family activities

Chef Ted Anderson's Spring Leek Risotto

Chef Ted Anderson in a kitchen.

We are back with another delicious spring recipe! This one from the kitchen of our Board Chair and Concept Development Chef at Joey Restaurants, Ted Anderson.  Chef Ted uses flavour-packed ingredients to create a rich, earthy risotto that’s a breeze to make. Click here to download a PDF of the recipe, or scroll down to view.

Leeks are a sweet and mild member of the allium family, cousin to onions and garlic. An easy-growing frost tolerant crop, leeks can be harvested summer through winter and make a delightful addition to recipes year-round. Hot tip—leeks are rich in Vitamins B6 and K, as well as iron, manganese, dietary fibre, and folate. While they are often used in soups, leeks are hearty enough to withstand roasting, baking, frying and sauteing.

In this recipe, Chef Ted creates a flavourful puree from leeks and parsley that is added to a rich risotto near the end of the cooking process. Both the blanching of the greens in the early stages and the late addition of the puree to the risotto help the dish maintain a stunning shade of light green. Serve with seared scallops, or top with a crisp julienne of green apple for a vegetarian version.

Have you made this recipe? Tag us in your social media posts so we can see your creations!

A recipe card for a spring leek risotto by Chef Ted Anderson

Stirring Up Fun!

Calling kids of all ages! A fun family cooking class awaits!

Stirring Up Fun happens this Sunday, November 8th. This class is going to be so cool. Grab your kid-sized aprons (and your kids!) and master your family’s cooking skills with Chef Alain Chow of the acclaimed Vancouver restaurant, Kissa Tanto. Consistently ranked as one of Canada’s best restaurants since opening its doors in 2017, Kissa Tanto is basically… a big deal!

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stirring up fun - Family cooking class | november 8, 2020 | 3:00 PM
$50 INCLUDES ingredients from Whole foods market | $20 ZOOM ONLY

Chef Alain will walk your family through some accessible cooking techniques to help you make a delicious, nutritious, and vegan (but so good!) pasta dish based on Kissa Tanto’s famous Tajarin Pasta. How can stock infuse your pasta sauce with flavour? What is nutritional yeast for? Answer these questions and many more this Sunday.

Photo by Scout Magazine
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Our longtime friends, Whole Foods Market is sponsoring out From Farms to Forks Food Series, and also providing the ingredients you’ll cook with! The team at Whole Foods have carefully selected ingredients from their stores to help recreate restaurant-quality food at home.... with your kids! Sound too good to be true? We promise, it’s not! Ingredient packages will be available for pick-up at two convenient Whole Foods locations, with everything you need for the meal (except a little oil and salt) already assembled. Easy peasy!

Speaking of Whole Foods, Growing Chefs is currently the beneficiary of the fall 2020 bag donation program! All BC Whole Foods locations are collecting 10 cent donations for Growing Chefs for every bag you don’t take home. Don’t forget--pack a reusable bag, save the environment, AND support food literacy in your community… all in one.

Now, don’t see the word vegan and opt out! We’re telling you… Chef Alain has packed nutrition and flavour into this dish. And we purposely chose a cool vegan dish to teach you something new. You and your little chefs will learn how to use products you might not encounter every day and make something you eat all the time more nutritious. 

And, there’s more! A musical guest. No kidding! The maestro Matt Kennedy (who happens to be a Growing Chefs board member on top of being an incredible musician) will delight you with tunes for all ages following the cooking demonstration! Enjoy restaurant ambience in your own home, with a chef-coached meal and musical entertainment… you’ll basically be fine dining!

Matt Kennedy is a Vancouver-based singer-songwriter and member of several acoustic string bands including fan favourite "Farmteam".  Matt sings and plays guitar and mandolin.

Get your kids and grownups into the kitchen! Can’t wait. Hope to see you there.