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The Five Top Tastes of March, 2018

This month's tastes span the globe from a Kosher/Tunisian burger to a traditional Mexican dessert. In between are stops at Azerbaijan, the Republic of Georgia and India, examples of the wonderful world of food we have today.  

1.Harissa burger. You think you've seen every kind of burger? Well, not until you've tasted this one, from Harissa Restaurant (formerly Got Kosher? Cafe). To start with, it's on a pretzel bun, brushed with harissa mayo. Owner Alain Cohen is famous for his pretzel challah, and the buns are terrific too. He also makes the harissa and mixes some of that with grass-fed beef. Other components are preserved lemon, balsamic onion and roasted tomato, adding up to an exotic bundle of bread and beef with the flavors of Cohen's native Tunisia.

Harissa Restaurant, 3304, 8914 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035. (310) 858-1920. The restaurant is closed Passover week, reopening April 8. 

2. Adjarski is the Republic of Georgia's khachapuri, a specialty of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. At Furn Saj Bakery, it's listed on the overhead menu as Adjarski rather than khachapuri. This long, boat-shaped bread filled with cheese and eggs is fantastic to share as a snack. The one in the photo is made with scrambled eggs, which meld beautifully with the cheese as the bread bakes. The other choice is eggs sunny side up.

Furn Saj Bakery, 11146 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA 91344. (818) 368-4000.

3. Azerbaijani plov (pilaf). This sumptuous, saffron-seasoned dish of rice, lamb, apricots, prunes and chestnuts was served at a recent Azerbaijani Novruz celebration. It came from Cafe 21 in San Diego, whose owners are from Azerbaijan. Plov isn't on the Cafe's regular menu but can be special ordered for a group. 

Cafe 21, 802 5th Ave., San Diego, CA 92101. (619) 795-0721.

4. Fruit Salad at India's Tandoori in Brentwood. Spicy and sweet, the salad appears on the buffet occasionally, not every day. Here it's served like a drink, immersed in delicious juices. The fruits are grapes, raspberries, strawberries, lychees, jackfruit, orange segments and mango, seasoned with subtle dashes of chaat masala, garam masala, ground red chile, white and black cardamoms, mint and salt. Owner Martin Shah says the sweetness comes from lychees pureed with orange juice, not sugar. 

India's Tandoori, 11819 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 268-9100. 

5. Capirotada from La Mascota. This Lenten bread pudding from La Mascota was dense, very rich and tasted of pineapple at the top. Lent may be over, but La Mascota has many more breads, cakes and pastries to choose from.  

La Mascota, 2715 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90023. (323) 263-5513. 

Fioretto--Cook It Indian Style

There's something different about this Indian cauliflower dish.

The difference is, I've made it with tender sweet flowering cauliflower, called fioretto, instead of the usual clumpy florets.

See how light and delicate the fioretto sprigs are? 


Here's how you'll find fioretto in the market. You can saute, steam, roast, put it in salads, really anything you would do with ordinary cauliflower. 

Because I love Indian food, and Indian cooks are masters at fixing cauliflower, I turned to an Indian cookbook for a recipe.

The book was "Crack the Code" by Nandita Godbole, in which she breaks down the steps to make Indian cooking easy for anybody.

Godbole's cauliflower with peas was a winner. I adapted it slightly, using cut-up green beans instead of peas because I had those on hand and not peas. And I simplified by leaving out the potatoes she suggests but would include them next time.

The steps are to saute spices in a large wok, then add the cauliflower and peas and finally tomatoes, then decorate the finished dish with cilantro.  This is how it looks in the wok.

Godbole (above) suggests serving the cauliflower as a vegetarian main dish accompanied by bread or, for a gluten-free meal, with daal (lentils) and steamed rice.

ESSENTIAL PEAS AND CAULIFLOWER
From "Crack the Code" by Nandita Godbole

2 tablespoons oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 cup diced yellow or white onions
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (I used less)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup diced red-skinned potatoes, optional
3 cups trimmed cauliflowerets
1/4 cup peas, parboiled
Salt
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Add the onions and saute until lightly golden. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and and saute until fragrant. Add the turmeric, cayenne, ground cumin and coriander Give a quick stir. If using potatoes, add them now and saute until their edges start to sear.

After this has cooked on medium-low for about 2 minutes, add the cauliflower and peas and mix until the vegetables are evenly coated with the spices. Lightly cover, allowing the steam to escape, and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir every few minutes.

When the cauliflower is tender, season it with salt and add the tomatoes. Stir and cook, uncovered, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften a little. Garnish with cilantro.

When I made this with fioretto, which is very light, it made about 4 servings. 

"Not For You," an Indian Food Novel

Pick up the novel "Not For You" and you may not be able to put it down. That is, if you want to learn what Indian village life is really like.

The stories interwoven in the book tell of huts plastered with dung, days spent in hot fields, lives that are poor but rich and women who flout old customs, making this a timely read.

