Recipes

The Zest of Winter

In 1520, as Ferdinand Magellan struggled to find the passage around South America, his crews slowly perished from scurvy. 208 souls were lost, out of 230, mostly to this disease. Twenty years earlier as Vasco de Gama opened up the spice routes to India, sixty percent of his crew also died from scurvy and yet herbal and dietary cures had been known for millennia. As Jonathan Lamb describes in his book ‘Preserving the Self in the South Seas 1680-1840’, more than two million sailors lost their lives to this debilitating illness between 1500-1800 AD. How ironic is it then, that as they opened up trade routes and explored new territories to the west, they carried within their ships holds the very substance that could cure them: The saplings of lemons, limes and oranges.

It was not until 1747, when James Lind, a Scottish physician in the service of the Royal Navy, proved that scurvy could be treated with daily doses of citrus fruit. The vitamin C was the antidote to the disease. Why it took the Navy another hundred plus years to adopt this regimen is somewhat mysterious, but so essential to survival at sea, it became part of English ordinances on all trade and war vessels. British ships were commonly known as ‘limejuicers’ and their sailors ‘Limeys,’ a nickname for all British people that remains to this day.

Although the precise origin of lemons remains unknown, there is evidence to suggest that they initially grew in India and parts of South-East Asia. Indeed India is the world’s largest grower of lemons and limes.

They were introduced to Europe by the Arabs and by the fourth century were farmed in Northern Africa, Sicily and Spain. Lemons became widespread in Medieval Europe but were often used as an ornamental plant, rather than a fruit. It was only as trades routes were developed that the culinary uses of the fruit that originated in India (in the form of pickles and condiments) and North Africa (in the form of preserved fruit) made their way into the cuisines of France, England and Spain.

From there they migrated westward and were introduced to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1493 who brought them, on his second sea voyage, to Haiti. Subsequent Spanish conquests throughout those territories furthered the spread of the fruit, but it wasn’t until the arrival of Spanish missionaries on the Californian coast in 1757, that lemons and oranges were established here. Nearly one hundred years later as California’s population grew with the advent of the Gold Rush so too did the cultivation of the citrus groves. California is now the largest producer of America’s lemon industry with more than fifty percent of the crop growing in Ventura County.

As the lemon migrated westward, so too have I. My travels and upbringing I realize, were oddly enough, flavored with lemons. One of my earliest childhood memories is that of standing in a very small, old and quaint sweet shop. Large bottles, glass containers that looked like apothecary jars and vast bowls were all lined up on wooden shelves and in ornate glass cases. They held jewel-toned sweets of every possible description and color. Sherberts, berwick cockles, barley sugar and Liquorice Allsorts lay in tempting mounds, lollipops in all shapes and sizes lined the tops of the cases but best of all were the lemon bonbons. Covered in confections sugar, these pale golden orbs - the size of a small grape – were deceptive. You’d pop one in your mouth and once past the sugar that powdered your lips, an intense lemon flavored sweet would slowly dissolve in your mouth. Your lips would pucker, you’d squeeze your eyes shut and suck in the sides of your cheeks. It was intense and fantastic all at once.

Lemons have been imprinted on my taste buds ever since. My childhood in London it seemed was filled with lemon flavored dishes; a luscious lemon chicken in our favorite Chinese restaurant; an unbelievably hot lemon relish in the local Indian restaurant that brought tears to your eyes, but somehow always left you wanting more; a delicately flavored Avgolemono soup from the Greek delicatessen around the corner and ethereal lemon tarts that came from my favorite French patisserie.

These were classics, but it was only as I arrived in California that I really discovered the pleasures and versatility of cooking with lemons, influenced by the multi-ethnic cuisines that are part of the states immigrant tapestry.  It was here that I first tasted Meyer lemons. They were a revelation. Their thin, delicate skin and sweeter flavor made them perfect for salads, and vinaigrettes made with these lemons had a distinctive flavor. Being able to eat the skin - akin to the preserved lemons of Morocco - they transformed dishes that I had previously made with regular lemons. The halibut recipe below is such a dish.

Lemons are a natural flavor enhancer. They are also filled with natural pectin making them indispensible in making preserves and act as the curing agent in ceviche, gravlax and other fish preparations. I think I have been on a lemon craze ever since. Everywhere I turned there were lemon and orange trees. People had citrus fruit falling all over their gardens. Whereas I grew up observing citrus trees confined to the, albeit beautiful surroundings of an orangery, here they were en masse on street corners literally raining fruit on the pavement. It’s hard to describe how fabulous that was to someone who lived in a climate where the temperature was rarely above 50 degrees for six months of the year. It was akin to having permanent sunshine in your kitchen.

I started making marmalade year round. Myriad varieties; classic tart orange, but also lemon-orange or four citrus which included limes and then I discovered blood-oranges. I remember having blood-orange juice in Italy when I was small, but again it wasn’t until I lived in Southern California that they became regular fixtures in my farmer’s market basket. Orange salads using this variety are visually dramatic and have an added floral note. Their sensational purple-orange color comes from anthocyanins which are enhanced by the cool nights and warm days that are a feature of our winter Mediterranean climate. They are also rich in antioxidants and vitamin C.  There are three main varieties, Moro, Sanguinello and Tarroco. The latter is the sweetest variety. All three can be found in Southern California during their November to May season.

It always seemed odd to me that what is thought of as the ubiquitous summer fruit is in fact in season during winter. The great pleasure however is that even on the coldest, wettest winter day you can have an invigorating dash of sunshine in the form of a Meyer lemon or a blood-orange. Both will enliven your food and bring a certain zest to the season.

WINTER CITRUS SALAD

From A Menu For All Seasons – Winter (reprinted with permission from M27 Editions – Publisher)

Winter is often seen, in food terms, as a time for warm hearty dishes and yet it is prime time for lots of citrus fruit, Meyer lemons and blood oranges in particular. Inspired by the classic orange and red onion salad of Spain and the North African tradition of preserved lemons, this salad is a nod to both. Meyer lemons which are so delicately skinned lend themselves marvelously to this dish.

Serves 8 people

4 oranges – peeled and thinly sliced

4 blood oranges – peeled and thinly sliced

1 Meyer lemon – very thinly sliced with the skin on

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon orange flower water

1 pinch cumin

1 pinch sumac

1 pinch cinnamon

Coarse sea salt

Black pepper

2 Tablespoons chives – finely chopped

2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves – left whole

1. Place the sliced oranges, blood oranges and Meyer lemons on a platter and arrange them in an appealing pattern.
2. In a separate bowl mix together all the remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and chives. Whisk the mixture together well to form an emulsion.
3. Pour the vinaigrette over the oranges and then dot with the chives and cilantro.

parchment baked halibut

with meyer lemons and shallots

Serves 8 people

4 Meyer lemons – thinly sliced

Olive oil

Coarse sea salt

8-10 large shallots – peeled and thinly sliced

4-5 sprigs lemon thyme

2 ½ lbs. halibut – cut into eight equal parts

1. Pre heat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place the lemons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Pour a little olive oil into a heavy-bottomed pan placed over medium heat. Add in the shallot slices and lemon thyme and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
4. Place the one eighths of the shallots onto a separate 12 x 10 inch piece of parchment paper. Place one of the halibut slices on top of the shallots and then cover the surface of the fish with some of the baked lemon slices. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Fold the parchment over the fish and seal the parchment. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Place the eight packages on to a baking sheet.
5. Bake the fish for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven, taking care when you open the parchment as this will release some steam. Serve with the juices from the parchment package.

This is excellent served with sautéed bok choy, spinach or some steamed green beans.

