But that’s not all. The winner and guests will enjoy an overnight stay at Le Méridien King Edward hotel. There is a second prize up for grabs – a $200 gift certificate from the Market.

To help you get creative, David Adjey offered up his recipe for Grape Leaf Wrapped Lamb Loin with Greek Salad Vinaigrette and Oregano “Smashed” Potatoes.

To play along you can come by the Market and fill out a ballot or enter at online at www.foodnetwork.ca/stlawrencemarket.

Get mashin’!

GRAPE LEAF WRAPPED LAMB LOIN WITH GREEK SALAD VINAIGRETTE AND OREGANO “SMASHED’’POTATOES

Serves 4

Grape Leaf Wrapped Lamb Loin
4 lamb loins (about 6 ounces each), silver skin removed
1 Tbsp (15ml) olive oil
8-10 grape leaves in brine, depending on size
¼ cup (60ml) sun-dried tomato spread (recipe follows)
8 large basil leaves
Coarse salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Coat lamb loins with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over high heat, sear the lamb loins on all sides until well caramelized, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool enough to touch. Place two large grape leaves on a clean work surface and place a lamb loin in the center of each leaf. Top with 1 Tbsp (15ml) of sun-dried tomato spread and spread from end to end. Place 2-3 basil leaves overtop and fold the sides over and bring the bottom up. Roll with a little bit of tension until you have a snug log, about 1 x 4 inches (2.5 x 10cm). Continue until all 4 loins are wrapped. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan and roast until just firm to the touch, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and rest in a warm place.

Sun-dried Tomato Spread
1 cup (250ml) sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp (30ml) olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp (15ml) smoked paprika
Coarse salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in warm water to soften, about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid. In a saucepan over medium heat, sweat the shallots and garlic in olive oil until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and paprika and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If the spread is too thick, use reserved liquid to thin.
Remove from food processor and reserve for further use.

Greek Salad Vinaigrette
1 yellow pepper, stem and seeds removed
1 red onions, peeled
1 hot house cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
¼ cup (62.5ml) black olives, pits removed
3 Tbsp (45ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp (15ml) red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 sprigs of oregano, stems discarded
Coarse salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Dice the pepper, onions, cucumber and olives as fine as possible and transfer to a large glass bowl. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest. Stir until well coated. Add the oregano leaves and season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined and let stand at room temperature until ready to serve.

Oregano “Smashed” Potatoes
1 lb (500g) marble-sized red-skinned potatoes, washed and scrubbed
2 Tbsp (30ml) olive oil
1 lemon, zest only
12 cloves garlic, roasted
3-4 sprigs oregano, stems discarded
Coarse salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Place potatoes in a large stockpot filled with enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the potatoes slip off the tip of a paring knife, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, place the potatoes, olive oil, lemon zest and roasted garlic. Sauté and gently mash the potatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the oregano and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and keep warm until needed.

Putting the Plate Together
2-3 ounces (57-85 grams) feta cheese, frozen

Method
Divide the oregano smashed potatoes onto four warm dinner plates. On a clean work service cut the lamb loins in half and place onto the potatoes. Spoon the Greek salad vinaigrette over the lamb loins and grate the frozen feta cheese over top.

In early spring, “forced” (or greenhouse) rhubarb is the first spring fruit to appear. Though rhubarb is technically a vegetable, because of its fruity flavour, we tend to use it as a fruit in sweet recipes like pies, jams, chutneys, sauces and crumbles (though once it was used mostly for medical purposes). According to Foodland Ontario: “the roots to produce forced rhubarb are dug outdoors in the fall and stored in a darkened shed at about 10°C until buds appear to produce an early spring crop.” These are the thin and vibrant pink stalks with the pale green leaves that we are seeing around the market now. Even when cooked, this early rhubarb keeps its lovely fuchsia colour. Come May-June, we’ll start to see the thicker, darker outdoor varieties that pair so well – and so timely – with local strawberries.

