November 9, 2022
11
whatsupyukon.com
Our donair shop next door is open for great takeout 7 DAYS A WEEK Sun-Thu: 11 am–8 pm Fri & Sat: 11 am–11 pm
column with
Michele Genest
GATHER
Michele Genest is a Whitehorse-based chef and writer. She is also somewhat of a gardener. Michele has also written two books—The Boreal Feast: A Culinary Journey Through The North, and The Boreal Gourmet: Adventures In Northern Cooking.
BARLEY CONVERTS
M
y old friend Julie called to me from the back of her car, where she’d just finished loading her groceries. I waited, one hand on my shopping cart, until she caught up to me. “I’ve been giving my friends bags of the local barley,” she said excitedly. “But they keep asking me what to do with it. I wondered if you would consider sharing a recipe in one of your columns.” “On it,” I said. The local barley that Julie (and I) are so excited about is grown by Hinterland Flour Mills, owned and operated by Trevor and Marie Amiot. The Amiots harvest barley and hard red spring wheat on 400 acres, not far from Whitehorse, milling the grain themselves and selling an array of products, such as breakfast cereals and cookie, pancake and cake mixes, as well as flours and whole grains in Yukon grocery
making processing much easier. The Amiots are as excited as Julie and I are about the joys and benefits of eating this versatile, healthful grain and extolling its virtues on the company website. Recently, Trevor Amiot pointed me to an excellent online resource for barley recipes: gobarley.com. But he also gave me a simple tip: use barley instead of rice in any of your favourite rice recipes. Rice pilaf is one of my favourite side dishes for wild meat; picking up on Amiot’s suggestion, I conjured up a combination of mushrooms, nuts and dried fruit that might complement the nutty PHOTOS: Michele Genest taste and chewy texture of barley and stand up Barley Pilaf to the strong flavours of moose, bison or caribou. I am a convert. Pals stores. of Julie, look to your rice recipes Their barley is of the hulless and sally forth. variety: a strain where the hull is so loosely attached to the grain that it falls off during harvesting,
Ingredients
Instructions
❑ 1 1/2 cups hulless barley, rinsed, soaked in water to cover overnight and drained*
• Combine soaked, drained barley, 4 cups water, and salt in a medium saucepan, covered. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until soft but still chewy, about 40 minutes. • While barley is cooking, toast hazelnuts in a dry frying pan, over medium heat, for 5 minutes, until just beginning to turn golden. Cool, rub in a tea towel to remove some of the skins, and coarsely chop. Reserve until later. • Squeeze morel mushrooms to remove excess liquid, saving the liquid. Chop morels into chunks and reserve. • In the same frying pan you used to toast the hazelnuts, melt butter and oil over medium heat. When it is shimmering, add onion and sauté, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, cinnamon and pepper. • Add chopped morels to the pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. • Pour in 1 cup of reserved morel soaking water and simmer until the liquid has almost entirely evaporated, about 5 minutes. • Stir in hazelnuts and chopped apricots. • Once barley is thoroughly cooked, drain and return to heat. Stir in onion, morel, hazelnut and apricot mixture, until thoroughly combined. • Just before transferring to a serving dish, stir in lemon juice and all but 1 tablespoon of the chopped parsley. Sprinkle remaining parsley over top, once pilaf is in a serving dish. Makes about 6 cups, enough for 6 to 8 people. n
❑ 4 cups water ❑ 1/2 tsp Kosher salt ❑ 1 cup hazelnuts ❑ 1 Tbsp butter ❑ 1 Tbsp oil ❑ 1 cup finely chopped onion ❑ 2 tsp dried thyme ❑ 1 tsp cinnamon ❑ 1/2 tsp black pepper ❑ 1 cup dried morel mushrooms, soaked in hot water to cover for 30 minutes ❑ 2 cloves garlic, minced ❑ 1 cup morel soaking water ❑ 1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped ❑ 1 Tbsp lemon juice ❑ 1/2 cup chopped parsley *Soaking the barley for several hours or overnight means it will cook more quickly on the stove. Unsoaked barley can take over an hour to cook.
IT’S A FACT!
Delicious, fast, housemade food! Vegetarian, Gluten Gluten Free Free and and Vegetarian, Children’s Children’s menu menu items items available. available. BIG BEAR OFFSALES OPEN EVERYDAY UNTIL MIDNIGHT 4161 4th Ave, Whitehorse 456-BEAR (2327)
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT Here’s your sign to gather those presents before everyone else.
QWANLIN CENTRE & 211 MAIN STREET
Open 7 days a week
Visit us at shoppersdrugmart.ca
We’ve got
NOW PARTNERED WITH HOTSHOT DELIVERY.
667-6633
WE CATER
Enjoy A Real Klondike Atmosphere at the Old 98
Fiddle Nite Jam sSe7-1ss0:3io0 pmn Sunday
Music For Breakfast
Last Saturday every month at 9 am
Themed Rooms
Starting at $118.98 per nite +GST OFF-SALES 9:00 am - 11:00 pm Skip the line-up, order by phone & pick up!
Thursdays starting at 7 pm 110 Wood Street 867-667-2641 98hotelwhitehorse.com
LOOKING OUT FOR YOU
Enhanced Health and Safety Measures at Your Local Subway® restaurant
Open Six Days A Week Monday - Saturday, To Serve You Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner! CGC 8am to 7pm 456-7690 • SECOND AVE 8am to 7pm 668-6889 • MAIN ST 8am to 10pm 393-5000
