In The Kitchen - February 10th

By Chef Moreno & Cinzia Miotto

    One of the most frustrating times of the year for a chef in northern B.C. is late winter.

The reason being is the availability of fresh fruit and especially a variety and quality of fresh vegetables.

Vegetables play such an important part when planning a menu or preparing a certain dish.

With the White Goose Bistro approaching its 1 year anniversary, our reputation for creating
tasting menus (a succession of small plates with different flavors and textures creating an unforgettable experience ranging from 3 courses to 8 courses) it’s becoming very difficult to put together a whole dinner
experience when you are so limited with quality and availability of vegetables.

They play such an important supporting role on a plate. You have to consider not only flavor, but texture - if it will go hand in hand with the main ingredient –not to mention the color for presentation.

I like to follow some basic rules when pairing vegetables and proteins. I like serving green vegetables with seafood, I find most green vegetables flavor and texture goes well with the delicate flavors of seafood.

Beef and chicken, I go for more hearty choices, for instance, root vegetables - squash, carrots, turnip and potatoes etc…

At the White Goose Bistro we like to serve fresh asparagus when in season (in winter, we serve green beans or baby bok choy) with our white fish (halibut and sole.) Simply prepared, steamed and finished with butter and a pinch of sea salt, this method allows the maximum flavor of the asparagus to shine and matches well with the fish.

With our salmon dish we serve root vegetables, I feel salmon has a strong enough taste to hold up with the earthiness of root vegetables. My advice is to try to stay in season when purchasing vegetables. You won’t get disappointed in flavor and quality and you’re not paying top dollar for a product that’s coming from half way around the world.

In the summer, support your local farmers market because that’s where you’ll find some of the best quality not to mention supporting your neighbours.

Today’s recipe is a quick braised root vegetable, you can prepare enough for a few days because it keeps very well in the cooler.

 Recipe:

-butternut squash, carrots, turnip.parsnip, celery root

-cut into ¼ inch cubes

-Blanche individually in salted water (leave them still a little crunchy)

-strain and store in glass or stainless steel container (no plastic)

-to prepare for service add a little butter, thinly sliced shallots, salt
and pepper and a little veg.stock and the root vegetables in a shallow pan
and sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated and there is a little bit
of a creamy sauce coating the vegetables.

-plate and serve with a grilled steak or roasted chicken



Cinzia’s wine suggestion: with the steak a B.C cabernet and with the chicken a B.C. pinot Gris

 
Chef Moreno and Cinzia Miotto are owners of the award winning White Goose Bistro recognized as one of the 25 best new restaurants in Canada by En Route magazine 2006/07

Chef Moreno is available for private cooking lessons and catering contact; 250.561.1002

Check out Chef Moreno Feb.17.2007 at Exploration Place where he is presenting his vision of modern Chinese food for the Chinese New Year celebration; contact Exploration Place for tickets

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