Category Middle Eastern

Restaurant Openings:

Paramount Fine Foods will open a second Mississauga restaurant, at Erin Mills Town Centre, this Friday November 15, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. Gourmet halal meat sourced from Paramount Butcher Shop and grilled over charcoal, pita baked in a wood burning oven, fine baklava pastries crafted on site, and an extensive Middle Eastern menu will be sure to please Middle Eastern food lovers (like me!).

Read about my visit to Paramount’s Crestlawn Drive location here:  www.olivetoeat.com. For a better understanding on halal meat, please read this article by Jennifer Bain of The Toronto Star: www.thestar.com.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas:

Lowe’s Brampton Christmas Market:

This 2nd annual European-style outdoor Christmas market (similar to the one held in Toronto’s Distillery District) will run from Thursday November 14th to Sunday November 17th, 2013.

Hours:
Thursday and Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

www.brampton.ca

Oakville Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony:

A beautifully designed tree, music, and treats will be waiting for you in downtown Oakville this Friday November 15th, 2013, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

www.oakvilledowntown.com

Classic Country Winter Festival at the Apple Factory:

The Apple Factory Country Grocer will be holding a Classic Country Winter Festival from Friday November 15th to Sunday November 17th, 2013. Enjoy free hot drinks, free samples from the Apple Factory’s favourite vendors, and visits from two of Santa’s reindeer. Be sure to check the website for important details and events schedule.

www.applefactory.com

Headline News:

Did you hear the details of the latest high-risk health hazard food recall or allergy alert issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency? If your answer is no, consider subscribing to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s email notification services and receive prompt, detailed, and accurate information directly in your in-box. Subscribe here: www.inspection.gc.ca. Or follow on twitter @CFIA_Food. For a list of the most recent public advisories on allergy alerts and high-risk food recalls click here: www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings

Grocery Store Find:

Unearthed: Mycryo powdered cocoa butter, a new form of healthier cooking, at Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit and on-line at www.goldaskitchen.com

Farm Market Find:

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery’s sparkling apple cider is ready now! Perfect for holiday entertaining. Try some out in their bistro and enjoy a delicious lunch too. Read more info here: www.olivetoeat.com

Restaurant News:

Paramount Fine Foods at Erin Mills Town Centre is opening at 8:00 a.m. on Friday November 15, 2013. Read about my visit to Paramount’s Crestlawn Drive location here:  www.olivetoeat.com

Port Credit’s newly renovated Snug Harbour looks modern, spacious, and beautiful. The Roasted Beet Salad with arugula, chèvre, and a well-balanced sweet honey vinaigrette is delicious.

Mississauga meet Muhammara, a seductively delicious dip originating from Aleppo, Syria but common in Lebanese cuisine. This intriguing little number has layers of flavour and texture: roasted sweet red peppers, crunchy walnuts, acidic tomato paste and lemon juice balanced by sweet and tangy pomegranate molasses, and a warm spicy heat that slowly unveils itself. A breeze to make with most items stocked in my pantry, it’s my favourite appetizer of the moment.

The type of dried, crushed chili peppers you use is important here. The classic recipe uses dried Aleppo chili peppers, originating from Syria. Regular grocery store dried red chili peppers are fiery hot and lack the fruity flavour of Aleppo pepper but Aleppo pepper can be hard to come by. The Spice Trader in Toronto carries Aleppo pepper, available in their store on Queen Street West (in Trinity Bellwoods) or from their website (they just received a new shipment on Friday November 1, 2013 and are in the process of updating their website). I use Armenian pepper, sold at Adonis (under the Cedar brand in plastic packets in the spice aisle). Cedar brand Armenian pepper flakes have a fruity flavour, like raisins, and a gentle heat.

You’ll find pomegranate molasses in Middle Eastern grocery stores or in the international section of some supermarkets. If you live in or close to Mississauga, a drive to Adonis will be worth the trip. You can stock your pantry with Armenian pepper, pomegranate molasses, and small jars of roasted sweet red peppers. Don’t forget to pick up a package of freshly baked Adonis pita bread from the racks under the window of their in-store bakery.

