Cooking with VDG Salumi

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with talented chef Stuart Kirton, co-founder of VDG Salumi. This local company started as a passion project of curing meats at home, and can now be found feeding purveyors of cured meats in restaurants in Calgary and Canmore, as well as grocery stores and supermarkets across the province. 

The first thing I'm sure you think of when we're talking about handcrafted, small batch, Italian salumi is eating it straight up, charcuterie board style. And this is exactly what we did. Picture proof:

Pictured here: Sopressata, Guanciale, Coppa, Finocchiona

But of course I figured this was a great opportunity to pick Stuart's brain and have him teach me a few awesome recipes using his products. Also, I really just get excited when other people cook for me since it doesn't happen often, so I put on my stretchy pants and took full advantage of having a private chef at my disposal. 

I won't leave ya'll hanging without links to the recipes and photos. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. P.s. please check out https://www.vdgsalumi.com/ if you're wanting to learn more or find out where to buy it!

Spiced Sweet Potato Salad with Hazelnuts and Coppa

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Prawns and Sopressatta

Roasted Pork Sirloin with Carrots, Gingerbread and Guanciale