Nikos Kazantzakis, the Greek writer, once wrote that talent has taken the place of genius these days, and bemoaned the fact that good taste is even replacing talent. Not so with the bevy of fine chefs who participated in the 13th annual Summer Harvest Garden Party in memory of the late great chef Kurt Waldele.
Waldele was executive chef at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa for 31 years. He was honoured with a tribute plaque that will hang outside Le Café as a permanent memorial.
Among the shining stars who literally cooked up a feast for attendees on the NAC’s Rooftop Terrace were Heinrich Stubbe of Stubbe Chocolates; Joe Calabro of Pasticceria Gelateria Italiana; Tim Wasylko, chef at 24 Sussex Drive; Neil Dhawan, chef at the British High Commission; Chef Frederic Filliodeau of the Sheraton Hotel’s Carleton Grill; and Chef Cory Haskins, who worked with Waldele in the early 1990s and is now chef at Ottawa’s prestigious Rideau Club.
Here are recipes from the event.
Shrimp Pernod
(Recipe courtesy of Cory Haskins)
Makes 4 servings
12 raw shrimp
50 ml (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
15 ml (1 tbsp) diced shallots
1 clove garlic
50 ml (1/4 cup) Pernod
250 ml (1 cup) 35% cream
25 ml (2 tbsp) chives
Salt and pepper
Melt 40 ml (3 tbsp) of the butter in a sauté pan on medium heat, add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp on each side for 2 minutes or until just about cooked. Remove and keep warm.
Place the remaining butter in the pan and melt, add the shallots and garlic, and cook over medium heat until soft and fragrant. Add the Pernod and flame, reducing the Pernod by three quarters.
Add the cream and reduce by half.
Add the shrimp back to the pan along with any juices from the shrimp. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and simmer until shrimp is cooked and the sauce is thick. Add the chives and serve.
Stubbe Chocolate Truffles
(Recipe courtesy of Heinrich Stubbe)
200 g dark Belgian chocolate
100 g heavy cream
5 ml (1 tsp) unsalted butter
Cocoa powder or crushed hazelnuts to roll the truffles in, if desired
Put chocolate and cream into a heavy saucepan. Add butter and melt the chocolate. Bring to medium heat, then pour into a bowl and chill until firm enough to scoop out and roll into balls. Chill again and, if desired, roll in cocoa powder or crushed hazelnuts.
Cake Ball Truffles
(Recipe courtesy of Chef Joe Calabro)
455 g cake flour
170 g cocoa powder
5 g baking powder
5 g baking soda
5 g Cinnamon
250 ml milk
455 g sugar
3 eggs
120 ml vegetable oil
Pinch of salt
Buttercream
Expresso and Bailey’s (optional)
Chocolate for dipping
Preheat oven to 170º C (340º F).
In a medium-sized bowl mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix all the liquid ingredients and add to the dry ingredients. Pour mixture into a 23 cm (9-inch) round cake pan.
Allow the cake to cool. Using your hands, break up the cake into crumbs until there are no large chunks. Add buttercream to the cake crumbs (you may use any buttercream recipe). Add a shot of espresso and a shot of Bailey’s. Mix to a medium consistency so that you will be able to form a cake ball that will hold its shape. Taste for flavour. Add extra espresso or Bailey’s if necessary.
Take a piece of cake batter and roll into a ball approximately .7 cm (3/4-inches) diameter and place on a baking sheet. Once rolled, place balls in the refrigerator for approximately 2 to 3 hours. Just before removing the cake balls from the refrigerator, chop up some chocolate, place in a double boiler, and melt. (You may use milk, dark, or white chocolate).
Using a fork, dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to dry. If you are dipping the cake balls in milk or dark chocolate you may want to melt a small quantity of white chocolate to use for decoration. Fill a paper cone and drizzle the contrasting chocolate over the dipped balls. Decorate to your preference.
If dipping the cake balls into chocolate candies or sprinkling with cocoa, this should be done while the chocolate is still wet.
Note: This recipe’s ingredients are by weight, and a scale is needed for accurate measurements. Rather than baking the cake from scratch, any cake mix can be used instead.
Susan Hallett is an award-winning writer and editor who has written for The Beaver, The Globe & Mail, Wine Tidings, and Doctor’s Review, among others. She is currently the European editor of Taste & Travel International. Email: [email protected]
Friends Read Free