Prior to our departure we spend a fair amount of time
researching restaurants and different forms of entertainment. One thing is
certain – we have to go to Farmers’ Market at the Ferry Building and feast on
the Roti-Roti porchetta pork sandwich, hopefully early enough that we’ll have
an appetite in time to have lunch at one of our chosen restaurants.
Our restaurant research this year sent us to Aziza for
dinner on Saturday night. A beautifully understated dining room with an
unassuming clientele and amazing Moroccan food – fresh out of the oven
flat-bread with a variety of spreads; chickpea,
yogurt-dill, piquillo-almond. Big fin squid artichoke, citrus, piquillo, olive.
Duck confit basteeya, raisin, almond. Chicken, preserved lemon, hen of the
woods, celery root. Lamb shank, barley, prune, saffron. Cake, lemon ice cream,
mint cream, caramel, blood oranges. Tisane, herbal, fresh mint tea.
The highlight of
the meal, outside the food, was that famed food author and my hero, Michael
Pollan was seated at an adjacent table. I was lucky enough to be facing the
right direction and recognized him the minute he sat down. We were too shy to
approach – he was with his wife and I’m guessing her parents. Every time the
server placed a dish on their table I was craning to see what selections had
been made. And every time I did that Mrs. Pollan took notice. I hope she was
flattered rather than annoyed. I
couldn’t have been more excited if it were Mick Jagger sitting at the next
table and the sighting left me with an extra dose of inspiration.
Back home in Cambria, with a fresh dose of inspiration, I
noticed a recently purchased winter squash waiting to be turned into soup. We
are fortunate to have Dos Pasos Ranch bringing some wonderful locally grown
heirloom squash to our Farmers’ Market. The proprietor, Beth Kendall, knows her
squash. You can tell her you’d like to make a soup and depending on what kind
of soup you like she’ll suggest the best candidate or candidates available.
Sometimes it is a combination, maybe one variety that has a characteristic
flavor and then another drier or fruitier variety to balance the texture or
flavor. Or if you want to make something
other than soup she’ll steer you in the right direction of whatever you happen
to be cooking up.
My most recent purchase was a Musquee de Provence which looks a bit like Cinderella’s carriage. Its
flesh is bright orange and it is sweet. To balance the texture I was advised to
add a small acorn type squash. I decided to turn them into a luxurious Coconut
Milk, Lime Pumpkin Soup.
(Besides Cambria Farmers’ Market Dos Pasos
sells at Paso Robles and Templeton Markets).
Coconut Milk, Lime
Pumpkin Soup
1 large winter
squash (butternut squash works)
2 tablespoons olive
oil
1 onion
1 jalapeno
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne
pepper (to taste)
1 can of
unsweetened coconut milk
Chicken or
vegetable broth
Salt
White pepper
1 lime
Pre-heat oven to
375. Cut squash in half and place cut side down on a rimmed cookie sheet and
roast until tender (about 45 minutes)
Chop onion and
jalapeno and sauté in olive oil until tender but not brown.
Spoon flesh out of
cooked squash halves and add cooked squash, oregano cayenne pepper and coconut
milk to onion, jalapeno mixture and bring to a simmer. Using an immersion
blender, blend until smooth, adding broth as needed for the desired
consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Zest a lime. Add the
zest and juice of one lime to the soup and garnish with lime zest.
