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Fall Recipe: Goat Cheese-Stuffed Fried Squash Blossom Taco at Valle Eatery & Bar

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Fall’s Don’t-Miss-Dish in Edible Santa Barbara

Obsessed taco lovers know that a great taco is all about the tortilla. In Santa Barbara County, we’re in luck; we know many restaurants and taco stand that hand-make tortillas from scratch, from masa imported from Mexico. It’s the real deal. But Conrad Gonzales, the chef behind Valle Eatery & Bar in Lompoc and Vallefresh catering and taco bar in Los Alamos, is kicking that up a notch by growing traditional heirloom Mexican corn right here in Goleta, California.

Gonzales and his colleague, heirloom grower Abel Basch, hatched a project to plant Heirloom Oaxacan Green Dent corn seeds, an ancient corn of the Zapotec people of southern Mexico, to see how well it can be cultivated here (read all about this on page XX). Gonzales wanted to make tortillas the truly authentic way – which is also the truly sustainable way (and happens to be local, organic and GMO-free) – like they have in Oaxaca for thousands of years.

The bright green corn has now been harvested, and Gonzales is busy processing it, grinding it into masa and making homemade tortillas from it. That makes his the most authentic tortilla around.

Don’t miss his Goat Cheese-Stuffed Fried Squash Blossom Taco on an heirloom green corn tortilla with green tomatillo sauce, pinquito beans, Cotija cheese and avocado at his eateries this fall.

If you find heirloom dent corn, first cook it in a solutions of water and lime calcium until softened, then after letting it rest for 1 night, grind it into a paste with a mortar and pestle to get the masa (or buy fresh masa from local shops that sell Hispanic foods).

Boil pinquito beans in water, garlic and bay leaf until tender, at least 1-2 hours. Make a green sauce by blanching tomatillos and roasting poblano peppers, then blending these with jalapeño, garlic, onion, lime and salt and pepper.

Roll a small amount of pure masa into a ball, then flatten it with a tortilla press, and grill each side on a griddle or cast iron skillet until browned (or use authentic corn tortillas from the store – local or unlabeled are best).

Heat ¼ inch of oil in a pan (or heat up a deep fryer). Stir together ¾ cup flour and 1 egg, then slowly whisk in ½ cup sparkling water or beer to make a light batter. Stuff the squash blossom with goat cheese, dip in the batter, then place in the hot oil and fry until golden (about 2 minutes).

Lay a tortilla on the plate and drizzle with tomatillo sauce, then top with avocado, pinquito beans, a squash blossom, Cotija cheese and epazote (a Mexican herb similar to oregano or mint) or cilantro. Serve with lime.

Heirloom Oaxacan Green Dent Corn in Goleta, CA

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Christmas has come early – this time in August. As I stand in the middle of an unruly, all-natural cornfield in Goleta, leaves waving wildly in the breeze, I witness two men peeling back the dried, yellowed husks of what looks like overripe corn. They are getting their first glimpse at heirloom green corn kernels they have planted earlier this year. The two friends are giddy, excitedly peering into their cob treasures and calling out the colors they find. They look like kids on Christmas morning.

Emerald green, yellow gold, blood red, forest green and gray-green are some of the colors we find inside the whispery husks. These are the fruits of a new culinary experiment here in Santa Barbara County: planting Heirloom Oaxacan Green Dent corn seeds, an ancient corn of the Zapotec people of southern Mexico, to see how well it can be cultivated here. It’s been grown there for centuries and is traditionally used to make green-flour tamales and other staples like tortillas, polenta or corn meal for breading.

Local culinary school buddies Conrad Gonzales and Abel Basch started this project with a mission to introduce new varieties of heirloom corn—those that we have never heard of or seen before—and to make homemade tortillas the traditional, sustainable way it’s been done in Oaxaca for hundreds of years.

