2023 Cooks the Books presented by Canadian Beef – Team Centennial College
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2023 Taste Canada Cooks the Books
presented by Canadian Beef
Beef Cheek Barbacoa with Pickled Local Vegetable, Celeriac Crema, Field Mushroom and Herb Salsa
Recipe by: Student Chefs Marisol Saavedra Mendoza and Charles Nartatez
Team: Centennial College
Colourful seasonal vegetables bring this dish to life and highlights the best Ontario October has to offer. The compelling tenderness of braised beef cheek is complemented by California Prunes, Club House® Ancho Chili Peppers, oregano, and onion powder. Our dish is completed with TabascoⓇ Chipotle Pepper Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce. Field mushrooms provide a crispy balance with an elevation from Club House La Grille® Fiery Habanero & Roasted Garlic blend. Harmonizing our dish is the earthy creaminess of a celeriac puree. Wild cedar leaves and spruce tips blend this dish into a cultural dance of truly Canadian treasures and Mexican heritage.
Beef Cheek Barbacoa with Pickled Local Vegetable, Celeriac Crema, Field Mushroom and Herb Salsa
Ingredients
Beef Cheek Barbacoa (pressure cooker):
- 4 (1126 g) Beef Cheeks trimmed raw
- 1.500 ml beef stock
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalks
- Salt - TT
- Pepper - TT
California Prunes Mole:
- 2 pieces Pasillas chilies seedless
- 2 pieces Guajillo chilies seedless
- 2 cloves garlic
- .5 (28 g) onion
- 1 tomato
- 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock
- 1 tsp (5 ml) all spices
- 2 tsp (10 ml) Club House® Ancho Chili Pepper, Ground
- 1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
- 1 tsp (5 ml) Club House® Oregano Leaves
- 1 tsp (5 ml) Club House® Onion Powder
- 1 tsp (5 ml) cumin
- 1/4 cup (35 g) sesame seed
- 1/4 cup (48 g) pecan
- 1/4 cup (40 g) sunflowers seeds
- 1/2 cup (80 g) California Prunes
- 1/4 cup (45 g) California Prunes, chopped
- 1 orange juice
- Salt - TT
Blue Tortilla:
- 2 cup (240 g) blue corn flour
- 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock
- 1 tsp (5 ml) Club House La Grille® Brazilian Style BBQ
- Salt - TT
- Pepper - TT
Celeriac Crema:
- 1 lb. (.5 kg) Celeriac – cut into large dice
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (125 ml) 35% whip cream
- Salt - TT
- Pepper - TT
Pickled Vegetables:
- 2 Heirloom carrots thinly sliced
- 1 butternut squash diced
- 1 radish thinly sliced
- .5 red onion julienne
- 3 cups (750 ml) apple Cider vinegar
- 1 cup (250 ml) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup spruce tips
Fresh Green Salsa:
- 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
- .5 Pickled onions
- 2 tsp pickle gastrique
- 1 tsp TabascoⓇ Green Jalapeño Sauce
Field Mushrooms:
- 2 cups Mushrooms cut lengthwise
- 1/4 cup (40 g) corn starch
- Salt - TT
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) Club House La Grille® Fiery Habanero & Roasted Garlic
Beef consommé: Ceremonial Cedar Tea Dip
- 2 cups (500 ml) beef stock
- 1 cup (250 ml) beef cheek cooking broth
- 10 g of local cedar leaves
- 3 springs cilantro
- .5 (28 g) onion
- .5 (30 g) carrot
- .5 celery spring
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) TabascoⓇ Chipotle Pepper Sauce
- Salt & Pepper - TT
Instructions
Beef Cheek Barbacoa:
- Butcher beef cheeks, remove excess fat and silver skin. Season Beef Cheeks with salt and pepper. Using a pressure cooker add mirepoix and stock. Cook for 28 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes then shred into a pulled beef. Mix with Prunes Mole once complete. Keep it hot to serve.
California Prunes Mole:
- In a pan roast the onion, tomato, and garlic, separately roast the spices for 30 seconds until they release their aroma, roast the seeds and California Prunes.
- Roast the chiles in a direct flame and boil in water for 2 minutes to soften.
- Blend all the ingredients together with the orange juice and the beef broth.
- Return to pan with oil and simmer lightly for 10 minutes, add chopped California Prunes, season, and set aside.
Celeriac Crema:
- Steam the celeriac with a little water, when soft, puree in a food processor with butter and cream. Season and set aside.
Pickled Vegetables:
- Make a gastric with the vinegar and maple, and let it reduce, slice the vegetables thinly with the mandolin, add the hot gastrique over the vegetables and let it rest.
Blue tortillas:
- Whisk the blue flour with beef stock, Club House La Grille® Brazilian Style BBQ and salt and pepper, and let it sit for 10 min. Take 1 portion of dough and press with the tortilla press, cook on a very hot flat grill. 2 cup (240 g) blue corn flour
Fresh Green salsa:
- Chop the aromatics, chop the pickled onion, mix all the ingredients together.
Beek consommé, Ceremonial Tea Dip:
- Boil the beef broth with mirepoix and add the beef cheeks cooking broth, reduce and add the TabascoⓇ Chipotle Pepper Sauce, Cedar leaves, season, and allow to steep.
Pan Fried Mushrooms:
- Set oil on medium – high heat. Toss mushrooms lightly in corn starch, removing any excess starch. Sear mushrooms until crispy and lightly season with salt. Toss with Club House La Grille® Fiery Habanero & Roasted Garlic.
Notes
Plate all vegetable ingredients on presentation plate. Assemble Mole and Beef Cheek into heated Le Creuset, topped with a room tempered lid. Highlight tortilla in traditional cotton linen on small serving plate. Allow judges to assemble the ingredients to display colour, textures and seasoning. Pour Ceremonial Tea consommé dip à la minute.
The 2023 student chefs selected a unique cut of beef for their recipe by exploring a new web-based education tool, the Canadian Beef Information Gateway. The Gateway has information on over 70 cuts of beef with cut descriptions, complete nutrition info per cut, how-to-cook recommendations, over 300+ recipe videos and more.
Taste Canada Cooks the Books presented by Canadian Beef is a cooking competition that invites Canadian culinary students from across the nation to compete for the title of Canada’s Best New Student Chefs.
The 2023 student chefs created their own unique dish following the Cooks the Books criteria based on the 2023 theme: New Canadian Flavours Rooted in Tradition. Drawing inspiration from their own cultural cuisines, heritages and traditions, students were challenged to develop a unique recipe using a variety of Canadian ingredients, a unique cut of Canadian Beef, as well California Prunes, a dash or two of Tabasco® sauce and a variety of Club House for Chefs herbs and spices. Recipes must also consider the seasonality of fresh Canadian ingredients so this year, 60% of all ingredients called for in each recipe must be grown, produced and/or raised in Canada. Students were able to reference the What’s in Season section of the Canadian Food Focus website for a complete list of fresh fruits and vegetables available in October/November in Canada.
Photo Credit: Stephen Chu
Special Thanks to the 2023 Taste Canada Cooks the Books Sponsors:
Presented by Canadian Beef
