Fresh menu items from familiar names in local food circles
Achange is as good as a rest, the proverb goes, and two dynamic and enterprising local women have emerged this season, segueing their talents into something new, exciting and exquisitely delicious.
For Carolynn Pawluk of Nummers Gourmet, it started with a love of Latin culture. Travel throughout Latin America was the spark followed by a five-month course at the esteemed Buenos Aires Pasteleria Maestra in Argentina.
Her prowess at pastry arts garnered a fervent fan base at the Penticton Farmers’ Market – those cinnamon swirls! – but the talented Pawluk has a new sweet treat in store with Nummerland Paletas.
Paletas are the iconic Mexican ice pop-ona-stick, and after recent research and development in Guadalajara, and Tocombo, Mexico – the birthplace of the paleta – Pawluk returned inspired and motivated for a new direction. Armed with authentic ingredients and a “real deal” state-of-theart paleta machine, able to produce 200 an hour, the result is a fiesta of flavours and colours.
Delight in combinations such as authentic Mexican chocolate emboldened with ancho chilie and cinnamon; creamy avocado partnered with toasted coconut; dark coffee and cream for a perfect wakeup call, or an Okanagan farm-to-stick variety pairing local superfruit haskap berries with hibiscus flowers, raspberries and local honey.
Beautiful to look at as well as indulge in, flavours will change throughout the seasons, expressing our region’s bounty with aplomb.
For weddings and special events, Pawluk as paletera has created imaginative alcohol-spiked “pop-tails” such as sparkling wine and peach, and strawberry piña colada using fresh pineapple, coconut milk and dark rum accented with strawberry slices.
These perfect summer treats extend to the canine world too with “pup-sicles”, with a portion of sales going to Critter Aid or the SPCA. Retail outlets will be announced soon, so in the meantime, look for them at the Saturday market.
Meanwhile, inspired in part by recent travels in France, Heidi Noble of Joie Farm Winery has rolled out an exciting new food menu, making use of that gorgeous woodfired outdoor oven.
Dig in to her refreshed concept, Le Comptoir at Joie Picnique. Dubbed as “European wine country cuisine in a West Coast context,” this is Noble’s return to her roots as a chef, and harkens back to her seminal cookbook, Menus from an Orchard Table.
Viewed as an “outdoor salon, not a restaurant,” Le Comptoir, nestled among the winery’s orchard, is a casual stop along the Naramata Bench to share a bottle of wine with a few snacks. (Note, it’s closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.)
More importantly for Noble is her desire to showcase how food pairs with her European-influenced wines.
To drive home this connection, her savvy staff will spend time both in the kitchen and the tasting room, educating themselves and in turn, their guests.
After a fun wine tasting and talk, with palates piqued, guests step up to the comptoir, or counter, where an ever-changing menu of seasonal and ingredient-driven dishes entices.
For example, start with sweet Farmhouse butter and radishes; a legit fromage fraiche from Agassiz, or homemade ricotta with local honey and rosemary.
The ingredient sourcing is unsurpassed with a take on the classic Italian vitello tonnato subbing in Tofino smoked tuna served with a tuna-caper “gravy,” or the achingly tender lemon, garlic and oregano marinated B.C. octopus, paired with the viognier, or baked Vancouver Island oysters, or a lemon, garlic and salt-marinated sardine, grilled and finished in the woodfired oven.
Socca, a chickpea flour crepe, is one of five everyday features, served warm with toppings such as herbs, toasted Marcona almonds and olive oil.
Another is the classic pissaladière, a gorgeous puff pastry tart of caramelized onions topped with a crisscross of anchovies, capers, garlic confit and sundried Moroccan olives – a perfect match with Joie rosé – and profoundly rich and delicious.
What Noble finds fresh and inspiring from the Saturday market will expand Le Comptoir’s offerings on the weekend, further celebrating our region’s farmers, bakers and makers – heralding a true culinary adventure!
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.