LCBO Food and Drink Winter 2016

RECIPES With wine, beer and spirit recommendations by the LCBO’s Knowledge Resources Group.

stock options from page 33

VEGETABLE STOCK With vegetable stock, it is better to sauté the vegetables before adding liquid, as your broth will be more flavourful. I find that cooking the broth for 1½ hours is the optimal time. Sim- mered longer, the stock does not improve and gets a bit of an overcooked flavour. 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil 4 cups (1 L) coarsely chopped onion ½ cup (125 mL) white wine 2 canned tomatoes, crushed Approx. 6 leaves of Swiss chard or romaine, sliced 1 bay leaf 6 parsley stalks 1 sprig fresh thyme or a pinch dried thyme 6 peppercorns 1 Heat oil in large stockpot on medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and parsnip. Sauté in the oil until the edges of the vegetables start to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir together. 2 Pour in wine and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes or until the wine is reduced a little. Add tomatoes, Swiss chard, bay leaf, parsley stalks, thyme and peppercorns. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 11 hours. 3 Strain, discarding vegetables. Makes about 6 cups (1.5 L) WHAT TO SERVE (WI TH VEGETAR I AN SOUP) Masi Masianco Pinot Grigio & Verduzzo LCBO 620773 G. Marquis The Red Line Pinot Grigio VQA LCBO 276501 $15.00 $11.95 2 large carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 parsnip, coarsely chopped 6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

CHICKEN STOCK For chicken stock use chicken backs and necks and add a fewwings or legs thrown in for extra flavour. Freeze any uncooked necks or bones from chickens you buy for other dishes for up to 6 months and toss them into your stock. Because chicken stock is a light colour, don’t brown the bones. The light colour in a sauce complements light meats. Chicken stock can be made with a cooked chicken carcass. It will be a darker colour because the bones are cooked, but it will be full of flavour. 4 lbs (2 kg) chicken backs and necks 2 large chicken legs, about 1¼ lbs (625 g) 1 large onion, unpeeled, quartered 2 carrots, cut in chunks 2 stalks celery, cut in thirds 4 cloves unpeeled garlic 1 leek, green portion only, halved (optional) 6 mushroom stalks (optional) 1 Place the chicken pieces in a large stock- pot. Add enough cold water to cover the bones and legs by 1 inch (2.5 cm), about 14 to 16 cups (3.5 to 4 L) in total. Bring to a boil on high heat. With a slotted spoon or fine mesh sieve, skim the foam from the top. 2 Add remaining ingredients and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 min- utes. Remove chicken legs and separate meat from bones. Return bones to pot and reserve meat for another use. Continue simmering stock for 3 more hours, or until flavours have intensified. 3 Cool the stock and strain into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Makes about 12 cups (3 L) WHAT TO SERVE (WI TH GREEK CHICKEN SOUP) Tsantali Makedonikos White LCBO 420547 $9.95 Flat Rock Good Kharma Chardonnay VQA LCBO 356873 $16.95

GENERAL STOCK-MAKING TIPS

➤ Stock adds much more flavour to dishes. Reduced, its natural gelatin gives you thick, rich sauces and helps you avoid processed packaged stock that always has too much salt, even if it is low-salt. ➤ Don’t peel your vegetables, just give them a scrub. Onion skins contain a natural dye that helps improve the colour, so don’t peel your onions. The stock will have a darker, richer hue. ➤ Cover your ingredients by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) water. ➤ All stock should be started in cold water otherwise the albumen—a simple form of protein that coagulates with heat—won’t harden enough to be skimmed off. ➤ Never salt any stock as you will not be able to reduce it afterwards. There is enough natural salt to flavour it. Add salt only after reducing for sauces or soups. ➤ Use a slotted spoon to remove the foam that forms when the stock comes to the boil. ➤ Never use ground pepper as that will cloud the stock. ➤ For ease, chill stock and remove the fat when it hardens. ➤ Whenever prepping foods, save your onion ends, dark-green leek leaves, bits of car- rot, celery tops and mushroom stems in a large freezer bag. Add them to your stock as needed. ➤ Don’t worry if you have more or less of the vegetables called for in the recipes. It will not affect the results that much. ➤ Use good-quality ingredients to make stock. You will get a superior end result.

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