Seasonal Ontario Food

Smoked trout is rather expensive but a little bit goes a reasonably long way. Here it is mixed with some glamorous vegetables for quite a fancy pasta dish, but like most pasta dishes it is quick and easy enough for a week-night dinner. And yes, it's pasta again. We do tend to live on the stuff.

This is the time of year when I tend to strew everything with parsley because it is finally looking thick and lush; also there's no denying that fennel and leeks need a shot of green to liven them up. A nice green salad on the side will have the same effect and finish off your meal nicely.

2 to 4 servings
30 minutes prep time


Make the Sauce:
1 medium bulb of fennel
1 large leek
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1/4 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika, possibly smoked
1 cup fish or chicken stock

Wash the fennel and trim off the stems and base. Chop the bulb into bite-sized pieces. Wash and trim the leek, slice it lengthwise, and cut it in pieces.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel and leeks, and stir to coat in the butter. Cook gently until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Stir regularly. Put the water on to boil for the past as as soon as the vegetables go into the pan.

Add the seasonings to the vegetables and mix in. 

When the vegetables have softened and cooked down for about 10 minutes, add the fish or chicken stock and continue simmering.

Cook the Pasta & Finish:
150 to 225 grams stubby pasta
1/2 cup dried tomato bits
1/2 (200 grams; 1/2 pound) of a smoked trout
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
sprig of parsley, and/or fennel

Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta until it is 3 minutes short of the recommended time on the package. Add the tomato bits when there is still 5 minutes left to go. Drain well.

Add the pasta to the pan of vegetables, and mix in well. Let cook for a minute or so, then add the smoked trout, crumbled into bite-sized pieces. Let that heat through for another minute.

Mix the starch into the cream and mix it into the pan. Stir gently, and cook until the sauce has thickened - just another minute or so.

If you have a little parsley, mince a sprig finely with a sprig of greenery from the fennel. Otherwise, just a sprig from the fennel. Sprinkle over the finished pasta to garnish.





Last year at this time I made Mallorcan Eggplant Pastel.

This was a simple little salad to put together, but it made good use of some of the vegetables now coming of our garden. I found the original recipe in a cookbook from around 1890, and have expanded it a little - yeah, that was a really simple recipe.

I garnished mine with a few sliced olives, which I thought was a nice touch.

2 to 4 servings
15 minutes prep time but allow 2 hours for cooking and cooling


Make the Dressing:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
 1 tablespoon sunflower seed oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk or shake together in a small bowl or jar.

Make the Salad:
4 medium beets
1/4 cup sliced sweet onion
1/2 cup (1 small) sliced fennel bulb
OR 2 stalks of celery
salt
2 large eggs

Cook the beets in advance by putting them in a pot with water to cover them generously, and boiling them until tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Alternatively, wrap them in foil and bake them at 350°F for a similar or slightly longer amount of time. Let them cool, peel them and slice them.

Peel and slice the onion. Trim and slice the fennel or celery, into fairly thin, fine slices. Put them in a shallow dish, and salt them heavily. Set them aside for about half an hour, then rinse them well and squeeze them gently dry.

Put the eggs in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring them to a boil and boil them for one minute, then turn off the heat and leave them, covered, for 10 minutes. Put them in cold water until cool enough to peel. Peel them.

Arrange the onion and fennel or celery on individual plates, and arrange the beet and egg slices over the top. Less decorative, but probably a bit easier to eat would be to chop the beets and eggs finer, and mix them with the onion and fennel.  Either way, then drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad.




Last year at this time I made Pork with Fennel & Peppers. 

Here's a nice quick salad, with tangy flavours and a good crunchy texture. Next time I make it, I'll cut things finer than I did this time, I think. They should be a little coarser than if you had grated them, but not by too much.

This has been a difficult year in the garden in many ways as it has been so cool and damp, but the fennel is loving it, and I have the best I've ever grown. I'll need to think of more ways to use it. Two little kohlrabies are preferable to one larger one, as they will likely be more tender, but you make salad with the kohlrabies that you have, not the ones you wish you had. I did have two little ones, as the kohlrabies are not loving it - all the brassicas have been so disease and bug-ridden this year - but I don't know that they were notably tender. Still, they were okay, once they were peeled and trimmed.