Born in Santa Barbara, Gonzalez is a 4th-generation Californian, with family roots in Mexico City. He’s been cooking in the area for over 15 years, then he went out on his own in 2014, now heading up Valle Eatery & Bar in Lompoc and Vallefresh catering and taco shop in Los Alamos. He quickly became known around the County for his savory pork belly tacos and homemade tortillas. Abel Basch grew up in Los Angeles and came to Santa Barbara for culinary school—where the two friends met—then cooked in restaurants all over Santa Barbara before realizing his first love was growing food. And heirlooms are his thing.

“Working with heirloom seeds like this is so amazing and interesting,” says Basch, who runs Abel’s Heirlooms out of Fairview Gardens. “Since heirloom seeds have kept their bio-diversity, they naturally mutate and you get all these really cool colors. It’s a surprise every time you harvest.”

Gonzales has always wanted his food creations to be a true fusion of his family’s Mexican culture and his Central Coast upbringing. He also wants his dishes to be organic, locally sustainable and true to their roots.

Corn has been a sustainable crop in North and South America for a very long time. Learning to cultivate wild corn, then harvesting and preserving it for winter has built and sustained ancient peoples, cultures and empires across the Americas. “It just makes sense,” Gonzales explains, “for us to plant this heirloom corn, harvest it and keep it to sustain us for winter here in Santa Barbara…I can offer 100% organic, sustainable (and GMO-free) tortillas for all my dishes. The way they are supposed to be made.”

Gonzales knew his friend and colleague would be into it, and when he introduced the subject, Basch jumped at the chance. “If you get me the seeds, and promise to buy the entire yield from the crop, I’m in.” Basch told him. Gonzales already had the seeds picked out.

Since then, Basch has been farming these and other heirloom varieties at Fairview Gardens, helping rejuvenate the historic farm, bringing new produce to the Santa Barbara Farmers Market with other heirlooms, and now they hope to yield between 400-500 pounds of heirloom corn. And there is more heirloom corn planted in other locations in Santa Barbara County, so that Gonzales can explore the results in taste and yield. “Like grapes grown in different appellations in our area,” he says, “I believe we will be able to taste different terroir in the corn as well.”

To harvest, the corn is hand-picked after the husks are dried and yellowed and the corn has become hard. The corn is then milled by hand to remove the kernels, and the kernels are cooked in a solution of water and lime calcium. After they rest for 1 night, the softened kernels are ground in a stone mortar and pestle until they become a wet paste. This is the masa.

To make a tortilla, Gonzales rolls a small amount of pure masa into a ball, then flattens it (you can use a tortilla press) and grills each side on a griddle or cast iron skillet until browned.

The taste is earthy, dense, savory and meaty. It’s a deeper, more intense flavor than typical hand-made tortillas, but also has a light note, just a little floral. This tortilla plays the starring role in a taco, instead of a delivery vessel for the fillings. This is the pure taste of ancient culinary culture: this tortilla is pure corn, no salt or other additions. And it’s better; heirloom corn has more nutrition, protein, flavor and variation than modern corn that is widely available.

“This is as close to historically accurate food as we can get, for a tortilla. And now, we can have an heirloom Santa Barbara tortilla. Only at Valle restaurants,” Gonzales says with a smile. Basch reminds us we can also make green heirloom whiskey, as well as polenta, grits and fresh masa for sale to other cooks. Gonzales would also love to someday make tortillas, chips, tostadas and masa to sell to the public and restaurants. “A Valle Fresh heirloom tortilleria in Santa Barbara County…that would be awesome,” Gonzales says.

This fall, Valley Eatery & Bar in Lompoc and Vallefresh in Los Alamos are offering a goat cheese-stuffed, fried squash blossom taco, with green tomatillo sauce, pinquito beans, cotija cheese and avocado, served on the heirloom green corn tortilla. It’s a street taco with ancient roots; you don’t want to miss it.

Get details on the goat cheese-stuffed, fried squash blossom taco.

Rosé Wine Tasting in Los Olivos: 6 Stellar Rosés

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Larner rose wine
Spring has sprung, and that can only mean one thing in wine country: it’s rosé season. This is the time of year when wineries release their new rosé, to be enjoyed now and all through the summer (and if you can hold onto a bottle all the way until Thanksgiving, it’s superb with the food).

