CHEF MARK MCEWAN’S VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
Chef McEwan typically makes a double batch to keep at home. This vinaigrette tastes delicious on almost anything and will last in the fridge for up to two weeks. McEwan’s seasonal salad recipe includes greens such as yellow romaine hearts, bibb lettuce, Belgian endives, watercress, radicchio or treviso and fresh basil.
4 oz olive oil
3 oz red wine vinegar
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 garlic cloves minced fine 2 anchovy fillets, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme buds 1 shallot, diced finely
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard Salt/pepper to taste
Method for Vinaigrette:
Place all ingredients in a sealable jar and shake (there is no specific order when adding the ingredients). Allow this to sit for one hour to blend all the flavours.
One of my favourite summer cooking hacks is grilling fish wrapped in banana leaf. The first time I had this dish was during the Toronto blackout in 2003. My dad was going to steam a whole fish but because of the outage he decided to cook it on the grill. He pulled out these huge green leaves that were folded and tucked away in the freezer. He marinated the fish with chili oil, sambal paste, ginger, green onion and garlic and wrapped it in the large leaves. He placed it on the grill and closed the lid. When he opened the lid, the banana leaf gift-wrapping the fish was perfectly toasted with a golden brown, roasted green colour. Spicey, smokey, the intoxicating sweet aroma of seafood. The sap in the banana leaf gently smoked the fish and the texture was so moist from being steamed in its own juices.” —Nick Liu, chef/owner of DaiLo, judge on
Food Network’s Wall of Chefs • dailoto.com
June and July are early in the growing season for sure. When I think of summer I look to nature for first cues. Wild leeks, morels and fiddleheads. As a pairing, Ontario pickerel is about as good a fish as you’ll find anywhere and it’s at its best in summer. My garden will offer me leafy greens with great vinaigrette. Radishes grow like mad in June and should be eaten early. I guess my tip is to embrace the season as it offers itself.” —Mark McEwan, chef, The McEwan Group restaurants and McEwan Fine Foods,
head judge on Top Chef Canada • www.mcewanfoods.com