Both recipes in this week's new-look column were inspired by a recent trip to California, which has a climate similar to that of the Med and is blessed with wonderfully fertile soil. Olives, figs, plums, grapes, citrus fruit and every green imaginable thrive here, and for most of the year as well.
On this visit, Iwas taken to Berkeley Bowl, a food emporium that doubles as a monument to the vegetable. The sheer quantity and variety of fruit and veg sold here, most of it local, is staggering. Icounted nine types of cucumbers. Yes, you read that correctly: I did say cucumbers, not tomatoes or apples. Mind you, there were dozens of varieties of those to choose from, too.
This incredible produce is the platform on which Californian cuisine has built its reputation since the 1970s, when thestate's culinary pioneers, with the legendary Alice Waters of Chez Panisse at the helm, recognised the godsend growing right under their noses. Local, seasonal produce, cooked lightly and with the utmost regard for the ingredient and the community: thisprinciple was understood in California years, if not decades, before people in other parts of theworld began to talk about it.
Taking their cue from France and especially Italy, California's cooks translated old European culinary values into modern practices. But unlike the "real" Mediterraneans, who were bogged down by centuries of weighty culinary tradition, Californians created a fresh, new cuisine that fused traditional customs from around the world while maintaining a deep respect for and understanding ofthat most basic and vital of all things food-related, theingredient.
Creamy chicken with apples, pears and root vegetables
I had something a bit like this at Boulette's Larder, acasual restaurant/deli in San Francisco's Ferry Building. I like it with plain rice or egg noodles. Serves four.
20g unsalted butter
2½ tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and very finelychopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 6cm x 3cm batons
2 medium turnips, peeled, halved and cut into 2cm-widewedges
2 eating apples, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 3cm-wide wedges
2 medium pears, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 3cm-wide wedges
400ml good-quality chicken stock
2 tsp Dijon mustard
10g fresh tarragon tied in abundle, plus 1 tsp extra chopped
10g chervil, tied in abundle, plus 1 tbsp picked chervil leaves to garnish
2 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper
8-10 skin-on boneless chicken thighs
3 tbsp double cream
Put the butter and two tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid, and place over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for two to three minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium, add the carrots and turnips, and sauté for eight minutes, turning the vegetables acouple of times sothey soften on all sides. Add the apples and pears, and cook for a further four minutes, turning the fruit gently (or shaking the pan) every now and then, so that, again, all sides are cooked.
Add the stock, mustard, herb bundles, bay leaves, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, leave to cook for four minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat up a griddle pan. Meanwhile, in a bowl, season the chicken with a half-teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Pour the remaining oil over the chicken and massage in with your hands so that it's well coated. Put the chicken pieces on the hot griddle, turn down theheat to medium and cook for five to six minutes, turning once, until they have taken on some colour and are almost cooked through.
Transfer the chicken pieces to the sauté pan and gently push them down into the liquid. Return the pan to a medium heat, cover and cook for four minutes, by which time the chicken should be cooked through.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruit, vegetables and chicken from the pan to a heated plate, and keep warm. Turn up the flame under the sauté pan, bring the sauce to asimmer and let it bubble away for four to five minutes, to reduce and thicken. Remove and discard the herb bundles. Stir in the cream and chopped tarragon, season to taste, then return the chicken, fruit and veg tothe pan. Cook, stirring gently, for a minute or so, to warm through, and serve at once garnished with a few chervil leaves.
Fried mozzarella and bread skewers (V)
I had this calorie bomb at Delfina, an institution in San Francisco's trendy Mission District, though they don't serve it with a salad. Don't be put off by the fat content, because if ever a dish was worth dying for, trust me, this is it. It's everything you could wish for of fried food: crisp, gooey and outrageously tasty. The odd cube of cheese may fall off in the frying, but just spear them back on before you take it to the table. Serves four as afirst course.
250g buffalo mozzarella, cut into 3cm squarish pieces – 16 pieces in all
30g plain flour
1 egg, lightly whisked
100g fresh breadcrumbs mixed witha pinch of salt
120g crustless sourdough bread, cutinto 3cm squares
50g clarified butter or ghee
3 tbsp olive oil
7 large sage leaves
¼ tsp crushed red chilli flakes
Maldon sea salt and black pepper
For the salad
300g cherry tomatoes, quartered
¼ red onion, peeled and finelydiced
1½ tsp red-wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
Mix all the salad ingredients with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a grind of pepper. Stir gently and set aside.
Dust the mozzarella pieces in flour, shake off any excess, dip them in the egg, then toss in breadcrumbs until wellcoated. Spear a piece of bread on a long metal or wooden skewer, follow with two pieces of cheese and then a second piece of bread, so the cheese is tightly sandwiched between the bread.
In a large frying pan, heat 30g of butter, two tablespoons of oil, five sage leaves and the chilli flakes. Fry half the skewers over a medium heat for two to three minutes on one side, turn and cook for a minute or two on each of the other three sides, basting them with hot fat as they cook and turn golden-brown on all sides (if your pan is big enough, you may be able to cook all the skewers in one go). Carefully remove the skewers from the pan, place on a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt.
Repeat with the remaining skewers, butter, oil and sage. Serve hot with the salad on the side.
