LCBO Food and Drink Early Summer 2016

SALTED CARAMEL PUDDING This pudding is based on a recipe from Craig Harding, chef-owner of Campagnolo, a fine Italian restaurant in Toronto. A must for salted caramel lovers, it has a smooth texture and outstanding taste. Have all your ingredients measured out and ready to use for the recipe, as it moves quickly. ¼ cup (60 mL) cornstarch 7 tbsp (105 mL) water 4 egg yolks

1 Combine all marinade ingredients except for oil and brown sugar in a blender or in a bowl if using a hand blender. Blend, gradu- ally adding in oil. Once smooth, mix in brown sugar. Reserve. 2 Score pork belly with cross hatches ½ inch (1 cm) apart. Heat a large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add oil and sear pork belly, fat-side down, to render out fat and brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and sear second side for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer pork to a dish and pour over marinade. Let marinate on the counter for 30 minutes. 3 Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). 4 Discard all but 1 tbsp (15 mL) fat from ovenproof pot. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes or until beginning to soften then add cider. Boil for 3 minutes or until slightly reduced, then add stock. Return pork belly to pot, stirring in marinade. Cover tightly with a lid. 5 Bake in oven for 2½ hours or until pork is very tender. Cool in liquid. Remove pork and place on baking sheet with a smaller baking sheet on top. Place a weight over and leave weighted pork for 2 hours at room tempera- ture. Chill cooking liquid. Spoon fat off chilled liquid and reserve for another use. 6 Increase oven temperature to 400°F (200°C). 7 Mix all crumble ingredients except pista- chios together and spread on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Toss in pistachios and bake for 5 more minutes or until crunchy. Place in a spice grinder and whirl until texture resem- bles bread crumbs. 8 Divide Fennel, Apple & Watercress Salad (recipe on page 174) between plates. Slice pork and lay over salad. Sprinkle pork and plate with crumble. Serves 6

SPIRITED PORK BELLY You can serve this dish in many ways. Here we serve it cold over a salad with a crumble gar- nish, but it is equally good sliced and served hot in its sauce with a side of potato salad as well as the fennel salad. The flavour is lively and enticing, hence the recipe name. It keeps for a week refrigerated. If you do not use the sauce, reduce it until it’s very thick, then beat it into some mayonnaise and make a pork belly sandwich topped with Asian pickles and let- tuce. Or slice and stir-fry the pork with vegeta- bles and finish it with soy and a pinch of sugar.

1 cup (250 mL) 10% cream 2 tbsp (30 mL) maple syrup 1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar 1 tsp (5 mL) salt 3 cups (750 mL) 35% whipping cream 4 tbsp (60 mL) dark rum 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter Maldon or pink Himalayan salt, to finish

1 Mix cornstarch with 3 tbsp (45 mL) water, and reserve. Whisk together egg yolks and 10% cream, and reserve. 2 Combine maple syrup, brown sugar, salt and remaining 4 tbsp (60 mL) water in a heavy pot over high heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Let mixture boil, swirling the pan occasionally, until it reaches 270°F (132°C) on a sugar thermometer, about 3 minutes. Mix- ture will be very thick. 3 Remove from heat and whisk in ½ cup (125 mL) whipping cream until smooth. Return to a medium heat and gradually whisk in re- maining whipping cream. There may be some lumps. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Add cornstarch mixture and rum and continue whisking until mixture thickens, about 1 min- ute. Reduce heat to low. Mix ¼ cup (60 mL) hot mixture into egg yolks and add egg yolk to pot. 4 Cook the custard, whisking constantly, un- til yolks thicken the mixture a little more, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in but- ter. Strain the pudding and pour into 6 serving dishes. Top each with a sprinkle of finishing salt. Serve with a biscotti cookie if desired. Serves 6 WHAT TO SERVE El Dorado Special Reserve 15 Year Old Rum LCBO 705418 $59.45 Aged rum has butterscotch and vanilla notes that re- play the sweet flavours of the pudding.

MARINADE 3 tbsp (45 mL) rice wine vinegar 1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh rosemary leaves 1 tbsp (15 mL) black peppercorns

2 tsp (10 mL) chili flakes 1 tsp (5 mL) fennel seeds 2 tsp (10 mL) salt

1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon ¼ cup (60 mL) vegetable oil 1 tbsp (15 mL) brown sugar BRAISING LIQUID 1 pork belly, 2 to 3 lbs (1 to 1.5 kg) 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil

1 cup (250 mL) chopped onion ½ cup (125 mL) chopped carrot ½ cup (125 mL) chopped celery stalk 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed 1 cup (250 mL) hard cider 1 cup (250 mL) pork, beef or chicken stock CRUMBLE 2 tbsp (30 mL) pumpkin seeds

WHAT TO SERVE Ironwood Hard Cider LCBO 405241, 473 mL

$2.95 The combination of apple and pork is a timeless match. This cider can be used in the recipe and will excel as a pairing. Lake of Bays Spark House Red Ale LCBO 380329, 473 mL $2.60 Ales have a fruity character that creates a perfect har- mony with the savoury and sweet notes in the dish.

2 tbsp (30 mL) rolled oats 2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable oil ½ tsp (2 mL) chopped rosemary ¼ tsp (1 mL) cinnamon ¼ tsp (1 mL) brown sugar Pinch of chili flakes Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped pistachios

Frangelico LCBO 169441

$28.95 Frangelico’s toasty hazelnut flavour is a delicious com- plement to the caramel flavours of the dish.

172  FOOD & DRI NK EARLY SUMMER 2016