover and set aside.

3. Microwave or boil peas until tender and sweet, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and add to a medium bowl, stirring in sour cream, salt and pepper. Using an immersion blender, pulse a few times. Cover and set aside.

4. Preheat a grill pan or large skillet to medium-high heat. Season lamb well on both sides and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, depending on the size of your chops. Cooking them to medium-rare is preferred (slightly pink in the middle). Remove to a plate and tent with foil. Meanwhile, add butter and onions to the same grill pan or skillet, and sauté for 5 minutes until they start to caramelize. Add water and sugar and cook, uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes more, or until onions are tender and golden. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

5. Place a mound of mashed peas on each plate, top with 2 lamp chops and caramelized onions, and spoon over mint tahini sauce. Serve at once.

Serves 4

LCBO Spring Recipes

Roasted Lamb Leg With Moroccan Spices

This marinade works wonderfully on all cuts of lamb and is great for a roasted shoulder or a deboned and rolled leg of lamb.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
3 tbsp olive oil
5 to 6 lb leg of lamb, bone in

METHOD:
1. In a large plastic freezer bag place cumin, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, cardamom and oil; blend well. Add lamb to the bag, seal and place in refrigerator for minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

3. Remove lamb from bag and place in medium roasting pan with fat-side up. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F and continue roasting uncovered until meat thermometer registers 140°F at the thickest part of the meat (make sure not to contact the bone with thermometer as it will not give an accurate reading. Cooking time for a bone-in leg of lamb is 25 minutes per pound to achieve medium-rare doneness.

4. Once the roast has reached the desired temperature remove from oven, cover with tin foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

5. Slice lamb and serve.

LCBO Spring Recipes

Butterflied Pork Tenderloin with Charred Tomato Salsa

Charring tomatoes over high heat adds a smokiness that accents their sweet and tangy flavours and softens them just enough to release the juices. Choose firmer, meatier tomatoes that will hold their texture when grilled.
The salsa can be made earlier in the day, but keep it at room temperature to preserve the flavour of the tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:
Charred Tomato Salsa
8 small, firm, ripe tomatoes (each about 2 inches)
1 poblano, hot banana or jalapeño pepper, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced seeded cucumber
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
½ tsp salt, or to taste

2 pork tenderloins, each about 12 oz
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small avocado
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

METHOD:
1. For the Charred Tomato Salsa, preheat grill to high. Cut each tomato in half crosswise. Brush tomatoes and poblano pepper with oil. Place tomatoes cut-side down on grill and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and grill just until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. At the same time, grill pepper, turning once, until well browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Chop the grilled pepper and tomatoes, reserving juices and discarding cores, and return to bowl. Add cucumber, lime juice and salt and toss to combine. Set aside.

3. For the pork, reduce grill to medium-high.

4. Cut each tenderloin in half lengthwise, almost, but not all the way through, to butterfly. Cover with plastic wrap and lightly pound the thicker end to even out the thickness. Combine lime juice and oil in a shallow dish and add pork, turning to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Grill pork, turning once, for about 3 to 4 minutes per side or just until pork has a tinge of pink in the centre. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

6. To serve, dice avocado and add to salsa with coriander, tossing gently to combine. Check seasoning. Slice pork thinly on an angle and serve topped with salsa.

Serves 4 to 6

LCBO Spring Recipes

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin with Apples & Sage

INGREDIENTS:
2 large pork tenderloins, total about 2 lbs
10 fresh sage leaves, very finely chopped, or 1 tsp dried rubbed sage
2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
9 to 10 slices thick-cut bacon
3 to 4 large apples such as Cortland or Spy
1 large cooking onion
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1½ cups chicken broth or stock
Kitchen twine


METHOD:
1. If any silver skin on loins is present, cut away and discard. Sprinkle sage, garlic, salt and pepper all over loins. Place loins closely together lengthwise, with thick ends meeting thin ends, to even out roast thickness.

2. Lay out slices of bacon snugly together on a cutting board, forming a rectangle. Place loins across bacon so bacon ends emerge from each side. Beginning at one end, lift a bacon end up over loins at a 45° angle. Then, alternating sides, continue lifting bacon ends down the length of roast forming a chevron pattern of bacon on top.

3. Cut five 12-inch lengths of twine and one 30-inch length. Place 5 shorter lengths of twine under loins widthwise. Working out from roast centre, firmly (but not causing deep indents to form) tie up each piece of twine, spacing evenly apart. Then tie up roast lengthwise with a longer piece of twine. Trim twine ends; discard. (Roast can be prepared, covered and refrigerated for up to half a day. Add 10 to 15 minutes to roasting time.)

4. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 425°F. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Lightly brown roast on all sides, about 15 minutes in total. Transfer to a baking pan lined with a rack. Place in oven; set time for 30 minutes. Check and continue roasting until a meat thermometer reads145°F. Remove from oven: transfer to cutting board. Cover roast with foil; let rest 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, peel core and slice apples. Thinly slice onion.

6. Drain most of fat from frying pan; place back over medium heat. Add onion; cook 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth; add apple slices. Bring to a boil; simmer, covered, 5 to 10 minutes or until apples are tender and sauce is lightly thickened. Add more broth if too thick; keep covered and hot.

7. To slice pork roast, snip off lengthwise string. Then slice about ¾ inch thick, removing crosswise strings as they are encountered. Place a few saucy apples on each warm serving plate, top with a couple of slices of roast and drizzle with more sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and a steamed julienne of carrot and kohlrabi.

Serves 6 to 8

LCBO Spring Recipes

Gourmet Green Pea Soup

Courtesy of chefs from The Blue Train, the South African luxury train service:

INGREDIENTS:

15ml olive oil
15g butter
1 garlic clove finely chopped
100g onion chopped
50g leeks
250g frozen green peas
300ml vegetable stock
50ml cream
salt and pepper
Finely chopped herbs (parsley, curly parsley & mint) to make 1 tsp
Micro pea shouts to garnish

METHOD

• Heat oil and butter in a medium size sauce pot, add onion and leeks and fry over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add garlic and allow to cook for a further 3 minutes,
• Add peas, allow to soften before adding the vegetable stock. Once stock is added bring to the boil,
• Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 8 minutes,
• Add cream and blend until smooth and a velvet like consistency is  achieved, season with salt & pepper
• Mix finely chopped herbs with cream and spoon over soup before serving,
• Garnish with pea shouts.