Back in Business
I was recently invited to a Media Tasting event at Mideastro Yorkville. Opened since last summer, Mideastro is a refined approached to Mediterranean and Israeli cuisine. I’d call it “comfort food refined”.
The fusion of cultures is a huge draw to this restaurant. People in Toronto know how multicultural this city is, but Israel is multicultural as well. The “Jewish State” is a melding of religions and cultures from all over the world. Owner Leon Goldstein is Israeli but grew up in South Africa. Chef Benny Cohen was raised in Israel by Moroccan parents, as indicated by the inclusion of lamb in many of the dishes, and his cooking has been influenced by the flavours he experienced from immigrants and travelers to Israel. In Introducing the dinner, Chef Cohen refers to it as “11 countries from around the middle east”.
Shortly after entering the warm space on one of the few cold snowy days we’ve had this winter, I was handed a cocktail called “Avatiach frizzante”. “Avatiach” is the Hebrew word for watermelon. One of my favourite Hebrew words, actually. (Another favourite is the Hebrew word for cucumber: “Melafafon”.) “Frizzante” means “fizz” in Italian. So, it’s a “watermelon fizz”. Similar to a bellini, it’s Chombord and Prosecco with a scoop of watermelon sorbet. Israel meets Italy & France. It was enough to make we want to speak Hebrew.
Hors d’oeuvres followed: Beautifully grilled falafel “sliders” were presented in a pita with pickled Israeli salad (chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley). A home made pocket stuffed with ahi tuna, pumpkin, harissa and shifka pepper is listed as “fricassee” on the evening’s menu but I thought I heard the waiter say “Paprika Sandwich”. Regardless, it’s deliciousness. The pocket is buttery and spicy. It’s one of my favourites. “Bourekitos” are their take on a boureka, Balkan-inspired flaky pastry drizzled with tzatziki labane and covering a parsley salad that I thought was tabouli, but they kept saying wasn’t. All three of these hors d’oeuvres are going on the brunch menu soon.
Two more “appetizer courses” followed, beginning with soup, of course.The aroma of the tomato-based lamb soup made my mouth water. With chickpeas and lentils, beef stock, chunks of lamb, cumin and paprika, it seems to have influences of Italy and Morocco. It’s a hearty soup and delicious. I would love to make a soup like this.
The next plate in the appetizer was a duo:
Turkish-style Baladi Eggplant is grilled whole eggplant topped with tomato salsa, Israeli feta, wild oregano roasted garlic, and herb tahini. The tahini contained a combination of parsley and cilantro. The cherry tomatoes came from Italy. After the dish was introduced I cried out, “You had me as Israeli feta”. Seriously, I believe that Israelis make the best dairy products in the world. That said, my world travels are limited so my informed opinion is that Israelis make better dairy than Canadians. If I ever have an opportunity to travel the world in search for the best dairy, I’ll jump on it.
Lahma Ba’ajin is a Damascus-style flatbread topped with ground lamb, chickpeas, tomatoes and sheep yogurt tahini. It’s a style of flatbread that goes back over 500 years. The dish is wonderfully spiced.
Baladi Eggplant & Lahma Ba’ajin
Third course gave us another duo: Black Truffle Carpaccio and Grilled Calamari.
The carpaccio is 12-week-aged waygu beef tenderloin wrapped around arugula and thin slices of Parmiggiano Reggiano. A slice of parmesan sits on top. Finishing the dish is a drizzle of balsamic and black truffle oil over top with a layer of pomegranate honey reduction. There’s a lot going on, but it’s cohesive and well balanced. In my notes I wrote, “One of the best smelling dishes ever.” Real, black truffle. Not overpowering. Not off-putting. The arugula, bitter on its own, provides a nice contrast to the dish. The flavour of the balsamic reduction reminded me of birch syrup. I wanted to lick my plate. It prompted me to tweet, “Scraping up every last bit of balsamic reduction. Would it be appropriate for me to lick the plate, @Mideastro & @Butter_PR?”
Chef refers to the carpaccio and “Lazy carpaccio”. It saves him from having to compose the dish on a plate. To me there was nothing lazy about it. It’s delicious simplicity.
