We love consistency, especially when it involves bacon. September 21, 2019 will mark the 10th anniversary of chef Paul Shufelt’s annual Bacon Day Dinner. Over the years the location and menu may have changed, but one thing has remained the same – the opportunity to mass consume all things packed with Alberta pork in support of charity.
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Location: Workshop Eatery (Mosaic Centre, 2003 – 91 st SW)
Tickets: $95 – avaialble on eventbrite
This year, the money from all sales will go to support In The Weeds, an organization whose mission is to help create a movement that supports positive mental health in Edmonton’s hospital community. The goal is to raise $30,000 to help kick start this new charity so that hospitality industry professionals can access therapy and support through Momentum Walk In Counselling, and to truly help restaurant workers in Edmonton.
Expect creative dishes involving every part of the piggy, and a whole lot of bacon, as well as a silent auction and raffle including Chartier sourdough once a month for a year, a private chef’s table from Workshop Eatery, a year’s supply of bacon from Irving Farms, Secret Meat Club subscriptions and much, much more.
Mark it on your calendar and grab your tickets before they sell out.
My boyfriend, who hails from Cantabria on the north coast of Spain, introduced me to Fabada Asturiana on my first trip back home with him. The hearty bean stew comes from his neighbouring province Asturias – and is most often served with bread for lunch.
Since 2016 is International Year of Pulses, I’ve been meaning to try it with local ingredients. While the traditional dish is most commonly served with faba beans, I substituted white northern beans grown in Alberta. I used Alberta pork belly and chorizo I picked up from Sunterra Market along with black pudding or blood sausage (called morcilla in Spain), which I ordered from Irving Farms. I found that Save-On Foods carries the same Spanish paprika that I brought back from Spain this past summer – it has a very distinct smoky taste to the more common paprika in stores.
What you’ll need…
1 white onion, chopped
1 head garlic, minced
2 tbsp canola oil
2 cups of faba, northern or white beans
1 tbsp smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)
250 gram pork belly, cut into cubes
2 chorizo sausages,
1 portion black pudding, or blood sausage
Directions:
Soak the beans in a pot of water overnight, making sure the water generously covers the beans.
In a large enameled cast-iron casserole dish or heavy duty pot, add the oil, onion, garlic, and pimentón, and cook over low-medium heat until onions are soft.
Drain the beans, rinse, and add to the pot with the pork belly. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for an hour and 15 minutes.
Add the chorizo and blood sausage, but be sure to keep in their casings. Simmer for 45 minutes more or until beans are thoroughly cooked and liquid has reduced to the consistency of a stew.
Remove the chorizo and blood sausage, and once cool enough to handle, cut into chunks. Either add the sausage pieces back to the dish and serve, or serve on a plate on the side for people to add to their own bowl of Fabada Asturiana.
Yesterday I attended my first cooking class at Kathryn Joel‘s Get Cooking Edmonton. Located in the Grant MacEwan University residence, conveniently across the street from my home, Kathryn has been hosting cooking classes in Get Cooking Edmonton’s new commercial location since September 2014. For information on upcoming classes check out this link.
For my first class I decided on Spanish from the Basque region with guest chef David Leeder.
A native of Edmonton, Chef Leeder first trained at NAIT’s Culinary Arts program. He worked in both Edmonton and Calgary before his culinary journey took him abroad to train at a number of distinguished restaurants including Martin Berasategui in Spain. Chef Leeder had an opportunity to learn from the best; Berasategui, a chef from the Basque region in northern Spain, has more Michelin stars than any other Spanish chef.
Since Spain is famous for its Spanish pigs and delicious pork products I was eager to attend his class. Chef Leeders menu included squid cooked in its own ink, cod with wild garlic & clams, salt crusted steak with Romesco, and of course a little bit of chorizo.
Chef Leeder shared a delightful tapas recipe for Chorizo & Artichokes. You’ll have to skip the jar of artichokes hearts for this dish – for a quick tutorial on how to clean an artichoke – check out this video. If you live in Edmonton, visit The Salt Room at Mother’s Market for locally produced chorizo made with Irving Farms Alberta Pork.
Artichoke (0.5 – 1 whole per person)
lemon juice
chorizo sausage
salt
white wine
olive oil
black pepper
Sauce
artichoke 3 whole
onion 1 whole
shallot 2
white wine 1 cup
chicken stock 1.5 cups
butter 50g
heavy cream 1 tbsp
saffron 2 pinches
olive oil
parsley
Begin by peeling the outer leaves off the artichoke until you find the white inner leaves, cut the top of the leaves off exposing the inner choke, scoop out the inner choke with a spoon.
Once the choke is removed take a pairing knife or vegetable peeler and peel back the stem until the fibrous layer is removed. once the artichoke has been cleaned, run lightly in lemon juice so it does not oxidize before cooking. Cut chokes in half right before cooking.
Heat a large pan, placing 2 tbs of oil in the pain until it smokes lightly, the place the halved artichokes in the pan flat side down and let sear until they develop a deep carmelization.
Flip the chokes over, deglazing the pan with 100ml of white wine and reduce until dry.
Turn down the heat and add in diced chorizo sausage, letting chorizo fat render out of the sausage, basting the artichokes in chorizo fat until tender.
Season with salt, lemon and black pepper, then finish with good Spanish olive oil.
Sauce
Sweat the onions and shallots in a pan until translucent.
Once they are tender add in the artichokes and saffron and cook gently for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat up on the pan slightly to get it hot, without colouring the onions (be quick).
Once the pan is hot enough, deglaze the pan with white wine and let it reduce until almost completely evaporated.
Once the wine has reduced, add in the chicken stock and reduce by half. Check the tenderness of the artichokes – if they are not cooked enough, the sauce will have a bad texture.
Once the artichokes are cooked through, add in the cream and cook for 30 seconds.
Pour the entire sauce base into a blender and begin to blend on low speed, gradually building up the speed on the blender, then add in the diced butter two cubes at a time until it creates a smooth velvety puree. Pass through a strainer and serve.
To Serve:
Start with a bed of artichokes and saffron sauce.
Place the charred artichokes in the sauce and spoon over cooked chorizo.
Garnish with parsley and drizzle of olive oil.
Chef David Leeder plates up his Chorizos & Artichoke dish
Whether you are looking for a recipe to stuff your Christmas turkey, goose, or chicken, or you just love a stand alone dressing (like me), this smoky stuffing packed with bacon is the perfect addition to your holiday entertaining.
I chopped up a package of Irving Farms bacon ends when I made this recipe at home; I found the thick cut pieces of pork add some great flavour and texture to this recipe. You can play around with any assortment of herbs you like.
Smoked Oyster and Bacon Stuffing
fresh thyme boosts the flavour of this dish
1 loaf crusty bread, cut into 1 inch chunks and toasted until dry and crunchy
1 pieces of thick cut bacon, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 celery sticks, diced
2 leeks, white parts cleaned and diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans smoked oysters, drained
4 tbsp of fresh thyme, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups chicken broth
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F
In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine bacon, onion, celery, leeks, garlic and mushrooms. Stir occasionally and cook until vegetables are soft, approximately 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add thyme, salt, pepper, bread, nuts and combine. Add eggs and chicken broth and mix until incorporated. Gently fold in oysters.
Add stuffing to bird, or if cooking separately, transfer mixture to a roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Allow stuffing to rest for at least five minutes before serving.
