Two events inspired today鈥檚 recipes: the 10th sa国际传媒 Shellfish Festival and the International Year of Pulses.
The sa国际传媒 Shellfish Festival is a tasty occasion that takes place June 9 to 19 in the Comox Valley. It celebrates and recognizes the importance of our province鈥檚 farmed and wild shellfish industry.
Over the 11 days of the festival. shellfish lover鈥檚 will be able to take tours of aquaculture facilities, attend shellfish tastings, gala dinners and demonstrations, and view competitions such as the Fanny Bay oyster-shucking championship. There鈥檚 a lot going on and you can learn all about it at the Discover Comox Valley website discovercomoxvalley.com.
Once there, click on the festival link and you鈥檒l be able to read about all the events, acquire tickets and find hotels and other accommodations, if you need them.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the group that declared 2016 International Year of Pulses. The FAO says that pulses are highly nutritious food, economically accessible and contribute to food security at all levels. They also note that pulses foster sustainable agriculture and contribute to climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
If you鈥檝e forgotten, pulses are the dried, edible seed of a legume, such as chickpeas, beans, peas and lentils. And we grow tons and tons of them in sa国际传媒, in places such as the Prairies and southern Ontario and Quebec, where more than 2.3 million hectares are seeded for pulse crops each year.
Shellfish and pulses are two very Canadian foods and guess what? They pair well together as I听demonstrate in today鈥檚 two recipes.
The first is a main-course salad听you could serve for lunch or 听dinner on a warm late spring or听summer day. It鈥檚 made by mounding salad greens on a plate and topping them with a lentil salad, flecked with bits of red onion and cucumber and flavoured with an olive oil/citrus dressing. The lentil salad then gets topped with cooked, cooled mussels, shrimp and sliced nuggets of smoked salmon and, for more colour and听flavour, some Salt Spring Island goat cheese and cherry tomatoes.
My other recipe is a hot and hearty dish of clams, chickpeas and sausages. It鈥檚 not difficult to make, but it is very appealing, especially when served with crusty bread to dunk into its tomatoey broth.
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Seafood and Lentil Salad
Salad greens, flavourfully dressed lentils and a mix of seafood combine in this tasty and attractive looking main-course salad.
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Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: a few minutes
Makes: four servings
1/4 cup white wine or chicken or seafood broth or stock
20 mussels, rinsed and cleaned of any beard-like material (see Note)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 to 3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or听basil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 (19 oz./540 mL) can lentils
1/2 cup finely diced English cucumber
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper to听taste
8 cups baby mixed salad greens
200 grams cooked sa国际传媒 hand-peeled or side-stripe shrimp, or other small salad shrimp
8 smoked salmon nuggets, thickly sliced
100 grams Salt Spring Island goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
16 cherry tomatoes, each halved
Place wine or broth in a small to听medium pot and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook until they just open. Lift the mussels out of the pot and onto a plate. Cool to room temperature, and then remove and discard the top shell from each mussel. Cover and refrigerate the mussels until needed.
Combine the oil, juices, honey, cayenne, cumin, oregano (or basil) and garlic in a medium bowl. Place the lentils in a fine sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain the lentils well and then add to the bowl with the cucumber and onion. Toss to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The mussels can be cooked and the lentil mixture prepared a few hours before needed.)
When ready to serve, mound two cups of salad greens on each of four plates. Give the lentil mixture a stir, then divide and set some of it on the greens on each plate. Divide and set mussels, shrimp, smoked salmon, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes on each plate, and then serve.
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Note: Discard any mussels that do not close when squeezed before cooking, or that do not open after cooking. Both are signs the mussel is dead and should not be eaten.
Clams with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Sausage
This hearty, filling combination combines quick-to-cook sa国际传媒 clams with nutritious chickpeas. Add some crusty bread and some wine, such as sa国际传媒 ros茅 or pinot gris, and create a wonderful meal.
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Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: about 18 minutes
Makes: four servings
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2 mild, medium or hot Italian sausages (each about 90 grams)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14 oz./398 mL) can diced tomatoes
1 (19 oz./540 mL) can chickpeas, drained well, rinsed, and drained well again
1/2 cup seafood or chicken broth or stock
鈥� freshly ground black pepper to taste
48 fresh manila clams (about 3 lbs)
2 to 3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or basil
Remove the casing from each sausage and pull the meat into small nuggets.
Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch wide pot set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the pieces of听sausage and cook until nicely browned, about four minutes. Add听the onions and garlic and cook three to four minutes more.
Now add the wine, diced tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, and simmer five minutes. Taste the mixture and season with pepper to taste (the clams will add a natural salty taste).
Add the clams to the pot, cover and cook until they just open. Sprinkle in the oregano (or basil) and serve.
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Note: Discard any clams that do not close when squeezed before cooking, or that do not open after cooking. Both are signs the clam is dead and should not be eaten.
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Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
