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ELEGANT EATS
DINING
FEED YOUR APPETITE CLOSE TO HOME
By JENNIFER M. DOBBS
CHECKED the mileage on what you are eating lately? Canadian authors Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon spent a year eating locally grown produce and writing “The 100-Mile Diet,” after they learned most foods travel some 1,500 miles before they land on the plates of North Americans. That’s a lot of time, money and energy lost - to say nothing of taste and freshness.
Chef Roberto Argentina at Farm Artisan Foods in Redlands buys into the 100-mile diet concept. He regularly cooks up a variety of tasty selections featuring locally grown items. It’s something anyone can do, he says.
“If we could just learn to refuse things that are not in season, or that come from thousands of miles away, to buy or grow what geography and time of year allow, we would discover a whole new world of pleasures,” he said. With that introduction, here are Argentina’s suggestions for a citrus-themed, five-course dinner with locally grown food.
FIRST COURSE
grapefruit and avocado salad with winchester gouda cheese
Wine: Mount Palomar Riesling
In Winchester, west of Hemet, Argentina met Dutch cheese maker Jules Wesserlink. With milk from the cows on his farm, Wesserlink makes award-winning Gouda cheeses, which Argentina describes as “fantastic, true, artisan cheeses.”
This dish is a simple opener that stimulates the palate with the sharpness of the grapefruit, but soothes it with the nutty richness of avocado. “I think they are a great match for each other, and a great way to begin a meal,” Argentina said.
For the vinaigrette
Ingredients
Mix in blender:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (grape seed or avocado are preferable)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (UC Davis produces its own olive oil).
1/3 to 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice, depending on desired acidity
1 teaspoon of minced shallots
Chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Peel grapefruit, slice avocado, and arrange on plate along with the Winchester Gouda. Toss small fresh salad greens in vinaigrette and arrange on plate.
SECOND COURSE
sweet and sour beet soup with mandarin lime mousse
Wine: Filippi Viognier
For produce, Argentina visits friends Doug and Mamie Powell’s farm in San Timoteo Canyon. Their farm is not open to the public, but they sell their produce at many local farmers markets. “I like soups and I like beets. This soup is extremely simple, and in most farmers markets you can find a beet farmer. I often buy from Shrewt Family Farms. They have the best beets,” Argentina said. “For a multi-course meal, this soup is light, and the mandarin lime cloud on it makes it just heavenly.”
For the soup
Ingredients
Minced white onion
Minced small carrots
Peeled and sliced red beets
Fresh thyme
Brown sugar
Red wine
Balsamic vinegar
Grapefruit and avocado salad with
winchester gouda cheese
Sweet and sour
beet soup with
mandarin lime
mousse
Directions
Sauté half of a white onion, minced, and a couple of small carrots, minced, in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add peeled and sliced red beets and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. Add red wine to cover, some balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar. Cook down until beets are soft. If it is necessary to add some liquid, add water. Salt to taste.
For the mousse
Directions
Grate the rest of mandarins and limes into creme fraîche or plain yogurt. Fold in some whipped cream. To make your own creme fraîche, add some buttermilk to heavy cream (non ultra pasteurized), and let sit overnight in a warm spot.
THIRD COURSE
free range chicken with orange bay leaf sauce, scalloped garnett yams, and grilled tangerines
Wine: Thornton Zinfandel
“There is nothing really much more satisfying than a well-prepared roast chicken,” Argentina said. “If you have not tried to find a free range chicken from your local farmer, you owe it to yourself. Commercially produced chickens most of us are used to pale in comparison to a healthy chicken that is fed a natural diet.”
For the yams
Ingredients
Garnett yams
Salt and pepper
Chopped herbs
Heavy cream
4 beaten eggs
Nutmeg
Directions
Slice Garnett yams in very thin slices and arrange in layers in a baking dish. Season each layer with salt, pepper and some chopped herbs if desired. Prepare a custard of one pint of warm heavy cream mixed into 4 beaten eggs, a pinch of nutmeg and a teaspoon of salt. Pour custard into yams, cover with foil, and bake at 325 degrees until set.
For the chicken
Ingredients
Chopped onions
Chopped carrots
1 cup red wine
Parsley, rosemary, thyme
Chicken stock
Directions
Sear chicken thighs on both sides in some vegetable oil with chopped onions and carrots. Add a cup of red wine and a bouquet of parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Reduce the wine by half, then add enough chicken stock to come halfway to the chicken thighs. Cover and braise gently. When the chicken is done, remove to a warm place, strain the liquid, and reduce to glaze consistency. It will be great over the chicken.
For the sauce
Reduce some fresh orange juice with sugar and a couple of fresh bay leaves.