LEMON TART

From Pascale Beale’s Spring Cookbook – New Edition – Due out in Jan 2012 - reproduced with permissions Media 27 Editions - Publisher

Serves 8-10 people

For the dough – enough to line a 10” round tart pan (with a little left over) or to make 2 rectangular tarts:

7 oz flour (1 1/3 cups)

4 oz almond meal (3/4 cup)

5 oz unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon olive oil                                                                                                             

1 egg

1 Tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

1 Tablespoon pine nuts

Zest of 1 lemon

Pinch of coarse sea salt

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just combined. Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a large piece of seran wrap and flatten out a little – the dough will be slightly sticky. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Remove the dough from the fridge and place in in the center of the work surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll out the dough so that it is ¼ inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to a pre-buttered tart pan. It can be any shape you like as long as the tart pan has a removable bottom. Trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife and then prick the dough with the tines of a fork. Cover the dough with some parchment paper and place pie weights or some dried beans on top to prevent the dough from rising whilst baking. Bake the tart in the oven for 10 minutes, remove the parchment and weights and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool.

For the filling:

Grated zest and juice of 4 lemons
4 whole eggs (beaten together in a small bowl)

3 egg yolks (beaten together in a small bowl)

6 oz sugar (3/ 4 cup plus 1 tablespoon)

3 oz butter- melted (3/ 4 stick)

• Place the lemon juice and zests in a large bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat up the lemon juice until warm to the touch.
• Whisk in the whole eggs and then the egg yolks, being careful not to let the mixture boil as this will cause the eggs to curdle. Add in the sugar and melted butter, stirring until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take a little time, so be patient and do not turn the heat up.
• Pour the lemon mixture into the partially baked tart and cook a further 7-8 minutes or until the tart dough is golden brown. The lemon curd should not move if you jiggle the pan. Let the tart cool to room temperature before serving.

Holiday Treats

The holidays are upon us! This time of year is filled with delicious treats, sweet nibbles to munch on in chilly weather, a mug of spiced apple cider to warm your hands on, and musings about which desserts to serve for the holiday meals to come.

We have lots of sweet traditions in my family which draw upon the various parts of the world that we have called home. A Buche de Noel from France (yule log) on Christmas eve, Panetone (from Itlay) on Christmas morning, a steamed Christmas pudding (from London) on Christmas Day, mince pies on Boxing Day (December 26^th)  and many more. As we meet with friends and family around this time of year I also like to feature desserts that draw from the local seasonal markets. Citrus fruit and blood oranges are just the thing. I love the color of blood oranges and used in either savory or sweet dishes they are visually stunning. Apples are also plentiful right now, so I couldn’t resist adding in one of my favorite apple desserts.

I hope your holidays are sweet and delicious!

Blood Orange Salad with Citrus Mint Sauce

Serves 8 people

Juice and zest of 2 blood oranges

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 small bunch fresh mint – leaves removed from stems

8 blood oranges – peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

1. Combine the orange and lemon juice, zests and mint leaves in a bowl and set aside for 1-hour.
2. Arrange the orange slices on a shallow platter or on individual plates.
3. Pour the orange juice mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan. Heat the juice and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. When ready to serve pour over the sliced oranges. Serve with the cookies.

Meyer Lemon Nut Cookies

Makes 30 cookies

7 oz butter

2 teaspoons lemon olive oil

4 oz (just under ½ cup) sugar

Zest of 2 Meyer lemons

Juice of 1 Meyer lemon

4 oz Pecans and Almonds – roughly chopped

10 oz (2 1/4 cups) flour

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place the butter in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat, on medium speed until soft and fluffy. Add in the lemon olive oil and sugar, and beat again until well combined, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl occasionally.
3. Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice and half the flour and mix together at slow speed. Add in the remaining flour and all the nuts and mix again until the dough has just come together. Remove the dough from the bowl and combine into a ball.
4. Lightly flour a counter top or clean work surface and place the dough in the center. Gently roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch thick. Using a round, fluted cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Cook the cookies for 45 minutes in the center of the oven. They should be a pale golden colour. Place them on a wire rack to cool. They will keep for several days in a sealed container.

Apple Galettes

Sweet short crust pastry

7oz unbleached all purpose flour

2 oz almond flour

1 large heaped tablespoon powdered sugar

5 ½ oz cold butter – cut up into small pieces.

Zest 1 lemon

1 large egg

pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare pastry 
• Place all the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade.
• Use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough has formed a ball.
• Wrap up the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until ready to use. You can make the dough ahead of time and leave in the fridge. You will need to remove from the fridge approximately 20 minutes before using it.

Apricot jam

6-8 granny smith apples – peeled but do not cut them in half when you peel them. Once peeled, slice the apples – each slice should be a cross section of the apple – when you reach the middle of the apple where the seeds are, you will need to cut those out with the tip of a small knife.

1 tablespoon sugar

1 oz butter

Assembling the tart

• Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry dough into a circle, in an even manner so that the dough is no more than a ¼ inch thick. Roll the dough up on a rolling pin.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to the parchment paper.
• Using your fingers gently roll the edges of the dough so that the perimeter is slightly raised. Then mark the surface of the dough with the tines of a fork.
• Spoon some apricot jam all over the dough in an even layer, then cover the jam with the apple slices, beginning from the outside edge and working in concentric circles, so that each slice slightly overlaps the one before it.  The surface of the tart should look like a large open flower. Sprinkle the surface with a little sugar and dot with small pieces of butter.
• Place the tart in the center of the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. The pastry should be a golden brown colour. Remove from the tart from the oven.
• Heat a little apricot jam in a small saucepan and then, using a pastry brush, carefully brush the surface of the apples. Return to the oven for 3-4 minutes.
• This is delicious with a little crème fraiche or a little vanilla ice cream … or both!

Tasty Treats for Thanksgiving

Roasted Cornish Hens with Cognac Stuffing

wilted spinach and pomegranate salad

~~

Pear and Almond tart

Roasted Cornish Hens with Cognac Stuffing

Serves 8 people

4 Cornish game hens

For the stuffing:

3 sausages (choose either spicy Italian, pork, turkey or chicken of your choice) taken out of its sausage casing and cut into small pieces.

1/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup Cognac

1 cup orange juice

2 large yellow onions – finely diced

1 lb. small Crimini mushrooms – cut into quarters

1 lb. assorted dried fruit – apricots, prunes, dates etc of your choice – cut into small pieces

4 garlic cloves – crushed

1 oz Herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

2 large oranges – cut in half

olive oil

6 sprigs fresh rosemary

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large frying pan/ skillet cook the sausage meat for 5 – 7 minutes until just cooked and slightly browned. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, pour in the olive oil, Cognac and orange juice. Stir together. Add in the chopped onions, the chopped mushrooms, dried fruit, crushed garlic and the cooked sausage meat. Stir to combine the ingredients and coat evenly with the marinade. Add in the Herbes de Provence and some salt and pepper. Stir once more and set aside until ready to stuff the Cornish hens.
• Rinse the Cornish hens under hot water and then pat them dry. Place the hens in a large roasting pan and rub the outside of them with the cut oranges, squeezing out the juice of the orange over the skin. Stuff the cavity of the Cornish hens with the Grand Marnier stuffing. If there is any stuffing left over, spoon it in around the sides of the birds to bake with them in the oven. Drizzle a little olive oil over the Cornish hens and then top with the fresh rosemary.
• Roast in the oven for 1 ¼ hours. When cooked, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 – 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut each Cornish hen in half and spoon stuffing around the meat.

wilted spinach and pomegranate salad

Serves 8 people

Olive oil

2 shallots – peeled and sliced

1 1/3 lbs. spinach

2 pomegranates – seeds removed

½ bunch chives – finely chopped

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

• Pour a little olive oil into a large skillet or wok. Add in the shallots and sauté for 2-3 three minutes and then add in the spinach and cook until just wilted.
• Place the wilted spinach in a salad bowl, add in the pomegranate seeds, the lemon zest and juice and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the Cornish hens.

Pear and Almond Tart

For the crust:

7oz unbleached all-purpose flour

2 oz almond flour

2 tablespoons pistachios – roughly chopped

1 large heaped tablespoon powdered sugar

5 ½ oz cold butter – cut up into small pieces.

Zest 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

1 large egg

pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• To prepare the pastry, place all the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade. Use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough has formed a ball.
• Wrap up the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until ready to use. You can make the dough ahead of time and leave in the fridge. You will need to remove from the fridge approximately 20 minutes before using it.

