Lamb Burger with Mint and Pistachio Salsa Verde
Summertime is the season of burgers. Be it beef, bison, turkey, tuna, lamb, or tofu—I find myself craving a burger and its supremely satisfying proportions on a frequent basis. I love making new variations on the classic theme of burgers. Ground meat doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare or cook and, if done right, can be a real show stopper if the right ingredients are used.
My husband and I work in the restaurant industry which means our off duty time is during the daylight hours. So for us, many of our best meals together are during lunch. Because of this I’ve began perfecting elegant, open faced burgers that taste great, have enough protein to sustain us through a long night, and go easy on the bread.
Thanks to the good people at Jimenez Family Farm (based in Santa Ynez, they drive down to the Hollywood Farmers Market every Sunday), I discovered the beauty of a perfectly cooked lamb burger. Top the ground lamb shoulder patty with the complementary flavors of mint and sweet Santa Barbara Pistachios, and the results hit the flavor trifecta: simple, delicious, and true to the terroir. This lamb burger with a mint and pistachio salsa verde is so good, I’ve actually started daydreaming about owning my own restaurant and building the whole business around every juicy, burger-bite.
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No Fail Potato Leek Soup Recipe
I’m not a chef, but I do spend a lot of time with professional cooks.
I work in a restaurant several nights a week and I like to show up early and take a few minutes of my off-the-clock time getting my bearings and observing the day’s activity in the kitchen. I pour myself a cup of coffee and watch the guys prep fish, squish hundreds of roasted potatoes, or pluck leaves of mint for what will become salsa verdes for the night’s service. It’s in these little moments of observing the pre-game prep, that I learn the big lessons about cooking.
Most servers don’t care for this sort of sideline observances. Maybe that’s why the chefs and prep cooks don’t mind as I watch them slice up chickens or brine pig’s heads. I have pretty good radar for annoyance, so I’m able to disappear the moment I see a flicker of irritation on a chef’s face.
In hanging around chefs, I’ve picked up lots of great tricks. But despite all the time I’ve spent with these men and women in chef’s whites, I haven’t been able to get over my irrational fear of unknown ingredients and certain culinary techniques. One challenge I had to recently overcome is my ridiculous fear of leeks.
While most people eagerly snatch up bundles of leeks, I would walk past and pretend I didn’t care for them. I even feigned ignorance of this vegetable’s power to inspire culinary hysteria across France. I was that scared. But thanks to my wonderful friend, Leah and her You-Can’t-Screw-This-One-Up Potato and Leek Soup Recipe, I finally had myself a leek epiphany.
Where To Buy Turkey in Los Angeles
I’m not sure how it happened, but I completely forgot to order my Thanksgiving turkey. My husband snapped me out of my ignorance of current calendar dates last night. He was gentle, but pointed.
“Chef Quinn ordered his turkey from Harvey Gus,” he said. “Maybe you should see if it isn’t too late to get a turkey.”
I gave him a blank stare. Wait. Get a turkey? How many days do I have before Thanksgiving?
That’s when I realized I was in trouble. As I scrambled to do research on where to find a bird, I realized I was in one of those concurrent life/food blog moments. If I were to get anything out of this potential debacle, I would have to write about it. Fast.
Based on my research, I offer you this roundup of Where to Buy Turkey in LA (Last Minute).
Expert advice on essential pantry herbs
Every home cook has basic items they always stock in their kitchen’s pantry. Requirements slide up and down a varying scale of basic essentials to gourmet necessities. While some gourmands require jars of caviar, blocks of chocolate and imported espresso beans, I like to keep things simple in my little kitchen. My cabinets stocked with cans of tuna, sardines, plum tomatoes, chicken stock and bags of pasta, granola, cereal and nuts. Nothing too complicated.
As for spices, I avoid the dried stuff in jars. As New York Times’ food writer Mark Bittman suggests my spice shelf should be dedicated to items that don’t go bad quickly. I stock dried red peppers, whole nutmeg, large sticks of Vietnamese Cinnamon (thanks White on Rice!), dried oregano from Italy, cardamom pods and a tube of harissa.
I have to admit that when it comes to buying fresh herbs, however, I am utterly uncertain what should be considered essential. Unless I have a specific recipe in mind, I’m often left wondering what I should or shouldn’t be buying at the farmers market herb stand. And sometimes, the thought of tossing another bunch of wilted (and yes, I admit it, moldy) basil into the garbage keeps me from buying anything at all.
