This year’s Okanagan celebration of local food, wine and farming is being held in the Central Okanagan, at the former McCoubrey Farm in Lake Country, now owned by Matt and Molly Thurston and called Claremont Ranch Organics.
It’s the fourth Feast of Fields event, put on by FarmFolk CityFolk in the Okanagan Valley, featuring a couple of dozen gourmet tastes from some of the best restaurants in the Okanagan, along with paired sips from some of the top local wineries, breweries and distilleries.
To accompany this four-hour, wandering on-farm feast there is live, local music.
The emphasis, as it is in this column, is on local, seasonal products, which are wonderfully abundant by mid-August, from fruits and vegetables, to meat and seafood; local breads and jams, salsas and pastries.
I’ve been to every Okanagan event so far as a volunteer and had a chance to do some tasting when my tasks were done, and it is well worth the entry fee. Obviously lots of people agree with me because every event has sold out before it opened, so get your tickets well ahead of time.
Funds raised go to worthy causes promoting the consumption of local food and support for local farmers.
The date is Sun., Aug. 12, 1 to 5 p.m. Details at: www.feastoffields.com and click on Okanagan. Tickets can also be purchased online or from Choices Market in Kelowna.
For more recipes and ideas for using fresh, local food, in season, pick up a copy of my book, Jude’s Kitchen, at local bookstores, wine shops or wineries. It includes wine pairing suggestions by acclaimed wine writer John Schreiner.
Okanagan Saag Paneer Pakora
This recipe contributed by Pappadoms – Taste India Restaurant is the dish they will be serving at this year’s Feast of Fields at Claremont Ranch Organics in Lake Country Aug. 12. Jas Dosanj says this makes a light summer appetizer combining soft, savoury Indian flavours from the paneer and the crunch from local spinach. Pair these with the 8th Generation Vineyard Integrity Frizzante 2011.
Pakora:
3.5 oz. (100 g) grated paneer
l large white potato
1 tsp. (5 ml) fresh ginger
1 Thai green chili
1/2 tsp. (2 ml) salt
1 tsp. (5 ml) Poppadoms garam masala
3.5 oz. (100 g) spinach leaves
Batter:
3.5 oz. (100 g) chickpea (gram) flour
5 oz. (150 ml) water
pinch of Poppadoms garam masala
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) salt
3.5 oz. (100 g) spinach
vegetable oil, for deep frying
Paneer can be made at home using local milk, or it can be purchased from Indian shops or from Superstore.
Boil the potato and grate it; peel and chop the fresh ginger and seed, then finely-chop the Thai green chilli.
Roughly chop fresh, local spinach leaves for both the pakora and the batter’s outer covering.
Combine all the pakora ingredients together to form a smooth dough-like texture. Use your hands to divide the mixture into 10 equal, bite-sized balls.
In a mixing bowl, make the batter by combining the chickpea flour, water and seasonings.
Scatter the roughly-chopped spinach leaves on a tray.
Coat the pakora balls with the batter, then roll each in the spinach leaves and set aside.
Heat a few inches of deep-frying oil in a frypan or fryer until it reaches a temperature of 300 F on a deep frying thermometer.
Fry five pakoras or so at a time for about three minutes, until golden and crispy.
Drain and serve hot with a cool dip such as raita, or cucumber yogurt.
Makes 10 pakora balls.
