Miner's Lettuce

Miner's Lettuce has started popping up along the hillside trail just beyond our garden gate.  Long dainty stems suspend a single asymmetrical leaf and tiny central blossom.  For as long as humans have inhabited the Central Coast, miner's lettuce has played an important part of their diets.  The name, miner's lettuce, reflects back on a time when miners and pioneers depended on the leafy greens for vitamins after the winter months when edible vegetation was scarce.  Early explorers were so taken with the striking wild greens that they brought seeds back to Europe, where they are still considered a delicacy.

Along with triangle leeks, miner's lettuce is a true harbinger of spring; a subtle reminder that months of cooking hard squash and winter radishes will soon be behind us.

Carmel Valley Berkshire Pig Headcheese

Almost two years ago, a few weeks after I came back to Post Ranch, I brought in two whole pigs from Carmel Valley.  For me, the most important thing about whole animal butchery is respecting the animal and using as much of it as possible.  After meticulously breaking it down and setting aside separate projects, I instructed someone on the next steps.  When I returned a day later I was horrified to see the meat thrown haphazardly into the freezer because the person was "too busy" to complete the task.  What should have been treated with respect had instead been destroyed, discarded into a frozen pile of failure.  The incident was so traumatizing that I refused to order any more whole pigs, until now.  Every portion of the pig has a use.   For these particular pigs we did the following:

• Loins and Tenderloins -  Pan Roasted for dinner - lightly brined with white soy and ginger
• Front Legs and Scraps - Fresh sausage for breakfast with pineapple sage and pink peppercorns from the North ridge
• Back Legs (Big Sur Hams) - Cured with wild black sage and redwood then smoked with eucalyptus, oak and mushrooms
• Bones - Smoked for four hours then made into stock
• Heads - Cooked in stock then cleaned and turned into a "head cheese"

Head Cheese has gotten a bad reputation, probably largely due to its unfortunate name.  For me it is the culmination of the butchery process, taking the last remaining scraps and creating something truly exceptional out of pieces normally discarded. One of our cooks, Kyle Cobb, was excited about the project, so he worked on this batch - and putting the head in the smoker was his idea (which turned out great)  The concept is simple - simmer the whole smoked pig head in stock until it is soft, remove the cheeks, tongue and other meat and shred, remove the brain and crumble - set the meat aside and allow the stock to reduce.  While the stock is reducing cook some green garlic in the rendered pork fat until aromatic.  Add the green garlic to the shredded meat, then add chopped thyme and parsley.  Season liberally with sea salt and black pepper.  Once the stock starts to form large bubbles and becomes viscous remove it from the heat.  At this point there should be enough gelatin for the stock to be very firm when cooled.  Slowly add the meat back into the highly reduce stock.  A ratio of 30% stock to 70% meat should work.  Season this mixture and set in a container to chill (when seasoning remember that it should taste slightly over-seasoned because when cooled the seasoning will be more muted).

For the final presentation of this dish Elizabeth made a red banyuls aioli and pickled mustard seeds to pair with toasted country bread and tiny root vegetables.  I was really happy with the way the dish came out- because it elevates a dish from something people might turn their noses up at, to a refined presentation with juxtaposing textures and flavors that harmonize
perfectly with the rich headcheese.

Big Sur Ham

We recently received two beautiful Berkshire pigs from Carmel Valley.  Sterling and I started a batch of Big Sur hams.  Inspired by Speck (an aromatic smoked ham cured with laurel, juniper and rosemary from Northern Italy), we rubbed the legs with local sea salt, wild black sage and redwood shoots.  After two weeks of curing, we will smoke with a series of sage, eucalyptus and oak, then hang for six months.  I hope the final hams reflect the terroir of Big Sur!

Keyhole Limpet and Gumboot Chiton

This week the spiny lobster season and whelk season both came to a close.  The Monterey Abalone Farm, who has been collecting both of these items for us, asked me if I had any other exotic seafoods on my wish list.  They have always come through on even the most outlandish requests, such as live moon jellyfish and sea cucumber, so I racked my brain to think of anything that might be worth pursuing.  Anemone, commonly eaten in Spain, but illegal to harvest in California, was out of the question.  I remembered reading something about native Californians eating gumboot chiton, but had no idea what flavor they might have or whether they would be a choice ingredient.  As luck would have it, Trevor happened to have a gumboot that he had collected for an aquarium and was more than happy to let me have it.   While he searched the tank he also ran across a giant keyhole limpet, resembling an abalone shrouded in a strange-black film.  For good measure, I decided to add it to the shopping list.

The gumboot chiton was pretty bad - not only was it flavorless, it also retained a hard-brittle texture (like plastic) regardless of whether it was raw, gently poached or cooked for hours.  The results were so disappointing that for the time being I have written it off as strictly a survival food.

The giant keyhole limpet was a whole other story.  After removing the strange black leathery shell, I pulled a large muscle - reminiscent of an abalone “foot”, from the small-oval shell with small hole on top.  I was then able to separate this portion into two parts - a central “foot” and donut shaped outer muscle.  After trying a few preparation methods we were able to get perfect slices of firm, yet tender meat with a flavor similar to abalone but with perhaps even a sweeter more complex note, by gently poaching a slice of the middle muscle in salted water for 25 seconds.  We also took the outside ring and slowly poached it in water with sea salt for 2 hours.  The result was completely unexpected - a creamy-white flesh, slightly sticky to the touch, most similar to a piece of braised pork fat.  The flavor was rich and creamy - delicious and completely unlike anything I have tasted.  It was an incredibly fruitful and exciting afternoon in the kitchen and I am excited to work on a dish that showcases the unique culinary merits of the keyhole limpet! 

In addition to being an incredibly promising culinary ingredient, the giant keyhole limpet is also on the forefront of modern medical science.  It contains a blood protein called “KLH” which is alleged to be able to fight auto immune disorder, Alzheimer’s and cancer.  You can read more by clicking here. 

Dry Aged Lone Mountain Wagyu Ribeye

Brassica

On Friday night we did a special request vegan nine-course menu.  Here is a course featuring brassica from the garden: turnip top purée, tiny turnips, cauliflower, radish, ash, arugula blossom and kale.

Sierra Mar's New Lunch Menu

Last week we debuted our latest three-course prix fixe lunch menu.  Here are some of the dishes.  To view the entire menu, please click here.

MORRO BAY OYSTERS - HIBISCUS, SHALLOT, BALINESE LONG PEPPER

 

 

 

SWEET ONION TART - WILD ONIONS, WATERCRESS, THYME

PETITE LETTUCES - WARM CHARLIE CASCIO GOAT CHEESE, CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

SMOKED BEET TARTARE - FRESH HORSERADISH CRÈME FRAICHE, LEMON, INK BREAD

KELP CURED ABALONE MUSHROOMS - CARROT PUREE, RED SHISO, CRISPY RICE

OLIVE OIL CURED STEELHEAD TROUT - WILD SPRING HERBS, FINGERLING POTATOES

GRILLED BAVETTE STEAK - FAVA BEAN PUREE, ROASTED SPRING ONION, GRAIN MUSTARD PAN JUS

PAN ROASTED BLACK COD - LOCAL ARTICHOKES, SPRING VEGETABLES, WHITE BEANS

 

HARRISA BRAISED LAMB LEG - ISRAELI COUS COUS, MEYER LEMON, MINT, PISTACHIO