Nectarine Sorbet and David Lebovitz coming to Omnivore Books!

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I have the most marvelous news to share:

David Lebovitz is coming to visit us at Omnivore Books in San Francisco from 6-7 pm on September 28th. This is possibly the greatest thing that could ever happen, because, well, it’s David Lebovitz! DAVID LEBOVITZ!!!!!

I’ve been gushing about it since Celia found out! And I nearly died when he became friends with the bookstore on Twitter.

If you don’t know who he is well, in quick summation – he’s a most amazing man who used to live in San Francisco and do pastry at Chez Panisse under Lindsey Shere, until he decided to take his chances on living a fabulous life in one of the most beautiful and dare I say delicious cities in the world – Paris.

And he blogs about it, and he tweets about it, and he captures the idiosyncrasies of the French quite perfectly in his new book: The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City. It made me giggle the entire way through. And then I went to the store tout de suite to recreate the well chosen recipes in each chapter.

Ever since I got my new Kitchenaid Icecream Maker attachment last month (THANK YOU MOM!), I’ve been working through David’s recipes from his book “The Perfect Scoop”.

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His recipe for nectarine sorbet has been a favorite, because we have been blessed with delicious crops of nectarines and peaches here in California – so I’ve made this twice now. I used really, really ripe fruit – almost on the verge of turning, and the final products were so painfully delicious.

I’m posting the recipe verbatim (something I never do), only because it’s really quite perfect, and I think it captures his personality quite well. (My only notes are – that I skipped the skinning step when making peach sorbet, and it still worked out just fine – also, do make sure to put the kirsch or lemon juice, because it helps to form a smoother sorbet and avoid ice crystallization).

Nectarine Sorbet

makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

There’s a curious custom in Gascony, a region in the southwest of France known for its full-bodied red wines (it’s famous neighbor is Bordeaux). When they’ve just about finished their soup, the locals tip a little bit of the red wine from their glass into their soup bowl, mingling the wine with the last few spoonfuls of the broth.

I later discovered that this custom is equally good with a goblet of sorbet when I was scrambling to figure out a way to make this rosy nectarine sorbet a bit more special for an impromptu dinner party. I simply scooped sorbet into my guests’ wine glasses at the table and let them pour in as little (or as much) red wine as they wished. It was a big success. If you have time to think ahead, prepare a big bowl of sweet, juicy berries and sliced nectarines, and let your guests add some fruit to their sorbet too.

6 ripe nectarines (about 2 pounds, 1kg)
2/3 cup (160 ml) water
1/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 teaspoon kirsch, or 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the nectarines in half and remove the pits. Cut the unpeeled nectarines into small chunks and cook them with the water in a medium, nonreactive saucepan, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add a bit more water if necessary during cooking.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Let cool to room temperature. When cool, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor, until smooth. Stir in the kirsch or lemon juice.

Chill thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Variation: For Peach Sorbet, substitute 7 large, ripe peaches for the nectarines. Remove the skins prior to cutting them into chunks.

Perfect Pairings: If you like the idea of red wine with Nectarine Sorbet, pair it with the Raspberry-Rose Sorbet (page 130), or simply serve it in goblets and pass a bottle of fruity red wine, such as Beaujolais, Brouilly, or Merlot.

Eating Seasonally (and Locally)

The Local Foods Wheel

It’s something terrible we have all experienced. Accidentally eating a light pink, mealy, and flavorless tomato. Or perhaps eating a bland, completely tasteless melon. Or worse eating slices from an unripe slightly green banana.  How do you ensure that you are eating the tastiest and most nutrient rich fruits and vegetables? Start eating seasonally and locally!

Eating seasonally means eating whats ripe when it reaches its natural point of the seasonal growing cycle. Heading to your local farmer’s market or green market is a good way to start, a level up would be joining a local farm’s CSA to get yourself fresh fruits and vegetables ever week or two through the summer, and even in winter. Here are my favorite go to resources:

For the Fridge: Because I live in San Francisco, I’m blessed to be able to use the Local Foods Wheel which shows both foods that are in season all year round on the inner circle, and foods coming into season on the outer circle. So far there is a New York version and a San Francisco version – let’s hope they expand soon! (If you are in SF – you can pick up your own copy at Omnivore Books! We have ’em in stock)

Portable for the tech crowd: the Seasons iPhone application will give you seasons information for “fruits, vegetables, lettuces, herbs, fungi and nuts,” for wherever you happen to be. You can view local seasons versus import seasons and see a graph that shows how “in season” a given food is. It’s $1.99, but you can take it everywhere!

There are also a few websites that are great resources: the Northeast Regional Food Guide for the New England area, and in Europe, BBC Food runs the What’s In Season page . A little more obscurely, a Swiss couple runs a site called Laughing Lemon, that also shows what is in season each month, and points out some rarer vegetables and fruits. Because the northern hemisphere has similar growing zones, these sites can be helpful for anyone in that general region. (via Maki)

For further reading, there are several cookbooks that discuss eating seasonally that I love:

Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home (discusses growing and cooking methods for seasonal veg)
Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries (his eating journal for a year of dinners)
River Cottage Vegetable Handbook – the River Cottage makes the best little handbooks on the planet. They have ones for mushrooms, preserving, bread making, and seafood as well.

Do you go to your local farmers market? Are you a member of a CSA? (Actually, if you are a member of a CSA that you love in San Francisco, gush about it here in the comments. I need suggestions! )

Farro Salad – a Master Recipe

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Farro is an interesting grain with a nice bite, that is well suited to easy summer salads. I use it in recipes that call for wheatberries, green lentils, bulgur or even barley occasionally as a replacement, but I find that I love it best in this salad with tomato, basil, feta, and a balsamic vinaigrette. I’m lucky to find farro at Rainbow Foods in San Francisco, but in some places, farro can be pricey – try shopping for it in stores with bulk bins, at trader joe’s, or even online.

Farro is an Italian word, and when I eat this grain, I find myself transported to Tuscany, sitting in the garden of my imaginary apartment, eating blissfully, drinking a glass of wine, and contemplating nothing but relaxation.

As usual, I use Mark Bittman’s pretty foolproof way of cooking most grains – put one cup of the grain in a small pot, and cover by at least an inch of liquid – bring to a boil, and turn down, cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes without touching it. Then you can test it – if it’s not done, just add a few more tablespoons of liquid, and leave on the heat for ten more minutes. Unlike rice, don’t worry if there is extra liquid after the cooking time, just drain it.

MASTER RECIPE! Variations: This salad is also a great vehicle for crunchy vegetables – feel free to add fresh corn kernels (you don’t need to cook them!), black beans, bits of chopped red pepper, cucumber, shavings of carrot, chick peas, or even little cubes of summer squash to name just a few! Also, you can punch up the herbs with some fresh parsley or fresh mint (or both) to give it some extra green. No balsamic on hand? Just make a simple lemon vinaigrette with the same proportions of lemon to olive oil.

Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Basil, and Feta
serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Ingredients:

– 1 cup farro
–  enough salted water or chicken broth to cover farro by one inch in pot (about 2.5 cups)
– 1 large heirloom tomato, chopped (ripe! uglier the better!)
– about ten leaves of basil, rolled into a cigar shape and chopped
– salt and pepper
– 2 ounces feta cheese
– 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
– 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the farro and enough water (or chicken stock) to cover farro by an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the farro is tender, about 35 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, basil, and feta, and cover with the slightly cooled farro. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a vinaigrette. Pour into the farro salad, and toss to coat. You can eat this warm, or it can be made in advance and popped in the refrigerator. Just let it come back to room temperature when you want to eat it, and make sure to re-toss it!