Black cod in tomato broth with confit potatoes
The Samuel J. Moore, on the ground floor of the historic Great Hall, looks like it’s been there since the turn of the last century even if the period-perfect brasserie only opened this spring. Executive chef Alexandra Feswick’s constantly evolving carte is just as timeless.
“The cod is by far my favourite thing on our menu,” says Feswick. “It’s sustainable, too. I have a feeling it’s going to be around for quite a while!”
For the potatoes:
12 fingerling or baby new potatoes
2 to 3 cups olive oil
Place potatoes in an ovenproof pot and totally cover with oil. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for an hour or until the potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a knife clean through. Remove from oil and set aside.
For the tomato broth:
2 cups fish or vegetable stock
1 pint cherry tomatoes
½ lb green beans, their ends trimmed
¼ lb black kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium. Add tomatoes, confit potatoes and olives and cook until the tomatoes blister, about 5 minutes. Add the green beans and cook another 3 to 5 minutes until the beans are soft. Adjust seasoning.
For the fish:
I lb black cod, cut into four pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
Fresh herbs or sprouts to garnish
Add the olive oil to a hot pan over medium heat. Place the cod skin-side down and fry until crispy and the skin removes easily from the pan, about 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for another 4 minutes.
To plate:
Ladle ½ cup of the tomato broth and veggies into a shallow bowl. Top with black cod, skin-side up. Garnish. Serves four with a salad and crusty bread.
Samuel J Moore, 1087 Queen West, at Dovercourt, 416-897-8348, @TheSamuelJMoore
Parsnip puff with carrot hollandaise and apple salsa
Joel Macmillan and Melissa da Silva’s two-month-old Me and Mine dares the impossible by creating a veggie-friendly carte that appeals to herbivore and carnivore alike. Here’s a main from their new fall lineup that’s sure to keep everybody happy.
For the apple salsa:
2 cups Gala apples
¼ cup of scallion tops, chopped thin
1 cup roasted whole walnuts
¼ cup currants
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Shred the apples and immediately toss with vinegar to prevent discolouration. Add scallion, walnuts, currants, cinnamon and cayenne. Toss with olive oil and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the carrot hollandaise:
1 small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
½ small jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
Pinch of celery seed
1 tsp butter
Splash of apple cider
30 g carrots, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
15 g potatoes, peeled, chopped twice the size of carrot
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste
In a small pot, sweat the shallots, jalapeño and celery seeds in butter over medium heat. Once they’ve caramelized, deglaze the bottom of the pot with apple cider. Add carrots, potatoes and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Once the carrots are tender, drain and pulse in a blender until smooth. While still warm, whisk in the egg yolk. Adjust seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve.
For the parsnip puff:
600 g parsnips, peeled, cored and chopped
150 g shredded old cheddar
2 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1½ tbsp organic flour
½ tbsp raw sugar
½ tsp baking powder
Kosher salt to taste
In a large pot, boil parsnips in water until tender. Drain and mash while still warm. Add butter. Whisk eggs one at a time and fold into parsnips. Fold in the cheese, followed by the flour, sugar and baking powder. Adjust seasoning. Place mixture in a greased 9-inch casserole or parchment-lined spring-form pan and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 minutes until the centre is just set. Cut parsnip puff into four sections and plate. Drizzle with hollandaise and side with salsa. Serves four.
Me and Mine, 1144 College, at Dufferin, 416-535-5858, meandmine.ca, @meandmineto
Cauliflower soup with roasted garlic and cumin seeds
Cauliflower doesn’t get a lot of respect, and we’ve got an idea why. It’s white, doesn’t have much taste and is about as exciting as a night out on the town with Stephen Harper. But the Big Carrot’s John Robertson thinks otherwise.
“We’ve had such beautiful cauliflowers in the store lately, I wanted to create a dish that shows them at their best,” says the Danforth co-op’s executive chef. “The roasted garlic gives them a smokiness that reminds me of leaves burning in the fall.”
For maximum flavour, he advises you use locally grown organic garlic and not the crappy three-for-$1 stuff from China.
You’ll need:
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups white onion, chopped
5 cups cauliflower, chopped
2 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
6 cups vegetable stock
1 bulb garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cut the top off the garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in tinfoil and place in an oven-ready frying pan. Preheat oven to 350F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and cool.
Peel and chop the onions, sauté in olive oil until golden brown, add cumin seeds and sauté over medium heat another minute. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the bulb and add it to the onions and cumin. Combine in a large pot with vegetable stock and bring to a gentle boil. Add cauliflower and potatoes and simmer until tender. Remove from heat and purée in a bender. Adjust seasoning.
Serves four to six people.
The Big Carrot, 348 Danforth, at Jackman, 416-466-2129, thebigcarrot.ca, @the_bigcarrot
