This colourful dinner with its ruby red beets, fresh pink salmon and a rainbow of peppers echoes the fall landscape as it begins to change. The menu also features a salad made from lentils du Puy, the small, dark speckled lentil with a peppery taste that originated in the Auverge region of France.
But these same lentils are also grown in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and are often exported to France. Although the du Puy lentils are protected by an AOC designation - Appellation d' Origine Contrôlée is France's mark of quality and assurance of origin - our Canadian lentils are every bit as good. Look for Canadian lentils du Puy at high-end bulk-food stores and in some supermarkets.
HEIDI NOBLE'S SALAD OF DU PUY LENTILS AND BEETS
Cookbook author Heidi Noble trained at Stratford Chef's School and moved to the Okanagan Valley to open a cooking school and catering business and, more recently, to make wine. This recipe is adapted from her book, Menus From an Orchard Table, published by Whitecap.
To cook lentils, simmer them in water for 35 minutes along with some chopped onions, carrots and celery. Serve this salad with the salmon.
What you need
Beets:
2 pounds beets, scrubbed if young, peeled if old
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Dressing:
2 tablespoons minced shallots
¼ cup red-wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Lentils:
2 cups cooked du Puy lentils
Garnish:
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
What you do
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cut beets in half or in quarters, depending on size. Toss with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning once, or until fork-tender. Cool.
Place shallots and red-wine vinegar in a bowl and let infuse for 10 minutes. Whisk together oil, mustard, honey, lemon juice and rind, orange juice and rind and tarragon in a small bowl. Add shallot mixture and season to taste. Reserve.
Place lentils in a serving bowl and top with roasted beets. Crumble goat cheese over beets and sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with chopped fresh tarragon. Serves 6.
GRILLED SALMON WITH PEPPER SALSA
The bright colours of the salmon and the peppers looks stunning on the plate.
What you need
Salmon:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cracked peppercorns
Salt to taste
6 6-ounce salmon fillets
Salsa:
1 grilled green pepper, thinly sliced
1 grilled red pepper, thinly sliced
1 grilled yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 grilled jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons olive oil
What you do
Preheat grill to high.
Combine oil, mustard, peppercorns and salt and brush over salmon. Preheat grill to high. Place salmon skin side down on grill, close lid and grill for 7 minutes or until white juices begin to appear.
Toss together grilled peppers, red onion, lime juice, coriander and olive oil in a bowl. Season to taste, adding more hot peppers if desired. Arrange peppers on top of salmon. Serves 6.
PEACHES AND CREAM CAKE
A moist and juicy cake filled with peaches and served slathered with cream.
What you need
4 cups peeled and sliced peaches
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake:
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
11/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
1 cup whipped cream
What you do
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Peel and slice peaches into eighths. In a bowl, toss together the peaches, sugar and cinnamon. Reserve.
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy. Stir in the oil, lemon juice and rind.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
Add the flour mixture in three additions to the egg mixture, folding together until the batter is blended and smooth. Reserve.
Spread ¾ of the batter into a parchment-lined, oiled 9-inch spring form pan. Top with the peach mixture. Dollop the remaining batter on top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes in the lower third of the oven or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan. Serve with whipped cream. Serves 6 to 8.
Correction: Because of an editing error, last week's recipe for Brined Pork Chops should have called for ½ cup of salt, not 1 cup.
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