If the duos on each plate were in competition, the carpaccio was clearly the winner but the calamari is another merging of countries. The grilled calamari is served on lime root vegetable cream and ox tail cavier lentil pot au feu (literally, “pot on the fire” – traditionally a French beef stew). The calamari is marinated in spices that include paprika, garlic, salt and pepper and grilled at 500 degrees, Spanish style a la plancha- grilled on a metal plate. Plancha griddles or flat tops are chrome plated which prevents reaction with the food. Some base metal griddles will impart a subtle flavor to the food being cooked. Also, with a plancha if you use a low even heat and a drop of oil you can toast the food and caramelize some of the natural sugars in the food (I learned this via Wikipedia). Beneath our calamari is a foam of cauliflower and milk, showing a variety of techniques in one plate.
Black Truffle Carpaccio & Grilled Calamari
Fourth course (the first of the mains) and getting full. What the menu described as “red snapper baked in smoked paprika and tomatoes in root vegetable fish stock served on sweet arisa risotto” is actually chraime, a Moroccan and North-African fish and vegetable casserole. A nod to Jewish, sephardic roots, chraime is often served as an appetizer on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. Fish are considered a symbol of wealth. While I’m of Ashkenaz descent, I’ve read that almost every sephardic family has its own special “Chraime” recipe. Cohen’s begins with fish that was soft, tender and flaky. On the side was a super hot red pepper, of Spanish origin and grown in Israel.
Chraime (red snapper)
If I was “getting full” on the fourth course, I could barely eat the fifth, a lamb and beef grilled kufta in a grilled tomato and eggplant stew in Middle Eastern spices. Mideasto serves theirs in a large cast iron pan (we got a mini version) covered in a thin layer of fresh foccacia with a hot yogurt and tahini sauce. The waiter’s “table trick” is that he arrives with the dish, presents it, and then cuts into the pastry for the customer either cutting around, down the middle or beneath, revealing the dish inside. The idea is to tear pieces of the foccacia and dip it in to the stew, sort of like using injera to eat stews at an Ethiopian restaurant. Not that using bread as a utensil is restricted to one culture. It’s an old practice. It was, again, beautifully spiced and I think I heard them say that there were rose petals in there. I don’t like floral flavours and yet it all worked together so well. I ate half before giving up and moving on to dessert.
Kufta
Dessert duo:
Nutella parfait with frozen nutella cream, caramelized bananas and a piece of salted pecan brittle; Fig Kataiv, which was layers of spiced mascarpone, fresh figs and pistachios sandwiched between crisp layers of shredded phyllo dough spun thin. I loved them both but I think I liked the Nutella just a little bit more.
Throughout the meal Israeli wines were served, though their wine list includes wines from Chile, Italy, Ontario, France, and other places. Master Sommelier Bruce Wallner is one of the most well trained sommeliers in the country. In 2009, after 20 years of serving and studying wine, Bruce became the 171st Master Sommelier, one of only three “Master Sommeliers” in Canada.
As many of their ingredients as possible are imported from Israel. This is not great for locavores but the quality is fantastic. As I said earlier, Israeli dairy excites me.
In speaking with Goldstein and Cohen after dinner, I learned that the Cohen has lived in Manhattan and believes that Toronto is similar but better (take THAT, 30 Rock writers!). He observes that Toronto is still young in its food culture and tells me that he wants to help expand it. It’s something that I’ve heard from other chefs as well. A chef friend once shared his opinion that food trends take 8 years (!) to cross the border. It’s ambitious, but doable. Cohen’s food philisophy is that food should be simple, yet innovative and delicious. It should nourish and excite. Cohen told Neil of Communal Table that he’s hoping to bring a truly unique experience to Torontonians by bringing the flavours of the Middle East mixed with his expression, knowledge and technique in a fine dining setting, and also showcasing a 2,000-year-old voyage of the Jews through history, time and space.
Toronto is a multicultural city. It makes perfect sense to have a fusion of cultures. I wish Mideastro Yorkville the best of luck. They’re already off to a good start.
Address:
27 Yorkville Ave. at Yonge
Telephone:
416-477-2427
Hours:
Monday -Thursday: 11am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Friday – Saturday: 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 12pm
Sunday: 11am-3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Price range:
At lunch, appetizers start at $6 for the soup and go to $25 for the burrata salad and mains are $13-$19
At dinner, appetizers have the same price range as at lunch but with more options, and mains are $21-$34.
