Articles By Pascale Beale

A vibrant approach to seasonal cooking

When I grew up in London we had a little greengrocer around the corner from our house, who in winter, sold mainly leeks, potatoes, cabbages and carrots, and some apples and pears. He would wrap each vegetable up in a small paper bag. My mother, brother and I would stand in the drizzle, it was always drizzling or raining, and as this was an open-air affair, the grocer and all the customers were bundled up in layers to try and keep out the pervasive damp that crept up our bones. Every few days we would walk the two blocks to look at his produce, in the hope we’d be inspired by something new, and every week we would walk home with the same ingredients, the paper bags getting soggy in the rain. We’d make soup, mum made spiced dahl and lentils, and terrific apple crumbles, foods designed to keep us warm.

I recently read these lines by poet Edith Sitwell, "Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." which reminded me of those wet London days, and invoke images of hearty roasts, rich sauce mopped up with chunks of freshly baked bread, rib-sticking stews or a dish with a heart stopping amount of melted cheese. Hugely satisfying every now and then, but as the short damp days drag on some of us get the winter blues and get stuck in a rut cooking the same three dishes and a general throw-it-all-in-the-pot vegetable soup. At first these big warming bowls of hearty stews, bean chili’s, gratins and soups are just what we need when the weather turns chilly and wet, and don’t get me wrong, I do love a bowl of creamy vegetable soup, but it can get tedious, and tastebuds get tired. I long for food that offers a little pick-me-up, something with a little zest and piquancy. Enter winter greens, citrus, lots of herbs, and meals that don’t require a spoon to eat them. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I found (and still find) winter markets more inspiring, the obvious bonus being that the temperature isn’t hovering just above freezing, and ‘winter’ as it is, is thankfully short.

Here the markets are filled with vibrant colors from dazzling chards, radicchio and purple chidori kale, to watermelon radishes, multihued beets and cauliflowers, and such a huge variety of citrus fruit, in particular fragrant Cara Cara oranges, stunning blood oranges and sweetly tangy Meyer lemons. This colorful bounty is stimulating to the senses, and as the old adage, attributed to the Roman epicurean Apicius, goes “we eat first with our eyes.” Drawn in by these colorful winter vegetables, I walk through the market creating an array of dishes in my mind. I may well see a beautifully whorled creamy cauliflower and think of a curried cauliflower soup or of a gratin but will balance that rich dish with a crisp winter greens salad with thinly shaved candy cane colored radish slices or will see a mound of carrots piled high on a farmers table and think of a carrot puree to serve alongside a roast chicken and balance the hearty meal with a dessert salad of sliced winter citrus fruit. 

So much of winter cooking is about creating food that is warming and sustaining, making comforting dishes, dishes that take time to simmer and develop flavor, to slowly percolate on the stove while you, hopefully, curl up on the sofa with a good book until it’s time to eat. Sometimes these dishes can be monotone, a mac and cheese say, or a mushroom soup. This is when I like to think about texture. A change in texture enhances a dish. Crispy Brussel sprouts in the bowl of mushroom soup will give it a pop in much the same way crispy bacon will to the mac and cheese or adding al dente vegetable to bowl of lentil curry. The lentils are soft and tender, yet the vegetables add an uplifting note keeping each mouthful interesting.

Creating and cooking a lively winter menu is about balance between comfort food and dishes that open the appetite and keeps satisfying all one’s senses; from the aroma of a roast filling the kitchen as it cooks, to the fresh taste of citrus zest shaved across a salad, from the texture and sensation of a sensually soft yet crunchy mushroom crostini, to the sight of a lemon souffle rising.  As each of our senses is stimulated, our taste buds start salivating in anticipation; imagine a crunchy crisp pear and arugula salad followed by a luscious stew, a hearty vegetable soup with a zesty herb pesto followed by a mouth puckering lemon tart, or a radicchio and shaved parmesan salad, followed by a lentil curry with a tangy yogurt sauce. Adding that little extra touch—the crisp pears to the salad, the pesto to the soup, the yogurt to the curry—livens up each dish. Adding these extra touches to winter dishes has kept my tastebuds happy, is this something you do too?

Baby Arugula, Wild Mushroom, Mung Bean and Goat Cheese Salad

Robert Dautch, or BD, as he is known to everyone, has been farming for more than four decades in the Ojai Valley. I have heard him described as an ‘organic alchemist’ and having cooked with his exquisite array of herbs, greens, edible flowers, and vegetables for many of those years, I can attest that he and his hard-working crew, are masters of their craft. He is also a fountain of knowledge, and it was he, when he saw that I held a bunch of his Japanese globe turnips in my hand one market day, who said ‘you know those are great eaten raw Pascale.’ I had not, up to that point, tried raw turnips, but dutifully went home, and tried one. The texture and flavor were a revelation: sweet, delicate, with a hint of a mild radish on the palate, and the crunch of as Asian pear. They are terrific in salads. In this recipe they add a delicate yet crunchy contrast to the warmth of the sautéed mushrooms, the creaminess of the goat cheese and the pepperiness of the arugula.

