LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2016

BURRATA WITH ROASTED GRAPES & FIGS You want easy? Here’s easy. The cheese is the star, but the plump, warm fruit plays a strong supporting role. With a touch of salt, a drizzle of honey and the fresh thyme bringing every­ thing together, you could serve this as an appetizer or a dessert. Your guests will be happy either way. 6 oz (175 g) red seedless grapes 6 ripe black mission figs, quartered 2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil Pinch of sea salt 1 pkg (250 g) burrata, at room temperature 2 tsp (10 mL) honey 2 Place grapes and figs on a foil-lined bak- ing sheet, trying to keep bunches of grapes together (for a lovely presentation). Drizzle with oil. Season with salt. Bake for 10 minutes. 3 Place cheese in the middle of your serving dish, surrounded by warm fruit. Drizzle every­ thing with honey and sprinkle with purple thyme. Encourage guests to take slices of cheese and roasted fruit onto their plates or you can plate it for them. I like it as is, but you could serve with slices of toasted baguette or your favourite crackers. (Rosemary Raisin Pecan Raincoast Crisps are especially nice with this.) And, if you want to make it more desserty, serve with oatcakes. Serves 4 to 6 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh purple thyme leaves Toasted baguette or crackers (optional) 1 Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). $13.95 For a match that’s as easy as the recipe, we recommend this Italian classic, made from the aromatic Muscat grape variety. Easy to enjoy and easy to serve, this ex- otic bubbly offers a sweet palate and a lively sparkle along with intense grapey flavours and notes of honey, citrus peel and orange blossom that provide a perfect harmony with this dish. $21.95 This decadent local treat’s luscious, sweet pear and apple, grapey, honey and dried fruit flavours will com- plement the richness and depth of flavours of the dish. The zesty acidity cleanses the palate and completes the match. Lakeview Cellars Vidal Icewine VQA VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 522672, 200 mL WHAT TO SERVE Martini & Rossi Asti LCBO 253948

and milk. Work together into a patty of dough (dough will be quite moist) and remove ¼ cup (60 mL) of it, setting aside for crumble topping. 3 Press remaining dough evenly into pie plate, making sure it isn’t too thick on the bottom. Prick bottom of crust all over with a fork, then place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake in oven until very lightly golden, approximately 12 minutes. Remove and set aside. 4 To make filling, combine fresh blueberries with lemon juice, sugar, flour and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly and pour into prepared pie crust. It will be quite full. 5 Raise oven temperature to 425°F (220°C). 6 For crumble topping, put the flour, sugars and salt into a bowl. Using your fingers blend in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add vanilla and the ¼ cup (60 mL) of reserved pie-crust dough to the crumble, blending it in with your fingers. Mound crumble topping all overtop of blueberries. 7 Bake on baking sheet for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 375°F (190°C) for another 25 to 30 minutes or until pie is golden. Let cool for several hours before eating. Serves 6 to 8 Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port LCBO 191239 $16.95 Port is always a great after-dinner drink—and it’s also a great pairing to this blueberry crumble pie. This ex- ample delivers enough sweetness and concentration to embrace the dessert’s sweet, rich texture. In addi- tion, the dark berry, vanilla and chocolate tones will harmonize with similar elements in the dessert, leav- ing you asking for more. $26.75 Double up the blueberry flavour by pairing with this delicious flavoured vodka. Delight your guests by serving a couple of ounces over ice or use it to cre- ate a fantastic cocktail such as the The Blue Lavender Collins (Spring 2014), available in Food & Drink ’s online archives. Smirnoff Blueberry Flavoured Vodka LCBO 380303 WHAT TO SERVE

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE PIE This recipe is based on one created by my cottage neighbour, Judy Singer, who’s a tal- ented artist and baker in equal measures. She likes her food salty, which accounts for the crunch of kosher salt in this addictive pie. Feel free to switch up the blueberries with anything from raspberries to peaches to strawberries and plums. This pie will be- come a mainstay in your summertime reper- toire, as it has in mine.

CRUST 2 cups (500 mL) flour ½ tsp (2 mL) kosher salt 2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar ¾ cup (175 mL) canola oil 1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla 2 tbsp (30 mL) milk

FILLING 2½ dry pints fresh blueberries, about 5 cups (1.25 L) Freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon ¼ cup (60 mL) sugar 1 tbsp (15 mL) flour 1 tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch CRUMBLE TOPPING ½ cup (125 mL) flour 2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar 3 tbsp (45 mL) brown sugar ½ tsp (2 mL) kosher salt 2 tbsp (30 mL) cold butter 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 2 To make crust, add flour, salt and sugar to a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate. Stir in oil, vanilla

146  FOOD & DRI NK SUMMER 2016