LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2020

QUICK FIXES 2 Spice Notes  As a dry spice mix or paste, harissa is a staple in North African and Middle Eastern cooking and has a spicy, sweet and smoky taste. A blend of smoked chilies, cumin, caraway and coriander seeds, smoked paprika, garlic and salt, it serves as a condiment (stirred into ketchup or mayo) or an ingredient that elevates almost any savoury dish. HARISSA

Hen party  Cornish hens are much smaller than standard chickens. Instead of carving, simply cut them in half so each guest can have a full breast and leg. You can also substitute a small whole butterflied chicken. Ask your local butcher to butterfly it for you. Recipe hack  From Autumn 2000, our recipe for Roast Cornish Hens with Cranberry Balsamic Glaze calls for sugar in the glaze. Instead, replace that with 1 tbsp (15 mL) harissa spice and 1 tbsp (15 mL) honey, stirred together, to give a lovely balance of sweet and spicy flavours. The Spice Trader If you can’t find fresh, piquant spices, check out this dedicated family business. It delivers superb, hand-blended, small- batch spices across Canada. It even offers spice classes. thespicetrader.ca

Spice Up Your Sides Vegetables love harissa! Whisk it with olive oil and lemon juice and toss it with any root vegetables before roasting or sautéeing—or use it as a dressing on salads. Seasoning with harissa adds oomph to couscous, quinoa or rice, and extra flavour to hummus. Stir it into yogurt to make a marinade or hot or cold sauce for grilled meats, especially lamb chops.

Heritage Bee honey Deb Gray and her husband, Jeff Chalmers, produce gorgeous raw, unpasteurized honey at their Certified Naturally Grown apiary called The Heritage Bee Company in the idyllic countryside near Creemore, Ont. As well as making liquid and creamed wildflower honey, they make a range of flavoured honeys, all 100 percent organic. My favourite has to be Triple Lemon Creamed Honey. heritagebee.com

Find the recipe at lcbo.com/fdholiday20

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HOLIDAY 2020 FOOD & DRINK