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TOtimes Books: Top Chef Canada judge shows how to ramp up meals in the great outdoors

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Cook It Wild is the new book by Chris Nuttall-Smith featuring amazing meals to enjoy while camping, glamping or kayaking

TORONTO, April 25/2023 – The inspiration for Cook It Wild, (available online and in bookstores May 9) began with a paddling trip on which Toronto’s Chris Nuttall-Smith invited a group of friends. (Chris is a renowned food writer/critic as well as a Top Chef Canada resident judge.) They would paddle into the wilderness to a remote northern lake to spend several days enjoying the great outdoors. The friends were told to ‘pack light’. “My friend Sasha shows up with a block of frozen squid,” says Chris in the introduction. “Instead of freeze-dried, instant or canned food, the group showed up with dreams of enjoying buttermilk pancakes, freshly baked biscuits, fried lake-fish sandwiches and fancy cocktails.”

To the amazement of Chris, his friend Sasha used her frozen squid to create the most amazing paella. Chris explains: “I’m pretty sure it was the greatest thing I ate all year!” (The recipe is included in the book). The secret to the successful meals—each of guests had prepared their meals at home ahead of time. “Be Prepared,” the Boy Scout motto, could be the motto for Cook It Wild. The recipes are prepared ahead at home and most take under 10 minutes to prepare while camping, hiking, kayaking or while at the cottage. After all, we want to enjoy our time outdoors to the fullest. This book shows us how to enjoy fabulous meals made easy with advance preparation. The book also outlines The Five Keys of pre-preparation: Chop Ahead, Mix Ahead, Cook Ahead, Seal Ahead and Freeze Ahead.


Top Chef Canada Judge, Chris Nuttall-Smith shows us how to easily ramp up our meals while camping, glamping or kayaking, in his new book Cook It Wild

Chapters include At-Home Basics, At-Camp Basics, Cocktail Snacks (the Most Important Meal of the Day) Dinners including Vegetables, Pastas and Rice, A Few Beans and Meats and Showstoppers; Mornings After, Lunches and A little Something for Dessert.

Before you even get to the 75 recipes, Chris provides a handy list on what to pack to go backpacking, paddling or camping. Symbols on each recipe indicate how it can be cooked and what type of trip it’s suited to according to the heat source and refrigeration available.

From Crunchy Rosemary Butter Nuts and Freakishly Delicious Olives Warmed by the Fire and Negronis for While You Set Up the Tents (for Cocktail Hour), to Burrata Poutine or Parm-Butter Noodles to Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Chicken Grill-Out or Sweet-Tangy Lemon Ribs for dinner and camp-worthy desserts, you won’t go hungry on any outdoor journey with these great meal ideas.

Cook It Wild by Chris Nuttall-Smith, Photographs by Maya Visnyei, illustrations by Claire McCracken. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada. All rights reserved. Available online and in bookstores May 9, 2023.

Lunch is a flavour feast with prepared meals like Bikini Sandwiches (aka the Most Sublime Grilled Cheese Toasties You’ll Ever Taste) or Street-Festival Sausage and Peppers.

Campers, backpackers and kayakers know that you can work up quite an appetite while enjoying the great outdoors, and nothing tastes better than food cooked over a campfire, barbecue or even on a one-burner stove. In Cook It Wild, renowned foodie Chris Nuttall-Smith proves we don’t need to stick with boxed macaroni and cheese or canned beans with wieners–now we can ramp up our outdoor culinary experience to new heights! Now the urge to go camping is stronger than ever!

Campfire Paella Recipe excerpted from “Cook It Wild” by Chris Nutall-Smith

Campfire Paella Excerpted with permission from Cook It Wild: Sensational Prep-Ahead Meals for Camping, Cabins, and the Great Outdoors by Chris Nuttall-Smith, Photographs by Maya Visnyei, illustrations by Claire McCracken. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada. All rights reserved. Available online and in bookstores May 9, 2023.

Campfire Paella Is the Best Paella

No other outdoors dish says party quite like paella. Paella is meant for feasts, for gatherings, for wood-fired cooking. And if you break it down into steps and pay attention as it cooks, truly great prep-ahead camp paella is remarkably straightforward.

While the main recipe is for the showstoppiest of showstoppers—firecrisped rice under a tangle of squid and smoky seared shrimp—I’ve also included a chicken and artichoke version, as well as a vegan chickpea option. All three are celebrations in a pan, and absolutely sublime.

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredient Weight: 3⅓ pounds

[cooler] [fire]

[paddle] [car/rv]

AT CAMP

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil (thawed) [F]

Prepared green beans

2 bunches green onions, trimmed of roots and any mangled ends

Kosher salt

Prepared squid, patted dry (thawed) [F]

½ pound raw wild shrimp or prawns (thawed) [F]

Prepared sofrito (thawed) [F]

1½ cups paella rice (see Note)

1 teaspoon saffron threads

4½ cups water, plus ⅓ cup

½ teaspoon peperoncini piccanti (optional; thawed) [F]

2 lemons, cut into halves

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

13-inch paella pan or a large (12 inches or more) fireproof skillet (see Note)

AT HOME

12 ounces cleaned squid, both tubes (bodies) and tentacles

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

4 small ripe tomatoes

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

½ teaspoon pimentón Spanish smoked paprika)

½ pound green beans, trimmed

1 . PREP THE SQUID

Coarsely chop half of the squid tubes and set aside for the sofrito.

