Food writers have a way with words, but can they cook? Some of us were put to the test recently when the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto challenged members of the media to take part in its first chowder contest. The event was held to introduce the hotel's new executive chef, Robert Bartley.
The hotel provided a range of ingredients and divided us into teams. Celebrity "cooks" included James Chatto, my co-author on A Matter of Taste, Chris Nuttall-Smith, food editor of Toronto Life, Heather Hiscox of the CBC News morning show and Rosanna Caira, the publisher of Food Service and Hospitality. (My role was to "coach" Chatto's team.) Canada AM host Seamus O'Regan, a native Newfoundlander who knows his chowder, was one of the judges. Here is the winning recipe.
SAN FRANCISCO LOBSTER AND CLAM CHOWDER
The name was chosen because the chowder is served in a bowl fashioned from sourdough bread. Created by a team that included Anita Mazic of CITY-TV's Cityline and the Toronto Star's Marc Atchison, it reminded us of the kind of chowder you might enjoy on the pier in San Francisco.
You could use about 2 cups of chopped canned clams, but we preferred using fresh.
What you need
½cup salt pork or bacon, diced
2 tablespoons bourbon or rye whisky
½ cup diced onions
¼cup leeks, washed and sliced
¼cup minced shallots
2 bay leaves
3 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 cups clam juice
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 pounds fresh clams, preferably smaller ones
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, optional
1½ teaspoons ground fennel seed
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons milk
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked lobster, diced
Sourdough bread bowls
What you do
Sauté salt pork in a large pot over medium heat for 3 minutes or until slightly browned. Deglaze pot using bourbon or rye, scraping up any little pieces. Add onions, leeks and shallots and sauté for 2 minutes until softened.
Add bay leaves, potatoes, clam juice and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked.
Add clams and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until shells have opened. Remove clams from pot, remove from shells and reserve clams. Add cream, Old Bay, fennel seed and bring to boil.
Whisk together flour and milk until thick. Add to soup, whisking continuously until soup returns to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes to remove floury taste. Season with pepper.
Return clams to pot along with precooked lobster meat just before serving and ladle into bread bowls. Serves 4 to 6.
ROBERT BARTLEY'S WEST COAST SALMON CHOWDER
Ontario native Robert Bartley worked with some of our finest chefs, including Susur Lee and Chris McDonald before arriving at the Four Seasons.
Although it was not part of the challenge, his classic chowder recipe includes a twist: Bartley lightly smokes the salmon before adding it to the soup.
We used double-smoked bacon instead to give a similar flavour. This soup is rich and small portions are enough.
Always be careful about salt in chowders as clams and clam juice are salty to begin with.
What you need
6 ounces double-smoked bacon, diced
1 white onion, peeled and diced (½ inch)
1 leek, white part only, washed and diced (½ inch)
1 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups clam juice
2 cups whipping cream
8 ounces fresh wild or organic skinless salmon fillet cut into 1-inch chunks
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Salt and white pepper to taste
3 tablespoons minced chives
What you do
Place bacon in a medium-sized stock pot and sauté over medium heat for about 4 minutes or until bacon is slightly crisp.
Remove bacon from pan and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Reserve bacon. Add onions, leeks, shallots and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes until softened. Add thyme, bay leaf, clam juice and bring to boil. Add cream and bring to a simmer.
Lower heat, add salmon, reserved bacon and rosemary and simmer gently for 4 to 5 minutes or until just cooked.
Remove rosemary before serving. Adjust seasoning to taste and garnish each bowl with a heaping tablespoon of minced chives. Serves 6 to 8.
BARTLEY'S BISCUITS
These biscuits are the perfect accompaniment for Bartley's chowder.
What you need
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½teaspoons salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
¾ cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Grated old cheddar cheese
What you do
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Drop the butter into the middle and work it into the flour mixture using your fingers to form a coarse crumb.
Slowly add milk and egg and bring dough together into a sticky ball. Turn out onto a well-floured work surface and gently push dough out with your hands to form a rectangle about 2 inches thick.
Use a 2-inch round cutter to cut out circles, re-rolling scraps until you have 10 biscuits.
Arrange on a greased baking tray, allowing biscuits to touch so that they will stay moist. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with cheddar. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 10 biscuits.
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