But for now, if you are looking for a little taste of spring here’s an easy crumble recipe with lots of flavour, especially when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. BTW, there’s still room in our Spring Brunch Class on Saturday March 31rst. We’ll be cooking a menu based on our favourite spring herbs and vegetables (including rhubarb) topped off with a special brunch cocktail. For more information, check out our events page.

Enjoy!

RHUBARB CRUMBLE
Makes 4 servings
*Since early spring rhubarb is rather thin, the banana helps to bulk up this crumble and add a mild sweetness without extra sugar.

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
1/4 white sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 large banana, chopped

Crumble:
3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup pine nuts and/or chopped walnuts – *we like the combo

Method:
Toss together rhubarb, sugar and flour in 4 cup baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in 400°F oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil. Cover with chopped banana.

Crumble: With hands, combine oats, flour, sugar and brown sugar; blend in butter until crumbly. Mix in pine nuts and/or walnuts. Scatter over banana-rhubarb mixture, pressing gently. Bake, uncovered, in 350°F oven until fruit is bubbly and crumble is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Classic marmalade is made from just three ingredients – citrus fruit, sugar and water. Though it is still a bit of a luxury item, it is also the perfect example of Victorian economy as every bit of the fruit is used: juice, peel, seeds and membranes. Marmalade is characterized by the copious amount of peel in the preserve, and unlike most recipes using citrus peel, the white pith is left it on and imparts a wonderfully bitter flavor.

Natural pectin is produced from the fruit’s seeds and membranes – this is what makes the marmalade set. Juice, water, peel, etc. are cooked down until the peel is very tender (the length of time varies with the type of citrus fruit used and the thickness of its peel) and when done properly, the peel is sliced as thinly as possible and cooked until very soft – almost mushy between your fingers.

If you like making jam but have never made marmalade, it’s worth a try. It takes some time to prepare the fruit and boil down the mixture, but the results are fabulous. And there are still beautiful Meyer Lemons all over the market. It won’t be long now before the summer berries, etc. start arriving and then we will hold some preserving workshops in the Market Kitchen, so watch our events page for upcoming jam, jelly and pickle making classes. Enjoy!

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE
Makes about 6 x 250 mL jars

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs Meyer lemons
5 cups sugar

METHOD:
Scrub lemons; cut off stem and blossom ends. Cut in half and squeeze out juice, reserving pulp and seeds. Strain juice through sieve into large pot.

Cut lemon peels in half and pull out membranes. Tie-up membranes, pulp and seeds in a 15-inch square piece of double-thickness cheesecloth and add to the pot.

Cut skins crosswise into paper-thin strips. Add to the pot.

Add 5 cups water; bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring often and pressing cheesecloth bag to release pectin, until peel turns to mush when pressed between fingers, about 45 minutes.

Remove cheesecloth bag and let cool; squeeze juice into pot. Mixture should measure 5 cups (If not, add water to make up difference or boil until reduced to this amount.) Transfer to clean large pot. Add sugar and bring to full rolling boil, stirring. Boil vigorously, stirring, until free of foam, thickened and at gel stage, 7 to 10 minutes. (*Gel stage: Place spoonful of hot mixture on chilled plate. Place plate in freezer until cooled, about one or two minutes. Run your finger through the mixture – gel is achieved when marmalade does not run together when separated.)

Quickly ladle hot marmalade into hot 250 mL canning jars leaving 1/4 inch at top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more marmalade. Wipe rim removing any residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining marmalade.

When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. Boil for 10 minutes.
 
When processing time is complete, turn stove off, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours.

‘Beef cheeks’ are the facial cheek muscle of a cow. It’s a tough, lean cut of meat (perhaps the toughest cut on a cow – due to the amount of exercise those muscles get from all the chewing that cows do), usually used for braised dishes. The meat is dense, fine-grained and crisscrossed with gristly connective tissue, but when sufficiently cooked, the connective tissue melts into a creamy substance that adds a fatty richness and slightly sticky mouth feel to the dish.

