Spring has sprung, time to wake up your taste buds
As winter transitions to spring, conflict ensues at mealtime. On the one hand, I’m still craving slow-cooked braises and earthy stews, and on the other, I crave verdant first-of-the-season freshness, and bright hits of citrus to take my palate in a different direction.
To balance out the heavy with the light, preserved lemons and lemon or orange zest heed the call for needed vitamin C. They are the latest additions to my culinary arsenal. They brighten up any dish from a hearty stew to a creamy risotto.
Reduced balsamic also comes into play, especially with all the asparagus showing up in grocery stores, drizzled over roasted, grilled or steamed spears for an acidic and slightly sweet note.
Freshly chopped herbs, which I can’t get enough of, also bring a lively note to elevate the senses. Think dill, chives, peppery watercress and pungent cilantro. They add the necessary nutrients, aromas and flavours that conjure up the warmer weather to come. I add a flourish right before serving, not only in cooked foods, but strewn into salads, alone or in tandem.
This yin-yang rumination of late also dictates how I order when dining out.
When I happened upon the menu at Hillside Bistro, recently reopened for the season, I found a kindred spirit. Chef Brent Pillon has created a balancing act of flavours on his menu, one that heralds spring with winter in its back pocket.
For example, the use of warming spices – cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, to name a few – are key to many dishes here. They add depth to the bistro’s carrot soup with coconut cream, and the lentil croquettes, a blend of three kinds of lentils, spiced with garam masala and ginger, with a hit of lemon for brightness, served with a cashew cream and a sweet and tart tomato jam. These are flavours that play off each other beautifully, and are a delight to eat.
While waiting out the weeks until his favourite farmers and foragers show up at the door, Pillon and his kitchen brigade add vibrancy to dishes in clever ways. A garnish of micro greens, made in-house from fenugreek, clover and broccoli seeds, adds nutritious vibrancy to dishes from salads to sturdier fare, such as the lemon and ricotta cavatelli pasta. The addition of lemon and ricotta to the dough elevates the complex carbohydrate, and the results are delicate and sturdy all at once.
These lovelies are tossed with hazelnut pesto, ripe baby tomatoes, snow peas and rarely seen green chickpeas, and topped with a 64-degree egg.
For those unacquainted, this modern technique cooks an egg, in its shell, in a water bath at 64 C. It produces an egg, both yolk and white, with a custard-like consistency – delicious!
The whole dish is surrounded by micro greens mimicking an egg in a nest – a salute to spring. It is a delightful five-star celebration of the seasonal transition: a hearty dish counterbalanced with crunchy and fresh green additions, with hits of creamy egg and tomato-y acidity.
Green chickpeas, much like edamame, are popped out of their pods and eaten fresh. I’ve looked high and low for a source. The brand Nature’s Classic is sold, frozen, through Costco, but unfortunately, the closest location with stock is Richmond. I may try growing my own.
Other Bistro fare such as potato gnocchi with caramelized gravy and cheese curds, or the tender sousvide calamari, swathed in nduja salami butter redolent of smoky Calabrian chilies, provide hearty wintery pleasures, but the menu runs deep with many options for carnivores, vegans and vegetarians, for whatever palate or season you’re pining for. And the plates are shareable, so take the gang.
A sweet finish is provided by pastry chef Jalayne Jones, who crafts a sophisticated mix of seasonal fruit jellies, single origin chocolates and confections such as marshmallows and French macarons.
Our edible landscape just got a whole lot more promising.
With fork and pen in hand, and a passion for culinary adventure, Shelora Sheldan, writer, cook and curious traveller, goes in search of the delectable.