Flat Iron Carpaccio

Carpaccio requires a tender, tasty steak. Many recipes call for fillet of beef (the tenderloin) but I've discovered the pleasure of a flat iron steak from Benlock Farms, available at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market.

 

Pictured: Beef Carpaccio with Chickpea Fruit Salad

The beef is served close to raw, so you want to buy from a trusted source where the meat is guaranteed to be clean and fresh. And in my kitchen, I prefer it to be raised in Saskatchewan.

Seared Angus Flat Iron Carpaccio

Collect a handful of fresh herbs - oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary and a small bit of parsley. Chop very finely.

In a mortar and pestle, smash together one clove of garlic, two big pinches of rock salt and eight peppercorns. Add the chopped herbs. Drizzle in just enough olive oil to make a paste that will cling to the meat. Rub the mixture onto both sides of a semi-thawed flat iron steak. Wrap in plastic wrap. Before cooking, freeze the meat for two hours.

Heat a cast iron pan on high. Add the steak and cook until each side is well done, 5-7 min. per side. The steak should still feel quite raw inside when pressed with a finger. Cool, wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

With a sharp knife, shave the beef across the grain in very thin slices. Arrange on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with tender arugula leaves and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve with sliced baguette.

Texas Longhorn on your plate

This handsome fella is grass fed, drug-free and looking for a good home. He comes as a whole or half, cut and wrapped, just in time for the spring barbeque season.

Consumer warning: grass-fed beef is very lean, not the marbled beef of the grocery store. It requires a special touch in the kitchen, as outlined on the American Grass Fed Beef website.

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If you've got a good home (ie: freezer space) in the Saskatoon area, give Ruth a call at 374-2416.

Where's the beef? Not Europe

I buy beef from two local sources: from Al Bennett at Meacham and Benlock Farms (which has a booth at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market). I like their meat because it's raised with organic principles and tastes great.

So here's the issue: The European Union has banned beef from Canada and the U.S. because most of the cattle are fed growth hormones (i.e. steroids). The ban is based on fears the hormones are bad for our health. More specifically, that the hormones can affect the male reproductive system and contribute to the rates of colon, prostate and breast cancer.

The World Trade Organization ruled the ban is illegal because there is insufficient scientific evidence to back up the claim that growth hormones in cattle are harmful to people who eat the meat. The WTO ruled that Canada and the U.S. can retaliate against the E.U. by slapping tarrifs on imported foods such as Dijon mustard and Roquefort cheese. (Read more about it here.)

This ban affects Saskatchewan farmers, who produce about 30% of Canada's beef cattle. The U.S. and Canada argue the ban is not really about health, but about protecting the European cattle industry from competition. The Food and Drug Administration has set "accpetable daily intakes" for these hormones at which level it considers them safe for human consumption.

In a newspaper column, Kevin Hursh, a farmer who writes about agricultural issues, sides with Canadian farmers in this dispute but asks: "why can't we produce beef without hormones specifically for the European market?"

Personally, I'd rather not eat meat treated with growth hormones, even at "acceptable" levels. What about you?

Saskatchewan InDemand

I can't resist an event featuring Saskatchewan food (especially when they invite me to give a talk). Here are some of the local food products featured at the show Nov 15 & 16 in Saskatoon:

Prairie Sun Orchard - Homemade ice cream from Saskatchewan berries. I can highly recommend their chocolate-cherry-almond bark. No website; call 306-242-7573. You'll also find them at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market.

Petrofka Bridge Orchard - I tried their apple cidre and bought a bag of apples, which were fabulous. So, I asked the owner why we can't buy Saskatchewan apples in the grocery store -- the answer had to do with lacking a storage facility to keep apples fresh in large quantities. So let's get on that...

Bluestone Homegrown Beef - Owner Karla Hicks was giving out samples of her delicious homemade beef jerky. Their Angus cattle are raised on grass, drug free and aged 21 days.

Cedar Creek Organics - Also raised on green pastures and certified organic. Ground, steaks, franks, smokies, roasts and jerky. They have an informative and professional presentation, for which they deserve kudos. I'm told their beef is available at Dad's Nurition Centre in Saskatoon.

Bedard Creek Acres - A unique family business that captures the flavours of wild flowers and herbs in products such as such as Black Pansy Syrup and Creamy Chickweed Salad Dressing. Yummm.

Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission - They were giving away little bags of mustard seeds - yellow, brown and Oriental - and offering food samples like this Freezer Cabbage Relish. I didn't know you could freeze cabbage!

French wine, Saskatchewan food - BEEF BOURGIUGNON

This is a traditional beef stew from Burgundy, France.

Beef Bourguignon
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
6 slices bacon, diced
2 chopped onions
3 pound chuck beef roast
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 cups Burgundy wine (pinot noir)
4 cups beef or chicken stock
2 sliced carrots (halved if large)
1 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch of sugar
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
One sprig each parley, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf, tied together

Cook this stew in an oven-proof pot with a lid. On top of the stove, heat the butter and oil. Add the bacon and onion and sauté until soft. While that’s cooking, cut the beef into 1-inch cubes. Remove the bacon and onion with a slotted spoon. Place the cubes of beef into the hot pot and brown on all sides (in two batches). As the beef is done, remove the meat to a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Quickly stir the flour into the hot fat until the liquid is absorbed and the flour is turning brown. Remove from heat and whisk in the wine. (Whisk well to break down any clumps of flour). Return to the stove and boil, scraping up any brown bits that are stuck to the pot. Add the stock and return to boil. Add the bacon, onions, beef and all remaining ingredients. Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for two hours. Meanwhile:

24 button mushrooms
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brandy, port or madeira
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt

Sauté the mushrooms in the butter. Sprinkle on the booze and cook off. Sprinkle on the lemon juice and salt. Sauté until the mushrooms are browned. When the stew comes out of the oven, mix in the mushrooms and any butter sauce left in the pan. (Remove the bunch of herbs from the stew.) Serve with potatoes, mashed parsnips or noodles, sprinkled with fresh parsley.

TIP: This stew can be made days ahead and kept in the fridge. In fact, it improves with time. Reheat on the stove.