Beets

Roasted beets are the perfect accompaniment to salads. With their dazzling, vibrant colour and natural sweetness, they can transform an ordinary leafy salad into a satisfying main course. Beets have been cultivated since pre-historic times in the Mediterranean area and were originally grown only for their leaves.

During the Roman Empire, people began to eat the roots as well. Beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach, the difference being that beets have yummy, meaty roots that you can eat as well. Beets are available year-round at most supermarkets with the peak season for fresh beets being mid-summer to December. When purchasing beets, look for firm, small to medium-size beets. The outside can be rough, but should always be dry and taut. Experiment with a variety of beet colours – yellow, golden, red and magenta tones can decorate your salad with edible jewels.

To store your beets, wrap them loosely in paper towels and keep in the produce drawer of your refrigerator for up to one week. When you’re ready to eat the beets, simply scrub them under cold running water and dry with a paper towel. Wrap them in aluminum foil and roast in a 400˚ F oven for about an hour. Cool slightly, peel and cut into slices or wedges.

Goat Cheese

Many people assume that, coming from a goat, goat’s cheese will have a musty flavour. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most goat cheeses, or chevres as they are often referred to, are mildly-flavoured cheeses. Some artisinal chevres can indeed have much richer, earthy flavour. Goat cheese is sold in wheels or logs and is available plain or adorned with fresh herbs or coarsely ground black peppercorns.

Store your goat cheese tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Old goat cheese can take on a sour note and should be thrown out when it does. Goat cheese is spectacular in salads, on pizza, in sandwiches or atop grilled asparagus.

Salmon

Grilled on a cedar plank, cubed, marinated and skewered, poached with a little lemon and dill, or baked with fresh herbs, perhaps no other homegrown ingredient is as delicious, easy and, yes, iconic for Canadians as is Salmon. These days almost any supermarket will have fresh Atlantic or Pacific salmon for you to serve.

When purchasing fresh salmon, don’t be afraid to ask the person behind the counter to let you examine the produce closely. Fresh fish smells slightly sweet. It should not have a strong “fishy” scent. The flesh should be firm and pale to bright orange in colour. Run your fingers over the fish to ensure there aren’t any bones. If you do find a bone or two, simply pull them out. A great trick is to use a pair of tweezers to pull the bones out. Keep the skin on the salmon while you cook it to help keep the fish together and will prevent the deliciously moist meat from curling.

Rinse the fish with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Now you’re ready to marinate, barbecue, broil, poach or pan fry your fish. Salmon is done when the meat becomes slightly flaky and changes colour.

Mangos

Did you know that more mangos are eaten fresh all over the world than any other fruit? And for good reason. Mangos originated in Southeast Asia and are now grown in most tropical or sub-tropical areas of the world. There are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos.

To select a mango from the supermarket, first you need to know whether you’ll be eating it right away or letting it ripen. A ripe mango has a full, fruity aroma that you can smell at the stem end of the fruit. Ripe mangos will yield to gentle pressure much the same way a ripe peach will. Colour is not a good way to determine how ripe the fruit is. You can ripen a mango right on your kitchen counter or speed up the process by placing the mango in a paper bag overnight.

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is simply chocolate without milk solids added. Without milk solids, you can enjoy a more pronounced chocolate taste. The cocoa content in dark chocolate can range from 30% (sweet dark) to 80% (extremely dark; almost bitter). To use in recipes, simply rough chop the chocolate into bite-size pieces or purchase dark chocolate chips.

 

Walnuts

Plump and crisp with a rich, nutty flavour, walnuts add texture and taste to salads, ice cream, main courses and desserts. Walnuts have been harvested since around 7000 B.C. When purchasing walnuts in the shell, choose those that are free of cracks or holes. Shelled walnuts should be plump, meaty and crisp. Store shelled walnuts in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container for up to six months. You can also freeze walnuts.

To bring out even more flavour in your walnuts, chop them and spread them on a baking sheet. Bake at 350˚ F for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep an eye on them while they’re in the oven as they can burn easily.

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