LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2022

golden and fragrant. Scrape into a heatproof bowl and set aside.

3. Heat oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium low. Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another minute. Add peppers and any collected juices to pan. Stir in cream, cream cheese and nutmeg. Let boil 5 minutes or until somewhat thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, tip into a serving bowl and top with fried onions.

Spotlight on Veggies from page 75

[ WHAT TO SERVE ] Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling VQA VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 213983, $32.95 Among the best in the world, Ontario sparkling wine is a perfect match for this velvety dish. Crisp acidity helps cut the creaminess, while the wine’s nuttiness and fruit tones balance the pairing. CREAMED PEPPERS Prepping a large quantity of roasted peppers is a pain, but once you’ve got that done (and it can be done days in advance), this over-the-top side dish takes just minutes to pull together. If you like creamed spinach, you’ll love this. And the deep, rich flavours are pretty great mixed and mingled on the plate with the other dishes in this menu. Don’t be tempted to purchase already roasted peppers in a jar—they’re too vinegary and won’t work here. 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3/4 cup (175 mL) whipping cream 1/4 cup (60 mL) cream cheese 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup (250 mL) French’s Crispy Fried Onions 1. Line a large baking sheet with foil; arrange peppers on sheet. Broil, flipping from time to time, until blackened all over. Remove to a large heatproof bowl, cover and let stand 1 hour or until cool enough to handle. 2. Working one pepper at a time, remove and discard skin. Pull out and discard stem, open up pepper and scrape out the seeds. Cut pepper into 1-inch (2.5-cm) strips and transfer to a clean bowl. Repeat with remaining peppers. (Peppers can be kept covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.) 8 large red, yellow or orange bell peppers 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter 1 onion, thinly sliced

2. Wipe pot clean, add 3 tbsp (45 mL) oil and return to medium low. Fry garlic, stirring from time to time, until golden. Pour stock overtop. Add water, zucchini, saffron and Parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Let cook 20 minutes. 3. While soup is cooking, prepare the garnish. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle a thin, even layer of Parmesan into pan, then sprinkle almonds overtop. Let cook undisturbed until lacy and lightly golden around edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately drizzle with remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) oil; let cool. Transfer fried cheese and oil to a bowl and crumble cheese into pieces. 4. Transfer soup to a blender and purée on high speed. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. (Soup can be made up to 5 days in advance and refrigerated until ready to reheat and serve.) Spoon a little of the crumbled fried cheese, including some of the oil, over each bowl to serve.

NUTTY YELLOW ZUCCHINI SOUP

The sunshiny colour of this soup contrasts its deep flavours. The rinds from two average-size vac packed pieces of supermarket Parm are roughly what you need to make the soup. Ground almonds (the real secret here) can be found in the baking aisle. 3/4 cup (175 mL) ground almonds 5 tbsp (75 mL) olive oil, divided 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 4 cups (1 L) chicken stock 2 cups (500 mL) water 2 lbs (905 g) yellow zucchini, about 4 medium, trimmed and cut into chunks Pinch saffron 3 oz (85 g) Parmesan rind Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup (250 mL) finely grated Parmesan 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped toasted almonds 1. Add ground almonds to a large pot and set over medium-low heat. Stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently later on, dry-fry almonds until deep

Serves 8

Crunch Time from page 85

ALMOND & CRANBERRY SPELT CRISPS Inspired by Raincoast Crisps, the popular B.C.-made crackers, these crackers are easy to make and incredibly versatile. Feel free to switch things up by using golden raisins instead of cranberries or walnuts instead of almonds. Just keep the proportions of nuts, seeds and dried fruit the same as listed below. 1 cup (250 mL) spelt flour 3/4 cup (175 mL) raw whole almonds 1/2 cup (125 mL) raw shelled pistachios 1/4 cup (60 mL) raw pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup (60 mL) packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup (175 mL) dried cranberries

Serves 8

2 tbsp (30 mL) flaxseed 2 tbsp (30 mL) chia seeds 1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda 1/2 tsp (2 mL) fine sea salt 3/4 cup (175 mL) buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease two (3 x 6-inch/ 8 x 15-cm) mini loaf pans. 2. Place cranberries in a medium bowl. Cover with hot tap water. Set aside to plump for 10 minutes. 3. Combine flour with almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sugar, flaxseed, chia seeds, baking soda

160 FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN 2022

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