LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2019

Colour it Christmas from page 138

6 colossal (12 to 15 per lb) shrimp, in their shells, steamed and chilled 2 small lemons, cut into wedges Tabasco 1 To prepare the mignonette, whisk together vinegar and pomegranate molasses. Gather the ginger in a fine-mesh sieve and press over a bowl to extract ginger juice. Measure 1 tsp (5 mL) and add to vinegar mixture; discard solids and any remaining juice. Stir in shallot and pepper; season to taste with salt. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. 2 For the Pernod mayonnaise, slowly drizzle oil into mayonnaise while beating constantly with an electric mixer. Stir in Pernod, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. 3 For the orange miso butter, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let cook until solids have turned light brown and smell nutty. Immediately re- move from heat and strain through a cheese- cloth-lined sieve over a small heatproof bowl (butter may be prepared to this point, covered and refrigerated indefinitely). When ready to serve, warm butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then whisk in orange juice, miso and zest. 4 To assemble and serve, remove the tails from the lobsters and cut in half lengthwise. Remove claws (reserve bodies for making stock if desired; otherwise, discard). Remove 1 half-shell from each of the mussels and clams; shuck oysters. 5 Line a large serving platter or tiered serving stand with ice and arrange all seafood overtop. Garnish with lemon slices and tuck Tabasco amongst seafood. Serve with trio of sauces, lobster crackers, picks and forks, encouraging guests to use the mignonette with the oysters and to dunk the remaining seafood into the mayonnaise or butter. TIP  Pomegranate molasses is a specialty product available at Middle Eastern grocers. It’s easy to make at home if you can’t find it. Simply combine a 473-mL bottle of unsweet- ened pomegranate juice with 1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar and 2 tsp (10 mL) lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to 2/3 cup (150 mL). Store unused molasses covered in fridge for a month. Serves 6

MEDITERRANEAN ROAST FISH Roasting fish whole is an incredibly simple way to get moist and delicious fish with little effort. Ask your fishmonger to clean them but leave the heads on for the best presentation. 1 onion, thinly sliced 1/2 large bulb fennel, quartered, cored and thinly sliced 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil, divided Salt and pepper

CHILLED SEAFOOD TOWER A luxurious seafood tower is celebratory and easy. Everything but shucking the oysters can (and should) be done ahead of time. That means when it’s time to eat, there’s little to do but sit down and enjoy. If you’re pressed for time, ask your grocery store to steam the lob- sters for you—many will. If steaming at home, the lobsters will take about 10 minutes, the shrimp about 8, the mussels 4 to 5 minutes, and the clams, depending on their size, 4 to 10 minutes. Langoustines, if you can find them, make a Christmas-worthy addition, too. If Per- nod isn’t part of your bar collection, substitute with 2 tsp (10 mL) chopped tarragon. POMEGRANATE GINGER MIGNONETTE 1/3 cup (80 mL) white wine vinegar 2 tbsp (30 mL) pomegranate molasses (see TIP) 1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated ginger 1 large shallot, finely chopped 1/4 tsp (1 mL) coarsely grated black pepper Salt to taste PERNODMAYONNAISE 1/3 cup (80 mL) grape-seed or canola oil 1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise 1 tsp (5 mL) Pernod ORANGE MISO BUTTER 3/4 cup (175 mL; 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 tbsp (15 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) white miso 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated orange zest 2 live lobsters, each 1 1/4 lb (565 g), steamed and chilled 1 lb (455 g) mussels, steamed and chilled 2 lbs (905 g) clams, steamed and chilled 12 oysters, freshly shucked 2 to 3 lbs (905 g to 1.36 kg) pre-cooked, thawed king crab or snow crab legs

2 whole fish, 1 1/4 lbs (565 g), such as European bass, porgies or sea bream, scaled, gutted and gilled 1/2 organic lemon, thinly sliced Fennel fronds 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 cup (125 mL) black Kalmata olives

1 Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). 2 Combine onion and fennel in a metal roast- ing pan. Drizzle with 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread into a single layer and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir and shake back into a single layer. 3 Season fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity of each fish with lemon slices, fennel fronds and garlic. Lay on top of fennel bulb slices and onions and drizzle fish with remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil. Scatter olives around the baking dish, place in oven and roast for 18 minutes longer or until the meat along the spine looks opaque and flakes easily with a fork. 4 Serve fish by scraping off the top layer of skin and carefully removing meat from the bones. Remove head and skeleton and serve the fish below it (discarding remaining skin) along with olives, onions and fennel.

Makes 4 servings

WHAT TO SERVE Toss out notions of avoiding red wine with fish but choose the style wisely. Red varieties like Gamay have soft tannins and berry fruit to pair wonderfully with oilier fish. Angels Gate Gamay Noir VQA LCBO 107714, $14.95

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HOLIDAY 2019 FOOD & DRINK