LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2023

THE BACK PAGE

What happens when you reimagine the dish that graced the very first Food & Drink cover three decades ago? The answer is simple: good, gorgeous and very delicious things. Repeat Performance

BY LUCY WAVERMAN

The cover star of our inaugural issue was Aromatic Beef with Pinot Noir Sauce , developed by then food editor Lucy Waverman, who remained on the masthead for 26 years. For a bit of fun, we asked her to remix the recipe for modern tastes.

The first thing she did was swap out pricey beef ten derloin for a cut that’s just as tasty, but much easier on the wallet. “The juicy, triangle-shaped sirloin cap comes from the top of the rump,” she says. “It’s not a muscle that works much, so it’s naturally tender.” For the sauce, Waverman kept the French building blocks, but layered them with umami-­ rich ingredients including balsamic vinegar, miso paste and chili crisp. The result is Sirloin Cap Roast with Red Wine Umami Sauce (p. 168), a delightful twist on beef au jus featuring a tasty “butcher’s cut” and an intensely savoury sauce packed with global flavours.

TIPS 1. Most butchers carry top sirloin, but if you want just the cap, which Brazilians call picanha , play it safe and pre-order. 2. If you like the funky flavour of long dry-aging, brush the beef with Asian fish sauce, wrap tightly and refrig erate for 4 days.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARREN KEMPER; FOOD STYLING BY CHRISTOPHER ST. ONGE; PROP STYLING BY CATHERINE MacFADYEN

184 FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN 2023