Start your remotes! Top Chef Canada is returning to Food Network Canada for an incredible 11th season on Monday, October 14, and there are 10 new awesome chefs from across the country vying for the title of Canada’s top chef. Among them, several fierce female foodies are showing their stuff, and we had the chance to ask these ladle-wielding ladies about themselves and their fave fall recipe. Bon appetit! —Noa Nichol
Tell us who you are and a bit about yourself
I am Lisa Ahier Chef and Co-owner of Sobo. I’m currently living in Tofino and my mother worked in restaurants so naturally I gravitated towards hospitality when I was 13.
I enrolled at the CIA in Hyde Park New York at the age of 34. I guess I am a late bloomer. After Culinary school I went straight into an executive Chef position at an exclusive high end luxury property in Shafter Texas. And went back to Tofino and opened a food truck in 2003. I opened Sobo (short for Sophisticated Bohemian) and the truck was a grand ride but eventually we grew out of our space and moved into brick and mortar location where we did business for another 15 years. During those 20 years of Sobo I also penned a few cookbooks.
In Septembe 2023, I closed Sobo Restaurant so I could explore other options. I have been working on my frozen products to roll out in grocery stores across Canada and that’s a full time job in itself. The Sobo Wild Salmon Chowder was featured on Dragons Den garnering several offers but in the end for now I am doing it myself. Hopefully by the time Top Chef Canada is over my brand will be in stores everywhere.
What are you looking forward to most about this season of Top Chef Canada?
What I am looking forward to the most with season 11 of Top Chef Canada is that the viewers will embrace the diverse group of Chefs that are the community of Canada. We are all colours, shapes, religions and sexual orientations. The casting is so relevant to the times. We all deserve a chance to show our strengths and skills to the world. We all belong, we are all equal and will compete to the best of our abilities.
Is there a specific/special/close-to-your-heart dish you were hoping to make the judges going into the competition?
Going into this competition there were so many dishes I wanted to do but the unexpected challenges and criteria did not allow for that.
Can you share a recipe with us?
This recipe is a Seared Halibut, Spot Prawn Potato Gnocchi, Carrot Orange Sauce with Fiddleheads and Asparagus.
Lisa Ahier’s Spot Prawns With Gnocchi & Carrot Orange Sauce
Carrot and Orange Sauce:
4 cups Carrot Juice
1.5 cups Orange Juice
1/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/3 cup Dry White Wine
3/4 cup Whipping Cream
6 tbsp Cold Butter, cut into small cubes
Gnocchi
5-6 medium russet potatoes
1 cup flour
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Prawns
3 Tbsp olive oil
24 spot prawns, peeled and deveined
Salt
Wilted Spinach
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lb spinach
2 tsp minced shallots
½ tsp Salt
In this recipe everything except the sauce is sautéed almost simultaneously at the end, and it all comes together very quickly. I tackle it by preparing the sauce and the gnocchi ahead of time (sometimes earlier in the day), Then, when I’m ready to serve, reheating the sauce and sautéing the gnocchi, prawns and spinach at the last minute.
Sauce
Combine the carrot juice, orange juice, vinegar and white wine in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. You will need enough room in the pan for the mixture to get foamy as it heats and the volume to double. Bring to a boil, uncovered, whisking occasionally, until it has reduced to about 2 cups. This will take at least 30 minutes. The idea is to remove all the extra water from the juices.
In a separate pot, bring the cream just barely to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to low and simmer uncovered until it has reduced by half. This should take about 10 minutes. Whisk the warm cream into the carrot reduction over low heat. Very slowly add the cold butter, a few cubes at a time to let the sauce emulsify, whisking as you add.
Set aside the sauce until you are ready to serve; you should refrigerate it if you will be longer than 2 hours. When you are ready to serve, warm the sauce slowly over low heat, while you finish the gnocchi and prepare the prawns and wilted spinach.
Gnocchi
Preheat the over to 400°F.
Bake the potatoes, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until soft all the way through. Remove from the oven and set aside until they are cool enough to handle.
Fill a large stock pot with very heavily salted water and bring it to a boil. Lightly oil a large baking sheet.
Scoop the potato flesh out of the potato skins and put it though a ricer or a food mill. You can mash by hand if you prefer but the potatoes will not be as light and fluffy. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the potatoes and add half the flour and the egg yolks. Using a dough scraper (or the back of a knife) cut the flour and egg yolks into the potatoes until all the flour has been incorporated. Work quickly but gently to keep the potatoes warm and pliable. If the dough remains sticky, incorporate more flour, a little at a time, until it is the consistency to roll out smoothly. Stop adding flour before the dough becomes dry or flaky.
Using your hands, form the potato dough into a ball. knead it a few times, then roll it into a rope about ¾ – inch wide. Cut the dough into pieces about 1-inch long.
Working batches put the gnocchi into the boiling water for about a minute, until they float. Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the water ad set them on the prepared baking sheet to cool. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Set aside the gnocchi until you are ready to serve.
When ready to serve, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add 1tbsp olive oil. Gently add enough gnocchi to fill about half the pan. It’s important to heat your pan enough ad avoid overcrowding it. Otherwise you will end up with mushy potato dumplings instead of light fluffy gnocchi.
Toss the gnocchi frequently and cook until hot and throughout and lightly golden brown. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Keep the gnocchi warm while you prepare the prawns and wilted spinach.
Prawns
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat and add 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Working in batches, gently place the prawns in the hot pan. Being careful not to overcrowd it. Season with salt to taste and sear for 30 seconds on each side or until pink and white. Do not overcook! Add more olive oil as needed to cook the remaining prawns.
Wilted Spinach
In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat the olive oil to the smoking point. Add the spinach all at once and start to toss immediately with tongs. Add the shallots and salt. The spinach will wilt very quickly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and be ready to serve immediately.
Toss the gnocchi gently with the warm sauce and the prawns. Serve with the wilted spinach on top.
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