For the plate:
Grill some tangerine slices in oiled pan (cast iron pans are great for this). With a round tall cutter, cut out some scalloped yams, pull some of the chicken meat by hand and lay around. Lean some of the tangerine slices on the yam mold. Put some glaze over the chicken, and spoon some sauce around the plate.
FOURTH COURSE
braised lamb shank with tarragon carrots, walnut and goat cheese quenelle and blood orange sauce
Wine: Mount Palomar Shorty Bistro Red
The agriculture program at Norco High School is often Argentina’s source for meats. Pork is available now, and soon lamb will be offered. The farm program at Grove High School in Redlands is where he gets high-quality eggs and goat milk.
“I just love the long process of braising meats,” he said. “This dish is great when a chill is still in the air, and there is no reason for you to leave the house. The aroma produced by this dish will warm any home, and transport you to pure bliss.”
For the lamb
Ingredients
Coarse ground fresh pepper
Ground cumin
Kosher salt
Beef stock
Carrots
Bay leaf
Rosemary
Red wine
Directions
The best cut would be a piece of lamb shank. Coat the shank with coarse ground fresh pepper, ground cumin, and kosher salt. Braise slowly with beef stock, carrots, dried bay leaf, rosemary and red wine. Braise at very low heat until fork tender.
For the carrots
Butter
Orange juice
Sugar
Salt
Tarragon
Directions
Blanch carrots in boiling water until “al dente.” Sauté with butter, orange juice, sugar, salt, and fresh tarragon until a glaze forms.
For the goat cheese
Ingredients
1 quart goat milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
Salt
Herbs
Walnuts
Directions
Warm 1 quart goat milk to 185 degrees. Mix in 1/2 cup lemon juice and stir until milk breaks. Gently collect curds, season them with some salt and herbs, and let them cool. Grind some walnuts and mix them to the goat ricotta.
FIFTH COURSE
meyer lemon pudding with bitter almond cookie
Wine: Wilson Creek Chocolate Porto
“Meyer lemons are a strong point of California citrus pride,” Argentina said. “They fetch unspeakable sums of money in other parts of the country, and justly so. Their sweetness and complexity will make you miss them when you try more pedestrian lemons.”
Directions
Grate the zest of 3 lemons into 8 ounces of sugar, and combine with 3 egg yolks, 3 whole eggs, and the juice from the three lemons. Put in a bowl over a pot with some water in it. Heat up the water to a light boil and whip constantly until it begins to thicken. The mix should reach 178 F, or while you whip it should be thick enough to see the bottom of the bowl. (Ribbon stage). Be vigilant or you end up with lemon scrambled eggs.
Take off the heat and add, still whipping, 4 ounces of butter at room temperature. Let cool, and then fold in whipped cream to have a mousse with light texture, but a great lemony tang.
Near-home grown: How to get started
“Eating local is not just a fad or a trend,” said Alexander Hess, program coordinator of agriculture education at Cal Poly Pomona. “There is a feeling, a passion, for local food.” One place to start on the road to your own 100-mile diet is a farmers market, where farmers sell locally grown food directly to consumers.
The Claremont Farmers Market, which draws about 500 people on Sunday mornings, has 30 to 35 vendors selling fruits, vegetables and some organic produce. “One of the good things about farmers markets is the unique items you find,” said manager Oscar DeLeon. Winter strawberries were popular recently at the Pomona Valley Farmers Market, which attracts as many as 3,000 people on Saturdays.
“It’s the taste and the freshness — and the ability to talk to the people who are growing the food — that brings people here,” said manager Harry Brown-Heigel. Find a local farmers market by visiting www.cafarmersmarkets.com or www.sfma.net.
For another source of locally grown fruits and vegetables, take part in community-supported agriculture. Customers pay for a subscription, or a “share,” of a farm’s crop, and in return, regularly receive some of that crop. At Tierra Miguel Foundation Farm CSA in Pauma Valley, about 500 shares are sold annually for $2,000 each.
“The shareholder gets a box every week, and each box is worth about $45,” said farm manager Mel Krecu. What’s in the box varies with the season. Cabbage, carrots and an assortment of greens, lettuce, turnips and beets come directly from the Tierra Miguel farm. Contracts with other local farmers allow them to include potatoes, onions, garlic, celery and other crops in the boxes. Details at www.tierramiguelfarm.org.
There are two major benefits for joining the Inland Orange Conservancy in Redlands, said founder Bob Knight. Members get the “world’s best tasting oranges” and at the same time help preserve the area’s groves. For details, visit www.inlandorange.org.
Another source for locating local farms, farmers markets or restaurants using locally grown foods is www.localharvest.org.
Meet the chef
Chef Roberto Argentina and his modern American cuisine can be found for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday brunch at Farm Artisan Foods, 22 E. State St., Redlands; (909) 792-1162, www.farmartisanfoods.com
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