For the tart:

2 tablespoons butter

2 pears – peeled and diced

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon sugar

½-inch piece of ginger – peeled and grated

8-10 pears – halved and peeled

1 tablespoon sugar

1 oz butter

¼ cup whole almonds

• Butter a 10-inch round tart pan.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry dough into a circle, in an even manner so that the dough is no more than a ¼ inch thick. Roll the dough up on a rolling pin.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared tart pan, ensuring that the dough comes up the sides. Trim the edges of any extra dough (you will have some left over) Then prick the surface of the dough with the tines of a fork.
• Place the butter in a small saucepan placed over medium heat. Add in the chopped pears, ginger, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine and cook for 5-7 minutes. You should have a soft pear puree. If it’s a little chunky, break it down with the tines of a fork. Spoon the pear mixture all over the tart dough.

• Carefully slice each of the pear halves from almost the stem end down to the root end. You need to be able to fan each pear half out. Place the pears halves, fan side out against the edge of the tart shell working your way all around the tart. Place the remaining pear halves in the center of the tart forming a circular pattern. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top of the pears.
• Place the tart in the center of the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. The pastry should be a golden brown colour. Remove from the tart from the oven.
• Place the almonds in a cast iron pan and dry roast them on the stove for 3-4 minutes. Dot the surface of the tart with the toasted almonds.
• This is delicious with a little crème fraiche or a little vanilla ice cream … or both!

An Autumnal Meal from the Markets

Cultivated in the Mediterranean basin for more than 10,000 years, olive oil played an important culinary, monetary and medicinal role in Greek and Roman history and its use spread throughout Europe in pre-biblical times. Thousand year old presses have been found in Italy, Israel and all over the Middle East, some of which are still in use today. Spain, now the world’s largest producer of olive oil, is responsible for introducing the fruit to the Americas. The beautiful sage-green trees are slow-growing and long-lived. California, now home to a large olive industry produces delicious fruity varieties.

Dotted throughout the markets of Provence are olive sellers, purveyors of myriad types of these delicious fruit, prepared in numerous ways: with herbs, with garlic, spiced with peppers, stuffed with anchovies and so on. I have long been a fan of olives and often use these different varieties to create new dishes. This one came about after a visit to the local market where I found some corn-fed organic chickens. Combined with the glazed carrots and olives they were a perfect match.

Our local markets now not only sell olive oil, but a great selection of native olives which are delicious for this meal. The Fusano Olive Company and Olive Hill Farm are two local producers whose fragrant product is available weekly at the local markets.

This is a delicious autumnal meal...

HERB STUFFED ORGANIC ROASTED CHICKENS

Serves 8 people

4 large sprigs rosemary – leaves removed

4 sprigs thyme – leaves removed

1 bunch chives – finely chopped

1 small bunch parsley – finely chopped

4 spring onions – finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon – quarter the zested lemon and set aside

3 cloves garlic – peeled and minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 organic chickens

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients (except for the chickens) in a small bowl and mix well to form a thick herb mixture.
3. Using a small spoon which you slip under the skin of the chicken, carefully spoon a little of the herb mixture under all the skin (between and skin and the breast meat) Do this carefully so as not to break the skin.  Salt the inside and outside of the chicken and then add in the lemon quarters.
4. Place the chickens in a large roasting pan and rub the outside with a little olive oil. Roast in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for a further 1hr 15 minutes. When the chickens are cooked, remove them from the roasting pan and set aside to rest before carving, loosely covered with foil.
5. Cut the chickens and serve on hot plates with the glazed carrots – see recipe below.

GLAZED CARROTS WITH OLIVES AND ONIONS

Serves 8 people

2 lbs organic carrots – peeled and cut in half lengthwise and then into one inch pieces.

Olive oil

2 yellow onions – peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic

4 sprigs thyme

Salt and pepper

6 oz olives – a mixture of black Provencal and Picholine works well

¼ cup chopped parsley

1. Place the carrots in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Drizzle a little olive oil over them and toss so that they are all well coated. Add a quarter cup of water to the carrots. Cover the carrots with a piece of parchment paper and then cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid.
2. Place the skillet over very low heat and cook for 1 hour or until the carrots are quite tender.
3. Whilst the carrots are cooking, prepare the onions and olive mixture. Pour a little olive oil into another heavy bottomed pan placed over medium high heat. Add in the onions, garlic, and thyme and cook until the onions are soft and translucent – about 10 minutes. Add in the olives and cook for another 10 minutes. The onions should be a light golden colour. Set aside.
4. When the carrots are cooked, stir the onion/olive mixture into them, adding the parsley just before serving.

FARMER TO TABLE

“What are we having for dinner Mum?” I get asked this question on a daily basis and I often answer, “I’ll let you know when I get back from the market”. I grew up shopping for food at the local markets on a daily basis and the habit has stayed with me. I feel inspired as I walk through rows of fragrant herbs, gorgeous vegetables, surrounded by the flowers and plants of the current season.

Autumn brings with it a cascade of wild mushrooms, piled higgledy-piggledy in great mounds on the farmers table crying out for a risotto filled with sautéed tubers; bulbous, sunset-hued squash sit plump and fat in hessian covered baskets asking to be transformed into fragrant soups; the arrival of autumnal fruits, flecked pears, crunchy apples with enticing names such as Honey Crisp beg to be transformed into pies and buttery crumbles and pomegranates bursting with luscious ruby red seeds are perfect for livening up a salad. The markets are filled with possibilities.

Sometimes coming across a special ingredient will trigger a culinary flashback. The same way an aroma will remind you of a place, a perfume of a person, so too can a dish transport you to a dining room half way around the world. Coming across farm-raised rabbit reminded me of a luscious dish my Grandmother Genevieve used to make. ‘Lapin a la Moutarde’. It was a crème fraiche, mustard sauce laden masterpiece. I would pray she would make it each I time I was lucky enough to visit her. My uncle and I once battled over who would clear the platter away to the kitchen, containing the last of this succulent sauce, made even more delicious when you could mop it up surreptitiously with a piece of baguette in the kitchen. We got caught of course, my grandmother walked in on us just as we were about to pop that perfect morsel of fresh bread, dripping with this unctuous crème in our mouths. She raised a disapproving eyebrow at me, ‘Pascale!’ but it was that good.

That entire scene flashed through my mind as I stood in front of Marcie Jimenez’s stand. At Jimenez Family ‘beyond organic’ farms, located in Santa Ynez on 35 acres, they have pasture fed lamb, farm-raised pigs, rabbits and goats, in addition to wide range of fruits and vegetables. Jumping at the chance to re-create this dish, I told Marcie the story as I purchased one for dinner. As it so happens she has one of her own. Stemming from a Greek-Scandinavian background, Marcie and her family often ate rabbit. Her family’s dish was Stifado: A Greek specialty, this cinnamon and spice, wine-laced rabbit stew features pearl onions bathed in a tomato sauce that cooks slowly in a stove-top Dutch oven. Her stew sounded moist and fragrant, a perfect match for the lean rabbit meat. I made a note to try her stew in the near future.

Now that I had decided on rabbit, I needed mushrooms for the sauce and meandered over to the Peacock Farms stand that always has tasty oyster mushrooms to choose from. Having picked up two baskets, and a dozen of their incredible, almost orange colored yolk eggs, which come from the farms evidently happy - free to roam under the peach trees - well-fed chickens, I spied some persimmons. I have to say that I have not in the past been a fan of this fruit. I don’t like its gelatinous texture. However I was persuaded to try one of the Fuyu variety and became an instant convert. I’ve been creating persimmon dishes ever since. They are wonderful in salads. I was intrigued by this fruit and spoke with Lynda Peacock, who along with her husband Scott, both 3^rd generation farmers from Dinuba, planted persimmon trees on their farm at the insistence of their Japanese neighbor. Lynda makes cookies and breads with the ‘squishy’ Hichiya variety and mentioned that they dry very well, preserving their bright orange color.