Slice the remaining tubes into ¼-inch rings. (Leave the tentacles whole.) Pack the rings with the tentacles into a resealable bag, and freeze. (The squid will keep for 1 month, frozen.)

2. PREP THE SOFRITO

Put the garlic in a food processor and pulse to coarsely chop. Add the reserved chopped squid tubes, onions, and bell pepper and pulse to make a fine mixture. (Alternatively, finely chop the mixture with a sharp knife.)

Place a box grater over a medium bowl. Using the coarse side, grate the tomatoes. The pulp will fall into the bowl while the skin and stems (which you’ll discard) stay in your hand. Set aside the tomato pulp.

3. SLOW-COOK THE SOFRI TO

In a large, nonreactive skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion-squid mixture and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is tender, fragrant, and beginning to color, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Add the tomato pulp and pimentón to the skillet and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sofrito is sizzling and the vegetables are richly brown in spots. Remove from the heat.

Let the sofrito cool and then seal it in a leakproof container or reusable bag and freeze. (It will keep for 1 month, frozen.)

4. PREP THE GREEN BEANS

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and let simmer until they’re mellow-tasting and tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain the beans, transfer to a clean kitchen towel, and let them cool and dry. Roll the beans in paper towels before packing in a resealable bag (see page 14).

5. BUILD THE RIGHT FIRE

The ideal paella fire has a deep bed of orange coals, with a few small burning logs at its center and off to the side. It’s medium-hot when your cooking starts. But in the 30-odd minutes it’ll take to make the dish, the embers should fade to medium-low.

Place a sturdy grill 6 inches above the coal bed and make sure it’s level.

6. SEAR THE TOPPINGS

Place the paella pan on the grill and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. The pan should be very hot and the oil should shimmer.

Add the green beans and green onions to the pan and sear, stirring occasionally, until they char in spots, about 2 minutes. Adjust the pan’s position if it’s too hot or cool. Remove the vegetables to a clean plate, season with a large pinch of salt, and keep warm.

Add the squid to the pan, season with ¼ teaspoon salt, and sear until it becomes browned and charry in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to the vegetable plate and keep warm.

Add the shrimp to the pan, season with ¼ teaspoon salt, and sear until it becomes pink and slightly charred in spots, around 2 minutes. Remove to the veg/squid plate and keep warm.

7. START THE RICE

Add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil and sofrito to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the sofrito is sizzling and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the rice and saffron to the pan and stir well to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the grains turn translucent at their tips, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the 4½ cups water, peperoncini piccanti (if using), and ½ teaspoon salt to the pan, then stir once and give the pan a shake to distribute the ingredients in an even layer.

8. LET IT COOK

Depending on your fire’s heat, the paella will take 15 to 30 minutes to finish cooking. Watch the pan closely and rotate or shift it on the grill as needed so it’s bubbling evenly, but do not stir.

Once most (but not all) of the liquid has cooked off, taste a few grains of rice. They should be tender on their outsides but still slightly firm in their centers. If the rice is still very firm, add up to the remaining ⅓ cup water.

9. F INISH THE RICE

The final stage of cooking will require your senses. The sound will progress in the last 5 minutes from a busy burble (the residual liquid) to a snappy sizzle (the olive oil) to a somewhat alarming but

completely normal sizzle-crackle (the rice crust–forming stage). When the sizzle-crackling starts, arrange the seared vegetables, squid, and shrimp on top of the rice. Give your paella a few additional minutes on the heat, using your eyes and nose (or a look under the rice with the tip of a spoon) to ensure it doesn’t burn. If you like a crisp, golden crust where the rice touches the pan, this is the stage to be brave.

When you can’t stand the suspense any longer, remove the pan from the heat, cover with aluminum foil or a clean kitchen towel, and let the paella rest for 5 minutes.

10. GRILL THE LEMONS AND SERVE

As the paella rests, add the lemon halves (flesh-side down) on the hottest part of the grill and grill for about 5 minutes; a bit of char is nice.

Serve the paella with the grilled lemons.

KEEPS

The raw seafood, chicken, or chickpeas, 2 days, after thawing, kept cold; the sofrito (squid version), up to 1 week, after thawing, kept cold; the green beans, 3 days, kept cold

Excerpted with permission from Cook It Wild: Sensational Prep-Ahead Meals for Camping, Cabins, and the Great Outdoors by Chris Nuttall-Smith, Photographs by Maya Visnyei, illustrations by Claire McCracken. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada. All rights reserved. Now available in bookstores.

Look here for a few more recipes from Cook It Wild in the coming days

by Laurie Wallace-Lynch

Other articles from totimes.ca – mtltimes.ca – otttimes.ca

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