We got our cheeks from Whitehouse Meats, and they were so beautifully cleaned that hardly any preparation, other than cubing, was needed. In fact, you don’t want to trim them too much (just remove any remaining silver skin – and there wasn’t much) so that the meat stays in nice big pieces while cooking. The cheeks were marinated overnight with red wine, onions and herbs, fried in some rendered bacon fat (from Upper Cuts Meats delicious Black Forest bacon), simmered first for about 2 hours with the strained marinade and cooked bacon, then an additional 30 minutes with sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions. It’s really quite a simple dish to make and yet so rustically-elegant and flavourful. We served our cheeks with boiled fingerling potatoes tossed with minced parsley and garlic (persillade.)

Our next menu class is Friday March 2nd and we will be shopping the market to make a Moroccan-themed meal. There are still some spots available. Until then, here’s a great recipe for winter entertaining or a cozy night in. Enjoy!

BEEF CHEEKS BOURGUIGNON
Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 Spanish onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Parsley and thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
2 lbs beef cheeks, trimmed and cut into large pieces
1 bottle (750 mL) red wine
2 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
5 oz bacon, cut in strips
24 small whole pearl onions, peeled
1 lb button mushrooms, quartered
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups beef stock
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 bouquet garni (celery stalk, parsley sprig, thyme sprig & bay leaf tied together)
Salt & pepper

Potatoes Persillade (recipe follows)

METHOD:
Place some of the onions in bottom of large glass bowl with a little parsley, thyme and bay leaf; top with some of the beef cheeks. Repeat layers. Whisk together wine, brandy and oil; pour over beef mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 24 hours.

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and fry until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add onions and fry until lightly golden on all sides; remove and set aside. Add mushrooms and fry until lightly golden on all sides; remove and set aside.

Remove pieces of beef from marinade; strain marinade and set aside. Dry pieces of beef on paper towel; add to pan in batches, frying over medium-high heat, until well browned on all sides. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add strained marinade, stock, garlic and bouquet garni. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper and cooked bacon; cover and simmer until fork tender, about 2 hours, stirring and skimming occasionally.

Skim off any fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Add onions and mushrooms; cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until beef is really tender and sauce is dark and thick. Discard bouquet garni; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

POTATOES PERSILLADE
2 lbs fingerling or new potatoes, washed (and peeled, if desired)
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
2 small garlic cloves, minced
Butter
Salt and pepper

Place potatoes in pot of cold, salted water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook, covered, until fork tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, finely mince parsley and garlic together until well combined. Set aside.

Melt butter in large skillet; add potatoes and heat through. Remove from heat and add parsley mixture, salt and pepper, tossing until well coated. Serve immediately.

Chef Angie MacRae first prepared a rich and flavourful Spanish Chickpea and Chorizo Soup (recipe below), which we ate with crusty bread from Stonemill Bakehouse and a trio of Spanish treats (Serrano ham, Manchego cheese and tiny but tasty Arbequina olives) from Scheffler’s Deli & Cheese. It was a dark and drizzly afternoon, but sharing this wonderful soup with new friends in the Market Kitchen was a great way to beat those winter blahs.

The group then divided into teams to prepare three other recipes and learn the basics of soup making – such as building flavour with mirepoix (usually a combination of celery, onions and/or leeks, and carrots sautéed with butter and/or olive oil – this is the backbone of a good soup); the importance of simmering to develop complexity; and seasoning at the end of cooking to ensure a rich rounded taste (soup flavours concentrate during cooking, so over seasoning at the beginning can result in a finished soup that is too salty.) Everyone received bottles of the other soups – Greek Red Lentil, Southwestern Minestrone with Corn Macaroni and Curried Seafood Chowder – to take home and enjoy.

If you’re coming down to the market this week, why not pick up the ingredients to make a big batch of your favourite winter soup. Or for something new – give this one a try. Enjoy!

SPANISH CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO SOUP
Makes 6 to 8 servings
*We garnished this soup with some shredded Serrano ham, grated hard-boiled eggs and a drizzle of Spanish olive oil.

