Fish Stock
Makes 4 cups
2 pounds fish bones from white flesh fish, such as halibut, snapper, sole, or cod, cut into large pieces so they fit in the pot
½ cup thinly sliced onion
¼ cup thinly sliced carrot
¼ cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup dry white wine
3 large garlic cloves, smashed
2 teaspoons white peppercorns
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 fresh parsley sprig
4 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt
SOAK THE FISH IN COLD WATER in a large bowl for 1 hour to remove the blood. Drain. Transfer the fish to a large stockpot and add enough cold water to cover the bones, about 8 cups. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to a simmer and skim off any foam that develops. Add the remaining ingredients and return to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and let cool. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Cooking and Shelling Lobster
LOBSTERS SHOULD BE COOKED as soon as they come from the market. If they will not be cooked immediately, rinse them under cold water and drain. Transfer to a large pan and cover with a moistened towel and refrigerate until cooking time. Rinse again before cooking.
In a large stockpot of salted boiling water, boil 1 to 1½ pounds lobsters for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until the lobsters are completely cold. (If they are still warm when you crack them, they will lose too much juice and become dry.)
Working over a bowl to catch the juices, twist each lobster body in the opposite direction from the tail, saving as much juice as possible. Reserve the juices for stock. Crack the lobster tails and claws with a mallet and remove the meat. Reserve all the shells for stock. With a spoon, remove the tomalley, the green to almost black liver in the head and in the top of the tail. Reserve this for stock, separately from the shells and juices.
Making Ravioli, Wontons, and Tortelloni
Makes 24 appetizers
Here’s a “trade secret.” Store-bought wonton wrappers aren’t just for wontons. They make it easy to make a variety of filled pastas and dumplings. Use this basic method to make the ravioli, wontons, and tortelloni in this book. Before you start, be sure to have rice flour on hand.
FILL A PASTRY BAG with whatever filling you’re using. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can simply spoon the filling onto each wrapper.) Lay out 6 wonton wrappers in overlapping diamonds, with about ½ inch of each wrapper exposed under the wrapper above it; this will allow you to brush egg wash onto one edge of half of each wrapper without wetting the whole surface. Spread the wrappers out in a single layer. Pipe or spoon the filling into the center of a wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle; close tightly, pressing from the filling to the outer edge to release any trapped air. Place on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper that has been dusted with rice flour and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Refrigerate.
TO MAKE TORTELLONI, follow the instructions above. After sealing the triangles, dot the end of one point on the folded side with the egg wash. With the wrapper flat on the table, place one finger in the middle of the long side against the filling and bring the two ends together behind your finger and press together, using the egg wash as glue. Store and repeat as above.
Making Ravioli, Wontons, and Tortelloni
Almond Cream
Makes about 1⅓ cups
A classic almond filling for tarts and pastries. Almond meal can be purchased at specialty food and health food stores, or you can make your own by finely chopping slivered blanched almonds, then pulsing them in a food processor to the consistency of a fine meal. Pass the meal through a medium-mesh sieve.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
Minced zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup almond meal
1 tablespoon pastry flour
IN A MIXER, beat together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract, and mix well. (The batter may look a little broken at this point, but it will come back together when you add the almond meal.) Add the almond meal and pastry flour and stir until blended. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Caramel Sauce
Makes about 1 cup
This versatile sauce is great to have on hand for dressing up desserts or drizzling over ice cream. It reheats well and will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. You can adjust the consistency by adding a tablespoon or so of heavy cream.
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN, bring the cream just to a boil, then set aside. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and sprinkle the sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. As the sugar starts to melt and brown, shake and move the pan to keep the sugar from burning (this works better than stirring with a spoon). Cook the sugar to a dark golden brown, about 4 minutes. Make sure there are no sugar crystals undissolved, then very gradually add the hot cream in very small batches; take care, as the mixture will spatter and can easily burn you. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and pour into a metal bowl to cool. Keep up to 5 days.
Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream Base)
Makes 1½ to 2 quarts
Making your own crème anglaise takes a little extra time, but it’s really worth it. From this single custard base, you can make a versatile sauce or vanilla ice cream, or an infinite number of other ice cream flavors. To make the vanilla custard sauce, simply make one-fourth of the recipe. This sauce is one of the basic elements in the “arsenal” of all clasically trained pastry chefs. It’s pooled on plates, drizzled over desserts, and served hot or cold with fruit, cakes, and other confections. This sauce can be flavored, if you wish, with just about any kind of alcohol. Some suggestions: Grand Marnier, Kahlua, or rum. This ice cream base is very rich, so be careful not to run the ice cream maker for too long, which can turn the mixture into butter. If you see tiny, hard pieces of cream that have actually lost their water and become butter, you’ll have to start all over again.