There are many versions (and spellings) of muhammara. Adonis sells a good store-made version, available ready-made in mild or spicy hot (they spell it Mouhamara). My recipe is somewhere in between the Adonis version and Claudia Roden’s version (from her book The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, which is an extensive collection of good, authentic Middle Eastern recipes).

Please visit my Grocery Store Directory for information on The Spice Trader and Adonis.

Olive’s Muhammara

Makes about 2 cups.

Adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Perfect for holiday entertaining, this dip is colourful, healthy, and exotic. Make sure you don’t over-process; you want the slight crunch of the walnuts and tiny hits of different flavours coming at your taste buds. Alternatively, if you add a garlic clove and puree to a smooth paste, you’ll have an outstanding and healthy sandwich spread that I like to call Muhammara Mock Mayo.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled walnuts
4 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
1 jar (250ml) grilled/roasted sweet red peppers, drained
1 slice whole wheat bread, lightly toasted, crusts removed, torn into small pieces
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (also called “syrup”,“glaze” or “concentrated juice”)
3 teaspoons Armenian pepper or Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt or coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula when necessary, until mixture is processed into a rough paste; avoid over-processing.
2. Serve immediately with toasted pita points, pita chips, or endive spears. For longer storage, seal in a plastic container and store in fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; defrost before serving.

My Black Cherry Rose Water Sherbet turns sweet dark cherries, a touch of cream, and a faint but alluring hint of rose water into a luscious make-ahead summer dessert that will make you dream you are feasting in a sultan’s tent under a starry Sahara sky.

Rose water is the essential water that is left behind in the steam distillation of rose petals to extract rose oil for perfume. Olive to fill a bowl with tap water, add a healthy splash of rose water, and float some delicate rose petals on the surface as a pretty table decoration or a refreshing gesture for pampered guests in my bathroom.

For centuries, fragrant rose water has laced sweets and drinks in Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean, and Southeast Asian cuisines. Did you know rose water was common in American and European baking until the 19^th century when vanilla stole the scene?

French Pastry Chef Pierre Hermé (widely acclaimed as the “Picasso of Pastry” and the “Couturier of Haute Pâtisserie”) brought rose water back into vogue in Paris when he combined the flavours of rose, raspberry, and lychee into a much sought-after macaron creation he calls Ispahan (after the Damask rose).  His book titled Ispahan (to be published in September 2013 by Editions de La Martinière) will be dedicated to interpretations of his famous flavour combination.

Rose water has since made its way back into the spotlight on this side of the pond. When I read in the June 2013 issue of Chatelaine magazine that Toronto’s Cava restaurant was using rose water in their Strawberry Rose Water Sorbet, I decided to try the combination of rose water and black cherries in a sherbet. I think it turned out beautifully.

As a springboard for my recipe, I started with Ree Drummond’s Cherry Sherbet recipe (olive her blog The Pioneer Woman); but I cut back on the dairy and sugar, eliminated the alcohol, increased the amount of cherries, and added the rose water. And I made it without an ice cream maker, using a simple tray-in-the-freezer-by-hand method instead.

The heavy rains have shortened the local cherry season which will probably finish up by this weekend so try to get some local cherries while you still can. I found these beauties (grown in Jordan Station, Ontario) at Longo’s on Monday.

I pit cherries the same way I do olives. Make a small slit in the cherry, place the flat side of a chef’s knife over a single cherry and push down carefully with the heel of your hand until the cherry crushes open and the pit is easily removed. It will take a bit of time, but I relax at my kitchen table while pitting my cherries and find it therapeutic. And since you need to make this recipe a day in advance, all the work will be done well ahead of serving it.

Serve my Black Cherry Rose Water Sherbet in small portions in tiny, pretty cups. Sprinkle some fresh rose petals or rosebud tea at each place setting for added romance.

Black Cherry Rose Water Sherbet

Makes about 2 cups

You need to make this lovely sherbet one day before serving, then freeze overnight until ready to serve. Be careful not to add too much rose water, which can easily overpower a recipe; there is just a subtle hint in my recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh sweet dark (black) cherries, freshly pitted by you (yes you!)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon rose water (see notes below)

juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Place the cherries and sugar in a wide saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently; then reduce to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until cherries are soft and liquid thickens to syrup, about 7 to 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Add the cherries with syrup to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add cream, rose water, and lemon juice. Blend just until combined.