This time of year, rosé is fresh off the bottling line. It can be light and zingy with a hint of color and fruit, or it can have more body and complexity with nice acidity to keep it fresh. Gone are the days of heavy, sweet rosés…most wineries today are making a Provence-style rosé: dry, fresh, a little (or a lot) fruity with tons of acidity to keep your mouth refreshed. Just what we need on warm Spring days and Summer evenings.

In Los Olivos, look for these 6 ravishing rosés:

  1. Crawford Family Wines has a beautiful rosé of Grenache from a vineyard called Mesa Verde right in the middle of the Santa Ynez Valley, for those who like it light and lively.
  2. Larner Vineyard & Winery makes Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre rosé this Easter weekend as well. This Rhone blend of grapes is really the classic choice for rosés from Provence.
  3. Kaena Wines makes a more complex rosé of Grenache, a pretty wine that can easily stand up to summer barbecues.
  4. Tercero Wines releases a rosé of Mourvedre (the folks in the tasting room are known to open a bottle early for someone who asks!) and we can’t wait to taste it, knowing his skill with the grape.
  5. Andrew Murray Vineyards makes a nice rosé of Cinsault, which is its Esperance rosé, following in Andrew’s style of ripe fruit and bracing acidity.
  6. Blair Fox Cellars does a double whammy, making a rosé of Grenache, and also sparkling rosé of Grenache! They are also family-owned and organically-farmed. (In case you’re wondering, other wineries that also do a double whammy of rosé and sparkling rosé are Alma Rosa, Summerland, Riverbench and Palmina.)

Have fun with these wines and don’t forget to Drink Pink!

 

Fall Recipe: Santa Barbara Rock Crab Eggs Benedict

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Fall’s Don’t-Miss-Dish in Edible Santa Barbara magazine

Jane-at-the-Marketplace-Goleta-Peach-Breakfast-Pizza-by-Liz-Dodder

With items like breakfast pizza fritta, shakshuka eggs, housemade levain breads and seafood galore, it’s difficult to pick a dish from the new weekend brunch menu at Jane at the Marketplace in Goleta. After 8 years in the downtown Santa Barbara location, Jane expanded to this outpost and added brunch to their French and Mediterranean inspired menu.

Fall’s seasonal benedict is made with local Santa Barbara rock crab over fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes on a housemade bun. And the rock crab is extremely fresh, sometimes only hours out of the ocean (and never frozen). At Jane, the kitchen staff for each shift calls in the seafood order for the next meal service, which means this crab is ordered from Santa Barbara Fish Market the night before. All seafood is delivered twice daily, chosen from the market’s daily fresh offerings.

Almost all the bread at Jane is sourdough – including the fried pizza dough in the pizza fritta (peach or banana breakfast pizza) – and made in-house from a starter that’s been alive as long as the restaurant. Chef Mark Huston started his bread for the Goleta location almost 2 years ago when they opened, so that local yeast would contribute to the bread’s taste and makeup. This signature bread is still evolving with the air, and adorning tables and dishes at brunch, lunch and dinner. And it goes so well with bright, sweet crab and delicate, French-style Hollandaise sauce.

Jane-at-the-Marketplace-Goleta-Crab-Eggs-Benedict-by-Liz-DodderTo make the dish, Huston gently boils the crab in salted water for 10-15 minutes, then cools and cracks the crab and removes the meat. He grills the buns in clarified butter (you can sautée in a skillet) and tops that with sliced tomatoes and fresh spinach. He makes Hollandaise sauce by blending egg yolks, lemon, vinegar and clarified butter, then adds a tiny spot of hot water at the end (this makes it lighter and more delicate). He adds a poached egg to each bun, tops with the fresh Hollandaise and garnishes with herbs or chives.