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN, combine the milk and cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the pan, along with the bean. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Half fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not curdle. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon (when you wipe your finger across the spoon, the sauce should not run together immediately). Strain the custard into a bowl. Rinse and air-dry the vanilla bean, which can be used to make vanilla sugar. Set the bowl into the bowl of ice water to chill the custard as fast as possible. Stir occasionally until cool. Cover the custard and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Espresso Ice Cream: Using the bottom of a heavy pot, coarsely crush ½ cup coffee beans. When steeping the milk, cream, and vanilla in the master recipe, add the crushed coffee beans. Add 1½ teaspoons coffee extract (or 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder mixed with ½ teaspoon hot water) and 1 teaspoon finely ground espresso to the chilled custard, then freeze.
&n
bsp; Ginger Ice Cream: Blanche ½ cup peeled, thinly sliced ginger in boiling water for 1 minute. (This will remove some of the acid that is in the ginger before adding it to the cream mixture, so the ginger will not cause curdling.) When steeping the milk, cream, and vanilla to the milk mixture in the master recipe, add the ginger and increase the steeping time to 30 minutes.
Banana-Rum Ice Cream: Puree 3 very ripe bananas (about 1 pound) in a food processor. Add to the cooled custard in the master recipe. Add ¼ cup Myers’s rum to the chilled custard, then freeze.
Meyer’s Rum–Currant Ice Cream: In a bowl, combine ⅓ cup dry currants with ½ cup Myers’s rum. Soak overnight. Add to the chilled custard in the master recipe, then freeze.
Noyau Ice Cream
Noyau is the French word for a fruit stone, and also for the flavoring made from the almond-like kernel such stones contain. You can make this ice cream with bitter almonds, but they’re very hard to find in the U.S., so we use the kernels found inside apricot pits. To extract them, use a hammer or nutcracker; remove the white kernel and discard the pit. Don’t use more apricot kernels than this recipe calls for, and never eat them raw, because they can upset your stomach.
7 apricot kernels
Ingredients for vanilla bean ice cream
2 teaspoons bitter almond extract or almond extract
ADD THE APRICOT KERNELS TO THE MILK MIXTURE in the master recipe, bring to a boil, then cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain out the apricot kernels when you strain the custard. Add the bitter almond extract to the chilled custard, then freeze.
Meyer Lemon Ice Cream
Makes 1 to 1½ quarts
If you can’t get Meyer lemons, regular ones will work fine, but you may want to use a little less juice to suit your taste, as Meyers have a sweeter perfume and less acid.
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
4 teaspoons grated Meyer lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN, combine the cream, half-and-half, and lemon zest. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the pan, along with the bean. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Half fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not curdle. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon (when you wipe your finger across the spoon, the sauce should not run together immediately). Strain the custard into a bowl. Rinse and air-dry the vanilla bean, which can be used to make vanilla sugar. Set the bowl into the bowl of ice water to chill the custard as fast as possible. Stir until cool. Stir in the lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Pâte Sucrée
Makes 13 ounces
Pâte sucrée, or sweet pastry dough, has a very fine texture or crumb and is good for any pastry or pie recipe, open or covered. This recipe may make a little more than you need; just tightly wrap any leftover dough in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.
⅓ cups pastry flour
¼ cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
COMBINE THE PASTRY FLOUR AND SUGAR in a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed. Add the butter and mix until crumbly. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla extract, then add it to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just starts to come together. (Do not mix longer than this, or the dough will be tough.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days.
TO MAKE THE DOUGH BY HAND, whisk together the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. Mix together the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Using your fingers, a pastry blender, or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles large crumbs. Work quickly so the heat of your hands doesn’t melt the butter. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the liquid ingredients. Carefully begin drawing in the flour mixture from the sides, taking care not to let the egg run out. Mix gently until the liquid ingredients are absorbed. Do not knead the dough. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Vanilla Sugar
Makes about 2 cups
This sugar is lovely for sweetening whipped cream or crème fraîche and even to use in coffee or espresso. Once made, it can be stored in a dry place indefinitely.
