West Coast recipe

Pacific West Coast Canadian foods

What is Canadian cuisine. It’s that ability to source great local products with incredibly authentic ethnic influences.

Celebrating what is local at the peak of season is just good cooking . Whether you go to a country like France, Italy or Spain that have incredibly well-defined food cultures; using seasonal, local ingredients in a very specific style.

While in Canada we’re using great seasonal, local ingredients in a variety of styles.
Europeans are trying to become more North American, they’re embracing fast-food culture and prepackaged grocery items and center of store shopping. Canadians are moving away from that. We want to know where our food is coming from. Local is everything; from fish to farming, where your food is coming from, the consumer is driving this change and thus driving Canadian cuisine.

Our challenge is that we haven’t had anybody define it on a national level. You’ve got Asian influences on the west coast, European influences on the east coast. Ukrainian influences and Icelandic influences in central Canada. All these amazing influences but how do you define a food culture on such a vast geographic scale unless there’s somebody to tell that story.

Here are some sample recipes of the Canadian West Coast

Seafood ChowderSoy Marinated and Cream Cheese-Stuffed SalmonWest Coast Philly Cheese SteakPacific Coast Square Delight

West Coast Seafood Chowder ( serves 6- 8 )

Ingredients

30 ml butter

15 ml grape seed oil

250 ml chopped onions

125 chopped celery

125 ml all purpose flour

500 ml clam juice

1 Lt vegetable stock

3 large potatoes peeled and small diced

5 ml of each fresh thyme,fresh dill

3 ml paprika

300 gr Wild Spring Salmon or Sockeye Salmon cut into small chunks

2 dozen fresh prawns

300 gr fresh halibut cut into small chunks

75 ml white wine

15 ml lemon juice

5 ml hot pepper flakes
5 ml fresh ground pepper
250 ml half and half cream

Method

1.Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot. Add the onions and celery and cook until soft and transparent.
2.Stir in the flour, making a roux. Add the broth, the clam nectar, then the potatoes, dill, thyme, and paprika. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender but not mushy.
4.Add the seafood, wine and seasonings, stir gently and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes.
5.Gently stir in the half and half, being careful not to let to boil after this is added.
6.Garnish with more fresh dill or chives and serve hot a loaf of fresh Baquet.or Fuccaccia bread

Soy Marinated and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Salmon ( serves 6 )

355 ml low sodium soy sauce

70 ml honey

45 ml whole grain Dijon mustard

3 gr ground ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 gr red pepper flakes, or to taste

6 (250 gr) salmon fillets or steaks

260 g cream cheese, softened

4-1/2 green onions, finely chopped

4 ml whole grain Dijon mustard

180 ml teriyaki sauce

15 g sesame seeds

Method

1. Stir together the soy sauce, honey, mustard, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Arrange the salmon fillets in a shallow dish. Pour the marinade over the salmon, turning fillets to coat both sides. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the salmon stuffing by combining the cream cheese, green onions, and 5 ml mustard in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to cook the salmon.
3. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking dish with foil, and lightly grease foil.
4. Remove salmon from marinade. Cut a slit in the thickest part of each fillet to make a small pocket. Spoon cream cheese mixture into the pocket. Place salmon in prepared baking dish.
5. Cook salmon in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven; spoon teriyaki sauce over fillets and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Reduce heat to 150 degrees C. Cook until fish is easily flaked with a fork, about 5 minutes more.

West Coast Philly Cheese Steak ( serves 4)

Ingredients

500 gr fresh Boneless Rib Eye Steak

80 ml water

1 clove garlic minced

50 ml Worcestershire

50 ml Balsamic vinaigrette

3 ml salt

2 ml ground pepper

2 ml Montreal Spices

3 ml hot sauce

4 slices mozzarella cheese fairly thick

40 ml butter

½ onion

½ orange pepper

3 sweet red peppers

250 ml mushrooms

4 Paninni bread (Jalapeno bread would be great )

Method

1.Freeze the steak until mostly frozen then slice paper thin.

2,Marinate meat in water, clove garlic, Worcestershire, Balsamic Vinaigrette, salt, Steak Seasoning, ground pepper, hot sauce. Marinate 1 hour.

3.Cook meat & marinate in t pan until done. Drain liquid & set aside.

4.Add 2 slices skim mozzarella cheese until melted.

5.In separate pan, melt butter and sauté onions, red peppers, orange peppers, mushrooms and garlic. 6.Sauté pepper mixture until tender.

7.Lightly broil Bread and slice serve with sliced pickles

7.Serve with saved beef broth on the side for dipping.

Pacific Coast Square Delight

250 ml A & P flour

30 ml confectioners sugar

125 ml butter

75 ml seedless raspberry jam

Fillings

175 ml white sugar

125 ml butter softened

2 eggs

175 rice flour

10 frops red food colouring

Icing

500 ml confectioners sugar or as needed

100 ml sofy butter

15 ml milk as needed

5 ml maple extract

Preheat oven to 150 C. Line bottom and sides of an square baking pan with parchment paper; crease corners well.

Whisk together 250 ml flour and 30 ml confectioners' sugar; cut in 125 ml butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pat mixture evenly into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove to cool on a wire rack, about 15 minutes. Top base evenly with raspberry jam.

Preheat oven to 190 C

Beat white sugar and 125 ml butter together until fluffy; beat in eggs until fluffy and pale yellow. Beat rice flour into egg mixture until well combined; stir in food coloring until batter reaches desired shade of red. Spread batter evenly over jam layer.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan; about 20 minutes.

Beat 500 ml confectioners' sugar and 100 m l butter together in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth; stir in milk and maple extract. Spread icing evenly over cooled bars.

Hold edges of parchment paper; lift squares out of pan to a cutting board. Slice into 2 cm squares with a very sharp knife.