Lindsay Fay photography From the Kitchen

Bison Carpaccio

     To the south lie the farms of the Great Lakes Lowlands and the apple orchards of the Niagara Escarpment. Fifty metres north of the kitchen are the fish-rich waters of Georgian Bay. In surroundings like these, how can a chef choose to work with anything other than local ingredients?

     The answer to that question is obvious in Mark Breadner’s kitchen at Largo in Thornbury. Mushrooms, lamb, pork, vegetables, garnishes — as much as possible, the food he works with is grown by farmers in the region.

     Local ingredients have been a key ingredient at Largo since opening day; this summer they’re going to become even more critical when Largo opens its own farm. “It will be a garden, a cooking school and a culinary centre,” Breadner says.

     The principal advantage of locally grown produce is its flavour — the fresher the food, the more robust the taste. “You’re going to get a better product buying from the farmer down the road,” Breadner says.

     Using fresh, local ingredients also brings another advantage to both the professional chef and the cook at home: simplicity of cooking. When using fresh, high-quality ingredients, it’s possible to make a superb meal with very little preparation. “As long as you’ve got the quality ingredients, anyone can cook great food,” Breadner says.

     Of course, he adds, just because a chef can stick with simple cooking methods, does not mean he or she will. Breadner and his colleagues at Largo love to experiment with the food, using foams, reductions, emulsions and other ways of bringing different flavours and textures to the fore. Breadner points to one dish that features beets, with six different forms or elements of beets on a single plate. “You have to be extremely versatile with what you do with these ingredients,” Breadner explains.

     After all, he says, “that’s why you come to a restaurant — for the quality of the experience.”

Bison Carpaccio    

     If you can’t find bison tenderloin, this dish also works well with beef tenderloin. Have your butcher remove the silver skin unless you can do that yourself — it’s not hard to do.

1 10- to 12-ounce piece of bison tenderloin
6 sprigs of thyme
6 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 cup pink peppercorns
1/3 cup black peppercorns
Kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 lbs Northern Woods mushrooms
1 lemon halved and juiced
1/2 cup olive oil and a stick of butter
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 watermelon radish
1/2 cup of grain mustard
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar

     Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan with a splash of olive oil. When the pan starts smoking, place tenderloin in the pan and brown completely on all sides. Season to taste with Kosher salt. Set aside on a plate to let cool. Bison should still be rare in the middle. Slather maple and mustard over the entire tenderloin. Finely chop thyme and rosemary. Blitz peppercorns in a coffee grinder, as coarse or as fine as you like. Mix herbs and peppercorns together and roll bison until it is completely encrusted in this mixture. Clean the mushrooms. If you can’t get Northern Woods mushrooms, any good mushroom from the market will do. Heat pan with olive oil and sauté mushrooms in batches so as to not boil them in their own liquid. You want some nice colour on the mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper and the juice of one lemon. Slice watermelon radish on a Japanese mandolin, five slices per plate. Mix mustard, maple, red wine vinegar and olive oil together, adding a pinch of salt. Stir together to create a sauce. Warm the mushrooms quickly in the sauté pan and place in the centre of each plate. Slice bison — thin but not so thin that you can’t taste it! Lay three slices over top of mushrooms, and arrange watermelon radish on the plate. Drizzle entire dish with sauce so that it looks pretty. Garnish with some baby lettuce leaves or micro seedlings.

Oven-Braised Lamb Shanks

     Ontario lamb shanks are preferable, but New Zealand lamb will also work well in this dish.

4 pieces of Ontario lamb shank
4 carrots
2 Spanish onions
10 cloves of garlic
6 ribs of celery
6 sprigs thyme
6 sprigs of rosemary
15 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 litre red wine
1 litre beef stock
Kosher salt to taste

     Chop all vegetables into large chunks. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan heat some olive oil until smoke starts to rise. Place lamb shanks in the pan and brown evenly. Remove lamb shanks and add a touch more olive oil to the pan. Sauté vegetables until golden brown — you may have to do this in batches. Place lamb shanks in a heavy roasting pan. Add the vegetables and all other ingredients. Cover pan with parchment paper and tin foil and place in 375º degree oven for 3 to 4 hours. When it’s done the meat should be fork tender and falling off the bones. Drain the cooking liquid into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and reduce the liquid by half to create your sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Place lamb shanks, roasted potatoes and root vegetables on a large plate, and drizzle with sauce.

Salmon Sampler

     Prepare both types of salmon (gravlox and soy-stained) in advance, then lightly reheat one of them for a terrific warm and cold salmon dish.

Gravlox Salmon

1 side Atlantic salmon
2 cups kosher salt
2 cups white sugar
1 bunch chopped dill
handful of pink peppercorns
handful of black peppercorns
1/2 cup of toasted fennel seeds
zest of 5 lemons
3/4 cup maple syrup

     For this dish you can leave the skin on the salmon. Place it in a deep, long roasting pan or tray of some sort. In a large bowl mix salt, sugar, dill, lemon zest, peppercorns and fennel seeds. Pack this mixture over top of the salmon fillet until it is completely encrusted. Pour in maple syrup and with your hands work it into the crust and the fish. Put another pan over top of the fish, weigh it down with heavy cans and place in refrigerator for three to four days. After Day 2, remove the weights, spoon up the liquid that is collecting and drizzle it over the fish. Weigh down again until Day 4. Remove salmon from the brine and clean off any excess salt and brine ingredients. Slice the gravlox with a sharp knife, cutting on a 45-degree angle so you get nice long slices for the presentation. The gravlox will keep in the fridge for at least three weeks. It may last even longer, but Breadner says he’s never had it around long enough to find out.

Soy-Stained Salmon

1 side Atlantic salmon
1 cup dark soy sauce
1 cup maple syrup

     Have the fishmonger take the skin off the salmon, or do it yourself. Slice the salmon lengthwise down the middle into two long strips. Portion into one-ounce cubes or mini fillets. Place all the salmon in a large mixing bowl and marinate with soy sauce and maple syrup for up to six hours. Drain off liquid. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan with a splash of olive oil until it is lightly smoking. Place fillets in pan and sauté on all sides until golden brown. It will happen rather quickly due to the maple syrup and soy marinade. Salmon should be rare in the middle. Set aside and cool. To assemble, place three slices of gravlox in the centre of a white plate. Reheat the soy-stained salmon in the oven just to take off the chill. Place it in the centre of the gravlox. Place a handful of Cookstown micro greens or baby lettuce in a bowl. Toss with a splash each of fresh lemon juice and olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place the mixture on top of the soy-stained salmon. Garnish the plate with a grain mustard — Breadner prefers Forbes Wild Foods Wild Mustard. Drizzle a little olive oil or a herb-infused oil to add a little extra pizzazz to the plate. BTC