Winner, Winner, Time for Dinner

September 30, 2020

Congratulations, Troy!

Troy is a self-proclaimed “foodie” — no surprise there. He was also one of 25 lucky recipients of our Sunterra Market mystery box giveaway, and eventually, the Grand Prize Winner of our first-ever Great Indoors Food Challenge.

Within an hour of receiving his Sunterra Market mystery box, he decided how he would engineer this fantastic dish: “A good meal or dish has to touch on several points to be fantastic. To me, flavour and texture are equally important in achieving this. This is why I placed the souffle on a potato croquette, the soft fluffy texture paired with a crunch works perfectly. However, all of that richness needs some punch and therefore the acidity and sweetness of the tomato corn relish helps to balance it out.”

Troy has always liked food, but his passion for cooking started about 10 years ago. He uses his background in science to help with balancing flavours, noting: “Many meats pair very well with fruits and nuts, but pork probably does it the best. A grill peach coulis really provides a nice base for the grilled pork collar and the touch of amaretto give(s) that nutty undertone to tie it all together.”

Many of the dishes he makes are recreations of food he’s had but are often re-done to suit his own preferences. Troy also likes to cook with produce sourced from his very own garden and to explore cultures from around the world through their cuisine.

“I enjoy cooking much more than baking as baking has to be exact and (with) cooking you get to experiment and adjust as you go to really make something new or exciting with very similar ingredients. This competition showcased that very thing – 25 contestants received the same ingredients but produced 25 different dishes!!”

Read below to discover his prize-winning recipe.

The Winning Recipe

Ingredients

Pork Collar

1 portion of Sunterra Farms pork collar
Spice blend of thyme, rosemary, sage, black pepper, garlic, kosher salt, lemon peel, and coriander

Soufflé

4 tbsp freshly-grated Sylvan Star Grizzly Gouda
1 1/4 cups cream
Aromatics: 1 bay leaf, several thyme sprigs, 2 thin shallot slices
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt and freshly-milled pepper
4 egg yolks
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
6 egg whites
Several plump thyme sprigs, leaves only

Corn and Tomato “Relish”

Approximately 2 cups of grape tomatoes
1 cob of corn
Salt, pepper, chile flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup

Potato Croquette

2 large potatoes
2 fresh scallions
Roasted garlic cloves
Salt to taste
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup cream
2 egg yolks leftover from making soufflé
Two croissants cut into pieces, toasted and processed to make bread crumbs
1 ½ cup flour
2 whole eggs for egg wash
Canola oil for frying
Shaved Grizzly Gouda for garnish

Grilled Peach Amaretto Coulis

1 peach
1 tbsp amaretto
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp butter

Kale Chips

2 large kale leaves
Olive oil
Salt

Grilled Eggplant Rosette

1 eggplant
1/3 cup olive oil
Your favourite blend of roasting spices, such as brown mustard, sea salt, white pepper, nutmeg, allspice, rosemary, thyme, dill seeds, celery seeds, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, coriander

Directions

Pork Collar

Season pork collar evenly with the spice blend
Grill on high heat on one side for approximately 6 minutes before flipping. Grill until internal temperature reaches approximately 140F
Salt with large sea salt flakes and let rest as the residual heat should carry over to reach the required 145F. Slice into 4 slices for plating

Soufflé

Preheat oven to 400F
Butter 6 ramekins and coat them with the grated Grizzly Gouda
Heat the cream with the aromatics until it boils, then set aside to steep for 15 minutes
Strain the steeped cream
Melt the butter in a saucepan, and when foamy stir in the flour and cook over low heat for several minutes
Whisk in the cream vigorously for approximately 1 minute to thicken, then add salt and a few twists of pepper
Remove from heat
Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, until well-blended, then stir in the goat cheese
Beat in the egg whites until they form firm peaks, then fold in 1/4 of the egg whites into the cream base to lighten the mixture
Fold in the remaining egg whites, then transfer to the ramekins
Place ramekins in a large baking dish and fill with boiling water up to 3/4 of the height of the ramekins, then put in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 375F
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and just a bit wobbly in the center
Garnish with tomato and corn relish and fresh thyme sprigs

Corn and Tomato “Relish”

Slice tomatoes into quarters
Season tomatoes with salt and set aside
Grill the corn until slightly charred then slice kernels from the cob
Drain liquid from salted tomatoes and then combine with corn, olive oil, and maple syrup
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chile flakes

Potato Croquette

Boil potatoes with skin on until tender; skins should easily slide off after boiling
Using a potato ricer, process the two potatoes
Combine scallions, garlic, salt, butter, cream, and egg yolks
Spread out mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Place in the freezer to cool
Once potatoes are firm and cold, cut out circles slightly larger than the souffle ramekin
Place potato “wheels” into flour, then into the egg wash, followed by the croissant bread crumbs
Fry in canola oil until golden brown
Lightly salt croquette and garnish with shaved gouda

Grilled Peach Amaretto Coulis

Place peaches, skin on, on a hot grill for about 8 minutes or until thoroughly cooked
After thoroughly cooked, remove skin, slice, and sauté peaches with butter, honey, water, and amaretto for about 3 minutes (or until water has been reduced by about ½)
Place mixture into food processor and pureé

Kale Chips

Cut kale leaves into portions, removing any large stems
Evenly coat kale leaves in olive oil, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until “crispy”. Ensure they don’t turn brown as they will taste burnt
Remove from oven and lightly salt

Grilled Eggplant Rosette

Slice eggplant lengthwise in ¼” slices, then drizzle with olive oil and season well
Let sit for at least 20 minutes
Grill until tender (about 3 minutes per side) and let rest
Starting with a larger slice, roll into itself and then wrap with another slice creating a rosette
Drizzle with balsamic reduction and garnish with a crispy kale chip

The Components

Sunterra Farms Pork Collar

Soufflé

Corn and Tomato “Relish”

Potato Croquette

Maia

Marketing Coordinator

Maia is a classic Central Albertan gal who KNOWS her way around Bower Place . . . she grew up exploring it! If she’s not scouting the best of The Great Indoors, she’s probably strapping on her hiking pack to escape to the mountains or grabbing her cowboy boots (she’ll never say “no” to a rodeo). She has a love of free-spirited 70s vibes including eclectic accessories, bright colours, and fun patterns.