Photography: David Lipnowski & Ian McCausland, Courtesy Cafe Carlo (Salmon salad)
inthekitchen
Shawarma Khan ■ Beet and Apple Salad
Simplicity mixes with sweetness to give this fan
favourite its signature flair. Though this beet and
apple salad (above) is the culmination of a scant
few ingredients (hence the name), beets’ natural
sweetness and green apple zing play together
to make a dish that’s more than the sum of its parts. Chef
Mohamed Ali Ben Ahmed turns this from any old beet
salad into a must-add to any order by topping it with a
so-called secret dressing. But guess what? We’ve got the
scoop. Icing sugar is the unexpected secret ingredient
in the red wine vinegar-based mixture, which helps
make the salad’s sweet-tart contrast even sharper.
Bangkok Thai
■ Som Tumm
Few dishes provide
opportunity to
explore regional
flavours like a Thai
Som Tumm (below)
and chef Toui Savangsengouthay
has an ability to transport Bangkok
Thai diners to the culinary
soul of the country. Inherently,
unripened papaya is the standout
of the dish, but it is given sweetness
by way of a palm sugar syrup
and turned up a degree by the
spice of ground green chiles. Hints
of garlic come through, as does the
acidity of lime, but the addition of
salty fish sauce allows the salad to
touch every tastebud. It’s in this
way chef Toui achieves a harmony
of taste, which is the trademark of
Thai cuisine.
Hy’s Steakhouse ■ Caesar Salad
A career spent in the Hy’s kitchen ensures chef
Jackie Hildebrand will do right by the classics, and
such is the case with Hy’s Caesar (left), which turns
a seemingly simple salad into a superstar. A meticulously
choreographed dressing is brought together
with pinpoint particularity and gives every element its moment to
shine. Its bold, garlicky punch fuses seamlessly with red wine vinegar,
Worcestershire sauce and lemony zest. A slight hint of tabasco
gives the dressing a very subtle heat. The pleasure taken in this
Caesar’s preparation and level of careful consideration given to its
individual ingredients has resulted in it remaining a house favourite.
ciao! / summer / two thousand twenty 13