4 to 5 previously used, cleaned, and dried vanilla beans
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
PREHEAT THE OVEN to 350°. Put the vanilla beans on a baking sheet pan and sprinkle with ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the vanilla beans are dry and brittle but not burned. Let cool. Break the beans into small pieces and put them in a food processor with the remaining 2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar. Pulse the machine until the vanilla beans become a fine dust. Sift the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard the bits that don’t go through. Keep the sugar in an airtight container.
Acknowledgments
Leading up to and in the life of a restaurant there are many people who have inspired, guided, and cared for us along the way. Words alone will never be enough to thank them or to show the love and respect we have for their support. We hope they have always known how we feel, and we want others to know what they have done for us and meant to us.
TO CARL DOUMANI AND JOANNE DOUMANI, for trusting us with their money and believing that we could run a restaurant. Also, for waking Lissa up after returning home from a special evening and sharing with her the night and the food they ate—those words made sweet dreams.
TO YUTAKA SONE AND KYOMI SONE, who allowed Hiro to come to the United States for one year but didn’t complain when he stayed longer. They gave Hiro an understanding and appreciation for the best that comes from the land and what it takes to grow it.
TO CAROL DOUMANI, for believing in us and giving us a nudge, then bringing our ideas to Ten Speed Press.
TO WOLFGANG PUCK AND BARBARA LAZAROFF, without whom none of this would be possible. Destiny is one thing, but our coming together and our relationship were a stretch of the imagination. They set the example for us to strive towards in cooking, business, and love.
TO NANCY SILVERTON, who told Lissa’s mom that Lissa wasn’t burning everything when she probably was, and who had the patience and generosity to teach her art.
TO PAM HUNTER, who from the beginning whispered our names in all the right people’s ears at just the right time.
TO LORENA JONES AND KATHY HASHIMOTO, for both making us nervous and calming us down, then directing us into making a book we could be proud of.
TO FAITH ECHTERMEYER, who photographed Terra and our suppliers. Without her eye, the soul of this restaurant and the beauty of the abundant bounty that is available to us from local producers could not have been caught on film.
TO HIROAKI ISHII AND KAORU SAKURABA, who came from Japan to photograph our food with the intensity that we believe it has.
TO OUR ARMY OF TESTERS, who all made sure that each of the recipes worked at home: Art Finkelstein, Lisa Drinkward, Jan Dykema, Ann Leach, Stephen Dukas, Gwen Hopkins, John Gavin, Anani Lawson, Sarah Walz, Tim Mosher, Julia Tang, Laura Schweers, Gabrielle Quinonez, Tammy Matz, David Schmitt, Patrick Brawdy, Catherine Durand, Alan Steen, Greg Denton. Especially to John Giannini for organizing them and Hiro.
TO ALL THE TERRA EMPLOYEES OVER THE YEARS, for all their hard work. We have always p
rided ourselves on the professionalism of the staff and the rapport we have with our customers. Everyone who works at Terra makes this possible. We are more than a team or family, we are what makes this work.
AND, MOST OF ALL, TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, who over the years have given us much joy and passion for what we do. We do it for them. Every restaurant should remember that. Without customers like ours, our restaurant would be dark.
VERSATILE RECIPES INDEX
Most of the dishes in this book are comprised of two or more subrecipes, many of which can be used in other dishes and can be incorporated into your own menus. This index gives hints on how we would use these recipes and hopefully will inspire you to come up with new ideas of your own. Feel free to experiment.
Vinaigrettes
BALSAMICO AND CAPER VINAIGRETTE: Drizzle over grilled vegetables, roasted chicken, or grilled veal chop.
BLACK OLIVE–BALSAMICO VINAIGRETTE: Sauce for fish, vegetables, or good for steak.
GINGER-MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE: Goes with cold Asian noodles, also salads with roasted chicken or pork.
LEMON-CAPER VINAIGRETTE: Use as a dressing for seafood salads or artichokes.
LEMON-CORIANDER VINAIGRETTE: Makes a light sauce for delicate fish.
PARMESAN-BALSAMICO VINAIGRETTE: Like a Caesar dressing, great with romaine, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
SPICY LEMON-GINGER VINAIGRETTE: Cold pasta salads and grilled fish.
TOMATO–BLACK OLIVE VINAIGRETTE: Any fish, or paillard of meat.
Terra : Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley (9780307815323) Page 25
