Here’s some inspiration on what to cook this summer — and every other season — from two B.C. cookbooks. To get you started, I’ve included a recipe from each book.
A Taste of Life on Quadra Island: Island Cookery III
Some good things happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and one was the creation of this beautiful, photo-rich, tasty recipe-filled, 240-page cookbook. The book, a collaborative effort and fundraiser for the Quadra Island Children’s Centre, was completed in exactly 12 months, from the initial call for recipes to it being published Dec. 13, 2021.
“A phenomenal feat made possible by lots of talented people being available due to pandemic shutdowns,” said Jeanette Taylor, the book’s co-ordinating editor.
Those talented people included Quadra Island artists, chefs, home bakers, photographers, writers and artisans, people who added their personal flair to the book in one way or another.
A Taste of Life on Quadra Island was a hit with book buyers and is now in its second printing. When deciding what recipes to put in the book, Taylor says that 81 cooks tested 350 recipes that were winnowed down to the 140 recipes featured in the book that met their fresh, local, made-from-scratch criteria.
The book is divided into chapters that include topics such as foods from the sea, foods from the garden, foods from the forest, foods from the orchard and berry patch, and foods from the path and paddle, all dotted with wonderful photos of and around Quadra Island.
In other words, it’s the perfect cookbook for someone living on the West Coast of B.C., where accessing foods from those places is deliciously possible. The book also has chapters on preserving, so you can enjoy those foods year round.
Some of the enticing recipes you’ll find in the book include asparagus, oyster mushrooms and spot prawns with gnocchi, roasted beet, yam and garlic salad, chicken pho Quadra-style with spicy almond sauce, gale force kimchi, honey quinoa sourdough bread, and rose petal jam, to name just a few.
A Taste of Life on Quadra Island costs $34.95 and is sold at a number of bookstores and gift shops across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Discovery Islands, and can be found in Munro’s Books and Russell Books in Victoria. For a complete list of places selling it go to islandcookery.com.
Together at SoBo: More Recipes and Stories from Tofino’s Beloved Restaurant
If you’ve operated an iconic restaurant for many years, routinely creating new dishes, like chef/owner Lisa Ahier and her staff have, it would be difficult to stuff all the recipes into one book. So, Ahier found a solution, as a follow up to her 2014 award-winning, best-selling first book, The SoBo Cookbook, she recently published a second book called Together at SoBo: More Recipes and Stories from Tofino’s Beloved Restaurant (Appetite by Random House: $37:50).
Like her first book, this 277-page hardcover tome — with chapters including starters, soups and sandwiches, salads, pizza, entrees and desserts — is filled with creative, full-of-flavour recipes you want cook. Some that immediately caught my eye included fried green tomatoes with spiced shrimp and herb mayonnaise, green goddess salad, lentil vegiballs, mystic clam pizza, fried chicken dinner southern-style, braised beef cheek tacos, cherry pie and chocolate mascarpone cookies.
The book also has a chapter on drinks that will keep you happily shaking and stirring, making creations such as sangria for a crowd and the SoBo sunset cocktail, among others.
Each recipe has it’s own photograph taken by accomplished Canadian photographer Jeremy Koreski. Together at SoBo also has charming photos of some of the fine folks who work at the restaurant and scenic shots of Tofino and area. You can buy Together at SoBo at most bookstores and from online retailers. For more information about Sobo the restaurant, go to sobo.ca.
Recipe: Seared Albacore Tuna with Mirin & Lime Dressing
This recipe is from A Taste of Life on Quadra Island and was contributed to the book by Pilar and Bruce Martinelli from Tantrum No. 1 seafood. They note that the tangy flavours of fresh tuna loin, lightly seared, shine in this dish and the sesame seeds, which turn dark brown during searing, provide an elegant contrast. The dressing can be made a day in advance and poured over the tuna when serving.
Makes: Four servings
For the tuna
1 (1 pound) albacore tuna loin (see Note)
4 to 6 Tbsp sesame seeds, untoasted
2 Tbsp neutral oil (such as avocado or grapeseed) suitable for high heat
• salt and pepper
For the dressing
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp liquid honey
1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbsp mirin (see Note)
1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp lime juice
1 green onion, sliced
To make the dressing: Whisk the soy sauce, honey, ginger, mirin, rice wine vinegar, lime juice and green onion and set aside.
Slice the tuna loin in half and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put sesame seeds on a plate, and roll the tuna pieces in seeds to cover.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add the oil. Place the fish in the hot pan, laying it down away from you, using tongs. Do not crowd the pan. Sear each side 20 to 30 seconds. The seeds will turn brown when ready. Rest the tuna for five minutes.
Use a sharp knife to slice into rounds. Plate the tuna, top with dressing, and sprinkle with green onion. Serve seared albacore tuna with sushi rice and seasonal vegetables.
Note: The albacore tuna loin used in this recipe can found be at seafood stores and at some grocery stores. It’s often sold frozen, thaw before using. Mirin is Japanese sweet rice wine sold at Japanese and other Asian food stores and in the Asian foods aisle of some grocery stores.
Summer Ratatouille and Polenta
This recipe is from Together at SoBo: More Recipes and Stories from Tofino’s Beloved Restaurant. Author Lisa Ahier says for her ratatouille recipe, she likes to sauté the ingredients first. She also likes to use mushrooms, which is not traditional, and a creamy, soft, silky polenta underneath the rich ragu of vegetables.
Makes: Six servings
For the Polenta
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1⁄2 cup coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
1⁄4 cup butter, cubed
1⁄4 cup grated Asiago cheese
For the Ratatouille
1⁄2 cup olive oil, divided
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1⁄2 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 tsp salt, divided
1 portobello mushroom, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 large tomato, diced
1⁄4 cup fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
8–10 leaves fresh basil, for garnish
1⁄4 cup shaved hard aged cheese, such as Parmesan, pecorino, Asiago or Romano, for garnish
Prepare the polenta, heat the oven to 325 F. In a medium ovenproof saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup water, the milk and salt. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid the milk bubbling up and spilling over the sides. If it gets too hot, the milk scalds and will lose its natural sweetness.
Test the milk with a deep-fry thermometer. When it is 155 F (I call this the latte stage), slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Continue to whisk until a few bubbles appear. (I call this the volcanic stage.)
Cover and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and stir with a wooden spoon, then return to the oven and continue to bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the butter and cheese and serve as soon as possible. It sets up and hardens quite quickly.
Meanwhile, cook the ratatouille: Heat 1⁄4 cup of the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over high heat. As soon as it’s hot, add the garlic, bay leaf and onions. Sweat down for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the peppers, eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp of the salt. Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to the stovetop, again over high heat, and add the remaining 1⁄4 cup oil. Once it’s hot, add the portobello and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Season with 1 tsp salt. Return the vegetables to the pan and add the dried herbs. Turn the heat to low, add the tomatoes and remaining 1 tsp salt and use a wooden spoon to gently stir. Let the mixture simmer for a couple of minutes.
To serve: Dish out the hot polenta onto a serving plate, scoop the ratatouille on top and garnish with the fresh herbs and cheese.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
