Having friends over this weekend, but not sorted out what to serve for dinner? Anita Stewart has a patriotic suggestion: Dish up a meal rich with 91原创 foods.
Why?
Well, beyond the fact that we have so many great tastes in this country, if you haven鈥檛 heard, this Saturday is Food Day Canada.
It鈥檚 an event Stewart, a longtime 91原创 food advocate and food laureate of the University of Guelph, founded in 2003. She did so in response to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis that devastated Canada鈥檚 cattle industry at that time.
鈥淚 was sitting at my dining-room table working on my master鈥檚 dissertation in gastronomy and listening to CBC as whole communities were being devastated as the borders were closed to our beef cattle,鈥� Stewart said.
鈥淎t the same time I was reading John Ralston Saul鈥檚 Unconscious Civilization, in which he stated that the role of the citizen is to 鈥榥ot鈥� mind your own business. So I figured that, with so many food contacts across the country, I鈥檇 just call them or email them to issue the challenge to go to their grills and barbecue 91原创 beef.鈥�
The result of her efforts was that the first Food Day Canada became the world鈥檚 longest barbecue, with folks from coast to coast cooking 91原创 beef.
These days, Food Day Canada is a much broader event, described as a chance for all 91原创s to join in one massive celebration in praise of our farmers, fishermen, chefs, food researchers and, above all, home cooks who support local food producers.
There is nothing formal about the event this Saturday. To participate, simply plan a gathering in your backyard, campground, picnic site or other suitable place, and cook up a 91原创 food-rich feast to share and enjoy.
Stewart invites everyone to share images and stories of their meal on social media. To do so, Food Day Canada has created a special page on its website, FoodDayCanada.ca., where you can tag your food images on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #FoodDayCanada or #CanadaISfood.
If you don鈥檛 feel like cooking, but still want to partake, to further honour 91原创 foods, Food Day Canada has partnered with more than 250 restaurants across the country.
鈥淥n Saturday, they will be creating their own hyper-local menus, with ingredients often so specific to their region that they cannot be replicated even a few dozen miles away,鈥� Stewart said.
The complete list of restaurants 鈥� which include Victoria鈥檚 Olo, Sooke鈥檚 Sooke Harbour House and Tofino鈥檚 Pointe Restaurant 鈥� can be found on the Food Day Canada website.
Whether it鈥檚 you or a chef preparing a meal for Food Day Canada, this year, to help you find ingredients to use in honour of Canada鈥檚 149th birthday, Stewart has created a list of 149 ingredients for you to consider. Her list is also on the event website. Stewart said it was not easy to put together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge challenge, but the list is so personal that I鈥檓 open to any number of additions and edits,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淐ertainly one person cannot catalogue all the great regional ingredients that we produce, but it鈥檚 been a joyous exercise filled with 鈥榓ha鈥� moments.鈥�
I鈥檝e looked at the list and I must say I became very hungry. Stewart has done an amazing job putting it together. A love of her country and wondering what she鈥檒l find around the next culinary corner have kept her very motivated.
It鈥檚 no wonder Stewart has received so many accolades for her work in promoting 91原创 food, including becoming a member of the Order of Canada.
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
With the United Nations declaring 2016 International Year of Pulses, and with Canada growing so many of those pulses, Anita Stewart was inspired to come up with this bean-rich recipe. She says the burger mixture can be prepared a day ahead and be shaped for either for full-size burger buns, or slider buns. Top them with lentil sprouts, good locally made mustard, some green salsa and a pungent garlic mayonnaise (aioli). And, if you feel ambitious, make your own ketchup.
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Makes: about six to eight burgers
1 1/2 cups cooked black turtle beans or 19 oz. (540 mL) tin black beans, rinsed and drained (see Note 1)
1 egg
2 large green onions, coarsely chopped, or one chopped, medium-sized red onion
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1 small dried chili, crushed, or 1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup finely crushed lentil or tortilla chips
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
鈥� canola or olive oil, as needed for frying
鈥� whole wheat burger buns, as needed
鈥� sprouted beluga or other lentils, as needed (see Note 2)
Dry the cooked beans on a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels to remove the excess moisture. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
Combine the egg, green onion, garlic, spices and salt in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Measure in crushed lentil chips. Pulse a few more times until the lentil chips look as though they are dissolving into the mixture. Measure in the black beans and flour. Pulse, scraping down the sides from time to time, until the mixture is coarsely chopped. With a spatula, transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes or until firm.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and swirl in enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan. Form mixture into patties and saut茅 till golden brown on both sides. Keep warm until serving.
Note 1: To cook black turtle beans, cover them deeply with cold water and salt lightly. Let stand overnight at room temperature. Drain and transfer to saucepan. Cover well with water (no salt this time), bring to a boil and simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. If you need to add water during this cooking process, use hot or boiling water and it will maintain the colour of the beans.
Note 2: To sprout lentils, put 2 to 3 Tbsp into a glass jar and cover the top with cheesecloth, holding it in place with the jar ring. Put under a tap of cold running water and rinse, inverting the jar to drain. Now, fill with cool water and let stand overnight. In the morning, drain, set the jar on its side and let stand for a day. Repeat the rinsing daily until, after about three to four days, tiny shoots appear. Once they鈥檙e starting to turn green, rinse one final time and refrigerate.
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.