Persimmons originated in the orient and widely cultivated for centuries in Japan and China. There are also species of American persimmon trees, that were well known to Native Americans. The name persimmon is derived phonetically from the Algonquin tribe’s term for the fruit ‘putchamin’. There are two types of fruit; astringent and non-astringent. The former can only be eaten when fully ripened, otherwise it will taste extremely bitter but the latter can be eaten when still hard.  The Fuyu persimmon is one of the non-astringent varieties.

Lynda described a salad she makes with the Fuyu variety, combining the chopped fruit with walnuts, avocadoes and a vinaigrette. I’ll have to try that too.

At this point my basket was almost overflowing and I had yet to plan the last course of our meal. My father’s motto is ‘always leave room for dessert’. Walking through the market I was spoiled for choice. Pears, pomegranates and citrus fruit beckon but my eyes are dawn to the myriad apples piled high at the Fair Hills Farm stand.

David Rydell and his family grow about twenty varieties of apples. Located in Paso Robles, the 35-acre organic farm benefits from the 60 degree summertime temperature swings that help concentrate the fruits flavors. Braeburns, Cameos, Fujis, Honey Crisps, Galas and Jonagolds tempt passersby. I love combining different varieties in tarts and salads. David, whose family originates from Minnesota, says he likes Baked Apples, a dish that reminds me of blustery autumnal days in London where I was born. We are a world away from the raw weather that can so frequently be dished out in England – or the Midwest -  but just reminiscing about these apple filled dishes evoke images of coming in from the cold and eating warm apple crumbles, filled with spices. The apple dish I have in mind today may not be as hearty, but those flavors will all be there.

I call my daughter and tell her what we are eating for dinner.

Persimmon salad

Serves 8 people

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fig balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 shallot – peeled and finely diced

Salt and pepper

8 oz. herb salad mix or Mesclun salad mix

4 oz. Mache greens

2 oz. watercress

6 Fuyu persimmons – stem removed, halved and then thinly sliced

1. Whisk the olive oil and vinegars together in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Stir in the diced shallot and add a large pinch of salt and dome freshly ground pepper. Place salad utensils over the vinaigrette.
2. Place all the remaining ingredients on top of the salad utensils so that the greens are not sitting in the vinaigrette. Toss the salad just before serving.

Rabbit in a Mushroom and Mustard Sauce

Serves 8 people

2 or 3 whole rabbits, depending on the size, each cut into 6 pieces.

1 cup Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

5 cups chicken stock

1 1/2lbs crimini, oyster or brown mushrooms (thinly sliced) – if you happen to spy some Chanterelle mushrooms, these are wonderful in this dish

8 shallots – peeled and quartered

1/3 cup crème fraiche

1. Place all the rabbit pieces in a large bowl. Spoon 2/3 cup mustard into the bowl and coat all of the rabbit pieces thoroughly with mustard. Add a little salt and pepper and toss the pieces again. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Pour a little olive oil and a tablespoon of butter into a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan placed over medium heat. Stir until the butter foams and then sauté the rabbit pieces until they are browned and golden on all sides. This will take 8-10 minutes per side.
3. When all the pieces are browned, pour 4 cups of the chicken stock into the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for a further 25 minutes turning the pieces once or twice during the process.
4. Place 2 tablespoons butter in a separate pan placed over medium heat. Add in the shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in the sliced mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes so that they are golden brown. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and set aside.
5. When the rabbit is cooked, remove the pieces from the pan and place them on a warm serving dish in the oven to keep warm whilst you finish the sauce. In a small bowl pour the remaining chicken stock, the remaining mustard and all the crème fraiche. Whisk vigorously so that it is well combined and smooth in consistency. Pour this mustard mixture into the sauté pan holding the cooking juices from the rabbit and bring it a simmer. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan getting all those good bits and pieces! The sauce will thicken as you cook it. Add the cooked mushroom slices to the sauce, stir well and then return the rabbit pieces to the pan and then turn them over once or twice to coat them in the sauce.
6. Check the seasonings, sprinkle with chives and parsley and serve immediately.

Note: You can serve this with basmati rice or plain noodles, but it equally delicious without.

apple ‘millefeuilles’

Serves 8 people

4 apples - Granny Smiths, Breaburn, Fuji or Pink Lady work well – halved and peeled

2 tablespoons butter

½ vanilla bean – seeds scraped out

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch cinnamon

Pinch allspice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Slice each apple half into very fine slices. Keep all the slices for each half together. Place each sliced apple half onto the parchment paper.
4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan with the sugar, vanilla bean and spices and cook for 3 minutes. Using a pastry brush, coat each apple half with some of the apple-sugar mixture.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer each apple half onto a dessert plate. This is really good with a small spoon of good vanilla ice cream and the shortbread served alongside.

brown sugar shortbread

Makes 20 pieces

4 oz (1 stick) butter

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ tablespoon granulated sugar

6 oz flour

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place the butter in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat, on medium speed until soft and fluffy. Add in the sugars, and beat again until well combined, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl occasionally.
3. Add in the flour, vanilla extract and salt, and mix until the dough has just come together. Remove the dough from the bowl and combine into a ball.
4. Break off a 1-inch piece of the dough and roll it gently in the palms of your hand to form a spherical shape and then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Bake the shortbread for 35-40 minutes in the center of the oven. They should be a pale golden colour. Place them on a wire rack to cool. They will keep for several days in a sealed container.

Lavender – A perfume for food

 Written for Edible Santa Barbara - Summer 2011 - By Pascale Beale

The golden containers of honey that sat on my grandparent’s breakfast table were scented with the wildflowers and lavender of the French Alps. The jars had a distinctive flower pot shape with the name of the ‘apiculteur’ (honey maker) italicized on the side. The honey’s rich flavor matched the deep flaxen color. My pleasure, each time I tasted it was undiminished. Just the aroma of that honey made me smile. I longed to discover where it came from.

I had always heard about the lavender fields of Provence that lay about two hours’ drive away but for myriad reasons each attempt to visit them had been thwarted. Finally many years later I drove on the meandering small roads of Provence, through the picturesque villages of Cotignac and Aups along the narrow D957, around the beautiful Lake of Ste. Croix, through Moustiers-Ste-Marie and up into the hills leading to the Plateau de Valensole in search of those images that had so mesmerized me. Could those fields of lavender really be around the next corner, or the next? The hint of their sweet aroma indicated that they could not be far away and then, upon the crest of a small hill I glimpsed an undulating wave of blue flowers cresting to the horizon. It was magnificent.

I stopped the car, switched off the engine and stepped out into the early July sun, luxuriating in the breathtaking scenery. Juxtaposed with the lavender fields were acres of golden wheat and tens of thousands of giant sunflowers, whose large orbs traced the arc of the sun in the sky. Here were Van Gogh’s paintings come to life. My daughter ran through the tall flowers, each one gazing down on her. The air was perfumed with a multitude of scents and the constant hum of foraging bees. About those bees .. we were suddenly aware of just how many bees surrounded us and decided to leave them to their work in peace. The odd one buzzed through one open window and out another in the car, legs coated with nectar. No wonder the honey tasted so good.

We stopped in one of the tiny villages on the oft windswept plane. A slightly battered signpost by the side of the road had ten different placards nailed to it indicating local perfume distilleries, lavender shops, soap makers, candle makers honey farms and lavender museums.  The signpost a veritable illustration of lavender’s history and the many uses it has been put to.

Historical records indicate that the Egyptians and Phoenicians used it in their mummification process and in making perfumes. The Romans were responsible for its spread throughout Europe and England.  They used it in their baths and for medicinal purposes. The word lavender stems from the Latin ‘lavare’, meaning to bathe. English lavender fields stem from these times. Roman soldiers took it on military campaigns for a variety of uses, including treating wounds. Indeed its healing properties were first recorded in 77AD by a Greek military physician named Dioscordes (who was employed by the Emperor Nero) in his extensive work ‘De Materia Medica. He spoke of its merits in treating skin and throat ailments, indigestion and headaches.

It was also extensively used as a perfume for rooms by brushing it over the floor, to fumigate treatment rooms for the ill, and has long been used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. It is particularly soothing when treating burns and insect bites.

