Meet the Chef: Andrea Carlson is a product of the Pacific Northwest
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2019 18:00:39 +0000
Andrea Carlson has worked her way through the finest kitchens in the region, including C, Sooke Harbour House, Bishop’s, and Raincity Grill, where she pioneered a 100-mile menu. Today, she continues to dazzle with local ingredients, treated with respect and imagination at Burdock & Co. Her cookbook — Burdock & Co: Poetic Recipes Inspired by Ocean, Land & Air — offers a peak into her uniquely West Coast technique.
Q: What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A: The beauty of produce and the connection to the growers is honestly what keeps me going. There is so much stress in restaurants but when you are able to connect to the luxury of cooking beautiful foods, baking breads or making a jam it is so deeply satisfying that it makes it all worth it.
Q: How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
A: I would say it is vegetable focused. There is so much diversity of texture, colour, flavour and fragrance in the plant world it is irresistible!
Q: What might diners not know about you?
A: I take an ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) course once a month. I was looking for a way to manage stress and found it to be a great alternative to meditation. It’s one of the dharmic arts, which are artistic practices influenced by Buddhism. I’m also hoping to get into some master gardening sessions in the spring.
Q: Describe a couple of your most recent creations.
A: It’s cayenne chili season so I am making ridiculous amounts of smoked and charred chili sauces for Harvest Community Foods to sell through our retail product line. We make a tasty rhubarb kimchee at Burdock & Co every spring time and it has now been made into a kimchee paste for a crispy pork belly and radish dish on our new menu.
Q: What’s your favourite local product and how do you use it?
A: It’s always changing! I’m a huge fan of radicchio now that the fall is upon us. We have a new menu item called treviso radicchio, stuffed with prosciutto and pecorino, and grilled. We serve it with a black garlic sourdough crumb.
Q: If there’s one important piece of advice you might have for home cooks, what might that be?
A: Shop at local markets if you can for — it will inspire you! Try new things. eat more veggies — especially from those farmers markets.
Use rice noodles to make it vegan and gluten-free.
The Sauce
1½ cups (375 mL) almonds
1 cup (250 mL) water
1-inch piece peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic
½ cup (125 mL) gluten-free tamari
¼ cup (60 mL) black vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) chili flakes
½ cup (125 mL) grapeseed oil
Kosher salt
The noodle bowl
6 portions ramen noodles
½ bunch green onions, thinly sliced and washed, for garnish
½ cup (125 mL) almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped, for garnish
¼ cup (60 mL) thinly sliced nori, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C. Spread out the almonds on a large baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, until fragrant. Grind the almonds in a food processor until very fine. In a large bowl, soak the ground almonds in 1 cup water overnight. The next day, transfer the soaked almonds to a blender and add all remaining ingredients except the oil and salt. Blend until silky smooth. While continuing to blend on low, stream in the oil. Add salt to taste.
Gently warm the sauce over low heat. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the ramen noodles, about 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the noodles into six warm bowls and top with the Dan Dan Sauce. Garnish with green onions, almonds, and nori. Toss together before eating.
Makes 6 servings.