4 to 6 servings
20 minutes prep time


2 medium-small kohlrabies
OR 1 large kohlrabi
1 medium bulb fennel
1 large apple
the juice of 1 large lime
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sunflower seed OR olive oil
salt

Peel the kohlrabies and cut them into fine julienne. Trim the tough stems and base from the fennel, and slice it very finely. Peel the apple if you like, although if you have a red one the colour will add a nice touch - I suggest you leave it on. At any rate, cut it in quarters, core it, and cut it in fine julienne to match the rest of the vegetables. Toss them all with the lime juice.

Mix the honey, mustard and oil in small bowl  until well amalgamated, then toss it with the salad. Season it with a little salt to taste.




Last year at this time I made Beans with Peppers & Shiitakes. Couldn't make that this year! Between anthracnose (yes, it's as 'orrible as it sounds) and cold, the beans are over.

I'm not sure what the pepper situation is out there if you have to buy them. I am STILL trying to clear all of ours off the counter, although they are finally dwindling fast. (Admittedly a number of them are going to the compost.) Good thing this turned out to be quite tasty, as I made a big batch to freeze.

If you can't find stewing pork (it doesn't seem to be around much) a piece of shoulder or pork loin rib chops trimmed and cut up will do just fine. If you don't have or use wine, I would put in some lemon and/or orange juice instead. Also, you may wish to hold out a bit of the chicken stock until the end, then stir it in with 2 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch dissolved in it, for a thicker sauce. 

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 1  hour prep time


2 large bulbs of fennel (4 cups sliced)
3 to 6 mixed sweet pepeprs (4 cups sliced)
1 large onion
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
500 grams (1 pound) lean stewing pork
2 to 4 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dry rubbed thyme
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon flaked red chile
1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste

Wash the fennel, and trim away the stem end. Cut off any narrow, tough stems and greenery. (Save a little of the leaves for garnish if you like.) Cut the fennel in half, removing any tough core, then slice into small bite-sized pieces. Wash, core and deseed the peppers, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Peel the onion, and chop into bite-sized pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Check that the pork is trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet, and cook the peppers over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they are softened, slightly browned and much reduced in volume. Add them to a large stewing pot. Add a little more oil to the skillet if needed, and cook the fennel until similarly softened, browned and reduced in volume. Add it to the peppers. Repeat with the onion, adding the garlic just a minute or two before you add it to the stew pot. Finally, brown the pork  well in the skillet then add it to the vegetables.

Add the wine, chicken stock and seasonings to the stew. You will likely need to adjust the amount of salt depending on how salty the chicken stock is. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes.



Last year around this time I made Vegan Stuffed Peppers and Miso-Tomato Soup. Hmm, tomatoes have been done for a good 2 weeks this year, but it's a good year-round soup when made with tinned ones. 

We finally have been able to grow some decent fennel this year. The change is that it was in a bed getting automatic irrigation, so in spite of the heat and drought it did okay and actually sized up before bolting. Not that it isn't starting to bolt, but the bulbs are at least mostly large enough to use. I guess that's the secret to growing good fennel - rich soil, moderate temperatures and lots of moisture, none of which happen easily around here.

We really enjoyed it in this simple sweet and spicy coleslaw style salad. It went well with our pork roast last week, and this week I made it again and ate it with spaghetti. It would also be good with chicken or fish. 

4 to 6 servings
20 minutes prep time - 1 hour or more to rest



Make the Dressing:
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chile-garlic sauce
OR equivalent of very finely minced fresh hot chile
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
the juice of 1/2 lemon (1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey

Mix the above ingredients in a small bowl or jar and stir until the honey is dissolved. You can heat it for a few seconds in the microwave if that helps. If you use a fresh chile, be sure to wear gloves while you mince it. 

Make the Salad:
3 cups (450 grams, 1 pound) thinnly sliced fennel
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Trim the stems and root end off the fennel bulbs - you will need 2 or 3 of them. Lay them down and cut them in half from top to bottom. If the centre cores are tough, remove them. Turn the pieces so the flat sides are on the cutting board, and cut them very thinnly.

Toss the finely sliced fennel pieces with the dressing and let rest in a cool spot or the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving. Toss in the cranberries and almonds just before serving.

