This past Saturday (November 13th, 2010), the TYFPC hosted round 2 of it’s 2nd annual “So You Think You(th) Can Cook” Competition at the Royal Winter Fair! Three finalists prepared original Ontario recipes in front of four fantastic judges for a change to win prizes donated by our sponsors – the Toronto Food Policy Council, Sustain Ontario, The Sweet Potato, Chocosol, Local Food Plus, Foodland Ontario, the Toronto Food Termainal and Celebrity Chef Brad Long of Veritas!
The finalists were judged based upon their knowledge of the ingredients, taste and visualappeal of the food, and overall creativity. Congratulations to all the participants and volunteers who helped make this event a success!
Here are the winning recipe’s from Saturday’s event. (round 1 winning recipe’s can also be found here.
1st Place. Sean’s Autumn Beet Salad (3 servings)
Prosciutto Roll:
- 3 slices Ontario prosciutto, julienne
- 6 slices Ontario prosciutto, for rolling
- ½ shallot, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Ontario beet stems, fine chop
- ½ cup Ontario beet greens rough chop
- ½ cup oil(veg, olive, grapeseed)
Spiced Golden Beets:
- 3 medium sized Ontario beets, thinly sliced
- 1 tbs sugar
- ½ tbs salt
- 1 tbs sherry vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
Citrus-Pumpkin Seed vinaigrette:
- ½ tbs Dijon mustard
- ½ shallot, thinly sliced
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup of chopped pumpkin seed
- Reserved oil from prosciutto roll confit.
Garnish:
- 1 Ontario Macintosh apple, fine julienne
- Juice of ¼ lemon
- 1/8 cup Canadian cranberry covered goat cheese.
Method
Prosciutto Roll
Combine julienned prosciutto, shallot, beet stems, oil, and lightly fry for 5 minutes. Stir in beet greens and remove from heat, drain off excess oil and let both cool. Spoon beet stem mixture onto remaining prosciutto and roll into a cylinder shape, set aside.
Spiced Beets
In a pot, combine thinly sliced beets, sugar, salt, sherry vinegar and cinnamon stick. Cover with water and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 8 minutes or until beets are tender. Remove beets and discard cooking liquid.
Citrus-Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette
Combine mustard, shallot, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice and zest. Slowly whisk in reserved oil from the beet stem confit until vinaigrette emulsifies.
Plating:
Place cranberry goat cheese on plate and smear in a straight line. Place prosciutto roll directly on top of the goat cheese. Arrange beets on and around the prosciutto roll. Place julienned apple on top of beets. Drizzle vinaigrette on beets and around the place. Serve and enjoy.
2nd Place. Tony’s VEGETABLE DELIGHT, ON A CANOE OF ROASTED CARAMELIZED SQUASH
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Yukon gold potato, cubed and cooked al dente
- ½ Red pepper brunoise
- ½ cup green peas
- ¼ onion small diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ carrot small diced (blanched)
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup of firm tofu small cubed
- ¼ cup of flour
- 1 small can of coconut milk
- 1 pinch of cumin
- 1 pinch of paprika
- 1 pinch of curry powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ricatto squash cutted in half, and seeds removed
PROCEDURE
Place squash on a cookie sheet and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked.
Make a roux in a small saucepan, add onions, and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, slowly adding coconut milk and stirring well.
Add red pepper when the sauce starts to thicken, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and the seasoning. Keep stirring through the entire process to avoid the sauce to become too thick or clumpy.
Serve this complete meal by filling the boats of squash with the creamy vegetables. Garnish the plate with your favorite autumn vegetables, and enjoy
3rd Place. Mildred’s Fresh Slork Capple Rolls + Squash Hummus with Artisan Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 Apples
- 1 Pear
- ½ Green cabbage
- ½ Purple cabbage
- Ontario Pork Chops/belly – 3 slices
- 3 pieces rice paper
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ pinch of cumin and coriander powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 table spoons of brown sugar
- Pinch of pepper
- 3 table spoons of soya sauce
- 2 table spoons of cider vinegar
- 1/6 cup of olive oil
- 3 table spoons of cooking wine
Apple + Cabbage slaw
1. Cut green/purple cabbages and apples into small strips into a large bowl.
2. Mix in olive oil, soya sauce, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin and coriander powder.
3. Add in desirable amount of sugar – suggestion: 1 table spoon
Pork
1. Quickly cut pork into tiny strips.
2. Mix it in large bowl with 1 table spoon of soya sauce, sugar, chopped garlic, dash of cooking wine and marinate for 3-5 minutes.
3. Pan fry pork until golden.
Final product
- Prepare a bowl of hot water. Make it as warm as you can stand to touch, as you will be placing your hands in it.
- Rice paper is very brittle, so use care when removing it from the package. Place a sheet of rice paper in the hot water for 30 seconds.
- Now place finished rice paper on plate.
- Use rice paper to wrap around desirable amount of apple + cabbage slaw and pork.
Ingredients for Squash Hummus
1 cup chopped local pumpkin/squash
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 table spoons of tahini
- 1/6 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/8 cup water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1. Boil squash/pumpkin until tender. In a food processor or blender, combine pumpkin/squash, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, water, and olive oil. Process until smooth, then add sugar and salt. Adjust saltiness to your taste.
2. Dish out into serving bowl, drizzle with additional olive oil, and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve with pita chips or raw vegetables like baby carrots or cherry tomatoes.