Tasty Travels: A Foodie Eats Her Way Across Vancouver

“We just wanted to share a little piece of our paradise.”

Happily, tourists can easily participate in this local eat-on-the-beach tradition. In Vancouver, the Seabus and water taxis can get you out on the water and to the Lonsdale Quay Market on the north shore, as well as the Granville Island Public Market. At both, you can pick up all manner of baked good, produce, deli, and artisanal fare and then head out to the shore for a picnic.

That’s the thing about Vancouver. It has the bounty of the land and sea as well as its beauty. I asked Toronto’s Susur Lee, who was among the line-up of celebrity chefs in town for the festival, for his thoughts on what’s driving the city’s culinary scene.

“Vancouver has many unique ingredients such as spot prawns and sablefish, available locally. But here, the chefs actually experiment with and use them. That’s what makes it such an exciting food destination.”

Executive chef, Rob Feenie, who leads the culinary team of the aforementioned Cactus Club chain, and is Canada’s first Iron Chef America champion, agrees but he points out that here, even a simple a loaf of bread and mussels on the beach is magical. To make his point, he adds, “One time I was cooking sablefish for Sting and I remember him coming up to me on the boat, holding a glass of Chardonnay, and after slowly looking around, saying, “Man, this a pretty special place.” ”

Indeed it is. Every step you take.

CLICK THROUGH FOR RECIPES!

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

salad greens as garnish

Method

1. In a small frying pan over medium heat, lightly toast the spices until fragrant. Blitz in a blender or coffee mill to a fine powder.
2. Combine with the oil, salt, garlic and halibut cheeks and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, wash and cut the Swiss chard into small leaves, slice the stems thin.
4. On medium-high heat, sauté the onion and Swiss chard until tender. Remove from the pan and reserve.
5. Break the eggs and combine with the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Heat a 6″ cast iron pan until very hot. Sear the halibut cheeks until golden on both sides and cover with the Swiss chard mixture. Pour the egg mixture overtop and place in a preheated 325F oven for 10 minutes or until the egg is set. Top with a few salad greens and serve at room temperature

 NEXT: MOREL SALAD

Equipment

cheese cloth

strainer

wooden spoon

water circulator

vacuum sealer or mixing bowl

 Method

In a lightly salted pot of boiling water, begin by blanching the cleaned morels for five seconds. Strain immediately and place in the fridge to cool. Using a small saucepan, heat the olive oil to fifty degrees Celsius. While the olive oil rises to the desired temperature, place the ramp greens in a blender. Drizzle the warm oil and blend at maximum speed. Strain the greens in cheesecloth, allowing the excess oil to drip for re-use. Heat the water circulator to seventy degrees Celsius and place the egg yolks into a vacuum pack bag, compressed. Slide the bag into the circulator and cook for fifteen minutes. If a water circulator is not available, cook the egg yolks in a mixing bowl bain marie. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly. Once cooked, salt and oil the yolks to taste. Finish by lightly sautéing the fiddleheads with the strained ramp oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Allow to cool.

Plating

Start by lightly coating the dish with a small amount of ramp oil. Toss the morels with a splash of aged balsamic and place on dish. Drizzle the yolk sauce and garnish as desired with crispy shallots or a handful of fried mushrooms.

 NEXT: SECRET LOCATION SALMON AND EGGS

salt, to taste

fresh ground pepper, to taste

Garnish

large sustainable salmon roe, scattered

 Method

Begin by making the hollandaise sauce; whisk the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl using the bain marie method until thick and pale. Aerate as much as possible. Reduce the bain marie temperature to moderately low heat and continue to whisk briskly, reaching all over the bottom and insides of the bowl, where eggs tend to overcook.

As the cooking time passes, the eggs will become frothy, increase in volume and then thicken. When streaks of the bottom on the mixing bowl are visible with your whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove from the heat. Slowly incorporate the softened butter in reasonable sized portions, whisking steadily until fully combined. Repeat until all of the butter is absorbed and the sauce has thickened to a heavy, but creamy consistency. Keep warm until served.

Cook eggs in circulator at 64°C for 55 minutes. If a circulator is not available then poach. To poach, bring a deep saucepan of water to boil. Add the vinegar. Crack the eggs into separate ramekins then toast the desired choice of bread. Briskly swirly the saucepan, creating a vortex. Add each egg individually. Boil for two to three minutes based on preference and remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat the process until all eggs are cooked, one at a time.

Lay the sliced smoked salmon on top of the bread, top with an egg or two and finish with a generous drizzle of hollandaise. For garnish, lightly sprinkle salmon roe on top of the coated eggs.

NEXT: COCKTAILS 

Prepare the hibiscus-infused gin by adding 20 grams of hibiscus flowers into a 750 ml bottle of gin. Let stand in freezer for twenty-four hours.

Rose syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

4 oz rose water or 4 oz fresh rose petals

Mix granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan until dissolved. Whisk in rose water or fresh petals. On low heat, simmer for twenty minutes. Strain.

Rose syrup alternative:

For a less sweet alternative, opt to replace the syrup with a few drops of rose water

Apple-celery-lime foam

soda canister

2 soda capsules

1 apple, juiced

1 lime, juiced

1 celery stick, juiced

1 g xanthan gum

Place the juice from one apple, lime and celery stick in a large bowl. Add xanthan gum and blend with an immersion blender for approximately thirty seconds to one minute until a thick foam is produced.

Pour mixture into the soda canister fit with the two capsules and distribute evenly on the drink’s surface.

Apple-celery-lime foam alternative:

If a soda stream in unavailable, blend the ingredients until bubbles appear and spoon onto the drink directly.

Drink method:

Muddle the basil leaves with the rhubarb sticks and infused gin. Add the aperol, St. Germain, and rose syrup. Wet shake, serve, garnish and enjoy.