Now I’ll admit, big appetites and scorching temperatures don’t often join hands - at least not for me.That probably begs the idea that I need to live in Phoenix or Las Vegas to tighten my waistline. An appetite that wanes with hot readings could be good news.
Reality is, even foodies like me are reduced to picking at food on days when mercury readings top 100 degrees - not really weather for filet mignon chased with chocolate souffle.
As promised, in my monthly homage to all of the local restaurants and restaurateurs who participate in First Friday’s newest push “Buy Fresh Buy Local” - combining a night of art with great food n I’m going to share some of the best recipes from this past Friday. And despite last week’s 107 degrees, I will boldly lead with pizza.
Tom Coulter, Biga’s top chef, sat down with me the other day to talk about pizza philosophy as it relates to culinary style and expertise.
He informed me that it isn’t just first Fridays that drive the small pizzeria to create food using local ingredients, it’s a desire not only to create food from a palate that is uniquely Montana, but a way to, as he put it, “give customers a taste of where we’ve been,” Coulter said.
Biga does a lot of traditional pizzas along the lines of Mediterranean and Neapolitan, but likes to mix things up with creative ingredient pairings based on experience cooking in fine dining establishments.
Their last uniquely conceived concoction? A roasted chipotle corn pizza with locally farmed bacon braised in local honey and then piled on a cracker-thin crust with cheese and fresh herbs to finish.
A hearty treat, no doubt, but in hotter weather Biga raises its game with creative salads that substitute for pies.
Foodies rejoiced the day Coulter laid out his sparerib salad made from the almost 200 pounds of Whitehall pork ribs the kitchen braised and bathed in homemade hoisin sauce for hours on end.
But then Biga is known for out of the ordinary, sophisticated pairings that transcend the concept of merely trendy eateries.
In the dog days of summer when eating pepperoni in a gooey sea of cheese may not appeal, try their recent special:
Melon-Melon-Kiwi Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (with balsamic-laced walnuts)
Salad:5 cups local mixed greens
1 cup honeydew chunks
1 cup watermelon chunks
Kiwi slices, 5-8 kiwis
1 cup dried cranberries
2 or 3 pears, cored; sliced
1 cucumber
Dressing:
1 1/2 cups lime juice
1 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Combine above in food processor, and add 2 teaspoons mustard. While running, slowly add 1 cup of olive oil and 1 cup canola oil in a steady stream while processor is running to emulsify ingredients. Add finely grated zest from four to six limes.
Add grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to taste atop salad, along with balsamic-laced walnuts. Soak walnuts in balsamic vinegar for three hours and dry in a 150- to 200-degree oven for two hours.
All this talk of food is making me hungry. So you can imagine that sitting down with Scott Gill, owner of Scotty’s Table, was like a dessert course to Biga’s main.
Gill practically lives and breathes the “buy fresh and local” mantra as a chef of one of Missoula’s best restaurants, and said he takes whatever is blooming and fresh when it’s available and he can get it. That’s because, he said, the growing season is short in Montana.
“You can’t possibly process all of the local fresh ingredients that come out, so you process them for later and use them throughout the year,” Gill said.
He loves to use ingredients like Flathead cherries, he said, but will soon put up local ingredients like beets and beans, or will pickle items, to capture something fresh for a later dish and time.
This past Friday, Gill served Seared Scallop Salad with Washington Cherry Vinaigrette, using Blue Willow’s local greens, local beets and snap peas from Clark Fork Organics.
“In about a week, this will be Flathead Cherry Vinaigrette,” Gill confirmed.
Seared Diver Scallop Salad with Flathead Cherry Vinaigrette
Salad and dressing ingredients:Diver scallops
1/2 cup cherries
Fresh field greens
Beets, cooked, sliced
Snap peas, blanched
Shallots
Goat cheese
Pan sear large Diver scallops 2 to 3 minutes per side in a hot cast iron skillet with butter.
Vinaigrette:
Blanch cherries in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and submerge in ice water. Peel skins and remove seeds. Put cherries and one small clove of garlic, one medium bulb of local shallots into food processor and blend. Slowly add one cup of canola oil while processing to emulsify. Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped basil to finish.
Blanch sugar snap peas in boiling water for 30 seconds and immerse in ice water. Pull string from pod after blanching, then toss pods with vinegarette. Arrange greens, scallops, vegetables and goat cheese and dress.
Food columnist Lori Grannis can be reached at 523-5251 or lori.grannis@missoulian.com.
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