Working out of Towne Square Orthodontics (at 23rd Ave. & Rabbit Hill Road, 780-434-7144) Dr. Darcy Dietz is our local Terwillegar area orthodontist and a vital financial sponsor of our market. Towne Square Ortho FB (His website is still being created.)
What you perhaps don’t know about him is that he is
absolutely passionate about food. He has travelled the world, taking cooking
classes from prestigious master chefs, he practices his skills at home in his spare time and he apprentices in the field.
Cooking is his creative outlet, his passionate hobby
and an essential part of who he is. Walk into the waiting area at his orthodontic practice and you'll see cookbooks lining the couches and food photos on the wall. The chef's hands in those photos? Those are his hands. The delectable cooking shots? Yup, those are his creations.
The photos to the left show him in action... doing what he loves best... apprenticing, learning and perfecting his craft ... shown here at Stella, an top-notch restaurant in the Lake Tahoe area (http://www.stella.cedarhousesporthotel.com).
Darcy is exceptionally talented,
knowledgeable and skilled and he brings these talents to his creative cooking. Lucky for us, he is willing to share his passion and
artistic flair. I approached him last week to see if he could create a
recipe for our market enthusiasts that was simple to follow and that used market fresh ingredients
that were in season and locally available at our particular community market,
and he was thrilled to give it a go.
What he created was not just a single
recipe, but an entire meal, complete with stunning final photographs. Each dish
is a work of art… almost too beautiful to imagine eating. Follow along, and
you’ll see what I mean.
rhubarb jus
Jus is a delectable sauce that is drizzled, sparingly, over a dish. Often made using the juices of the meat itself from the roasting process, it is not a gravy. Instead it is a sauce infused with an explosion of flavour. This one is a creative twist on traditional jus, and is created without meat drippings.
ingredients
8, 12-14 inch
long rhubarb sticks (rough chop is fine)
3 large
shallots
15 ml extra
virgin olive oil
70 ml balsamic
vinegar
30 ml sherry
vinegar
zest of 1 large
orange
100 ml orange
juice
100 g white or
berry sugar
50 ml water
3 pats of butter, 10g each (each pat is about 2t.)
*** optional: extra honey or agave syrup to taste
3 pats of butter, 10g each (each pat is about 2t.)
*** optional: extra honey or agave syrup to taste
directions
**Note: this
recipe is meant for a quality stainless steel pan. Nonstick = non-good.
Slice the
shallots, and cook slowly over medium to low heat in a stainless steel pan, uncovered, allowing them to sweat in
the 15ml of evoo (extra virgin olive oil). Then add the rhubarb and sweat some
more. A pinch of kosher salt helps the moisture to release.
Add the rest of
the ingredients, and cook on medium heat, while stirring it all together. Then
reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to steep for 20-30 minutes,
covered. Remove the lid and reduce, if needed, to a light syrupy
thickness. Let the mixture
cool 10-15 minutes.
Now either
puree in a blender, or push through a fine sieve. Discard the rough stuff. He says, "Try
not to drink it all at this stage!" If it needs more sweetness, he recommends using liquid honey or agave syrup. Sugar might crystallize and spoil the texture.
As your grilled
meat rests, rewarm the jus in a sauce pan, swirling in 3 "pats" of
butter (probably about 10 g each) until silky and glistening, swirl them in vigorously, one pat at a time. (It should coat
the back of a spoon.) This can be done a day ahead and kept covered in the
fridge… but if you prepare it ahead of time, don't add the butter until you are ready to serve it.
He suggests you serve it alongside/over lamb, pork, just about anything from the market… here it is pictured with
Remember, you can order your meat ahead of time from any one of our meat vendors, and then pick it up and pay for it at the market. Contact our meat vendors by clicking on their names here:
Remember, you can order your meat ahead of time from any one of our meat vendors, and then pick it up and pay for it at the market. Contact our meat vendors by clicking on their names here:
- Red Tractor Family Farm Meats (weekly)
- Sunworks Organic Farm (meats, weekly)
- Greenstein Farms (lamb-biweekly... they will be here this week)
Sherry (hendsbee) shallot vinaigrette
Darcy is clearly toying with me here... but I'm honoured to have this vinaigrette named after me. :)
Pinenuts and citrus? He says that the “the creaminess of the toasted pine nuts are a perfect foil for the tangy-sweetness of the dressing. You'll see. Your friends may go crazy over that recipe.” This makes enough for at least 10 - 12 salads, and placed in a sealed squeeze bottle, will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Darcy also explains, " I learned this recipe from Chef Jacob Burton at Stella Restaurant in Truckee, California. This recipe demonstrates that a small kitchen scale comes in handy."
Pinenuts and citrus? He says that the “the creaminess of the toasted pine nuts are a perfect foil for the tangy-sweetness of the dressing. You'll see. Your friends may go crazy over that recipe.” This makes enough for at least 10 - 12 salads, and placed in a sealed squeeze bottle, will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Darcy also explains, " I learned this recipe from Chef Jacob Burton at Stella Restaurant in Truckee, California. This recipe demonstrates that a small kitchen scale comes in handy."
ingredients
3 large
shallots
40 g sherry
vinegar
80 g champagne
vinegar
50 g orange
juice (fresh)
30 g stone
ground mustard
50 g honey
15 g salt
(Kosher)
10 g sugar
50 g extra
virgin olive oil
250 g canola
oil
***Both sherry vinegar and champagne vinegar can be found at Sunterra Market and the Italian Market. It makes all the difference. They're some of those things you keep in your pantry for a long time. Sherry Vin is easy to find. If you can't find champagne vin, white wine vin will work. Or chinese rice wine vinegar is also great.
***Both sherry vinegar and champagne vinegar can be found at Sunterra Market and the Italian Market. It makes all the difference. They're some of those things you keep in your pantry for a long time. Sherry Vin is easy to find. If you can't find champagne vin, white wine vin will work. Or chinese rice wine vinegar is also great.
directions
Slice the
shallots. Add to a pan over medium-low heat and sweat or caramelize them in a
bit of canola or other neutral oil. Darcy says, "Caramelized shallots are huge flavour
bombs!" You can also roast them whole in foil at 350 degrees for 45 min, and
then slice them.
Take the shallots
and add them, along with all of the ingredients, into a blender. Start off slowly and gradually increase to maximum speed. You are looking for an emulsion to form that has a
smooth, creamy consistency.
Serve with a butter
lettuce, basil and parsley salad with peeled fresh orange segments (supremes)
and toasted pine nuts (see last week's pesto recipe for roasting instructions... click here for the link). You can find fantastic quality butter lettuce at T.R. Greenhouses at our market. Holden Colony and Dargatz Family Farm sometimes carry lettuces as well. Honey is at both the Good Morning, Honey and Holden Colony booths.
With these recipes, Darcy has established himself as not only a financial sponsor of the market, but also as a creative inspiration and enthusiastic participator in our market culture… which makes him a great member of our market community! If you have any questions, or want any further recipes or inspiration, he'd love you to contact him through his facebook page.
Recipe from Dr. Darcy Dietz
Towne Square Orthodontics, 2335 Rabbit Hill Rd
780-434-7144
Visit our SWEFM website at http://www.swefm.ca
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Contributed by Sheri Hendsbee & Darcy Dietz
