CRAPAUD, P.E.I. — I love to take advantage of opportunities for learning from experts, and last Saturday I had such an opportunity. Chef Peter Hicks spent much of the day doing food demonstrations at Crapaud Exhibition, and, as his announcer, I was able to watch every one of them.
Hicks loves to use local ingredients to create food that looks appealing and tastes great, and last weekend he demonstrated dishes that do so. Both practical and realistic, he planned his demonstrations with the intention of sending people home with recipes they will actually use. The food had to taste good, but it was just as important that a person with average cooking skills could prepare the recipes in the limited time they have available for cooking. He knows that busy people seldom have time to prepare complicated recipes, regardless of how delicious they are.
He gave me permission to share the recipes he used at Crapaud Exhibition. I added the metric measurements. You will find all of his Crapaud Exhibition recipes, featuring Island lamb, potatoes, sweetened condensed milk, berries and salad greens, at http://www.peiae.ca/STFRecipes.
For an impressive budget-friendly dish featuring P.E.I. lobster, try these Lobster Fritters. Manage your time by making them early and reheating quickly in the oven just before serving. To make fritters of uniform size, follow Hicks’ example and portion batter with a scoop when frying.
Lobster Fritters
From Chef Peter Hicks
Crapaud Exhibition 2019
150 mL (⅔ cup) flour
5 mL (1 tsp) baking powder
1 mL (¼ tsp) salt
0.5 mL (⅛ tsp) pepper
250 mL (1 cup) minced lobster meat
1 egg
45 mL (3 tbsp) milk
30 mL (2 tbsp) lobster juice
75 mL (⅓ cup) minced green onion
Drain lobster meat and reserve juice.
Beat egg and add milk and lobster juice. Stir in dry ingredients until evenly moist. Add lobster meat and onion.
Heat deep-fat fryer oil to 190 C (375 F). Drop tablespoons of batter into fat. Fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown, turning occasionally. Put on paper towel to absorb excess fat.
Serve fritters with tartar sauce or lemon wedges.
Makes 14-16 fritters.
With his years of experience as a culinary professional, Hicks knows how to manage his time and the kitchen environment. When days are hot, and people are busy, he suggests making this slow cooker pulled pork. It calls for one of the less expensive cuts of pork, the shoulder roast, and sauce made from ingredients that you might just find in your fridge and pantry. Put it together early in the morning, go about your day’s activities, and serve it for dinner or – even better – make it today, refrigerate overnight and serve tomorrow.
Pulled Pork
From Chef Peter Hicks
Crapaud Exhibition 2019
1 medium onion, chopped
125 mL (½ cup) ketchup
75 mL (⅓ cup) cider vinegar
50 mL (¼ cup) brown sugar
50 mL (¼ cup) tomato paste
30 mL (2 tbsp) sweet paprika
30 mL (2 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
30 mL (2 tbsp) prepared mustard
7 mL (1½ tsp) salt
7 mL (1½ tsp) pepper
1.8 kg (4 lb) shoulder pork roast
Mix all ingredients together well.
Put roast in slow cooker. Spread mixture over roast, turning roast so all sides are coated. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Remove roast from cooker and turn to high. Cover and heat to boiling to thicken the sauce.
Pull pork roast apart, return shredded pork to cooker, mix and heat through.
Serve on a bun, on top of rice or with a baked potato.
The Southern tradition for pulled pork on a bun is to top the pork with coleslaw so that you get the combined flavours with each bite. Here is Hicks’ recipe for a speedy but flavourful, coleslaw to serve with slow cooked pulled pork.
Quick Coleslaw
From Chef Peter Hicks
Crapaud Exhibition 2019
750 mL (3 cups) chopped cabbage
2 green onions
1 medium carrot, shredded
125 mL (½ cup) mayonnaise
5 mL (1 tsp) celery seed
2 mL (½ tsp) ground mustard
1 mL (¼ tsp) salt
Put cabbage, onions, and carrot in bowl and toss.
Mix mayonnaise, celery seed, mustard, and salt together well.
Pour over vegetables and toss until evenly mixed.
Margaret Prouse, a home economist, can be reached by writing her at RR#2, North Wiltshire, P.E.I., C0A 1Y0, or by email at [email protected].