Dessert is $9-$14.
Website: http://www.mideastroyorkville.com (Warning: It has music.)
Full photo set on Flickr:
Catching up on my blogging from my website’s down time…
Photo credit: Peter Henderson, BlogTO
The Depanneur isn’t much of a corner store at all. The owner Len, an ex-Montrealer, describes it as “a café/corner store mash-up where interesting food things happen.” The space was previously occupied by a corner store.
They sell coffee and tea, they have a breakfast menu, they serve soup in the winter and ice cream in the summer.
They do a casual Tuesday Night Drop-In Dinner from 6-8pm. On Tuesday February 7 they were serving “Killah Mac & Cheese” with an pile of steamed broccoli or side of organic green salad ($12 with side, $9 without, tax and extra servings included).
They host workshops, such as Intro to Sourdough Baking (February 9).
They sell the local & organic ingredients that they use, such as milk, bread, eggs, veggies and wild mushrooms and more.
The Depanneur is home to the Rusholme Park Supper Club, a neighbourhood dinner party featuring a rotating cast of chefs. I recently went to their “Black and White” themed dinner party, and did a pre-dinner blog post about it over on my Tumblr blog. It was an enjoyable evening. I wore a black sequin skirt, white top and black hat. I brought a white wine (Savignon Blanc), my guy brought a bottle of pinot noir.
I encourage you to get on their mailing list to see what’s coming up and to also watch their Facebook page. Events sell out quickly. February events include a “vegan take on Jamaican classics” on Valentine’s Day, a Japanese Pickling Workshop, a Pork Ninja pork dinner of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts, a Cuban dinner and an event called “Exploring Nonya Cuisine with Greg Couillard“.
Flickr slide show from the Black and White dinner:
This is sort of a bonus to my three part Holiday Gift Guide.
Welcome to “Toronto: Down Under”, a celebration of Australian Cuisine.
Luke Hayes-Alexander will be coming down from Kingston for THREE DAYS ONLY to cook some of the great cuisine he experienced on his two week trip to Australia, where he staged in some of the best restaurants in Sydney. Australian John Placko, one of the most knowledgable and skilled modernist chefs in the Toronto will be there. Rounding out the team will be Matt Kantor, of Secret Pickle, Little Kitchen and Ghost Chef.
It was announced today shortly before 10am and within two hours tickets were 50% gone. Don’t miss your chance! Get more information and buy tickets here. Do it now before they’re gone. They make a great holiday gift for you and your significant other, or for that Aussie-lover in your life (which, if you and/or your significant other are Aussie is the same person).
(Then come back and read around my blog some more. I like when people stay.)
Edit: I forgot to hit “send” on this yesterday and as of about 10:30am Thursday there are fewer than 10 tickets left.
The contest ends tomorrow and today was as good a day as ever to create the dessert that’s been on my mind for days: A parfait made with raw banana maple walnut ice cream.
The ice cream idea’s been in my mind since September’s Vegetarian Food Festival, where Lisa Pitman demonstrated a healthier, vegan alternative to Dairy Queen Blizzards using banana “soft serve”. A lot of fruits could serve as the base. At it’s most basic, and the way that Lisa did it: Put frozen bananas in a food processor and let it run until bananas are creamy, like soft serve ice cream. For her demo, Lisa created mix-ins such as her take on mint sandwich cookies, raw “cookie dough”, and raw strawberry “cheesecake”.
I was inspired by banana soft serve, walnuts, maple and spice.
Mine made one portion that I couldn’t finish. I suggest making one and sharing it with a special friend. The contest rules say that the dish should be suitable for holiday gatherings/ winter entertaining. Well, You could always made smaller versions, I suppose, and make more. Use different types of glassware, as long as it’s transparent. I used a beer glass. And it’s always the right season for ice cream. This one is kind of comforting, and it’s got the spice in there. Spice is good for winter.
Put it all in a food processor (multipurpose blade) & let machine run until the banana mixture is smooth. Remove blade, fold in maple walnuts. (You can leave them whole, or crumble them in like I did.)
