{A Regional Canadian Food from the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island}
The Canadian Food Experience Project began June 7 2013. As we share our collective stories across the vastness of our Canadian landscape through our regional food experiences, we hope to bring global clarity to our Canadian culinary identity through the cadence of our concerted Canadian voice. Please join us.
What comes to mind when you think of Canadian food? Maple syrup and poutine? Canadian bacon? (Known as back bacon here, but everyone I know eats regular bacon.) Tim Horton’s coffee and doughnuts? Patriotic beer? (Just for the record, decidedly NOT the best this land has to offer.) Of course there is much more to Canadian food than that, but it’s a tough one to answer. Canada is a HUGE place and it includes people of so many different cultural backgrounds. Other than First Nations people, we are all immigrants from somewhere (some more recent than others), so naturally the way we prepare and eat food is influenced by whatever culture we came from. Discovering what “Canadian food” is, exactly, is kind of exciting to a food geek like me, so I am thrilled to be participating in The Canadian Food Experience Project, which was started last month by Valerie Lujonga of A Canadian Foodie in an attempt to explore and help answer the question, “What is Canadian food?“
Valerie has set a specific theme each month for participants to tackle, this month’s being to share a regional Canadian food. As I touched on previously, I find this somewhat problematic: the food preparation methods that I employ on a daily basis come from a culture that is not Canadian. For example, I make a lot of pasta and pizza (Italian culture), I stir-fry often (Asian cultures), and I do a heck of a lot of baking (European cultures). I think what turns the food I make into Canadian food is by using Canadian ingredients. I’ve lived my entire life on Salt Spring Island and Vancouver Island on the West Coast of Canada, and one Canadian ingredient that has been a constant is seafood.
Last summer Nate and I moved to Shawnigan Lake in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. The name Cowichan comes from the local First Nation‘s words for “the warm land”, so called because of its extremely temperate climate and long growing season. There is a burgeoning local food scene here – one that I am only just starting to discover – and the thing that I think is the coolest is the diversity of food that is available. Within thirty minutes of my home, there are about a dozen vineyards, a cidery, a farm that raises water buffalo for milk, more vegetable-producing farms than you can shake a stick at, pasta makers, bakeries, and even a local grain mill. What’s more is that all of this is located a stone’s throw from the ocean, so you have both the bounty of the land and the bounty of the sea.
Which brings me back to seafood. Cowichan Bay is a little fishing village in the Cowichan Valley, and every year for six to eight weeks in May and June, the town is inundated. Not by its usual hordes of tourists (they come, too), but by the wild BC spot prawn: a small pink crustacean with a very short season, mostly found in the waters of the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
Cowichan Bay hosts an annual Spot Prawn Festival where hundreds of thousands of spot prawns are sold live by the pound, literally fresh off the boat. There are de-heading stations and mountains of ice, and people line up with their coolers (yes, plural) to buy as many prawns as they can carry. Nate and I went to the festival in May this year in the hopes of buying some fresh prawns, but alas, just as we got to the front of the line (after waiting for forty minutes), they ran out of prawns. Gotta go empty some more traps. Back in forty-five minutes. We left, prawn-less, and I never got around to buying any while the season was still on. Luckily spot prawns freeze well and many places sell them that way, so when this regional theme was announced, I took it as an opportunity to get my hands on some.
What did I choose to make with those BC spot prawns? Cioppino, of course. It might seem like an odd choice for a Canadian regional specialty, but cioppino’s origins make it a good fit. In San Francisco in the 1800’s, Portuguese and Italian fishermen started making an Italian-style tomato-based soup to use up the leftovers from the day’s catch, and it later became a well-known regional specialty served in many restaurants. The dish may have been made in the Italian style, but the ingredients – crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, and fish – were all specific to the region of San Francisco. To me, cioppino is a great analogy for Canadian food: someone else’s cooking style with our unique regional ingredients. Hence, BC spot prawn cioppino.
I must admit, the seafood for this dish set me back more than I’m used to spending on a homemade meal – the prawns alone were about fifteen bucks. However, today is my birthday (30! Ack!) and if you can’t splurge a little for your birthday, then what’s the point? And luckily, this dish is worth the price tag: flavourful white wine and tomato broth – perfect for sopping up with your favorite crusty bread – and lots of seafood, especially the sweet, succulent spot prawns with their delicate flavour and texture. They are pretty special crustaceans, for sure – the trick is just not to over-cook them!
