Canada's Food Island: A Collection of Stories and Recipes from Prince Edward Island

By Farmers and Fishers of Prince Edward Island, Stephen Harris and Stuart Hickox

Globe and Mail National Bestseller

A sampling of seasonal recipes from Prince Edward Island and stories about the people, places and local ingredients that inspire them.

Canada's Food Island invites you to celebrate the Island’s farm-to-table cooking and meet the farmers, fishers and artisans who make those delicious dishes possible. From preparing the perfect lobster roll in spring and galettes filled with sweet fresh-picked strawberries in summer to making savory potato pizza in fall and roast turkey with an oyster, bacon and wild mushroom stuffing in mid-winter, you’re sure to find a favorite recipe to delight guests and satisfy your own cravings.

Canada’s Food Island combines nearly 100 inspired seasonal recipes with homegrown stories and beautiful photographs to capture the essence of the island’s unique food culture—a blend of people, place and locally sourced fresh natural ingredients. You’ll learn how mussels and oysters are sustainably raised and harvested, why Island beef is so flavorful and what makes wild blueberries so special. Whether you’ve spent time on Prince Edward Island or not, you’ll want to visit these pages again and again to experience a taste of the Island in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Royalties from sales of the book will go to PEI Food Banks with the mission to increase food security for Islanders by supporting Food Banks and the individuals who are in need of their support.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Figure 1 Publishing
• Release date: Apr 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781773272030

Farmers and Fishers of Prince Edward Island

The Farmers and Fishers of Prince Edward Island is a representation of all the hardworking people in the food industry on the Island. Every day they get up before dawn to farm, fish and deliver high quality food to markets around the world. This book allows readers to join them on a year-round journey of life and food on the East Coast which has been proudly labeled Canada’s Food Island.

Book preview

Color photo of a couple sitting on a rock at the beach with their back to the camera on a sunny day. Below, a color photo of two bowls of lobster chowder.color photo of two children, a girl and a boy, walking on a beachTitlePage

Copyright © 2022 by Lobster Fishers of PEI

All rights are reserved and no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, except as authorized with written permission by the publisher. Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced under licence from Access Copyright.

Cataloguing data is available from Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 978-1-77327-196-5 (hbk.)

ISBN 978-1-77327-203-0 (epub)

Editorial design and illustrations by Cassandra Tower

Photography by Stephen Harris except page 204–5 by Craig Harris

Stories and text by Stuart Hickox

Recipes by Haley Polinsky, Canada’s Smartest Kitchen + Jennifer Bryant, Shannon McQuaid, Gallant’s & Co + Tyler Gallant and PEI Potato Board

Food and prop styling by Haley Polinsky, Canada’s Smartest Kitchen + Jennifer Bryant, Shannon McQuaid, Kaley Butler, Stephen Harris, Lindsey Clark and Christine Dovey

Executive editor Kaley Butler

Assistant editor Marla Morrison

Recipe copy editing by Haley Polinsky

Art direction by Kaley Butler, Stephen Harris and Marla Morrison

Proofreading by Lucy Kenward

Indexing by Iva Cheung

Distributed internationally by Publishers Group West

Figure 1 Publishing Inc.

Vancouver BC Canada

www.figure1publishing.com

Figure 1 Publishing is located in the traditional and unceded territory of the xwməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

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Color photo of little girl wearing overalls carrying a towel and a basket of shells

Dedicated to all the farmers, fishers and makers of Prince Edward Island who work endlessly to deliver high-quality, sustainable and delicious food for consumers around the world to enjoy.

Page 7

close up color photo of reddish rocks and gold flecked dirt

Contents

SPRING

Spring Recipe Guide

Tong and Dory Treasure

Flexing Our Mussels

Setting Day

Lobster Bibs and Boats

The Cows Come Home

SUMMER

Summer Recipe Guide

Life in Your Element

Rows of Red and Green

Strawberry Fields

Beef Terroir

On the Farm

Heaven Sent

Bobbing in Awe

Wild and Hardy Blueberries

AUTUMN

Autumn Recipe Guide

Feed Your Soul

From Russets to Rustic Wedges

We Saunter Together

Wading for Cranberries

Apples and Secret Orchards

Identify That Oyster

WINTER

Winter Recipe Guide

We Come Together

A Winter Playground

Friends and Fa La La

Acknowledgements

Index

Page 9

Color photo of two people walking on the beach with the ocean in the background

Welcome to Canada’s Food Island

Prince Edward Island has had many names over the ages, from Epiket, the Indigenous word for cradled in the waves to the Acadian Île St-Jean, to the description of a meeting that made a nation. All, in some way, describe the special nature of this place.

Others prefer to refer to PEI by the sense of comfort visitors often feel here — the rolling quilt-like fields and woods, the gentle island of nurtured and combed spaces, or by the power and majesty of constantly changing coastlines where winters see earth and ocean wage war, receding to a fragile peace in time for setting day and a new sunny season. Amid all this, growers and fishers and makers of all kinds have always understood that what defines PEI is a balance between people and place, manifesting in a celebration of what unites us: food. This sampling of stories and recipes from our four seasons reflects our desire to share our home, Prince Edward Island, with the world.

On PEI, food is an occupation and a preoccupation. It’s a connector, a communion centrepiece of celebrations and life’s milestones. And here, food is synonymous with people and place. Our lobster is delicious, but is best boiled in seawater on a boat. There’s great anticipation entering a warm home with a roast in the oven, but it’s the folks around the table that make it a meal. New potatoes are somehow better when you get them from a roadside stand, or dig them yourself. And there are no sweeter strawberries than those served in early summer shade at a springtime social. You get the idea. On it goes.