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
5 ½ ounces chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 lb fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 fresh tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1 can (14 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
5 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:
In a large pot, heat several tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chorizo and cook for a several minutes (until the fat comes out of the chorizo.) Add onion, garlic and celery. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 15 minutes, covered, without colouring the onions.

Remove lid and cook, stirring, to get some colour on the vegetables. Once coloured, add spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas and chicken stock. Return to boil; reduce heat and simmer until for 40 minutes.

Remove about one third of the mixture and puree in a food processor. Return to pot, giving soup a good stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with ham, egg and olive oil, if desired.

Although the uses and flavours of the three types of pastry are all quite different, the basic principles for making perfect pastry are the same for each. First, use cold ingredients (especially fats and water), then work the fat into the flour quickly and gently with your fingertips (not pressing and kneading with your palms) until pea-sized with some larger chunks of fat remaining. And, finally roll out chilled pastry on a well-floured surface and keep rotating the pastry as you roll it so it doesn’t stick and tear.

I think everyone was surprised how easy pie making is once you get the hang of making pastry. Each student took home their own Galette and Tourtière, and the favourite recipe of the day – a gooey nut tart with sweet all butter pastry – was sampled at the class. If this sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon at the market, check out our event schedule. FYI, Make-& Take Soups on January 28th is sold out, but there is still room in both Make-& Take Truffles on February 11th and Casseroles on February 18th. Enjoy!

NUT TART
Makes 8 to 12 servings
*Removable bottom tart pans are best for this type of pie because it makes them easy to pop-out and serve, and gives them a professional looking fluted edge. You can find several styles at the cooking accessories store Placeswares in the middle of the market.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup hazelnuts
3 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp Bourbon, Rye or rum
Pinch salt
1/3 cup walnut halves
1/3 cup pecan halves

Sweet Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp whipping (35%) cream

METHOD:
Toast hazelnuts on baking sheet in 350°F oven until skins darken and flake off easily, about 8 minutes. Rub with towel to remove most of the skins. Set aside.

Sweet Pastry: Combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl or food processor. Rub in butter with fingertips (or pulse with processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together egg yolks and cream; mix or pulse into flour mixture to make slightly sticky dough when pressed. Transfer to counter. Shape into ball; flatten into disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Between floured parchment paper, roll out pastry 2-inches larger than tart pan (a 9-inch round or 7×11-inch rectangular tart pan with removable bottom), pressing to edge of pan. Trim off excess pastry.

With fork, prick bottom all over; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Line with foil; fill with pie weights. Place on baking sheet and bake in bottom third of 400°F oven for 10 minutes. Remove weights and foil; bake for 4 minutes longer.

Arrange hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans over crust. In bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vinegar, bourbon and salt; pour over nuts. Bake in center of 375°F oven until center of filling jiggles slightly and edge is browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on rack.

Hands-down, everyone’s favourite was the Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue – a heady combination of Emmenthaler and Gruyère cheeses that we got from the guys at Chris’ Cheesemongers, melted with Peller Estates Private Reserve Dry Riesling from Wine Country Merchants. (This is also a good wine to drink with the fondue, so stick to the ‘what’s in the pot is in the glass’ rule, and spend a little more than you normally might on cooking wine – it’s worth it with such good cheese). Crusty cubes of French baguette from Carousel Bakery were perfect for dunking into this rich, cheesy treat. If you, like most of the people in our workshop, have never made a real cheese fondue before – give it a try. It’s so easy – and takes no time at all to prepare – you just have to cut up some bread, grate the cheese then melt it. It’s delicious (and surprisingly filling!)

Next month, our theme is Marmalade. We’ll be making several varieties and tasting them on fresh-baked croissants from Stonemill Bakehouse. Check out our events page for more info.

