Berries where you might not expect them
Top chef rises to summer-salad taste challenge
When Dairy Farmers of Canada approached chef Michael Allemeier to design a summer menu with berries and cream, he considered the task a no-brainer — at first.
What about a romp with Strawberry Shortcake? Or perhaps a dance between macerated blueberries and raspberries, with a shimmering panna cotta tucked underneath?
But then the chef discovered that the assignment was to create savoury summer side dishes using berries and cream. Working vegetables into a palatable partnership with berries was slightly more of a challenge, but rolling with it is all part of the fun for the Calgary-based chef, a frequent spokesman for the Canadian dairy lobby.
Born in South Africa, Allemeier has lived at 28 addresses on three continents, and has worked in numerous top-flight eateries, including Bishop’s in Vancouver, Wildflower at Whistler, the restaurant at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery in the Okanagan and Calgary’s Teatro. A certified Chef de Cuisine, Canada’s highest professional culinary accreditation, Allemeier taught at cooking schools in Seattle and Vancouver before joining SAIT’s culinary arts staff in 2009. He has appeared on Food programs such as Chef at Large, and has prepared dishes for former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
“There is a long season for berries, and it changes,” Allemeier reminds me as he sips mint tea at Credo on 104th Street, while on a break during the Edmonton portion of his recent tour of western provinces.
This variety, and longevity, is a big bonus for berry lovers, to whom the selection — from raspberries, to strawberries, to wild blueberries, to saskatoons and honey berries — is akin to the Twelve Days of Christmas for children.
No sooner is one done than another starts up, contributing to the sense of reckless plenty that accompanies summer.
For all kinds of reasons, Allemeier says, “berries work well in a savoury application.”
Berries add levity and colour to traditional summer side dishes that are heavy on green. They also bring lightness and an element of surprise to standards like potato salad or Waldorf salad. Berries are very regional, too, with Saskatoons and honeyberries (or Haskaps) waving the flag for the Prairies. Switching up berries week to week, or month to month “encourages the local terroir,” says Allemeier, who cans Saskatoons picked wild in Calgary and then uses them to make sorbet and compotes come winter.
As you consider a new frame of reference for berries, take a second look at the variety of properties dairy products bring to the table. Potato salad, for instance, is often dressed with a single element, such as sour cream. Allemeier suggests mixing together sour cream, yogurt, and half and half, because these dairy products are not rivals, but allies.
“Sour cream has a pleasing tang, and acidity in food is critical,” Allemeier says. “Half and half mellows everything out. Greek yogurt is full of protein and makes a good foundation.
“Combining dairy products is about complexity and richness,” he says.
“Building good food is about building layers of flavour.”
Chef Michael Allemeier’s Berry Delicious Potato Salad
This classic summer, yellow-fleshed potato salad, is bound with a creamy, hardboiled egg dressing and elevated with the addition of assorted berries and arugula for an unexpected twist.
Preparation time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
5 medium yellow-fleshed potatoes (about 2 lb/1 kg) 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled 1/2 cup (12 5 m L) mayonnaise
1/3 cup (75 mL) 35 per cent whipping cream
1/4 cup (60 mL) sour cream
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
4 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (60 mL) loosely packed, thinly sliced fresh mint
salt
2 cups (500 mL) mixed berries (such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
1 cup (250 mL) firmly packed baby arugula leaves, stems removed
1 Tbsp (15 mL) balsamic vinegar
Method:
Scrub potatoes and dice into 3/4-inch (2 cm) pieces. Cook in large pot of salted water until tender. Drain well; let cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mash eggs with a fork.
Whisk in mayonnaise, whipping cream, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, onions and mint, until creamy.
Add warm potatoes to dressing; season to taste with salt.
Cover and refrigerate until serving.
To serve, in a medium bowl, toss berries, arugula and balsamic vinegar; reserve some of the berries and arugula. Fold berry mixture into potato salad.
Serve in a bowl or on a platter; garnish with reserved berries and arugula.
Chef’s Tip: There are many varieties of yellow-fleshed potatoes. Yukon Golds, Agria and Kennebec potatoes are ideal for salad.
Chef Michael Allemeier’s Waldorf Berry Salad
Mixed berries tossed in a creamy dressing of half-and -half cream, sour cream and Greek yogurt adds a twist to a classic summer salad.
Prepa ration time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (60 mL) 10 per cent half-and-half cream 3 Tbsp (45 mL) sour cream 3 Tbsp (45 mL) Greek
Method:
In a large bowl, stir together cream, sour cream, yogurt, and lemon juice. Stir in celery, 3/4 cup (175 mL) of the walnuts and apples. Gently fold in berries.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a bowl or on a serving platter, arrange lettuce leaves and gently spoon salad on top. Garnish with remaining walnuts and celery leaves.
Chef’s Tip: For tender and sweeter celery, peel the back part of the celery rib with a vegetable peeler; this really changes the flavour and nature of celery. Celery leaves can be found in the heart of the celery. yogurt
1 Tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) diced celery
1 cup (250 mL) toasted walnuts, lightly crushed, divided
1 Red Delicious apple, cored, quartered and diced (skin on)
1 2/3 cups (400 mL) assorted berries (such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or quartered strawberries, if large) Salt and black pepper 8 to 10 whole butter lettuce leaves
10 to 12 celery leaves