There will be a round-up of all the Canadian Food Experience Project posts this month on Valerie’s blog on July 14, so be sure to check it out for a look at regional foods across Canada. Valerie, thanks so much for the opportunity to be part of this!
BC Spot Prawn Cioppino
Serves 3 – 4. Adapted from Cooking Light.
Acquire 1/2 lb of wild BC spot prawns, fresh or frozen (thawed). If fresh, remove the heads immediately (here’s some info on dealing with live spot prawns). Peel the spot prawns (they do not need to be deveined) and reserve the shells. Place the peeled spot prawns in a bowl and set aside.
Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the spot prawn shells and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, until opaque and bright pink. Add 1 cup water and simmer for 5 – 7 minutes, pressing on the shells with a spoon to extract as much flavour as possible. Strain the prawn stock through a sieve into a bowl and set aside. Discard the shells.
Cut 1 large onion into slices from root to stem and slice 4 cloves of garlic into thin slices. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for about 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until both the onion and garlic start to brown. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of dry white wine (I used a BC chardonnay), then add:
the spot prawn stock
1 x 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
a handful each of chopped fresh basil and chopped fresh oregano
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the seafood (in addition to the peeled spot prawns):
8 Salt Spring Island mussels and 8 littleneck clams – make sure that they are all tightly closed, or that they stay shut when you press on them. Discard any that don’t.
5 oz red snapper (or any other firm white fish), cut into 1″ chunks
Bring the tomato broth up to a vigorous simmer and add the mussels and clams. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, then add the red snapper chunks. Cover and cook for 2 more minutes, then add the spot prawns. Cover and cook for an additional 1 or 2 minutes or just until the prawns are opaque. Discard any mussels or clams that have not opened.
Remove from the heat, season with a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle with some chopped basil. Ladle into bowls, top with more basil and serve with crusty bread (I recommend focaccia).
Anne Millerd says
Wonderful post Korena! Happy birthday!
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thanks Anne 🙂
wendyjv says
Superb post. What a great start to your birthday! And a wonderful project to be participating in, just a perfect match. Have a fantastic sunny day (and see you later!) 🙂
christinajane says
Fascinating – read the whole post riveted. What a cool observation of Canadian Food. I am much the same – cooking dishes distinct to other countries, but using what we have local. I have never had clams or mussels but love prawns – would love to try this Italian dish, perhaps when we are visiting Vancouver Island again and have access to fresh prawns! I had no idea had big seafood was there – totally makes sense though.
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thanks Christina. Yes, you definitely need to have a big ol’ seafood feast if you’re back down here! We don’t eat as much seafood as we could but whenever we do, I always think, “We need to eat more of this!”
Kathryn and Ross says
Happy Birthday Korena, you have the same birthday as my oldest sister! 30 sounds much better than 70 though. That bowl of seafood looks gorgeous, hope you got cake too. I would eat a lot more sea food if it wasn’t so expensive, it is always such a treat. My brother in law just brought in a good haul of prawns yesterday from Brentwood Bay area. Last year he got a baby bathtub full and shared it around. I think if you could develope a recipe for spot prawns and maple syrup it would be truly Canadian.
Korena in the Kitchen says
Oooh, maple glazed grilled spot prawns, perhaps? I’ll have to wait until next year when they’re in season again to try 😉
Jas@AbsolutelyJas says
The Canadian food conundrum is much like the Australian food conundrum – big countries, large immigrant population, very difficult to pin down what comprises our national cuisines. We do a similar thing – claim individual dishes as Australian (lamingtons, anzac biscuits) but there’s not much to draw all Australian food together. The area where we lose out because of this (at least in Oz, I’m not sure about Canada) is street food – we have absolutely no street food culture here, which is sad. On the plus side, I’ve grown up eating food from many many different cuisines, and have ready access to asian, indian and middle eastern grocers 🙂
Those prawns look fabulously fresh and juicy, and happy birthday!!
