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SMART detour


Pop-up restaurant gives reason to brave the cold


Experience gnocchi with its new companions


T


hrough my many travels abroad I have experienced a huge number of flavours. Flavours that take your breath away,


from the hot to the cold and the sweet to the sour, and every one of them has been a pleasure. One such easy- to-prepare meal, for lunch or din- ner, is this Gnoc- chi with Roast- ed Squash and Goat’s Cheese. A taste of Eu-


Foodies Ian Leatt


rope on you r doorstep, this col- ourful dish makes the most of gnoc- chi’s great pairing with cheese. Tis


simple recipe will fast become a favourite not only for you but for your friends as well. Ian Leatt, a former chef in Jersey, Channel


Islands, is general manager at Pegasus Pub- lications.


Ingredients


1 large butternut squash, cut into chunks


1 full garlic clove 3 tbsp olive oil 500 gram pack of gnocchi 200 grams of baby spinach 100 grams of goat’s cheese Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Place


the squash into a roasting tin with the garlic and oil, salt and pepper, and mix well. Roast for 20 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through, until tender and golden. Meanwhile, boil the gnocchi according


to pack instructions. With a few seconds to go, throw in the spinach, then drain the gnocchi and spinach together. Tip into the roasting tin, and mix everything together well, mashing the softened gar- lic. Spoon onto warm serving plates, then crumble over the cheese to serve.


By Brenlee Coates C


hef Alexander Svenne of Bistro 7 ¼ had a sense of humour about the chilly temperature at the river pop-


up restaurant, RAW:almond. He served an ice cream dish to close off


the meal to the bundled patrons gathered on a frozen river. Te serving included a homemade qui-


noa cookie, caramelized pear, and carda- mom ice cream to which he added hot tea to warm up the dish, thankfully. By the end of the course, the ingredients had conspired into a tasty chai-flavoured drink. For $100 plus tax, food lovers in Winnipeg


were given the elusive opportunity to enjoy a five-course meal on the frozen intersec- tion of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. Te radical concept is the brainchild of


Mandel Hitzer, chef/owner of the Exchange District’s deer + almond eatery, along with neighbouring business RAW:Gallery’s Joe Kalturnyk. Dressed in down jackets, fur-lined boots


and gloves, patrons of the restaurant sat huddled close to one another at a commu- nal table inside a slightly heated tent. Te local 0812 Building Solutions Inc. built the wooden table, charred black with torches, and a kitchen area that featured cut-out walls so diners could see the food being prepared. Tis winter marked the second year of


the pop-up restaurant, which was open for a three-week run in January and February. A tapas-style menu, new this year, was available for a $45 price tag, allowing for simultaneous seatings. Another popular feature is the $22 break-


fast on weekends by Talia Syrie, chef at the Come ‘N Eat Café in Neechi Commons. She even offered a $7 walk-up breakfast where you get coffee, hot chocolate and a breakfast bar. Te various offerings allow diners with any budget to experience the unusual oc- casion at Te Forks. Te tent structure is the realization of


Kalturnyk’s, the co-founder of Winnipeg’s coldest restaurant. He designed the white tent to mimic a naturalistic chunk of ice popping up from the frozen river. While there are heat limitations on the


enclosure, as melting could call safety into question, the warm atmosphere of the dining experience completely distracts from the cold – not to mention the meals dreamed up by some of Winnipeg’s finest chefs. Te chefs play host on three nights as the


featured chef, and describe their dishes and the inspiration behind them to guests. Hitzer is the only mainstay – he caters to the crowd and kitchen for the length of the run. Chef Svenne presented his mother’s


chicken liver recipe first, with homemade soda crackers and pickles. He said he’s been


March 2014


Photos courtesy of Brenlee Coates


A sampling of one evening's meal: tom yum soup (top), liver pâté (above centre), and cardamom ice cream (above).


making the same style pâté since he was cooking with his mom at age four. Next, he served a snail tom yum soup,


with healthy slices of julienne ginger, carrots, cucumber and mushrooms. Te soup broth was merely lukewarm, which was deliberate though the environment wouldn’t allow for much else. His next offering was a mustard tasting


spread, with seven types of homemade mustards, including a beer mustard and tangy, apricot mustard. Homemade rye bread and an impossibly tender slice of roast beef accompanied the dollops of mustard. Te main was a breaded ham hock with


soft egg, atop a bed of pickled cabbage. A mushroom sauce grazed the plate along with a stalk of broccolini. Seventeen chefs participated in stints at


the restaurant, with some celebrity chefs joining the local lineup. Hitzer said the annual collaboration heavily influences the partipating chefs’ year-round menus. Tis year, the biggest inspiration stems


from Hitzer’s philanthropy. He spent the entire run of the pop-up restaurant sleep- ing in a tent on the river confluence right next to the restaurant. His efforts raised funds for three local charities: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg, the Resource Cen- tre for Manitobans who are Deaf-Blind, and FortWhyte Alive.


www.smartcareers.ca SMART TAB 19


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