Fifteen hundred years later the plant was in high demand in Queen Elizabeth I’s court. She used lavender in many forms, from perfume to tea, the latter as a remedy for migraines. Lavender has since been used in everything from aromatherapy, soaps, and candles to detergents and medicine. During the First World War, lavender oil was used to dress wounds if medics ran short on antiseptics.

It was first brought to America by the pilgrims in the 1600’s and migrated with them as they crossed the country. California’s Mediterranean climate is particularly suited to the production of lavender, which brings me back to that honey.

Not long ago, strolling through the Santa Barbara farmer’s market I tasted some honey from San Marcus Farms. They have a raw, unfiltered local Wildflower Honey which is a transatlantic echo of the one I ate as I child. I stood with my eyes closed, my taste buds running a culinary film in my mind of honey’s past. I hope that they will have a lavender honey soon.  In the mean time I used the honey with fresh lavender from my garden to make a glaze for a roast chicken, the aroma of Provence and the central coast all rolled into one.

 It seems that old recipes containing the plant are common for jellies, preserves, desserts and sweets but its use as a culinary perfume of the savory kind is more recent. Over the last decade dishes with lavender have filtered through all parts of a three course meal. Any quick search on the internet will flood your screen with tasty treats filled with the blue flowers. It pairs well with citrus fruit and mint (it is part of the mint family), thyme and rosemary, hence its inclusion in Herbes de Provence. It’s wonderful paired with goat cheese and tastes marvelous with grilled meats and roasts. The more I cook with it, the more I appreciate the depth of flavor it can give a dish, although you have to be careful not to use too much. As with all perfumes, an excess of it can be overpowering, but used with a delicate hand, it is fragrant and enticing.   

GOAT CHEESE SALAD

Serves 8 people

1 tablespoon mustard

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

4 oz. Mache greens

2 oz. mixed salad greens

1 tablespoon lavender flowers – finely chopped

1 tablespoon parsley – finely chopped

1 tablespoon chives – finely chopped

2 sprigs thyme – leaves removed and finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

4 oz. goat cheese log

1. Combine the mustard, olive oil and vinegar in a salad bowl and whisk together to form an emulsion. Place salad utensils over the vinaigrette. Place the mixed greens and mache greens on top of the utensils.
2. Combine the herbs and zest in a small bowl. Place the goat cheese on a plate and then cover the goat cheese with the herb mixture, rolling the log so that it is completely covered. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Cut the log into ½-inch slices. Set aside.
3. When you are ready to serve the salad, toss so that it is well coated. Divide equally on salad plates and top each salad with slices of goat cheese. Serve with a warm baguette or olive bread.

ROASTED BEEF TENDERLOINS WITH A HERB AND LAVENDER CRUST

Serves 8 people

2 ½ - 3 lb beef tenderloin

Medium coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lavender – finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon thyme – roughly chopped

1 tablespoon chives – finely chopped

1 tablespoon oregano – finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lavender honey

2 tablespoons butter

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the tenderloin in a large oven proof dish. Pour a little olive oil over the meat so that it is completely coated. Sprinkle a large pinch of salt and pepper over the tenderloin.
• Roast for 15 minutes then reduce the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl combine the fresh herbs with a little olive oil to form a herb paste. Remove the tenderloin from the oven and spoon the herb mixture over the roast, pressing them in gently to adhere to the meat. Return the pan to the oven.
• Roast for an additional 25–30 minutes for medium-rare meat. The internal temperature should be 125 degrees.
• Remove the meat from the oven and let it rest on a cutting board, covered loosely with for foil for 10 minutes before slicing thinly.
• Place the baking dish that held the roast on the stove over a medium flame. Add the butter and honey and as the butter melts, scrape up all the delicious brown bits that will be in the bottom of the pan. Add a touch of hot water if necessary to create a light sauce.
• Place the thinly sliced filet mignon onto warm dinner plates and then spoon a little of the pan juices over the slices of filet. Serve with the braised endives.

BRAISED ENDIVES

Serves 8 people

8 endives - halved

Olive oil

Butter

Salt and pepper

• Trim the ends off the endives and cut them lengthwise in half. Peel away the outer leaves.
• In a large saucepan (large enough to hold all the endive halves in one layer) add a little olive oil and a large knob of butter. Heat until sizzling. Place each of the endive halves in the pan and brown on both sides – approx. 3–4 minutes each side.
• Once browned add salt and pepper and enough water to come 1/3 of the way up the side of the endives. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 20 – 25 minutes covered, turning occasionally.  Serve alongside the filet mignon with some of the pan juices from the endives.

Lavender pots de crème

Serves 8 people

2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream – do not use ultra-pasteurized cream as it will cause the pots de crème to separate

6 springs lavender flowers – coarsely chopped

5 ½ oz sugar (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon)

Just under 1/3 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons lavender flowers – coarsely chopped 

• Place the cream, chopped lavender and sugar in a small saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Then remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture will start to thicken in the pan.
• Divide the mixture evenly amongst 8 small cups or ramekins, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the mixture has set. Serve with a crisp cookie. 

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Written by Pascale Beale for Coastal View News - June 2011

A Sunday Summer Lunch

As we head into summer with those warm languorous days ahead of us, I like to think of meals to spend a Sunday afternoon preparing and sharing with friends. This is one of those meals.

The summer is also the time when stone fruit come into season with the farmers markets filling up with luscious apricots, pluots, plums, nectarines and peaches. I ate an apricot the other day that was perfection, moist, sweet and tangy all at the same time – just like the ones from my Grandmothers trees in France. One bite of that fruit and I was transported half way around the world imagining myself in her magical garden. The dessert for this meal is a tribute to her.

Have fun in the kitchen!

Slow Baked Salmon_with Orange and Fennel

Serves 8 people

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 fennel bulbs with fronds, trimmed, cored and diced – keep the fronds as the salmon will bake on top of it

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic - chopped

3 inch piece ginger – peeled and finely diced

1 tablespoon honey

Grated zest of 2 oranges

2 cups orange juice

½ cup white wine

2 ½ lbs salmon

1 lemon – very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the fennel, shallots, garlic and ginger and sauté for 3 minutes until the shallots are translucent. Add in the honey and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add in the orange zest, orange juice and wine and bring to a strong simmer. Cook for 30 minutes to reduce to half the volume. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve and pour into a clean saucepan. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
4. Place the fennel fronds in the bottom of a large oven proof dish. Place the salmon filet on top of the fennel fronds. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the fish. Pour a drizzle of olive oil over the salmon and then cover the surface of the salmon with the lemon slices and bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Whilst the salmon is baking slowly reheat the orange sauce. Just before serving melt 1 tablespoon butter into the sauce and stir in the chopped chives. Serve the salmon on warm plates with some of the orange sauce and the crispy greens.

SAUTÉ OF SPRING GREENS WITH GINGER AND LEMONGRASS

Serves 8 people

Olive oil

1 lb mix of collard greens, kale, spinach and chard – if the leaves are big, cut out the ribbed stem the chop the leaves into 1 inch wide ribbons

2 inch piece ginger – peeled and coarsely chopped

Coarse Sea Salt and pepper

1. Pour a little olive oil into a large sauté pan and add the ginger. Cook over medium high heat for 4-5. Add in a little more olive oil and the greens, stirring frequently. Cook for 5-10 minutes more. The cooking time depends on the thickness and size of the leaves. Add a little salt and pepper and serve warm.

Roasted Spiced Apricots and Raspberries in Parchment

Serve 8 people

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 inch piece fresh ginger – peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup orange juice

Zest of 1 lemon

8 cloves

16 apricots – halved

2 pints raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the butter in a medium sized saucepan placed over medium heat. Once the butter has melted add in the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla extract and cook for 1 minute, stirring continually. Add in the orange juice and lemon zest and bring to a strong simmer, remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Cut 8, 12 x 12 inch pieces of parchment paper. Take one of the eight pieces and place 4 apricot halves and 1/8 of the raspberries in the center of the paper. Pour 1/8 of the orange spice mixture on top of the fruit and add in 1 clove. Carefully fold the parchment paper over the fruit so that the fruit and the juice are completely enclosed. You will need to fold the paper a few times to get a complete seal and then tuck the ends of the paper under the fruit. Place the pouch onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fruit.
4. Bake for 25 minutes. When you are ready to serve, carefully place the pouches on a dessert places and carefully open the package. Steam will come out as you open it so watch your fingers. This is delicious served with vanilla ice cream.

