The sort of hearty apple salad I love. It has heirloom apples, shaved celery, and toasted nuts of your choosing. The dressing is creamy and spiked with rosemary, garlic and champagne vinegar.
Inspired by a loaf of 100% einkorn bread passed to me by a friend (and the cookbook by Silvena Rowe I had in my bag at the time) - a beet caviar. Perfect for slathering - sweet earthiness of roasted beets accented with toasted walnuts, chives, dates, and a swirl of creme fraiche.
A simple summer melon salad. Sweet chunks of melon combine with toasted almonds for crunch, serrano chiles and scallions counter the sweet, there's small dollops of crème fraîche, cilantro, and a wash of sake. A real summer refresher.
Camino in Oakland hosted a celebration dinner last week based on recipes included in Near & Far - I though I'd share some photos. Also, one of my favorite soups made the menu that night(!) and I've included the recipe here - a brothy, restorative barley soup with chicories punctuated with flecks of preserved lemon, a bit of chile confetti, and a silky dollop of creme fraiche.
The quickest and easiest of lunches. Soba noodles tossed with dollops of crème fraîche, and showered with lots of chives and grated hard-boiled egg yolk.
There is an wonderful Sopa Verde de Elote (green corn soup) in Diana Kennedy's Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico published in 1978, I used it as inspiration for this variation - sweet corn and peas are off-set by a spike of green chile, a finishing dollop of creme fraiche, and generous squeeze of lime.
A fennel mushroom recipe inspired by one of my vintage cookbooks, The Seasonal Kitchen by Perla Meyers. It's a simple, brilliant twist on everyday sauteed mushrooms with dill, chives, fresh fennel, and a kiss of creme fraiche.
Because I can't seem to get enough farro lately- a lunch made from farro, bocconcini, a bit of homemade creme fraiche, and herbs from last weeks farmers' market. And a couple pics from Golden Gate Park.
I prefer this barley-based risotto recipe to many other rice based versions - and it is more nutritious. A pearl barley base is accented with white wine, creme fraiche, lots of meyer lemon zest, chopped greens, and Parmesan cheese.
From Skye Gyngell's cookbook A Year in my Kitchen this simple, satisfying cauliflower soup recipe is perfect served up with a bit of cold winter weather.