The subtitle is "Family Narratives of Denial & Comfort Foods," appropriate because author Nandita Godbole (above) is a cookbook author, and one of her books is "Treasured Indian Comfort Foods."

Appearing at Melissa's Produce, Godbole called "Not For You" a "novel with recipes."  A meal in the book might be only a banana or two, or sugar cane stolen from a field, or nothing at all. But it could also be a richly flavored bean stew, a spicy shrimp dish or sweet cracked wheat pilaf. These are three of the 16 recipes that appear at the end of the book, all drawn from the story.

The characters in this short first novel are so compelling that you want to learn how their lives turn out. Godbole has taken care of that with a sequel (above) and more recipes.

The introduction to Book Two is by Neela Paniz, an early promoter of Indian cooking in Los Angeles with her restaurant, The Bombay Cafe. Paniz was in the audience for Godbole's presentation.

At Melissa's, Godbole showed how to make the spicy shrimp (above) along with other dishes from her books (click here to see what she has written). From an episode set in Goa, the shrimp are in a tomato sauce spiced with cayenne, cumin, coriander and turmeric. "Think of it as a marinara with an Indian edge to it," Godbole said.

Vegetarians can add potatoes instead of shrimp, she suggested, or mushrooms or even bananas, as was done in her family. The sauce could also be tossed with pasta. It's a mother sauce, she said, and can be prepared in advance and kept handy for a last-minute dinner.  

KOLMBI
Spicy Shrimp in Tomatoes
From "Not For You" by Nandita Godbole

2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup diced yellow or white onions
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1 to 1 1/2 pounds shelled and deveined raw shrimp
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup cilantro leaves for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute until lightly golden. Then add the ginger and garlic pastes and saute until fragrant. Add the turmeric, cayenne, cumin and coriander. Add the tomatoes and water. Let this mixture cook on medium low heat for a few minutes until it becomes a thick sauce.

Add the shrimp, mix well, cover lightly and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Season with salt to taste and cilantro. Serve hot with warm bread.

Makes 8 servings.

Lodi--Wines that Deserve Attention

Lodi wines are lovely, and just right to pair with California food. 

If they aren't better known, it's because they're not widely distributed. Small artisanal wineries turning out some of the most interesting wines don't produce enough to appeal to large chain markets and liquor stores.

Take, for example, the 2017 Bourboulenc from Acquiesce Winery. Owner/winemaker Susan Tipton, who specializes in white wines and rosés, made just 63 cases of what is probably the only Bourboulenc bottled in California. To get this richly fragrant white wine, you would have to contact the winery.  But it may be gone. Tipton's 2016 Roussanne sold out in two months.

The Bourboulenc was one of eight wines showcased in a seminar that kicked off Lodi in Los Angeles, a tasting held at the Marina City Club. On its right in the photo at the top and above is the dry, fruity 2016 Vermentino from Uvaggio, which specializes in grape varieties from Italy and southern France.  "Think of it as where Pinot Grigio meets Gruner Veltliner,"  the back label on the bottle says.

"Quite a bit of Vermentino is coming from the area now," said Stuart Spencer of St. Amant Winery and the Lodi Wine Commission (above), who led the seminar. It's one of more than 100 grape varieties that thrive in Lodi, not all of them made into wine, however.

Lodi wines tend to be fruit driven, he said, and this enables them to pair well with zesty California foods. 

The final white wine at the seminar was the 2016 Verdelho from Bokisch Vineyards. Bokisch specializes in Spanish varietals, but this one is from Portugal. The wine is light, dry and subtly aromatic. 

The five red wines poured started with the 2016 Fields Family Wines Cinsault, a light, fruity wine from a thin-skinned grape variety that doesn't produce strong color. 

Much darker was the 2014 McCay Cellars Grenache from Abba Vineyard, spicy and with red fruit flavors. 

Next came the 2015 LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards Montepulciano, grown on 4.69 acres of the family ranch. This wine grape is from Abruzzo in central Italy. The deeply colored wine displayed plenty of tannin and some savory elements.

The final pair of reds started with the 2016 Prie Vineyards Dornfelder, from a German grape. Darkly colored, with rich fruit flavor and an acidic edge, it comes from a winery that specializes in small production, single vineyard wines.

The last wine came from a new enterprise, Markus Wine Co., which was founded in 2014 and named for winemaker Markus Niggli. This was the 2015 Markus Domo, a light-seeming but substantial wine made from 75% Carignane combined with 15% Petit Sirah and 10% Syrah. The Carignane came from old vines, and there are a lot of those in Lodi, where the first vineyard was planted in the 1850s. 

More facts about Lodi wine: The AVA, which has 7 sub-AVAs, has more than 85 wineries and 110,000 acres of vineyards. Its Mediterranean climate, with cool afternoon breezes, and diverse soils make it congenial to a wide variety of grapes. A top producer of Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as other leading grape varieties. Lodi is responsible for more than 80% of California wine production, Spencer said.