Serves 8 people
For the vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon walnut mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Champagne or white wine vinegar

For the salad:
8 oz baby arugula
2 oz sprouted mung beans
4-5 baby Japanese globe turnips — washed (and peeled, if necessary,) then thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
3 oz goat cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ lbs assorted mushrooms, including cremini, trumpet, shitake — sliced
Sea salt
Black pepper

1. In a large salad bowl whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients to form a thick emulsion. Place salad utensils over the vinaigrette.
2. Place the arugula, mung beans, sliced turnips, chives and goat cheese on top of the utensils.
3. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is just sizzling, add the butter and melt until foaming. Add the mushrooms, a good pinch of salt and 8-10 grinds of pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the salad. Toss to combine well. Serve while the mushrooms are still warm.

Lentils du Puy and Carrot Salad

I must admit I am a little obsessed with these lentils from Auvergne, France. Lentils du Puy are sometimes called the caviar of lentils, and for good reason. They are absolutely worth the premium one pays for them. There are other small French lentils out there, but please trust me when I tell you that these are absolutely the best. They have a slightly nutty, mineral-like quality to them. They can be prepared quickly and because of their unique characteristics, they retain their shape when cooked, unlike other varieties. Lentils served with a mustardy vinaigrette are classic bistro fare in France and are often served with crispy bacon (lardons)added or as an accompaniment to duck confit or roast chicken. I love to make variations of this dish by adding assorted vegetables and herbs to the mix. In this version, multi-colored carrots with green onions, parsley and chives are tossed with the lentils and vinaigrette.

Serves 8 people
2 cups Lentils du Puy
2 small red onions — peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4 cups vegetable stock
Coarse sea salt
3 large red carrots — halved lengthwise and cut on a bias into ½-inch slices
3 large orange carrots — halved lengthwise and cut on a bias into ½-inch slices
Olive oil
4 green onions — thinly sliced
3 tablespoons parsley — finely chopped
3 tablespoons chives — finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon or walnut mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. Place the lentils, red onions, bay leaf and vegetable stock in a large saucepan. Add a good pinch of salt. Cook, covered over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are just al dente. Drain and remove the bay leaf. Place the lentils and onions in a medium salad bowl.
2. While the lentils are cooking, steam the carrots until they are just tender, 6-7 minutes. Remove from the steamer and let cool to room temperature.
3. Pour a little olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the green onions, parsley, chives and the cooked carrots. Add a pinch of salt and 4-5 grinds black pepper and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and mix well. Add the carrot mixture to the lentils.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, ¼ cup olive oil and vinegar to form an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the lentils and carrots. Mix well. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Beets, Butternut Squash and Red Onions with Zesty Parsley Pesto

This is one of my favorite beet dishes. The vibrant pesto is terrific with the rich, roasted butternut squash, the meltingly soft onions, and the tender beets. I like to serve this dish with green salad filled with herbs, and for a hearty meal with a lentil dish alongside, as the earthiness of the legume’s pairs wondrously with the voluptuousness of the roasted beets and butternut squash.

Serves 8 people
For the vegetables:
4 red beets — unpeeled
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
1 medium butternut squash — halved, seeded, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch slices
1 large red onion — peeled, thinly sliced

For the pesto:
1 cup of parsley leaves
1 tablespoon capers
4-5 cornichons
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 small Meyer lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the beets in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, add a good pinch of salt and some pepper, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets and slice into 1/3-inch rounds.
3. Pour a little olive oil onto a rimmed sheet pan. Place the butternut squash and onion slices in the pan and turn to evenly coat with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the same oven as the beets for 40 minutes.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, make the pesto. Place all the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender, and puree to a semi-smooth consistency.
5. Arrange the beets, squash, and onions on a large serving platter.  Spoon the pesto over the vegetables. Serve warm. 

Crêpes à l’Orange

You know how you can taste a dessert that instantly transports you back to your childhood? Well, this is that dessert for me. My mother comes from the French Alps. We would escape the bitterly damp London winters to the fresh air of her alpine hometown whenever we could.  This is what we ate when we came in from cold, snowy days in the mountains. We would thaw out by the fireplace in the local café at the bottom of the ski slopes and eat crêpes — sometimes sprinkled with sugar, sometimes with sugar and orange juice. They were hot, somewhat lacey, slightly buttery and faintly crispy on the outside. It was blissful.