Lisa advised that a Vitamix/Blendec won’t work. If you try it in a Vitamix, use the plunger and add some liquid such a coconut milk. I don’t know Blendtec.
When it’s creamy, if it looks too melted. you might want to put it in the freezer for a little bit to solidify a bit. I had no room in my freezer.
(Suggestions only. Create your own. Ideas: Crumbled cookies, candied ginger, dried or frozen fruit, cacao nibs. My layers were not all raw.)
Layer 1 (from bottom):
Sliced bananas
Layer 2:
Ice cream
Layer 3:
Jam/fruit preserves
I used cherry peach, made locally by Sausage Partners, acquired at the preserve tasting party that I attended at the end of September, hosted by Joel and Dana of Well Preserved. Jam is not raw.
Layer 4:
More ice cream
Layer 5:
Maple California walnuts
I added California walnuts because I’d forgotten (until a few days later) that I’d been thinking of using Mum’s Original coconut cacao nibs. It’s another not raw layer.
Layer 6:
More ice cream!
Layer 7:
Pomegranate seeds
The tartness helped balance out the sweetness of the entire thing.
Layer 8:
More ice cream! But now we’re getting near the end.
Layer 9:
Raw, vegan chocolate sauce
(recipe below)
..and..
coconut
I think that I read a recipe like this on Meghan Telpner’s website awhile ago, though I felt like completely winging it when I made this one and went on instinct rather than looking at other recipes for guidance. She inspired it.
Mix together:
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup (I used agave, which I rarely use due to its highly processed nature) because I didn’t want the maple to overpower the chocolate)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp each of cayenne pepper & cinnamon*
(It probably could have used 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of coffee powder to bump the chocolate flavour. I’ll try it with the remaining sauce.)
And that, my friends, is my 9-layer raw banana whisky maple walnut ice cream superfood parfait inspired by two very cool women I know, Lisa and Meghan.
P.S. Dinner was raw too. I spiralized (yes, it’s a word, it means to use a spiralizer) Japanese turnip and celeriac – and, unsuccessfully, apple – added kelp noodles and tossed with the California Walnut pesto that I made earlier this week.
If you don’t know who Jacques Pépin is, here’s a little primer:
Jacques Pépin has earned a reputation as a champion of simplicity. His recipes are classics. They find the shortest, surest route to flavour, avoiding complicated techniques.
Now: Pépin serves as Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary Institute, part of the International Culinary Center, in New York City. He is also an active contributor to the Gastronomy department at Boston University. Pépin also writes a quarterly column for Food & Wine magazine.
This is Jacques Pépin’s website.
In his new book, Essential Pépin, Jacques Pépin shares a lifetime of food and techniques. For the first time ever, the legendary chef collects and updates the best recipes from his six-decade career.
Publisher Thomas Allen & Sons is holding a contest for home chefs and bloggers. As a contest participant I was able to choose from three recipes:
See? Simple classics. I made the salad. Of course I made the salad. Salads are what I do and I don’t make meat at home (though I must might also make the mousse before the contest closes on Sunday).
Of the composed salad, Pépin says,
A composed salad consists of greens and any of an almost endless variety of other ingredients, from cooked vegetables to fruits, nuts, poultry, lamb, beef, fish, or shellfish, arranged on a plate or platter, rather than tossed. In this one, I add cheese, apple, and caramelized pecans to tender greens. The combination makes an ideal summer supper or lunch main course or elegant dinner first course
Sounds pretty much like what I do almost daily, except that I usually toss mine rather than “compose”. Another thing I do is modify recipes. Here’s what I changed:
My version of the salad wasn’t only simple, but pretty local. I’d have used local greens if they were available but Everdale is down to mustard greens. If this is what it’s like to cook like Pépin, I want an entire collection of Pépin cookbooks. It’s great for a lazy cook such as myself.
I’m already feeling an allergic reaction to something in it (goat cheese? Vinegar? The sugar I used for the caramelized almonds?). I’ve been yeast-free all week. Oh, the things a food writer does for a story and, in this case, a chance to win a KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer. Every food writer needs one.
I was going to make a California walnut dessert this evening but I was too full. Same thing happened last night. I think that tomorrow I should just have dessert for dinner.
Check out Everything Pépin
Seriously, Pépin could change your life.
