In The Kitchen - January 13th

By Chef Moreno & Cinzia Miotto

     Thank You!

I’m referring to all the comments I received last week regarding Foie gras.

It’s nice to see there’re people out there interested in what I’m writing about.

There’s no doubt that Foie gras raises a lot of issues with conservation, sustainability and ethics. It’s something that either you love eating or you are totally against the whole idea of it. But, today I’m going to talk about seafood and how I’m a big supporter of its sustainability and conservation.

As a professional chef I feel a responsibility to try not to use any seafood that may be endangered and promote sustainable choices. "Ocean Wise”(a Vancouver aquarium conservation program-WWW.oceanwise@vanaqua>org.)   was created in 2004 for the sole purpose to help restaurants and their customers to make environmentally friendly seafood choices.

I was part of this program as one of the original 6 restaurants in 2004 and the only Italian restaurant (I was chef /owner of Bis Moreno Restaurant in Vancouver,” the most progressive Italian restaurant in the country”-Alex Gill- Globe and Mail.)

With the White Goose Bistro I’m not officially involved, but I still try to follow their mandate.

I refuse to use any farmed salmon for the obvious reasons of what it does to the environment and the wild salmon population, not to mention the flavor. Another poor choice that people may not be aware of and is very popular is Chilean seabass.

I remember 20 years ago when I first started cooking bringing in whole seabass,they were about 40-50 pounds per fish, now you see them coming in  at about 7-10 pounds-maybe. That’s a perfect example of over fishing and mismanagement by the Chilean government or whoever makes those decisions down in that part of the world.

A great choice would be sturgeon, it’s a farmed fish but environmentally sound, plus it’s illegal to fish for wild sturgeon. Sturgeon is farmed in Egmont B.C. in the only government approved land-based farm. The flesh is white with golden hued fat lines and the flavor is light and delicate. Storage and handling are easy-it actually tastes better as it sits in the cooler for up to 7-10 days.(it’s like aging with beef.)It’s available fresh throughout the year.

Recipe: Sturgeon w/crème fraiche caviar

-portion 4 o.z. sturgeon filets and submerge under milk for 24 hrs.

-heat olive oil to 135-140 degrees F.,strain sturgeon and submerge in oil until covered

-let stand in oil until done (about 6-8 min.)

-remove and place in middle of serving plate

-mix in a teaspoon of lumpfish caviar(another oceanwise smart choice)with prepared crème fraiche (or you can make it yourself by combining equal parts of buttermilk and heavy cream in let it sit out overnight)combine  the two ingredients  and drizzle around sturgeon, you can zest some fresh lemon on top as well-serve immediately

Cinzia’s wine suggestion- French champagne or a B.C sparkling wine

Chef Moreno and Cinzia Miotto are owners of the award winning White Goose Bistro in Prince George B.C.

Chef Moreno is also available for catering and private cooking lessons

                                                                     Buon Appetito

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