CLASSIC SWISS CHEESE FONDUE
Makes 4 to 6 servings

The main ingredient for a classis Swiss fondue is well-aged Emmenthaler and/or Gruyère cheese.
Emmenthaler makes a fondue of the mildest flavour; half & half is stronger and Gruyere alone is the strongest. Often a third cheese, such as Appenzeller or Fribourg Vacherin, is also used. Adjust amounts to 2/3 lbs (350 g) per each of the three cheeses.

Eau-de-vie: Kirsch (cherry eau-de-vie) is the most traditional flavouring, but plum eau-de-vie, such as Slivovitz, is also recommended. These are available from the LCBO.

INGREDIENTS:
1 clove garlic
2 cups dry white wine
1 lb (500 g) Emmenthal cheese, shredded
1 lb (500 g) Gruyère cheese, shredded
2 tbsp cornstarch
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp kirsch or other eau de vie
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 baguettes or other crusty bread, cut in 1-inch cubes

METHOD:
Rub garlic clove all over inside of fondue pot. Pour in all but 2 tbsp of the wine; bring to simmer over medium heat on stove top.

Add cheeses and stir with wooden spoon until melted. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining wine; stir into fondue pot along with nutmeg. Bring to simmer, stirring; simmer for 1 minute. Stir in kirsch and lemon juice.

Place over medium-low heat of fondue burner on table, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain low simmer and stirring often. Serve with bread to skewer and dip into cheese mixture.

The staying power of fruitcake comes from its high sugar content – dried sweet raisins and other fruits that have been crystallized or glacéed (preserved in sugar syrup.) A good fruit cake with aging potential is about 50/50 cake batter to fruit and nuts. This fruit (along with the rum) also accounts for the cake’s extreme weight (mine’s just shy of 10 lbs!) And the longer you let it rest after baking, the more the various components will meld and develop a rich, plumy aroma and flavour with a hint of spice. We will be sampling this cake on Saturday December 17th in the Market Kitchen (the north-west corner of the south market, on the mezzanine floor) – so come and taste it for yourself. It goes particularly well with a slice of five year old Canadian Cheddar.

Working in the market, surrounded by great food makes it easy to plan a month ahead. But if you are a fruitcake lover who just realized that there is only one week until Christmas, don’t worry – there’s still time to bake one. This light fruitcake recipe (below) doesn’t have the staying power of my dark fruitcake (it’s best eaten within a week) but still has lots of fruitcake character. And, the lower proportion of raisins, etc. to white cake batter makes it more palatable to many people who are not big fruitcake fans. One final note – despite what people say, don’t be afraid to give fruitcake as a gift. People who love it look forward to it every year – and good, homemade fruitcake is rare and special holiday treat. Enjoy!

Gabrielle

LAST MINUTE (LIGHT) FRUITCAKE
*I sometimes top this with a layer of marzipan. Brush the top of the cake lightly with melted apricot jam and a dash of brandy first.

Candied Fruit:
2 cups sultana raisins, and/or golden raisins
1/2 cup candied citron
1/2 cup candied lemon peel
1/2 cup candied orange peel
1/2 cup coarsely chopped glacé pineapple
1/4 cup red glacé cherries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
2/3 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/4 cup brandy, (approx)

Cake Batter:
3/4 cup soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups sifted cake-and-pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground mace or nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
Candied Fruit: In large bowl, combine raisins, citron, lemon and orange peels, pineapple, cherries, apricots, almonds and coconut. Add brandy, tossing well to combine. Cover and let stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cake Batter: Beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in almond extract. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time flowed by the water. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, mace and salt; stir into butter mixture. Stir in fruit, scraping in all liquid. Scrape into double-thickness parchment paper–lined 8-inch fruitcake pan or 9-inch springform pan, smoothing top.

Place a shallow pan of water on bottom rack of oven. Bake cake on centre rack of 275°F oven for 3 hours or until tester inserted in centre comes out clean (cover with foil during last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning). Let cool in pan on rack. When cool, remove cake from pan and peel off parchment paper. Using skewer, poke holes in top; brush with brandy. Wrap in plastic and eat within one week.