Wider Horizons
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Chef Tyler Ivey looks to local farmers when it comes to cooking up the delicious dishes served at Mocha Cabana, where he has been working as a chef for two years.

For this issue of Wider Horizons, he created a recipe that reflected “the best of summer and the best of fall,” with lots of vegetables that could be found at the farmer’s market or in a backyard garden. He also wanted a recipe that was both flexible and easy enough for college students to make in their residences on a weekend night to nourish and delight their friends.

Ivey said he was inspired to come to the college by his mother, who had completed Culinary courses about 10 years before he started, and he’s been cooking throughout southern Alberta ever since. Given the chance to advise new Culinary students on navigating the gastronomic road ahead, he says he’d tell them that “the best way to learn is through hard work, dedication and commitment. Just hang in there. It is a tough industry to be in, but it's very rewarding in the end. A big reason why I like to cook is just to see the faces of people when they're eating the food I’ve made.”

 


 

Ingredients (Serves 2)

 

2 ................................................ chicken breasts – whole

2 tbsp ..................................................................olive oil

dash ........................................................ salt and pepper

1 tsp ............................................................... dry parsley

½ cup ............... dry rice jasmine (or your favourite rice)

1 cup .................................................................cold water

1 cup ...................................................diced yellow onion

1 tbsp ..........................................................minced garlic

1 cup ............................................. cucumber – half slices

1 cup .............................................................. diced celery

1 cup ...........................................................diced peppers

1 cup ..................................................halved mushrooms

¼ tsp ............................................................dry oregano

¼ tsp ............................................................... dry thyme

¾ tsp.......................................................................... salt

1 398-ml can ........................................... diced tomatoes

¼ cup ...............................................................fresh basil

Method

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
  2. Wash and prep all vegetables.
  3. Combine rice with cold water in a pot (use a pot with a lid).
  4. Place chicken breasts in a bowl. Add half the oil with a dash of salt and pepper and dry parsley. Toss until evenly coated.
  5. Place the chicken on a parchment-lined baker’s tray, and place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes (or until the meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F or 74°C).
  6. Bring the rice pot to a boil; cover and reduce the heat to low, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
  7. Add the second half of the oil to a small sauce pot. When it is hot, add onions, garlic, cucumber, celery, peppers and mushrooms. Cook for three minutes or until vegetables are starting to soften.
  8. Add oregano, thyme and salt to the vegetables. Turn up the heat and add the can of diced tomatoes. Reduce the liquid by half, cooking for about five minutes.
  9. Remove all items from heat. Mix vegetables with the rice. Slice the chicken breasts and place on top of the rice and stewed vegetable mix.
  10. Serve with fresh basil chiffonade, rolling the leaves up and slicing them into thin ribbons.

To book a table at Mocha Cabana, call 403-329-6243. And to book a table in Lethbridge College’s Garden Court Restaurant, where Ivey and other chefs around the region learned the restaurant business, call 403-320-3230.

Wider Horizons
Recipe by Chef Tyler Ivey | Photos by Rob Olson
Original Publication Date: