Food is Food

Suvir Saran and Azalina Eusope at the San Francisco Street Food Festival, 2012

Eat Drink SF is a showcase for local chefs of San Francisco with events throughout the weekend of August 1-3, 2014. One chef giving a demo this Sunday is Suvir Saran, who is moving downtown and opening a restaurant in all likelihood before the end of the year. Experiencing Saran’s passion and enthusiasm for food, cooking, and life in San Francisco is reason enough to attend.

What will you be serving at the event?

I will be doing a demo, corn and shrimp curry, not a tasting but a sneak preview of what will be on the menu. It’s so easy, clean, delicious and seasonal; it’s everything good food should be. Come ready to be teased! Life is food and food is life. I’ll talk about my journey.

I’ve seen you at the CIA Worlds of Flavor and the San Francisco Street Food Festival. Do you attend or participate in a lot of events?

I’m a little selective, I used to go a lot to the bigger events, but it’s chefs doing everything they shouldn’t do. It’s my mission to get people to enjoy food and open their palates to the food of the world. When an opportunity to teach presents itself, I’m happy to do it. That’s what’s dear to my heart. It’s about honest interactions. I want to really connect with people.

How is the restaurant coming along? How did you choose San Francisco?

It’s coming along. It will probably open early Winter. It’s a very ambitious project. I’m hoping it’s my new anchor in life. It’s a bold move. I wanted to do something connected to a farm, but I’ve realized NY is not the place that gives you 12 months of magic. SF was a logical choice. I love the produce, it’s honest.

My grandparents lived in the Marina and we went to the farmer’s market back in the 80’s. I loved the peaches, and they had a Meyer lemon tree. I felt comfortable in SF and never had to hide who I was. I gave NYC 20 years and in San Francisco I hope to spend the next 20 years.

What are your plans for the restaurant?

We take possession of the apartment on August 1st and I will have many months to experiment. I’ll have to create new partnerships, work with farmers, new relationships. We may have farms growing things just for us.

I don’t follow trends and I don’t have chef friends. They all talk together and there is too little variation. I talk differently and dress differently and I cook differently. We will have a wood fired oven but no traditional pizza with mozzarella. I come with the baggage of India where we are greedy for flavor.

What foods are you enjoying this Summer?

The other day I was pickling, making Hindu pickles. 90% of my friends are Jewish and I love pickles.

In India we make onion and tomato masala and add spices coriander, cumin, turmeric and garlic and then cook until jammy. The peas are cooked in that. You eat them whole like edamame. That takes me back to my childhood. There’s an art form to making it and eating it.

Before that dal, served with green beans, rice and potatoes. Cooking for dummies is what I do best. We eat a lot of pasta, depending on what vegetables are coming out of the garden we add those to a marinara sauce with lots of herbs, it’s a recipe from my most recent book, Masala Farm.

I've always wanted a good rice cooker. I've eyed those expensive Japanese ones, and I've really wanted one of those, but they're not easy to get here and besides, they're SO expensive. We bought a super cheap one a few years ago, and hated it. Then a few weeks ago, we were browsing at a kitchen-stuff store and decided on a whim to get this one. It's pretty nice! I like that it has a steam basket on top so you can steam something while cooking the rice, or just use it for steaming.

Still, I need to work on the rice. Maybe use a specific type of rice? First try came out way too soft and mushy. Second attempt was ok, but not great. Any tips for me?

I hate posting without photos, but.. I have losing recipes, too. So before I forget, let me just post this one...

Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles
about 30

200 g hazelnut chocolate (Swedish Schweizernöt is ideal)
80 g dark chocolate
100 ml cream
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature

Finely chop the chocolate. Heat the cream until boiling, and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute, add the butter, and stir until smooth. Pour into small foil cups, and chill.

We're vacationing in Skåne, in southern Sweden, for a week. We've rented a house, and are exploring the surrounding towns and sights. Today, we're in Ystad. Very quaint town! We had lunch at Söderberg & Sara, a café & bakery that made into White Guide. We bought some bread to take home, and tried the pulled pork burgers for lunch. They came with a really delicious cole slaw and on brioche buns. Very yummy! Per also tried the coffee - strong and excellent - and Titus had a lovely fluffy cinnamon bun. Do visit if you can!

http://www.soderbergsara.se

We made fried chicken a few weeks ago. So, so delicious. And I happen to love my own recipe for it, so go ahead and try that!

This time, we made some simple but fun dipping sauces to go along.

Per wanted honey-mustard, I wanted ranch and I knew our guests would like a bbq sauce so.. well, let's get to it!

Honey Mustard:

100 ml mayonnaise

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp American yellow mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

pinch of salt

pinch of dried tarragon

pinch of black pepper

Smoky BBQ:

100 ml ketchup

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp American yellow mustard
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of black pepper

pinch of salt

pinch of cayenne pepper
tiny splash of liquid smoke

Ranch:

100 ml turkish or greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp buttermilk (I use Swedish filmjölk)

2 tsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of sugar

pinch of Italian seasoning (I used basil, tarragon, rosemary & oregano)

For all of these sauces, the method could not be simpler. Add, stir. Completely fool-proof!

I was desperate to try my new Chef'n Sweet Spot Ice cream maker - I love it by the way - so I whipped up a quick vanilla ice cream base. None of that tempering-egg-yolks-leave-overnight-business! A custard base ice cream keeps a lot better, but since the Sweet Spot only makes a single serving, it doesn't really matter. I also like the slightly cooler mouthfeel an egg-free ice cream gives.

I used two vanilla beans since I have a bunch to use up - but one will do. And yes, I know, the photo doesn't look very vanilla because apparently I didn't manage to get a photo of a plain bowl. This had stirred in cherry compote and is covered by sone homemade magic shell. Yum!

Quick vanilla ice cream
6-8 servings

500 ml cream (full-fat)
250 ml milk
150 g sugar
tiny pinch of salt
2 vanilla beans, scored and scraped
1 tsp vanilla extract (can be omitted, but is nice)

Heat half the cream with the sugar, salt and vanilla beans. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pour onto the rest of the cream and milk, and the vanilla extract. Chill completely before freezing in whatever ice cream machine you have.

Both wild Sockeye and wild King salmon are in the market now, and available fresh and will be until late September or early October. Both types of wild Pacific salmon are a true delicacy, and very healthy. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D and low in omega-6 and saturated fats. But King salmon is sometimes as much as twice the price of Sockeye. So which variety should you choose?

In Northern California most of the King salmon comes from California, Oregon and Alaska. The local King salmon is exceptionally rich and has a creamy texture. It has a mild flavor, and is almost slightly sweet. But it’s the buttery texture that makes it so prized. It’s the richest in fat.

Sockeye salmon often comes from Alaska. It’s generally less expensive than King salmon, because it’s harvested at a smaller size and takes less time to grow. It’s also very rich, but has a more intense flavor and firmer texture.

While both fish are delicious and can be used interchangeably in recipes, I seared two pieces to compare them side by side. Looking at the raw pieces you can see the King salmon is paler and thicker, the Sockeye brighter orange, almost red, and thinner.

For me, King salmon was truly king and worth the higher price. The Sockeye has a deeper red color, and a stronger, almost nutty flavor. But if you cook the King gently, you’ll achieve a custard like consistency that is unparalleled.

Both are delicious seared, but I would recommend using Sockeye if you want to make gravlax. It’s color, flavor and texture hold up well to the salt and sugar marinade.

The King is best served very simply to highlight it’s delicate flavor and luxurious texture. I made a compound butter with white miso, honey and orange zest that complemented the fish beautifully.

Friday July 25th, 2014, King salmon will be on sale at Whole Foods for just $11.99 per pound. Enjoy it!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Whole Foods, they supplied portions of King salmon, I purchased Sockeye salmon for this taste test.

I'm not into raw food per se but I'm always on the lookout for yummy stuff... If it happens to be good for you, or at least not totally bad, that's a bonus. I'm at my hungriest in late afternoon, and I need to keep some sort of healthy snack at hand. I recently made these little balls from coconuts, almonds and dates, and they turned out to be delicious! Sort of like marzipan, sort of like cookie dough! And they come together in a few minutes, and keep for several days. They freeze well, too.

Coco-cardamom balls
100 ml almonds

150 ml coconut flakes (unsweetened)

15 dates

Pinch vanilla powder

Pinch cardamom

2 tbsp coconut oil

You do need a food processor. Start with the almonds - process until finely chopped. Add coconut flakes, dates, vanilla, cardamom and the oil. Process until you have a uniform mass.

Roll into little balls - this will be a little bit difficult as the "dough" is quite crumbly, but pinch and roll and you'll get there. Refrigerate, and they will firm up as the coconut oil goes solid again.

If you like other goodies like these, here's a good book to check out! Smarta Sötsaker ("Smart Sweets") by Ulrika Hoffer. It's a tad bit preachy, and the recipes are not super exact, but there are some great ideas in here. And lovely photography, too.

Microplane has sent me some goodies - really awesome, sharp goodies. I've been using their graters for years, and while I love them and use them often, I was dismayed when two of mine decided to break at virtually the same time! Both had plastic framing and that's what broke - not too surprisingly after hard use, but still, disappointing. These ones, however, are part of the Gourmet series and there's no plastic, meaning there's really nothing that can break.

I use the fine one for garlic, ginger, chocolate, and citrus zest, mostly. The large one is great for cheese, although I also have an older ribbon grater that's pretty nice. The large one can also do things like carrots, cucumber (perfect for tzatziki) and many other things.

The third thing in the photo is Microplane's new mandolin slicer! It's nice and sturdy but it's main feature is that it has a removable julienne blade. Basically it's a small extra attachment, that makes perfect long ribbons of food. While not in use, there's a storage place for it in the back of the slicer - very handy.

I don't think I need to tell you that all of these are super sharp and should be handled with care. Nothing for the kids! :-)

Cupcakes are cute and affordable and remind many people of their childhood birthday parties, but they were never a favorite of mine. That’s not to say I don’t have a favorite pastry from childhood. I do. It’s the éclair.

Growing up I always scoured the bakery case for chocolate éclairs The crunchy eggy pastry, the creamy filling and chocolate glaze were much more appealing than any sugar cookie or cupcake. Their appeal has not diminished and In recent years I’ve had some very memorable éclairs including a massive one at Cake Love in Washington DC and delicate skinny ones glazed with matcha and black sesame at Sarahau Aoki in Tokyo.

Though the oblong pastry made from pate a choux and filled with pastry cream and originally called the Petite Duchesse has been around since the 1800's, according to some reports I read last year (from David Lebovitz, The Independent and even the Financial Times) éclairs have become quite trendy in Europe recently. They certainly haven’t hit critical mass here yet. But perhaps that’s about to change.

Last week I got a chance to meet the James Beard award-winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini as he kicked off his “Éclair Diaries” a motorcycle adventure to find inspiration for 8 new éclairs for the Le Meridien hotels. As part of the program, each hotel will offer modern versions of three signature éclair flavors – coffee, chocolate and vanilla in addition to one locally inspired flavor created by Iuzzini.

In San Francisco he shared his coffee cardamom éclair topped with bits of edible gold leaf, crunchy chocolate balls and nibs and a bit of flaky salt. The coffee cardamom eclair recipe will be in his upcoming cookbook. After his kickoff at the Le Meridien he was heading out to visit bakeries including Craftsman and Wolves as well as local farmers markets and a distillery and to forage with Chef Daniel Patterson, all to get his creative juices flowing. What will the San Francisco éclair be? We will just have to wait to find out.

With different fillings and toppings, there might be infinite variations of the eclair. Much like, you know, cupcakes.

Food is Food

Category

Blog Archive

Interview with Suvir Saran, Eat Drink SF

Crock-Pot Ricecooker

Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

Ystad: Söderberg & Sara

Three quick dipping sauces

Quick vanilla ice cream

Sockeye or King Salmon?

Coco-cardamom balls

News from Microplane

Make way for Éclairs!

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