LCBO Food & Drink Spring 2022

Luck of the Irish from page 53

A splash of tequila from page 116

fine-mesh sieve, strain mixture into a clean bowl. Scrape curd into prepared crust, smoothing top. 4 Reduce oven to 300°F (149°C). 5 Once oven has fully reduced in tempera- ture, bake in bottom third until curd has set around the edges but still wobbles slightly, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 2 hours or overnight. 6 To serve, lift bars out of pan and cut into 16 bars, wiping knife clean in between cuts. When ready to serve, sprinkle bars with lime zest and flaky sea salt. (Ungarnished bars will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.)

DUBLIN SOUR An Irish take on the New York Sour. The ad- dition of a little Guinness floated on top adds depth and a touch of roasted bitterness. 2 oz Irish whiskey 1 oz fresh lemon juice 4 tsp (20 mL) Simple Syrup, recipe p. 105 1 Add the Irish whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white (if using) into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard for 30 seconds, until very cold. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice 2 Float the stout on top of the cocktail by slow- ly pouring it in over the back of a bar spoon. Makes 1 drink FULL IRISH DIGESTIF A rich and warming after-dinner drink with the moreish flavours of honey on toast. SODA BREAD SYRUP 1/2 cup (125 mL) water 1/3 cup (80 mL) white sugar 3 oz (85 g) sliced Irish soda bread, well toasted, cooled and broken into rough pieces COCKTAIL 4 tsp (20 mL) soda bread syrup 1/2 oz Irish Mist 1 tsp (5 mL) fresh lemon juice 2 oz Irish whiskey Dash orange bitters 1 strip orange zest for garnish 1 To make soda bread syrup, combine sugar and water in a pot and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Allow to reach a boil then remove from heat. 2 Pour syrup over soda bread pieces and allow to steep at room temperature for 60minutes. 3 Strain through a coffee filter–lined strainer and allow to chill for 1 hour before use. Store covered in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 4 To make cocktail, place all cocktail ingre­ dients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and stir until very cold, about 45 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe glass, garnish with orange zest and serve. Makes 1 drink 1 egg white (optional) 1/2 oz Irish dry stout

SALTED MARGARITA BARS When making these bars, the base finishes baking right around the same time the curd comes together. If the curd is ready before the base or vice versa, either can be set aside at room temperature until you’re ready to move on to the next step. Straining the curd is key for a super silky texture. BASE 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 tsp (2 mL) fine sea salt 1/2 tsp (2 mL) finely grated lime zest 3/4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter, cold, cubed 1 large egg yolk CURD 2 large eggs plus 6 large yolks 1 1/4 cups (310 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh lime juice 1/4 cup (60 mL) blanco tequila, preferably 1800 Silver 3 tbsp (45 mL) fresh orange juice 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lime zest 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated orange zest 3/4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter, cold, cubed GARNISH 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lime zest 1/2 tsp (2 mL) flaky sea salt 1 Position rack in bottom third of oven. Pre­ heat to 350°F (177°C). Generously butter a 9-inch (23-cm) square baking dish. Line bottom with parchment with overhanging edges on two opposing sides. 2 For the base, combine flour, sugar, salt and lime zest in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until butter is the size of peas. Add egg yolk and continue blending un- til a crumbly dough just comes together, up to 1 minute. Turn out into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake in bottom third of oven until golden, about 30 minutes. Set aside. 3 While the crust is baking, make the curd. Whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, lime juice, tequila, orange juice, lime zest and orange zest in a medium saucepan until fully combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until thickened, 6 to 8minutes. Curd will just be pulling away from the bottom of the pan when stirred. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir occasionally until fully combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a

Makes 16 bars

Mad for maple from page 76

MA-GRONI If you like the complex, sweet, tart and vegetal flavours of beets, you’ll love this fun spring Negroni variation that uses a homemade maple-beet shrub in place of a bitter red aper- itivo. Deeper grades of maple syrup (Amber to Very Dark) deliver more robust, pleas- antly bitter flavours. We tested the recipe using Dark from Giizhigat Maple Products (giizhigatmapleproducts.ca), a First Nation company on St. Joseph Island in Northern Ontario, which has a beautiful minerally flavour in its syrup. 2 oz Maple-Beet Shrub (recipe follows) 2 oz gin 2 oz sweet red vermouth 1 Chill two rocks glasses. Add maple-beet shrub, gin and vermouth to a mixing glass or pint glass half-full of ice. Stir for at least 1 minute, or until mixture is thoroughly chilled and flavours are well-integrated (sample with a clean tasting spoon), with no single ingre­ dient dominating the mix. 2 Put a large ice cube in each glass and pour half of the mixture into each. Garnish with fresh or maple-glazed orange wheels and serve. Maple-glazed (recipe next page) or fresh orange wheels, for garnish

Makes 2 drinks

106

SPRING 2022 FOOD & DRINK