 

Fall Recipe: Herb Crusted Fish of the Day

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Fall’s Don’t-Miss-Dish in Edible Santa Barbara

You might not guess it, but one of the best places to eat local fish is the cozy, modern Danish restaurant inside the renovated Landsby hotel in Solvang: Mad & Vin. Both the ceviche and the Herb Crusted Fish of the Day with crispy quinoa, fall squash and Swiss chard come from our local waters.

The supplier is Buellton native Travis Meyer, who’s been fishing here his whole life. When he recently began selling his local wild Halibut and other white fish to Industrial Eats (or select spots on the valley), newly promoted Head Chef Beto Huizar quickly jumped on board.

Meyers’ local catch is the inspiration for the Herb Crusted Fish, paired with local fall vegetables, crispy red quinoa (a house original) and a sauce from house-made orange shrub (a traditional technique of preserving fruit). Huizar was raised on a farm in Mexico, where everything was fresh and his grandmother cooked from scratch. After arriving here in the valley at 18, he worked in various kitchens, always keeping his eye on local ingredients.

To make this dish, Huizar dries fresh thyme, oregano and sage in the oven, then mixes in salt, sesame seeds and sumac. He salts the fish, presses the herb mix on the non-skin side, then sautÈes it in oil over medium heat – crusted side down first, then flip, 2 minutes on each side. To crisp red quinoa, cook as directed, then deep-fry in small batches for about 1 min. (You can also pan-fry over medium heat in oil for 5-6 mins.) Slice the vegetables and roast in a 350 degree oven with olive oil, salt and pepper until done. Blanch the chard, then sautÈe with sliced garlic.

Finish the fish in a 350 degree oven for about 6 minutes or until done and reduce the orange shrub or vinegar by one-third, and add vanilla paste. Top the vegetables and quinoa with the fish, and add the reduced sauce and some edible flowers.

Fall Recipe: Carbonara Pizza (aka Breakfast Pizza)

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Breakfast Pizza from Industrial Eats - Santa Barbara wine country

Fall’s Don’t-Miss Dish in Edible Santa Barbara Magazine

Industrial Eats owner/Chef Jeff Olsson has been cooking from locally sourced, organic ingredients long before “farm-to-table” was born. In the late 80s, deep in Amish farming country in Pennsylvania, Tuscarora Organic Growers co-operative took root, supplying restaurants in the Washington D.C. area with locally grown, organic produce. This co-op helped keep small farms afloat by coordinating crop production to complement each other rather than compete. Restaurants had more varied produce and farmers made more sales.

While cooking at Miller’s Red Sage and Restaurant Nora (the first certified organic restaurant in the U.S.) Olsson felt lucky to have access to such diverse produce grown organically nearby, and remembers faxing his orders to the co-op. This kind of farm-to-restaurant link was radical at the time, where chefs could even tell farms what they’d like planted for next year. or Olsson, this kind of food just tastes better – it’s great because it was in the ground 36 hours ago.

Now at his Buellton restaurant, most everything is sourced locally, including pork. He sources heritage breeds like Kunekune, Mangalitsa and Berkshire crosses exclusively in Santa Barbara county, where the pigs are raised humanely. Butchering and curing is done in-house, with Valley Piggery even helping teach a Butchering class in Olsson’s kitchen one weekend every 2 months. Restaurant cuts from the class are used in the dishes.

The Carbonara Pizza (or Breakfast Pizza before noon) features pancetta from those local pigs, Parmesan cheese, a seasonal vegetable and a farm egg on top. To make the dough, Olsson uses only 4 ingredients: Italian 00 pizza flour, yeast, water and salt – anything more only brings the quality down.

After kneading, he lets it rise in the fridge for 24 hours. He then stretches the dough by hand, spreads olive oil across the top, then adds salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese, pancetta and vegetables. He cracks an egg in the middle and slides it into an 800 degree wood-burning oven for 4-7 minutes. To cook at home, place a cast-iron skillet upside down in your oven and turn the heat all the way up. When the skillet is hot, cook the pizza on the skillet for 10-12 minutes or until dough is done.