Every Islander is connected with food in some way, from sustainable farming and fishing or innovative cuisine, to baking the butter tarts for family Christmas. There is an emerging awareness that everything we’ve ever needed has always been right here.

These recipes and stories are expressions of our nature — of who we are and where we live. If you can make it to our Island, do drop by. The tea is on. You’re welcome to stay. Meanwhile, try your hand at some of these recipes from Canada’s Food Island. You’ll be glad you did.

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Color photo of a brown wood crate with shells in it on the beach

Spring

Oyster Po’ Boys

Oyster Chorizo Queso Fundido

How to prepare mussels

Chipotle Mussel Salad

Mussel Tagliatelle in a Tomato Basil Butter Sauce

Spanish Mussel Gratin

How to prepare lobster

Lobster Roll with Browned Butter + Chives

Lobster Roll with Lemon Aioli + Dill

Lobster + Mussel Chowder with Baby Red Potatoes

Seafood Boil

Mussels with Cider Butter

Grilled Lemon + Prosecco Mussels

Fish Cakes

Steak with Lobster Dill Cream Sauce

Cheesy Beef Mac + Cheese

Potato, Beef + Mushroom Stew

Color photo of a beach at sunsetColor photo of man on a small fishing boat on the waterColor photo of two wood crates of mussels

Tong and Dory Treasure

PEI oysters are found in the shallow bays and estuaries along the coast as temperatures in deeper ocean waters are generally too cold for reproduction and growth.

Oysters are filter feeders, taking their nourishment from plants like plankton that are naturally found in the waters where they grow. As such, they cannot tolerate impure water. In fact, oysters naturally clean the waters where they grow and help reduce greenhouse gases by removing carbon dioxide from the ocean to make their shells.

Licenced fishers harvest the oysters on commercial beds, an industry that is complemented by private leases for oysters grown by aquaculturists. Oyster farming on Prince Edward Island originated in the early 1900s.

Both traditional fishers and growers are licenced and regulated. Minimum size restrictions apply to oysters. Undersized ones are returned to the ocean. The wild fishery adheres to a multi-year integrated management plan and annual harvest plans. The number of licenced harvesters is limited and regulations oversee the size of tongs, designated harvesting areas and seasons.

The Malpeque oyster brand is a staple of the Prince Edward Island seafood industry. Malpeques are gathered from small operations on bays and rivers across PEI — including, of course, Malpeque Bay in the northwest near Summerside. Fishers ply the waters in spring and fall with traditional oyster tongs and dorys in search of choice, standard and commercial-grade oysters.

Color photo of oysters on a dockcolor photo of oysters shucked and on a plate garnished by lemonColor photo of fishing boats on the water

The PEI Malpeque oyster became famous at a Paris exhibition in 1900 when the salt-water mollusk was declared the world’s tastiest oyster. The legend has only grown, as has the industry.

Color photo of a fisherman on his boatColor photo of Po Boy Sandwiches

Oyster Po’Boys

Total time 30 minutes | 2 servings

½ cup mayo

¼ cup finely chopped celery and leaves

2 tbsp finely chopped chives

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup buttermilk

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

½ cup cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

24 oysters, scrubbed, shucked, shells discarded

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 crusty submarine buns, toasted

1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced

Lemon wedges, for serving

In a small bowl, stir together mayo, celery, chives and lemon zest. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Add buttermilk to small bowl, set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together Old Bay seasoning, cornmeal and flour.

Coat oysters one at a time in buttermilk and then cornmeal mixture. Transfer to a plate.

Heat oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add oysters, frying for 1–2 minutes per side until they are crispy and golden. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Fry in batches if necessary.

To assemble sandwich, coat top and bottoms of the bun with celery mayo, layer on iceberg lettuce, tomato slices and top with fried oysters. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Color photo of Queso Fundido with a basket of oysters nearby

Oyster Chorizo Queso Fundido

Total time 30 minutes | 6-8 servings

1 fresh chorizo sausage, meat removed from casing

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ cup whole milk

1 pkg cream cheese (250 g)

2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

2 green onions, thinly sliced, divided

24 oysters, scrubbed, shucked, shells discarded

¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

Tortilla chips or fresh tortillas, for serving

1 lime, sliced into wedges, for serving

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat a medium-sized cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, crumble in chorizo and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through. Stir in flour, cook for 30 seconds. Then add milk, cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and half the green onions. Stir until mixture forms into a sauce and cheese is melted. Stir in oysters.

Transfer the pan to the oven. Broil for 2–3 minutes until cheese is bubbling and golden. Remove from oven, top with cilantro, jalapenos and remaining green onions. Serve with tortilla chips or warmed fresh tortillas and lime wedges, if desired.

Color photo of a fishing boat on the water at duskColor photo of a fisherman wearing overalls on his boat

Flexing Our Mussels

If you take a scenic route along the PEI coastline, you may notice lines of black buoys dotting the sheltered bays. This is a mussel farm. Islanders smile (and sometimes even brag) when they see PEI Mussels on menus in fine restaurants in big cities far from home. It’s because we know that mussel farming is not just a critical industry, but a cornerstone of many Island communities.

PEI mussels are farmed using a system called longline in 19 coastal areas around the province. Mussels are grown in mesh socks or on ropes suspended by those black buoys at the surface. The lines are treated with minerals that are abundant in the sand and sediment