The Midwest harvest goes to the heart of straightforward cooking: great tomatoes, vegetables, apples. At its height, this produce is best prepared in the simplest way: The full flavors of sun-ripened fruits and vegetables need little enhancement.
Bradley Ogden, one of our foremost American chefs, cooks in California, but much of his inspiration comes from his youth in the Midwest. His three California restaurants--Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, Lark Creek Cafe in Walnut Creek and One Market Restaurant in San Francisco--reflect these influences. His cuisine smacks of home cooking: great-tasting, robustly flavored and uncomplicated food.
The following harvest recipes from his book "Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner" (Random House, 1991) exemplify what his style of cooking has come to mean: tasty, straightforward food that tastes just the way you expect it to.
SUMMER BEAN SALAD
Serve this with goat cheese, herbed cheese toast topped with gravlax or fried soft-shell crab.
1 pound green beans
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup cooked fresh shell beans, fava beans or peas, optional
1 cup peeled, seeded, diced tomato
1 cup peeled seeded, diced cucumber
1/2 cup fine-diced red onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Trim green beans and blanch in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain immediately and plunge into ice water. Drain.
Toss beans with 2 tablespoons olive oil, pinch salt and optional cooked shell beans, favas or peas.
In medium bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, red onion, garlic and basil. Stir in remaining oil, 1 teaspoon salt, vinegar and pepper. Macerate 10 minutes.
Arrange beans on serving plates. Spoon some tomato mixture over top and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
Each serving contains about:
238 calories; 86 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.89 grams fiber.
VEGETABLE SLAW WITH BOILED DRESSING
BOILED DRESSING
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
In small saucepan, boil vinegar, sugar, mustard, celery seeds, pepper, salt and cayenne 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil. Set aside to cool.
