Market & Mushrooming
I’m always excited at the thought of a season change – it means a new roster of fruits and vegetables that I haven’t seen in the markets for months. Autumn is a fave - hearty root vegetables, crunchy apples and the earthy delight of wild mushrooms.
Admittedly, London living spoils any foodie. I can lunch at Borough Market or spend a leisurely Saturday morning sipping a Monmouth coffee (read: no trip to London is complete without this coffee experience!) parousing the stalls and deciding what to cook. I rarely shop with a list – it’s all about letting the ingredients inspire. Yes, I can often get into trouble this way – buying more than I can carry but it makes the fun of planning a meal spontaneous!
Of late, I can report from London that the world of fabulous funghi are showing in the farmers markets every weekend! They never last long and I learned that lesson a few weeks back at the market.
As I began my “in my head” menu planning and having walked by overflowing basket of golden beauties commonly known as chanterelles mushrooms, I continued through the market looking for my next inspiration. Seconds later, back in my head, I find myself reflecting back on a New York moment. It was a simple fix for most wild mushrooms – simply heat a pan with a little olive oil, add in some finely shop shallots and quickly sauté the given wild mushroom of the day. Deglaze with a hit of Madeira and finish with a generous knob of butter. Simple, delicious and fast— I was tasting it as this mushroom memory came over me…
Quickly as could, I head back to buy up the chanterelles – my menu now coming together – will it be a juicy steak topped with these buttery angels or a simple pasta fully loaded with this meaty mushroom and a touch of crème fraiche. I arrive only to find my chanterelles have disappeared! Alas, my menu was changing a la minute! To my delight I find heaps of pied bleu – otherwise known as blue foot mushrooms. The pale violet colour of the stem instantly attracts not to mention the rich yet subtle flavour will match to a variety of ingredients. I knew they wouldn’t last long – I scooped them without any hesitation!
Turns out those little blue foots (cooked from my New York memory to no disappointment) were the perfect match to some tender black lentils
I am actually kind of glad I missed out on the chanterelles – as gorgeous as they looked I got to experiment with the blue foots. And for me that’s what it this food journey is all about – trying new, revisiting the forgotten, experimenting with the unfamiliar or finding the comfort in the familiar. After it is all said and done, I am a firm believer in just letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Mushroom mania, here I come!
Andrea Stewart
It’s not surprising that three of Andrea Stewart’s favourite foods are bread, butter and champagne, since her approach to all things culinary has always been pure and simple. This experienced, creative and enterprising chef and editor approaches cooking and eating with a solid appreciation for fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. Andrea’s journey with food began while living in France, working as an au pair for Grace Jones. While feeding the young offspring of the famous singer, she was tempted on a daily basis by the busy, colourful French food markets. Later on, she spent a summer at Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier and fell in love all over again with everything France had to offer. Upon returning to Canada, she was accepted at the acclaimed Stratford Chefs School and after completing her first year she headed to New York to further sharpen her skills, working alongside some of the finest (including Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto) and catering Martha Stewart’s executive meetings. Andrea returned to Toronto in 1996, and further immersed herself in her career, working at some of the city’s top food fixtures, including Mildred Pierce and Ace Bakery. She eventually took a side-step out of the kitchen and into the halls of magazine publishing, landing a position as Food Editor of Wish Magazine in 2004. While inspiring busy Canadian wonder-women to cook from scratch, she published her first cookbook, Wish, Market to Table. From street food to fine dining to unfamiliar grocery stores, food still motivates Andrea at every turn. She recently sold everything but a prized collection of cookbooks and moved to the U.K., where her culinary library spans the two floors of her London flat. She won’t rest until she has cooked from every one of them!