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A Spring Lunch by Pascale Beale - From Coastal View News - May 2011

If you happen to be down by the pier, watching the local fisherman bring in their daily catch, you may be able to get some local halibut. Fresh off the boat, it is beautiful to look at and has the fragrance of crisp ocean waters. Eating fish this fresh is a treat and given that it is literally on our doorsteps one I would love to take more advantage of.

There are a number of restaurants in the Santa Barbara area (such as Julienne and The Hungry Cat) now working with local purveyors to get their catch, fresh off the boat. You can really taste the difference.

This recipe adds spices from the North African Mediterranean coast paired with sweet onions. Combine this with grilled leeks - there were some fabulous looking leeks at this week’s farmers market - and you have the makings of a delicious meal, particularly if you use some of the wonderful local avocadoes to make the ice cream for dessert!

MOROCCAN HALIBUT WITH SWEET ONIONS

Serves 8

2 ½ – 3 lbs Halibut

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons Ras al Hanout

1 large sweet onion

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon currants

½ cup white wine

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

• Take a small amount of Ras al Hanout and rub over the halibut and let marinate for about 20 minutes.
• In a large skillet melt the butter and olive oil. Stir in the 2 teaspoons of Ras al Hanout and add the onions and mix well. Cook until very soft about 15 – 20 minutes. They cook down to about ½ the amount.
• Stir in the currants and place the halibut on top of the onions then pour the white wine around the fish, cover and cook until done about 15-20 minutes.
• Serve on warm plates, sprinkling a little of the almonds on top of the fish.

GRILLED LEEKS

Serves 8 people

8 large or 16 medium sized leeks

Lemon olive oil

Coarse sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

1. Peel the outer leaves from the leeks and trim the ends. Cut the leeks in half, lengthwise and then place in a steamer. Cook for 6 minutes. The leeks will be still crunchy and not quite cooked through.
2. Remove from the steamer and place on a broiler pan and cook under a broiler for 3 minutes on each side. If you are grilling them on a barbeque, place them directly on the grill, but towards the outside edge so that they don’t burn and cook for 3 minutes on each side.
3. Place the cooked leeks onto a serving platter a drizzle the lemon olive oil over the top. Sprinkle a little sea salt over them and some black pepper. Serve with the halibut.

AVOCADO ICE CREAM

Serves 8

2 cups heavy cream -cold

1 cup whole milk - cold

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ripe medium avocado – about ½ to ¾ cup – skinned and seeded

½ cup sugar

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Put the mixture in a chilled ice cream container and mix according to the manufactures directions. If you have a Cuisinart ice cream maker this takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

Helpful hint. To get the most out of your avocado, take the backside of a knife and run it over the entire avocado. This helps release all the pulp more easily. Then cut in half and scoop out the pulp.

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The rituals of a meal

by

Pascale Beale

from Edible Santa Barbara March 2011

My French Grandmother, Geneviève Fay, kept a very formal household and meals there were – even on the simplest of days – fairly grand affairs. Each guest would use a minimum of three plates, two glasses, two knives, three forks and a spoon. More formal occasions necessitated a battalion of silverware to be lined up across her pristine tablecloths.

As a young child I was taught how to lay tables for different occasions, the placement of different pieces, calligraphy for place cards and the delicate art of how to seat ones guests. A very ridged hierarchy ruled when it came to whom sat next to whom. Seating arrangements in France and in many Latin countries dictate that to be seated in the middle of a rectangular table are the places of honor as opposed to the head of the table in the US and the UK. She orchestrated all of this with the elegant ease of someone who has dined in this manner for her entire life. I reveled in it, and in the grand tables, the cupboards full of etched porcelain and heavy linens. There was something enchanting, celebratory and imposing about this.

Even her picnics were majestic. We would drive around the countryside, find a suitable spot and in a relatively short period of time, a bucolic scene would unfold as the car would disgorge an inordinate amount of equipment, including tables, linens, folding chairs (for the adults), throws, baskets filled with pates, cheeses, wine, salads and fruit. Picnic silverware and linen napkins were de rigueur. I always felt as though I had stepped into a 20^th century version of a Monet painting.

Life in London on the other hand, where I lived for most of the school year was less ceremonial, and although we did not use regiments of silverware; large dinner parties with friends and family were a regular part of our lives. Same idea, less formal, just as much fun.  

So what is it about this gathering around a table that is so attractive and familial, and yet seems to have - in the space of one or two generations – almost disappeared from our daily landscape? Our schedules have certainly become more hectic. Children are often rushing from one after school activity to another and we all work. This daily gathering, so central to our lives twenty, thirty years ago, now occurs as little as once a week in many families, in some, not at all.

Much has been written about the effect of family dinners: that eating together more than four times a week has a direct correlation between better educational scores in children; a reduction in drug and alcohol abuse in kids; and the fact that people who dine together tend to have better nutrition than those who don’t. But putting aside those facts, it appears that the very essence of dinner; this shared communion both in terms of food and ideas, has become, for many people, something of a relic. It’s an occasion trotted out once or twice a year, for Thanksgiving, birthdays and the holidays perhaps. Why? It is too much work? Too complicated?

A meal in the traditional sense is akin to a good book. Its introduction entices you. As with a novel that makes you want to turn the page; the first course of a meal holds the promise of the culinary story that’s about to unfold. The dish will stimulate your appetite and your curiosity.

As with a novel’s core, where the central characters and plot are developed, the main course is the foundation upon which the entire meal was built. Flavors are layered and senses satisfied.

Dessert is the culmination of the gustatory journey. Where the novel’s plot is revealed, the diners reward is something delectable and sweet.  

Julia Child once wrote, "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."  So do all meals have to hold to this traditional format to qualify as a dinner? I like to think that the food you share with friends need not be an elaborate production, nor, in some cases, necessitate a table.

I spent many summers in France hiking in the Alps. We would often leave before dawn to arrive at the trail head at first light. We would walk in the crisp mountain air up to our favorite alpine lakes. After hours of rambling through mountain gorse and clambering over the steep summer goat tracks we would arrive at our destination and find a suitable spot to rest and have lunch before trekking back down. Propped up on a rock we’d unpack rucksacks. Lunch would consist of fresh baguettes (halved and slathered with butter earlier in the morning) filled with slices of ham. Tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and a good piece of gruyere were also on hand. Out would come a trusty Opinel mountain knife to cut the ingredients. Eggs were cracked against a convenient rock. We’d each find a suitable perch and eat together amidst the ancient silent splendor of those alpine valleys, retreating glaciers glistening above us.

This was not a meal in the traditional sense, but one filled with rituals passed down through the generations. Dessert was always the promise of a tongue-staining blueberry tart available in the mountain chalet at the bottom of the valley. We’d arrive tired, take off our dusty boots, dip our feet in the freezing alpine waters of a nearby stream and revel in the day. A meal spread out over a few hours and a few thousand vertical feet, but a meal nonetheless.

From a mountain top to an elaborate dining room, meals and their accompanying rituals can vary greatly but they need not be overwhelming, nor do they need to be dinner. A friend of mine, frustrated by the myriad after- school commitments of her many children, decided that breakfast would become the family meal each day. This was their time to connect with each other around plates of scrambled eggs, glasses of orange juice and cups of coffee.

The French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Tallyrand said, “Show me a another pleasure, like dinner, which comes every day and lasts an hour.“ Whatever the time of day, or the place, even if it’s just for thirty minutes, a meal shared, with its accompanying rituals, free of TVs, cell phones, text messages and ipods is surely a pleasure worth fighting for.