If you have an ice cream maker, great! But I don’t, so here’s what I do:

Pour the cherry mixture into a 9-by-13-inch freezer-safe baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and place the dish in your freezer. After 45 minutes, use a fork and rubber spatula to scrape the frozen edges in toward the centre, breaking up any lumps while stirring. Repeat every 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours, until frozen.

When fully frozen, place the sherbet in an air-tight, freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the freezer, overnight, until ready to serve the next day. The sherbet is best eaten the day after it is made. Serve in small portions in tiny, pretty cups.

Note: Because it is perishable, store your rose water in the refrigerator after opening.

Cortas Rose Water: available at Adonis

www.goldaskitchen.com supplies Nielsen-Massey Rose Water.

Herbal Rosebud Tea from Village Foods: available at Adonis

Fresh Rose Petals: courtesy of Roscoe’s Roses (did you notice some missing Dad?)

Hot off the Olive Press! Paramount Fine Foods restaurant is opening up a second Mississauga location at Erin Mills Town Centre (Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue), hopefully sometime in the fall of 2013. Paramount Fine Foods serves Middle Eastern cuisine.

Our first experience with Paramount Fine Foods was at their 1290 Crestlawn Drive, Mississauga location. My husband had just returned from a family visit to Montreal, which always includes fabulous Middle Eastern food. He wanted to find out if Paramount’s food could compete with Montreal standards. We weren’t disappointed.

Compared to the surrounding industrial neighborhood, the elegant interior decor of the Paramount Crestlawn Drive location is a pleasant surprise. The parameter of the room boasts a charcoal grill and bakery counters. Warm woodwork and beautiful chandeliers create an inviting ambiance in the seating area.

Even more pleasant than the decor is the service. Though you order at the cash, the food is delivered to the table quickly and our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable about the restaurant.

The first thing that strutted to our table, warm and puffed up like proud roosters, was a basket of freshly baked pita bread straight from the wood burning oven. Promise me that at least once in your life you will treat yourself to freshly baked Middle Eastern pita, which is thinner and tastier than other pitas.

I had to treat myself to a fresh mango juice because olive mangoes! The fattoush salad is fresh and crisp with romaine lettuce, parsley, red and yellow pepper, tomato slices, and deep fried pita bits in an authentically acidic dressing. We also ordered a bowl of tahina sauce to drizzle on our rice and meat. Olive tahina sauce (try my Grilled Trout with Tahina Sauce and Grilled Lemons).

I ordered the BBQ Beef: two skewers of charcoal grilled striploin beef. My husband ordered the Mixed Grill: skewers of shish taouk (marinated chicken breast), kofta (spiced ground beef), and bbq beef. All of the meat is so tender and flavourful that it is mouthwatering just to recollect. Paramount serves charcoal barbequed, sodium-nitrate-free, grass-fed, Ontario Halal meats prepared in the Paramount Butcher Shop.

Our plates included a small container of hummus or garlic mayonnaise, picked turnip, and picked celery. The fries are good but the rice is even better – nicely seasoned and fluffy.

The Arabic pastries are handmade and baked fresh daily in Paramount’s full bakery. They display them on huge, impressive trays behind the counter.  You can enjoy them in the restaurant or take them home.

My husband was in heaven. He selected a sampling of a few different kinds to share. Delicate layers of crisp pastry, sticky sweet with crunchy nuts.

These little babies, filled with beautiful pistachios nuts, have always been my favourite and they are exquisite.  Don’t they look like hungry baby birds?

The menu is extensive: appetizers, salads, sandwiches, grilled meats and chicken, shawarmas, falafels, Arabic style pizzas made to order and baked in a wood burning oven, fresh fruit juices, and fine pastries. We both agreed that Paramount Fine Foods restaurant is among the best Middle Eastern food we have tasted outside of Montreal. Reasonable prices, pleasant atmosphere, friendly efficient service, and good food. Olive Paramount Fine Foods!

Paramount Fine Foods plans to open in the fall of 2013 at Eglinton Avenue West and Erin Mills Parkway, in Mississauga.

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Check out their website for photos, videos, and other Paramount locations and hours in Mississauga, Hamilton, Toronto, Thornhill, and London: www.paramountfinefoods.com