Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, chefs and caterers in Canada's Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia, are helping shape a new regional cuisine for this up-and-coming wine region. This simple, delicious soup, mainly based on the valley's excellent tomatoes, is from one of their regular summer dinners at God's Mountain Estate, a vineyard and B&B near Penticton.
Photo by: Photo: Thomas J. Story; Styling: Randy Mon
1. Purée tomatoes in batches in a blender, adding 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup oil, and the vinegar to final batch.
2. Strain purée through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or pitcher. Season to taste with salt if you like. Serve chilled or at room temperature, garnished with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of basil.
Make ahead: Up to 2 days, chilled.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
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5 to 7 hours, plus at least 1 day to brine.
Grilling this roast over charcoal is a little complicated, but the results are worth it-the crust is crisper and the meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender. You can do the pork on a gas grill instead, though: Cook it at 275° with all burners turned on except the one beneath the pork; set a drip pan on the turned-off burner. The recipe is from Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, chefs and caterers in Canada's Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia. They serve it as part of their open-air feasts at God's Mountain Estate, a vineyard and B&B near Penticton.
Photo by: Photo: Thomas J. Story; Styling: Randy Mon
1. Brine pork: Simmer all brine ingredients in a large stockpot with 3 cups water, stirring occasionally, until salt dissolves. Remove from heat and add 9 cups cold water. Let cool. Add pork and chill, covered, at least 1 day and up to 2.
2. Begin rub while pork is brining: Preheat oven to 375°. Slice garlic heads in half crosswise and set on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with about 1 1/2 tbsp. oil and enclose in foil. Roast 40 minutes, or until cloves are buttery soft. Let cool.
3. Remove pork from refrigerator about 45 minutes before cooking, drain, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and let sit at room temperature.
4. Pull oregano and rosemary leaves from stems; chop finely, along with parsley leaves. Crush lavender in a mortar with a pestle (or put in a resealable plastic bag and pound with a meat mallet). Squish garlic cloves from their skins into a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil and smash garlic into a paste with a spoon. Stir in herbs and lavender; season lightly with salt and pepper. Pat garlic herb paste all over pork.
5. Ignite 45 to 50 briquets in a chimney starter on a fireproof surface (not on firegrate). Set a drip pan (roughly 6 by 8 in.) in center of firegrate and fill halfway with water. When coals are coated with ash (about 15 minutes), use tongs to arrange on either side of drip pan. Set cooking grate in place. Cover grill and, if your grill doesn't have a built-in thermometer, insert a smoker thermometer* through lid vent. Close grill vents as needed to bring temperature down to 300° (you may need to remove coals to get the temperature down; return them to the chimney starter).
6. Put meat, fat side up, on cooking grate over drip pan and cover grill. Grill pork, keeping the temperature between 250° and 300° and adding 5 or 6 coals to either side of drip pan every 30 minutes or so, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into pork registers 160°, about 4 1/2 hours.
7. Let pork rest 15 minutes before carving.
*Find a smoker thermometer online at Amazon.com ($17).
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
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Blanch the beans so that they're still bright green and a bit crunchy, and toss with the vinaigrette just before serving. The recipe is from Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, chefs and caterers in Canada's Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia. They serve it as part of their open-air feasts at God's Mountain Estate, a vineyard and B&B near Penticton.
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Mix onions and vinegar in a small bowl; sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
2. Boil beans 3 minutes for crunchy beans or 5 minutes if you want them more tender. Drain; plunge into a bowl of ice water.
3. Drain vinegar from onions into another small bowl and whisk in mustard, 1/3 cup oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Toss beans with 2/3 of onions, 2/3 of hazelnuts, and vinaigrette to taste. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and onions.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
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It's not easy to find small potatoes that are uniform in size (and therefore cook at the same rate), so lift them out of the water in batches as they become tender. The recipe is from Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, chefs and caterers in Canada's Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia. They serve it as part of their open-air feasts at God's Mountain Estate, a vineyard and B&B near Penticton.
1. Bring potatoes to a boil in a medium pot of well-salted water just to cover. Reduce heat and simmer until just soft when pierced (or cut one in half and try it).
2. Whisk 1/2 cup oil, the vinegar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a small bowl.
3. Sauté onions in remaining 2 tbsp. oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add corn and heat until just warmed through. Season with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and let cool.
4. Drain potatoes and let stand until just cool enough to handle. Taste a shred of skin; peel if bitter. Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and toss with 1/2 of vinaigrette.
5. Add cooled corn mixture, tomatoes, and marjoram. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette to taste and gently mix together.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
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For this simple, gorgeous dessert, any good fresh cherry will do—just taste first and adjust the sugar accordingly. Pastry flour, available at well-stocked grocery stores, produces a delicate but still sturdy crust; however, all-purpose works too. The recipe is from chef-caterer Dana Ewart, who, with her partner Cameron Smith, serves open-air vineyard feasts at God's Mountain Estate, in Canada's Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia.
Photo by: Photo: Thomas J. Story; Styling: Randy Mon
1. Make crust: Pulse flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor to blend. Add butter and pulse a few times until dough looks like cornmeal. Slit vanilla bean and carefully scrape out seeds with a spoon; add to dough. Drizzle in egg mixture and pulse until dough comes together.
2. Flatten dough into a disc and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
3. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 10 1/2-in. circle. Ease dough into a 9-in. tart pan and, using your thumb, press into sides and bottom corner; fold edges over to help form rim. Line shell with parchment paper and fill completely with dried beans or pie weights. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
4. Preheat oven to 325°. Bake shell 15 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edge and set on the bottom (lift up parchment to check). Carefully remove parchment and weights and bake shell until pale golden, 5 to 10 minutes more. Transfer tart shell to a rack, and lower oven temperature to 250°.
5. Make filling: Put chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat cream and half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering, then pour over chocolate. Let sit a few minutes, then stir gently until smooth.
6. Break egg into a separate medium bowl, then pour into chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until incorporated (keep whisk in contact with bottom of bowl so as not to whip in air bubbles). Pour mixture into the tart shell and bake until just set (no longer jiggles), 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely.
7. Make topping: Warm cherries in a saucepan over low heat with granulated sugar to taste until sugar melts. Whip cream with 2 tbsp. sugar and almond extract until soft peaks form.
8. Cut tart into slices and serve each with a few cherries and a dollop of cream on top.
Make ahead: Up to 2 days, chilled (bring to room temperature before serving).
Note: Nutritional analysis is per slice, with cherries and cream.
Sunset JULY 2010
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