FRESH PEA SOUP

Serves 8 people

6 shallots – peeled and thinly sliced

3 spring onions – ends trimmed and finely chopped

1 bunch chives – very finely chopped

4 cups fresh peas

5 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Fresh black pepper to taste

1. Place the olive oil, shallots, spring onions and chives in a large saucepan and cook over low heat until the onions are translucent.
2. Add in the vegetable stock, salt and some white pepper and bring to a strong simmer. Add in the peas and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the stock has returned to a strong simmer. Remove from the heat.
3. Let the soup cool a little before pureeing it with an immersion blender or in batches, in a blender or food processor. Be careful when you do this in a blender as the lid can sometimes pop off if you have overfilled the blender.
4. Once the soup is thoroughly blended, return it to the saucepan to keep warm until it is time to serve.
5. To serve the soup, place a cupful in warmed soup bowls, add a dollop of crème fraiche in the center of the soup and garnish with the tomato mixture below.

For the garnish:

¼ cup crème fraiche

2 tomatoes – seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil

1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme

1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano

1 teaspoon olive oil

1. In a small bowl place the diced tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano and oil. Combine the ingredients and set aside until ready to serve. See item 4 above.

PROVENCAL LEG OF LAMB

Serves 8 – 10 people

1 whole leg of lamb, bone in and trimmed of almost all the fat.

7 – 8 cloves of garlic, cut in half and the green kernel removed

olive oil

Herbs de Provence

2 or 3 branches of fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

1 cup red wine

1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon cold butter

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Place the leg of lamb in a large oven-proof dish, rubbing olive oil all over it.
• Using a sharp knife make small incisions all over the leg of lamb, approx. an inch deep and evenly spaced. Insert a sliver of garlic into each hole.
• Sprinkle a large handful of the Herbs de Provence over the meat so that it evenly covers the roast. Add the fresh rosemary sprigs to the roasting pan around the lamb and add one or two sprigs on top of the lamb too. Sprinkle the lamb with some salt and pepper just before putting the roast in the oven.
• Place the roast in the middle of the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 400 degrees and roast for another 1 hour and five minutes (for a total cooking time of 1hr 20mins.) This is the timing for red meat – if you would like your lamb a little less pink add 10 minutes or so. Once the roast is cooked, remove it from the roasting dish and let it rest for at least 10-15 minutes before carving it. When you are ready to serve the lamb, slice the roast thinly and evenly.
• While the lamb is resting, pour off any excess fat from the roasting dish and then deglaze the pan with some red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the roasting dish and let the mixture reduce by half. Add the teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and then lower the temperature and let the mixture simmer. Just before serving add a tablespoon of cold butter to the sauce.

Endives salad with fava beans and herbs

Serves 8 people

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon olive oil

Juice of 1 Meyer lemon

1 tablespoon crème fraiche

Salt and pepper

For the salad:

8 endives – leaves peeled away and left intact – roughly chop the core

4 shallots – peeled and thinly sliced

2 lbs fava beans – both layers peeled away. Once peeled, sauté the fava beans with the shallots in a little olive oil for 3 minutes and set aside

1 crunchy sweet apple – cored and thinly sliced

½ cup black Provencal olives - pitted and roughly chopped

½ bunch chives – finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley – finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro – finely chopped

1 tablespoons fresh dill – finely chopped

1 Meyer lemon – ends trimmed away and then very thinly sliced

1. Place all the vinaigrette ingredients in a salad bowl and whisk together. Place serving utensils on top of the vinaigrette and then place all the salad ingredients on top of the utensils. When ready to serve, toss gently so that the endive leaves stay intact.

CLASSIC CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

Serves 8 – 10 people

3 cups milk

8 oz sugar (1¼ cups)

1 vanilla bean split lengthwise or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 oz unbleached all-purpose flour (2/3 cup)

5 large eggs

2 lbs cherries - pitted

1 tablespoon Cognac – optional

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a medium sized saucepan heat the milk with the sugar and the vanilla bean or vanilla extract. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a separate bowl place the flour and then whisk in one egg at a time. You should have a completely smooth batter. Slowly stir in the milk mixture. The batter should be very liquid but free of any lumps. Set aside.
• Place the cherries in a shallow round baking dish and add the Cognac (if using). Toss with a spoon until all the pieces are coated.
• Pour the batter over the fruit and fill the baking dish.
• Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes. The Clafoutis is done when you giggle the pan and it is set. The top should appear golden brown. Serve at room temperature. This dessert is also great the next day.

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From Provence to the Pacific

Written by Pascale Beale for Coastal View News - March 2011

Two-thirds of the country is buried under a frigid winter storm whilst we bask in glorious – if a little chilly – sunshine. Having grown up in the cold, wet, damp climate of English winters I can honestly say that California winter weather is one of the things I love the most about living here. Where else could you sit outside in early February soaking up the sun’s warmth? Add to that the abundance of super fresh produce cascading off the tables at the farmers markets and I’m in heaven.

I know that I wrote previously about leaks, but I would really like to share a couple more recipes that feature this versatile ingredient as this the perfect time of year for them. I love eating this for lunch, on the terrace in the winter sunshine.

LEEK AND ROQUEFORT SALAD WITH MIMOSA VINAIGRETTE

Serves 8 people

For the leeks and potatoes:

24 small creamer potatoes

2 ½ lbs leeks (try to find thin ones for this) – root ends trimmed

1 ½ lbs mixed greens

• Place the potatoes in a small saucepan filled with salted water and boil until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
• Wash the leeks carefully and trim away the rough green ends. Cut the leeks into thirds and place them in a steamer. Cook for 10 minutes. They should be tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain them and set them aside.

For the vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red wine or sherry vinegar

1 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

2 eggs – hard-boiled – mashed with a fork until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs

• In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and mustard. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking continuously until the vinaigrette is well emulsified. Add some salt and pepper and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Pour half the vinaigrette into another small bowl.
• Add the capers, finely chopped boiled eggs and parsley to the second bowl of vinaigrette and stir to combine to create the ‘mimosa’ vinaigrette. Set aside.

For the Roquefort toasts:

1 small baguette – cut on the bias into thin slices

6 oz Roquefort

• Lightly toast all the baguette slices. Whilst still warm spread some of the Roquefort over them so that the cheese melts slightly. Do this just before assembling the salad.

To assemble the salad:

• Pour ¾ of the vinaigrette without the eggs into a medium sized salad bowl. Add in the mixed greens and toss to coat well. Set out eight salad plates. Place a small handful of the tossed salad into the center of each plate.
• Pour the remaining quarter of the vinaigrette without the eggs into the small bowl with the potatoes. Toss to coat well and add a little salt and pepper to taste. Divide the potatoes equally and place on one side of the salad. Lay 3 or 4 pieces of the leeks on the opposite side of the plate and spoon the mimosa vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle a little coarse salt over the leeks. Tuck two pieces of the Roquefort toasts the salad.

smoked salmon, leek and lemon tartletes

Serves 8 people

Short crust pastry

9oz unbleached all-purpose flour - sifted

5 ½ oz slightly softened  butter – cut up into small pieces.

1 large egg

pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter either a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom or each of the individual molds.
• Place all the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade. Use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough has formed a ball. The texture of the dough made in the food processor is different to that made by hand. Wrap up the dough in seran wrap and refrigerate it until ready to use. You can make the dough ahead of time and leave in the fridge. You will need to remove from the fridge approximately 20 minutes before using it.

For the leek, smoked salmon mixture:

3 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and cut in half and then cut into thin slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 oz butter

1 bunch chives – finely chopped

½ cup crème fraiche

¼ cup yoghurt

½ lb smoked salmon – cut into thin strips

zest and juice of one lemon

1. Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium sized skillet, placed over medium high heat. When the butter is foaming add in the leek slices and cook for 7-8 minutes. The leeks will be soft but still retain some of their vibrant colour. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the remaining ingredients until just combined. Add in the cooked leeks and combine again. Set aside until ready to cook the tarts.

Assembling the tart.

• Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry dough on an even manner to the size of the mold. Roll out the pastry and cut out the dough to fit the individual molds.

• Trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife and then prick the dough in the bottom of the tart pan(s) with the tines of a fork. (This prevents the dough from rising into ungainly bumps whilst it is cooking). Line the tartlets with foil (shinny side down) and fill with pie weights. Bake the tartlets for 10 minutes.

• Remove from the oven, remove the pie weights (be careful as they will be hot) and then fill each one with the smoked salmon mixture. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Serve warm with a garden salad.

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Article and recipes written by Pascale Beale-Groom for Edible Santa Barbara- September 2010

The Farmers Markets

One of my greatest pleasures is discovering a new farmers market wherever I happen to be in the world. Having long meandered through the markets of Provence, savoring local delicacies in sun-dappled squares, it is wonderful to experience the aromas and peculiarities of a new locale.  In Venice for example some of the daily markets are set up on floating barges tied up alongside the various canals. You jostle with the locals and chat with the vendors to find the choicest bunch of grapes, fresh figs or local lagoon fish. It is unusual (for us) chaotic, charming and delicious.

Our local markets are no different. If you arrive early in the morning as the fruits, vegetables, flowers and myriad other products are being unloaded you will be witness to a pastoral scene that in some respects has remained unchanged over millennia - Local farmers bringing their seasonal wares to market. Granted the ‘local’ farmers travel further than there horse-driven centuries-old brethren, but the tradition is the same. Over the course of the year, we see the season’s cornucopia of produce as it is unveiled on the market stalls. What better way to mark the passage of time than to anticipate the six weeks of luscious apricots or savor the last of the season’s peaches?

In Europe this is a weekly if not daily ritual, repeated throughout ancient small villages and large cities alike. Many are known for their abundant markets: Aix-en-Provence has daily markets on the Place Richelem, Nice has its Marche aux Fleurs, London’s Borough Street Market is a veritable treasure trove of epicurean delights, and Paris has its sumptuous daily markets dotted throughout its various arrondissements.  They provide a common meeting ground where the dishes of the day are discussed with farmers, and purveyors of all the produce are always offering a tip on how best to prepare any given food.

Farmers markets have also been a part of US history but after WWII and the advent of large commercial supermarkets, outdoor farmers markets dwindled. There are a few that have survived. The market in Richmond, VA for instance, opened in 1779, and has remained in operation in one guise or another ever since. The Farmer’s Market in Portland, OR has been in operation since 1768, has moved location at least six times in its 242-year history and survived, but these are the exceptions.

Indeed in California it was illegal (for a period of time) to sell produce outside of a commercial market. The law – that controlled amongst other things, how food was sorted, packed and transported for sale - remained in place until the late 1970’s.  In 1977 farmers faced with a huge surplus of peaches forced the hand of this legislation by dumping rotting fruit on the lawn of the state capitol. Then Governor, Jerry Brown compromised, and the law was modified to allow the sale of produce in farmers markets.

Although there have been a handful of long running farmers markets in California, notably the market at Fairfax and 3^rd in Los Angeles, which has been in operation since 1934, long standing open farmer’s markets have been limited in this state.

This has radically changed over the last three decades. In 1979 there were only 12 certified farmer’s markets in California. There are 540 today – more than in any other state in the nation - and over six thousand in the US. There has also been a 16 % increase in farmers markets since last year alone, interestingly, mostly in the central, farm-belt part of the country.

As Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivores Dilemma said “Going to the farmer’s market, meeting farmers and learning what to do with an unfamiliar vegetable, is one of the most pleasurable things I do every week—infinitely more stimulating than going to the supermarket.” 

As consumers become more aware of their food sources and question the practices of large commercial farms, the demand for locally grown, healthy, organic produce has risen steadily over the past decade.

A fact that is born out here in Santa Barbara, as our own Farmers Markets have steadily grown over the past 27 years. The Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market was formed in 1983 and now has venues every day of the week but Monday. There were open markets before in Santa Barbara, notably during WWII. In 1943 local Victory gardeners and local farmers argued with the Santa Barbara Home Food Production Committee that their surplus produce would be plowed under unless they were given the opportunity to sell it to the local population. A month of negotiations followed when the local city council announced that the first farmers market would take place on Wednesday July 7^th 1943 in the 700 block of Anacapa Street. Although the first market was not a success, local support was enthusiastic and so the market was given a second try.  A newspaper article from July 10^th 1943 reported “Not since the days of the famed Old Spanish Days Fiesta has Santa Barbara seen the equal of the festive gaiety that attended the Farmers’ Market here today. That was the opinion of hundreds of shoppers who came to buy and returned with shopping bags and baskets heaped with dewy-fresh vegetables and fruit right out of the gardens and groves of the area” A comment that would be apt today.

Despite the fact that the population of the United States now spends less of their disposable income on food than at any other time in its history and less than any other people on earth – less than ten percent – it is heartening and encouraging to see that farmers markets are flourishing.

Wendell Berry once wrote “Eating is an agricultural act”. As you walk down State Street on a Tuesday afternoon, serenaded by the sounds of the market, entertained with the voices of street musicians and caressed with ocean breezes as they drift up the white tented thoroughfare, you are an active participant in that very special act.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PUMPKIN SOUP

I adore this soup. The aroma when the butternut squash and pumpkin are roasting is sweet and tantalizing. The color is beautiful and the taste is rich, unctuous and evocative of everything to do with the flavors of the season.

Serves 6 – 8 people

1 medium butternut squash - halved and seeded

1 small pumpkin – halved and seeded

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion - thinly sliced

5 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Brush a little olive oil on a baking sheet and place the squash and pumpkin cut-side down. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop the pulp out of the shell. You should have about 6-7 cups of pulp. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 – 10 minutes.
• Add the squash and pumpkin pulp and vegetable stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup or puree it in a blender or food processor and then strain through a medium strainer into a warmed soup tureen. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Healthy Family Farms Chicken

Serves 8 people

4 large sprigs rosemary – leaves removed

4 sprigs thyme – leaves removed

1 bunch chives – finely chopped

1 small bunch parsley – finely chopped

4 spring onions – finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon – quarter the zested lemon and set aside

3 cloves garlic – peeled and minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 organic chickens

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients (except for the chickens) in a small bowl and mix well to form a thick herb mixture.
3. Using a small spoon which you slip under the skin of the chicken, carefully spoon a little of the herb mixture under all the skin (between and skin and the breast meat) Do this carefully so as not to break the skin.  Salt the inside and outside of the chicken and then add in the lemon quarters.
4. Place the chickens in a large roasting pan and rub the outside with a little olive oil. Roast in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for a further 1hr 15 minutes, turning the chickens once or twice so that all sides a re evenly browned. When the chickens are cooked, remove them from the roasting pan and set aside to rest before carving, loosely covered with foil.
5. Cut the chickens and serve on hot plates with the vegetables – see recipe below. 

TOMATO CRUMBLE

Serves 8 people

16 medium sized tomatoes – cut in half cross-wise

olive oil

fresh thyme and rosemary – a few sprigs of each, stems removed and coarsely chopped

salt and pepper

4 oz flour

3 oz bread crumbs

3 oz grated parmesan

4 oz butter – cut into small pieces

2 oz pine nuts

6 oz soft goat cheese

2 Tablespoons yogurt

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place the tomatoes cut side up in an oven proof dish that is large enough to hold all the tomatoes in one layer. Drizzle some olive oil all over the tomatoes and then add the chopped thyme and rosemary over the top of them. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 2 hours.
3. To prepare the crumble, place the flour, bread crumbs and half the parmesan in a medium sized bowl, mixing them together. Add the butter and using the tips of your fingers slowly incorporate it into the flour mixture. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil as necessary and continue to mix the flour mixture. The flour mixture should resemble a traditional crumble.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the oven (there should be no liquid around the bottom of the tomatoes) and then turn the oven up to 425 degrees. Spread the crumble mixture all over the tomatoes. Sprinkle the pine nuts and the remaining parmesan over the crumble and drizzle a little olive oil over the whole dish.  Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.
5. Whilst the crumble is in the oven whisk together the crème fraiche, yogurt and goat cheese in a small bowl. Serve with the hot tomato crumble.