Ontario fennel is scarce as hen's teeth. Mostly it comes from the U.S., but last time I was in the grocery store I saw some labelled "product of Canada". I asked the produce department if they could pin it down more than that, but they couldn't. So there's a chance it came from Ontario - although they suspected Quebec was the most likely source. Anyway, in the spirit of lobbying Ontario farmers to grow fennel (no, it is not anise as the grocery stores insist on labelling it) I bought some. This was one of the results.

Anise seed and fennel have similar licorice-like flavours that get along very well, and oranges and cranberries are buddies from way back. You could up the Ontario quotient a bit by throwing in a bit of cut-up apple if you liked.

4 servings
20 minutes prep time


Make the Salad:
1/2 of a medium head of fennel
1 large celery stalk
1 1/2 clementines
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Trim the fennel, discarding the tough round stalks at the top and a slice of the thick base. Rinse the remainder, and slice it as thinly as you can. Chop it up a little as well. Clean and trim the celery stalk and slice it in the same way. Peel the first clementine, and divide it in sections. Cut the sections in half, and discard the seeds. Add the pieces to the salad. Cut the second clementine in half. Reserve half for the dressing, and peel the remaining half. Pick out any seeds, and pull it apart into segments. Add them to the salad. Add the cranberries.


Make the Dressing:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (light is fine)
the juice of 1/2 clementine
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, finely ground
salt & pepper to taste

Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the clementine, discarding any seeds. Grind the anise seed, and add it along with a grind of salt and pepper. Mix until smooth.

Toss the salad in the dressing. It can be served at once, or kept chilled for up to 2 or 3 hours.

A quick and easy pasta dish with that favourite vegetable of mine - fennel. Since it's pasta, you know what that means: Presto Pasta Nights!

2 to 3 servings
30 minutes - 20 minutes prep time



250 grams (1/2 pound) stubby pasta
450 grams (1 pound) plain or garlic pork sausage
1 large onion
1 small head of fennel
1 stalk of celery
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 dried hot red chile
ground black pepper to taste

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, and cook it until just tender.

Meanwhile, cut the sausage into pieces and put it in a large skillet with about a cup of water. Bring it to a boil, and boil until the water evaporates and the sausage begins to brown, stirring it once or twice during the cooking.

Once that is going, peel the onion and cut it into slivers. Trim the fennel and cut it likewise. Wash the celery and slice it thinly on the diagonal. Grind the fennel and red chile together. If your sausage isn't garlic, and you want garlic, feel free to slice up a clove or two and toss them in with the rest of the veggies.

When the water is gone and the sausage has started to brown, add the onion, fennel and celery. But check first that there isn't too much fat. You want a little to grease the pan, but if it's sitting there in puddles, drain some off. Sauté the vegetables in the rendered fat from the sausage until softened and lightly browned as well. When the pasta is done, drain it and toss it with the sausage and vegetable mixture.

I've made this salad a couple of times in the last week or two. Ontario-grown fennel is horribly hard to find, so I was thrilled to find a bit at the Meaford 100 Mile-Market recently. It may be one of those things you have to grow yourself. Actually, even with imported fennel, this could still reach my 80% Ontarian goal.

Fennel has a sweet, mild licorice-like flavour, and it goes well with the sweet and fragrant fruity flavours of the pears and cranberries. The nuts add a deeper note and a good crunch, along with the celery. This was a very popular salad.

By the way, some grocery stores mistakenly label fennel as anise, which it is not although they both have a licorice-like flavour.

2 to 4 servings
20 minutes prep time



Salad:
1 head leaf lettuce
1 small bunch rocket (arugula) or watercress
1 stalk of celery
1/2 to 1/3 of a head of bulb fennel
1/3 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds
2 medium bosc pears

Wash and tear up the lettuce and rocket or watercress, and dry them well. Arrange them in the salad bowl. Slice the celery and fennel thinly, and arrange them over the greens. Top with the cranberries and nuts, and the pears, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces.

Dressing:
1/3 cup walnut or hazelnut oil
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon currant jelly*

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over the salad.




*You could also use currant catsup, ginger marmalade, a runny chutney, or other sweet, tangy preserves - just something to give some sweetness and tang to the dressing.