Korena in the Kitchen says
We don’t have a street food culture in the same way that they do in, say, Asia for example, however food trucks are definitely gaining popularity here – but again, it’s usually a Canadian twist on another culture’s cuisine. You’re right though, the variety of food cultures leads to a variety of food experiences!
chef mimi says
That is one helluva birthday dinner! Happy Birthday!
Korena in the Kitchen says
Ha, it certainly was. Thank you!
Charmian Christie (@charmian_c) says
Happy birthday! What a lovely celebration. I’m sad to say I’ve never had a BC spot prawn. Clearly this needs to be recified! Your recipe looks like the perfect way to enjoy them, too!
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thanks Charmain!
bellini says
Here in the Okanagan Valley we look forward to the yearly Spot Prawn Festival as well. I even have some tucked away in my freezer.
Korena in the Kitchen says
I hope to be able to get some to freeze next year 🙂
acanadianfoodie says
Happy Birthday to you! Sorry I am late with this greeting, and with these comments. Have been by before, but am commenting now! First, you address a muddle of confusion that is one that propelled me to initiate this project:
“the food preparation methods that I employ on a daily basis come from a culture that is not Canadian. For example, I make a lot of pasta and pizza (Italian culture), I stir-fry often (Asian cultures), and I do a heck of a lot of baking (European cultures)”
Canada is a new nation – only 350 years old compared to the Asian and European cultures… but, we do have an indigenous food culture. We know very little about it, however. So, we are a land of settlers… and as of 1981, a land that is the only one in the entire world that is constitutionally recognized as Multi-cultural. We are the only country in the world the promotes and supports ethnic cultural identify, diversity, tolerance and understanding. We are not a melting pot like the US, but a Cultural Mosaic. So, if you are making food here from a culture that is “not Canadian”, I beg to disagree. Italian food tastes different in italy. They use different ingredients (we don’t grow them here) and have a different terrior. That is the beauty of learning what is Canadian. Certainly, I would agree that an old traditional ethnic Bolognese Sauce is not Canadian…. but if a regional dish evolved in an area influenced by settlers from another country, then that would be a traditional Canadian dish. Let me give you an example of an Italian one. In Boston, in little Italy, the immigrants came to the country from italy 350 years ago and suddenly had access to more meat than they had in their own poor country where they had learned to make gorgeous delicious recipes out of what they had that was economical and helped them survive. Eggplant Parmigiana is an example of this. When they came to Boston, Veal Parmigiana was born. It does not exist in Italy. It is a Traditional American recipe born from the Italian immigrant community. Like (god forbid) chicken balls… or Crispy Ginger Beef… Make sense?
We don’t make lasagna like they do in italy. It is different there in every region… we make it how our mothers learned from the side of the box when the manufacturers started selling the noodles…. it is nothing like the kinds made in Italy…. yet, you are also right (in my humble opinion) that specific product – such as your spot prawns, immediately elevates any dish to that of Canadian. Reading through the posts has taught me a great deal about what Canadian food is. What I have just said here is only a bit of what I am learning. Clarity is developing, however, and it is increasingly easier for me to articulate what is Canadian and why, and what is not, and why.
Thrilled you are participating, Korena! Spot prawns and a birthday dinner. Cannot do better than that!
🙂
V
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thanks for your comment, Valerie! I agree with you – Canada is a new nation and very multi-cultural – but I guess my point is just that: many of the things we eat on a daily basis are the result of that multi-culturalism – they may be be unrecognizable variations on the original, but their very idea still came from somewhere else. Even though the lasagne I make here is totally different from a real Italian lasagne, the fact that it is lasagne still gives it Italian roots rather than Canadian ones. It is comparatively easy to define the food styles and flavours of other cultures: because I know what they are, I can easily make something “Italian” or “Thai” or even “British”, however inauthentic the dish might actually be – but what are the Canadian flavours? Is Canadian food defined by its multi-culturalism – in which case, our national cuisine is actually based on other culture’s styles with Canadian ingredients? Maybe it is? I’m still trying to figure that out… 😉
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
Happy belated birthday Korena. I loved reading this post and your cioppino looks amazing. Lucky you to live in such a beautiful place too.
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thanks Karen 🙂