Serves 8 – 10 people

1 cup unbleached flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

¼ cup water

3 tablespoons butter — melted

Zest of 1 orange

3 eggs — beaten in a small bowl

Vegetable oil

Juice of 2 oranges

Sugar

1. Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl if you are whisking this by hand). With the mixer running, pour in the milk, water, melted butter, orange zest and eggs. Whisk until the batter is smooth.
2. Heat a 7-inch frying pan or crepe pan until it is very hot. Using a paper towel, wipe the surface of the pan with a little oil. Pour just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan, just under 1/3 of a cup. Tilt the pan to coat evenly. Cook the crêpe until the bottom is golden brown and then flip it over cooking a minute more. (You may lose the first one or two as they might stick or not form properly. Don’t worry; this is normal.)
3. Keep the cooked crêpes in a stack on a warm plate.
4. When ready to serve, place a crêpe on a plate, drizzle with orange juice and a little sugar. Fold in half and half again. Serve warm.

 

As many of you know I am passionate about cookbooks. I have been collecting them for more than forty years, and yes, lugged many of them across the pond when I moved to California. I would like to share some of these tasty tomes with you.

The Cookbook Review is now part of every newsletter which features one or two newly released books and delves into some of the favorites on my shelves. These are books reviewed in 2023. 

April 2023

Mother Tongue: Flavours of a Second Generation by Gurdeep Loyal 

Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks and Messy Kitchens by Ruby Tandoh 

March 2023
Falling Cloudberries: A world of family recipes by Tessa Kiros

Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel by Claudia Roden 

Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Sara Wigley

February 2023

This month's books have a nostalgic vein and are full of the comforts of home.
When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman

A La Mere de Famille by Julien Merceron 

One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber

January 2023
Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Alexsandra Crapanzano
Honey Cake & Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by The Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors
Serendipity: A History of Accidental Culinary Discoveries by Oscar Farinetti
 

April 2023

Mother Tongue: Flavours of a Second Generation by Gurdeep Loyal 
Published in 2023 by First Estate

Gurdeep Loyal is a terrific writer. His stories are simultaneously enchanting and seductive and I haven't even got to the recipes yet. In his introduction he writes, "The irony of writing a book called Mother Tongue in a language that my own mother won't be able to fully read is not lost on me. Yet what's missing in her understanding of these words say is countered by her fluency in the flavours, something that words can barely begin to convey." 

Born to Indian parents in 1980s Britain, he conveys the challenges and the clash of expectations of both his cultures. But through his passion for food, his respect for his Punjabi roots, and his 'second-generation' cooking

Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks and Messy Kitchens by Ruby Tandoh 
Published in 2021 by Serpent's Tail
For those of you who are fans of The Great British Bake Off you may remember Ruby Tandoh who was a finalist in season 4. She went on to become a food writer, columnist and cook book author.  As she writes on her own website, 'Cook as You Are celebrates the messy, unglamorous, delicious realities of home cooking today. Across 100 original recipes, I explore how real home cooks – no matter their age, budget, ability or background – can find joy in the ordinary rhythms of cooking, from cobbling together weeknight ‘cupboard dinners’ from store cupboard staples and leftovers to rejoicing in the glory of carbs.'

March 2023

Falling Cloudberries: A world of family recipes 
by Tessa Kiros
Published in 2004 by Murdoch Books
Tessa Kiros, author of nine cookbooks, was born in London to a Finnish mother and Greek Cypriot father, and is now married to an Italian and lives in Tuscany. She grew up in South Africa and then travelled the world living, cooking and eating through different cultures. This book is a compendium of her favorite recipes from the countries she holds dear to her heart, each section delving into the dishes that for her encapsulate the cuisines of Finland, Greece, Cyprus, South Africa and Italy. Filled with beautiful photographs, personal stories, and succulent recipes, Kiros manages to capture the fragrance and essence of each country in her gorgeous and personal narrative.

Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel by Claudia Roden 
First published by Ebury Press in 2021, published in the US by Ten Speed Press

I'm a long time fan of Claudia Roden's work. Her books on Middle Eastern cooking reflect her encyclopedic knowledge of the region's cuisines. This book is much more personal. These are very much the recipes she cooks at homes for family and friends, and the most delightful aspect of the book is that you feel you have been invited to pull a chair up to her dinner table and tuck in to all this delicious food. Imagine drawing a rough outline of the stretched out elongated S that is the Mediterranean Sea, delving into the coves, bays, villages, towns and cities that dot it's shores, sampling dishes along the way from a Grand Aioli in Marseille, a Bullinada in Malaga, to a chicken with Freekeh from Cairo. Every dish she shares with us tells a story and with it the warmth of the Mediterranean fills the pages and is resplendent in the food she writes about. The recipes are uncomplicated and flavorful, each a delight on the plate and the palate.

Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Sara Wigley
First published by Ebury Press in 2020, published in the US by Ten Speed Press
The introduction to Falastin reads, "This is a book about Palestine-its food, its produce, its history, its future, its people and their voices. It is a book about the common themes that all these elements share, and how Palestine weaves narrative and cooking into the fabric of its identity."  It is a book that delivers all of that and much, much more. Authors Tamimi and Wigley delve into all that is complicated and enticing about Palestinian food, not shying away from delicate subject matters, but rather looking at how the geo-political situation on the West Bank has shaped the food culture that exists there today, at the same time celebrating millennia of cooking traditions. This book manages the delicate balancing act of opening its pages to a culture without preaching a political agenda. 

It's not often I come across a book where I want to cook almost every single recipe. This is one of them. I have so many bits of paper and notes stuffed into the pages marking which one to try next, it's sometimes hard to know where to open the book. It is not just the photos that are so appetizing, the stories behind the food are captivating as well. Meet the yogurt making ladies of Bethlehem and Noura Shaalan, a 'force of nature' who does everything from milking to marketing, or Vivian Sansour who started the Palestinian Seed Library, of fishing in Gaza, of olive oil, of cooking in refugee camps and the acts of peaceful resistance. The food is glorious, with tantalizing photos that make you want to lick the page, well, not literally of course, but close! I feel honored to make this food, carrying on a tradition of sharing with those around you. In a world that is too often torn by strife and violence, how comforting it is to create food that can give solace and put a smile on everyone's faces.

February 2023

This month's books have a nostalgic vein and are full of the comforts of home.

When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman
Originally Published in 1976 by Atheneum, Subsequently Published in 2002 by Ten Speed Press

When French Women Cook begins with these words, "This book, in its own way a feminist manifesto, is dedicated to the millions of women who have spent millennia in kitchens creating unrecognized masterpieces.."

The book is an homage to France, the masterpieces of it's classic regional cuisine, and to a time gone by. Each chapter in this moving memoir is titled after the women who shaped Madeleine Kamman's life and spans roughly 40 years from pre WWII Paris to Provence in the 1970s. Here are classic dishes of La France Profonde, from Poireaux Vinaigrette she made with her grandmother Marie Charlotte in Poitou to Mimi's (a friend since childhood) Trout with Hazelnuts or Quails with Juniper from Savoie, to Escalope de Veau she made with Magaly in Provence. There are pates, terrines and wild mushrooms a plenty, stories of milky cows in hay filled barns, and picking wild herbs in alpine fields. There's butter, crème fraiche and lots of vegetables, rabbit, lamb and fresh water fish too. I felt as though I was looking at a flickering black and white movie of France as it used to be, and from a very personal standpoint, I felt as though I had stepped back in to my grandmother's kitchen when I was a child. These are all her dishes too. I could taste her food while reading these recipes. The poignant stories struck a visceral chord and I realize how much I miss cooking with her.

A La Mere de Famille by Julien Merceron 
Published by Chronical Books in 2014, originally published by Hachette in 2002

This book is sweet. It's akin to stepping into a Wes Andersons Grand Budapest Hotel in book form. The illustrations are charming, the photos mouth watering and the story captivating. It is filled with sweets, in all sorts of guises, from chocolate delicacies (palet d'or), to light pastries (financiers), to whimsical candies (berlingots), interspersed with the chronological narrative of this Parisian Confectioner in business since 1761, and portraits of some of their customers. There are jewel-like  pate de fruits, nutty nougats, and calissons. There are so many recipes I want to try that I don't know where to begin. Like many of the customers who were interviewed for the book, when asked what A La Mere de Famille represents to them, they ALL say, their childhood. I feel the same just salivating over the pages in this book. The shop is on my MUST visit list when I get back to France, in the mean time I get to revel in all this deliciousness. 

One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber
Published ‏by Kyle Books in 2020

For those of you who are fans of The Great British Bake Off, Edd Kimber's name might ring a bell. He was the winner of the first series and he will be the first to tell you that Bake Off changed his life. He is now the author of six baking books and columnist for many newspapers and magazines. One Tin Bakes delves into simple traybakes, cakes, cookies, pies, bars and buns with every recipe designed to fit into a 9" x 13" tin.  How could I resist a book that fits everything into a dimension that resembles my 9' x 12' kitchen! His recipes are tasty, with classic flavor combinations, and the instructions clear with photos of every single dish. There's a terrific blueberry and stone fruit galette with a pecan pastry, add a sweet-nuttiness to the dough, and a flourless chocolate meringue cake that's just heavenly. Edd Kimber also has a great Instagram feed packed with videos of his bakes. 
 

January 2023
Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Alexsandra Crapanzano
Honey Cake & Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by The Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors
Serendipity: A History of Accidental Culinary Discoveries by Oscar Farinetti