Sooke Harbour House is a world famous bed and breakfast in British Columbia, Canada. They have a large herb and flower garden and grow their own edible flowers for use with the four star dishes they serve. They have kindly given us permission to share some of their delicious gourmet edible flower recipes with you.

For more information visit the Sooke Harbour House web site.

Pour all the ingredients into a blender. Blend at high speed until smooth and colorful,
Approximately 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a jar and let sit for 2 days in a cool, dark place. The petals will settle. Use the clean oil, or stir and use with the sediment.

Add miso and water to a blender. Blend at high speed. Add 1 cup calendula
Petals and blend until liquefied. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil. Sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Add rice and stir. Make sure all of the grains of rice are coated with oil. Add the calendula liquid. Bring the entire mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining calendula petals. This can be placed in a Japanese rice mold. The cooked rice holds it shape when pushed out of the mold onto the plate. Serves 6 to 8.

Custard:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons anise hyssop flowers
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

Garnish:
2 cups Black Pansy Syrup (recipe below)
6 teaspoons anise hyssop flowers
6 anise hyssop leaves
6 black pansy flowers

Combine milk and cream. Pour half this mixture into a small sauce pan with sugar and the anise hyssop flowers. Scald the mixture over low heat. Remove from heat and add Remaining milk mixture. Stir well and set aside to cool. Cover and refrigerate over night, if possible. The length of time allotted to let the anise hyssop steep in this mixture will greatly affect the finished product.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9-by-13-inch Pyrex or aluminum pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of custard molds. Put this prepared bain marie into the oven. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks well. Add the cooled infused milk mixture. Combine well and pour equal amounts into 6 clean, dry custard molds. Bake custard in the bain marie for 25 to 30 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a small knife into the center of a custard. If clean when removed, it is properly cooked. Use a pair of tongs to remove custard molds from the bain marie to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Remove the custard by running a small knife around the edge of the mold and inverting directly onto a serving plate. Pour the syrup over the top of the custard. Decorate each plate with 1 teaspoon of anise hyssop flowers, 1 anise hyssop leaf and 1 black pansy. Serves 6.

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup black (or dark purple) pansy petals, loosely packed

Put pansy petals into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add 1/3 cup sugar. Grind pansies into sugar by pulsing 4 times, then process for about 30 seconds. Combine sugar, pansy/sugar mixture and water in a small, no aluminum saucepan. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil. Stir once and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer and cook to a syrup stage. (If you have a candy thermometer, do not allow the mixture to go over 220F.) When mixture reaches a syrup stage, remove it from the heat and pour into heatproof container. Allow to cool. The rich dark color is a wonderful contrast when poured over vanilla ice cream. Makes about 1 cup syrup.

Sauce:
3 tablespoons shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons sweet (unsalted) butter
1 cup Chenin Blanc wine (or Sauvignon Blanc)
2 cups white fish stock, preferably rockfish stock made without wine
1 cup fresh peas, hulled
1 tablespoon winter savory, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
1/2 cup pea blossoms with shoots attached
2 tablespoons nasturtium leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 ounces sweet (unsalted) butter cut into 1/2 -inch cubes
1 pinch nutmeg, finely grated

In a medium saucepan over heat, sauté the shallots in 1-1/2 tablespoons butter until they are translucent. Do not burn. This should take about 4 minutes. Add the wine and fish stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until liquid is reduced by half. Lower the heat to a simmer, add peas and chopped herbs. Cook until peas are tender, but still retaining their vibrant color. This should take about three minutes. Add the pea blossoms and nasturtium leaves, and continue to cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Pour sauce into a blender or food processor. Add the vinegar and blend at a low speed. While blending, add the remaining butter bit by bit. Blend until the mixture is very smooth. Add nutmeg. Strain the sauce through a coarse strainer. Set sauce aside without returning it to the stove. The steaming of the fish is very quick, and if you reheat the sauce, it will dull the vibrant color of the sauce and diminish the attractiveness of this disk for presentation.

Fish
4 6- ounce vermillion rockfish fillets
4 4-by-6-inch rectangles of parchment paper or buttered aluminum foil

Place one portion of fish on each piece of parchment paper. Bring the water in a steamer to a light boil. Lay each portion of fish, paper side down, into the steamer. Cover the steamer. Steam the fish until the flesh is opaque and firm, but not flaky. This should take approximately 4 minutes. Remove the cooked fish from the steamer. To serve, spoon the warm sauce onto each plate. Transfer the fish from the paper and place the fillet over the sauce. Garnish with additional pea blossoms, if desired. Serves 4.