But now, thanks to Lily Baltazar—the daughter of an herb grower and the person in charge of overseeing the family’s herb stands at farmers markets across southern California—I think I have a much better understanding of what an essential herb really is.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Lily for my weekly column in the LA Weekly’s food blog, Squid Ink. Lily thrives on educating customers and teaching them how use herbs. After learning tons of great ideas on how to use leftover herbs (read the full story here), I decided to ask Lily what herbs she couldn’t live without. Here is what she had to say:
If you could only have a handful of herbs in your pantry, what would they be?
I would certainly pick Italian parsley, basil, thyme, arugula and cilantro. I like to think that we are all “home chefs” and although our flavor palates are different, these herbs provide an array of flavors.
I love Italian Parsley too! I think that may be the once thing I always buy at your herb stand with confidence. I chop it up and throw it in sauces, toss with bread crumbs and add to salads (especially my radish and sardine salad). Why is Italian Parsley one of your essential herbs?
It sparks up any meal, whether you are making tabouli, putting a soup stock together, or adding it to a carton of store bought soup, it will enhance the look of the dish, as well as the flavor.
And Basil?
Basil is another herb that works well with any dish. I want to get customers to think past Italian pesto. This beautiful herb can be used for so much more. Just add extra leaves to a sandwich, to top a pizza and add to salads. Chop up basil and add last minute to soups, use it in spring rolls. Or just add it in the place of cilantro.
Suzanne Goin likes to use muddle basil stems to flavor her vinaigrettes. That’s an ingenious use of leftovers, I have to say. And speaking of Suzanne, thyme seems to be the number one herb used in most of her dishes at Tavern. Why is thyme so important to you?
Thyme is the versatile herb that can be used in just about anything. Use it for marinades and meat rubs for grilling. Chop and use for mushroom dishes. Thyme is a must for salad dressing. This beautiful herb is now being used to flavor and garnish for drinks.
And what about arugula? Is it really an herb?
The nutty spicy green is gaining in popularity. Its nutty, peppery leaves go well with fish, sushi, spring rolls, chicken, beef. I like to use this green in combination with sweets. Try an arugula salad with fresh dates from the farmers market or fresh, ripe fruit like apples, pears, candied nuts…The list goes on. For extra flavor, add cheese to an arugula salad.
Sometimes when I run out of spinach I like to use any arugula I have and sauté it. I recently used it in an egg white omelet and loved how it gave the simple egg preparation such a nice peppery note…Why is cilantro on your list of essential herbs?
I like to chop it up and sprinkle it on just about anything. I like it for salsa, chutney, salads, sandwiches, burritos, quesadillas.
How do you suggest storing fresh herbs? Is there a way to prolong their freshness?
Keep pantry herbs all together in a plastic bag or in a plastic tub. I like to bring out all of my herbs together, to inspire experimentation and new uses. The only exception to this is basil. Basil is special and does not like cold temps. Wrap your basil in a dry paper towel and place in a separate bag. Put the bag in the cheese bin or the warmest part of your fridge. All my pantry herbs (except for basil) will last about a week in the fridge.
Lily Baltazar’s family business, ABC Rhubarb is based in Fillmore, California. I visit her every week at the Hollywood Farmers Market.
Oscar drama
From coast to coast tonight, millions of movie-loving people will get together to celebrate a year of filmmaking and raise their glasses (and bowls of popcorn) to the best of the best. There will be pre-show voting, red carpet discussions and, if it’s a good party, lots of yelling or cheering at the TV screen as the awards are announced.
No matter where you live, if you love movies, Oscar night is important.
But if you love movies so much that you’ve given your life over to the craft and live in the greater Los Angeles area, Oscar night is one of the biggest events of the year. In fact, for us Hollywood folk, Oscar night is bigger and more exciting than Christmas/Chanukah/New Years/and our birthday combined.
Here, on Oscar day, “No Parking” signs go up everywhere, traffic slows, stores are gutted of food and wine, nail salons and waxing booths are flooded with men and women primping for the show and whole streets become parking lots for gala attendees.
Of course, little things, like going to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market are made nearly impossible by the Oscars. My usual Sunday morning routine was hampered by street after street of NO PARKING signs. When I finally found a parking lot, I wedged my car between a tuxedoed Oscar night employee and a photographer with his arms filled with expensive looking cameras.
At the market I found half of the vendors missing. Was it the rain that kept them away or was it the Oscar drama? With my guest list in hand and a pocket full of tip money, I bought a bag’s worth of produce (green tomatoes, broccoli rabe, bok choy, cherry tomatoes, spinach and arugula), a bag of kettle corn (which I promptly left at a vendor’s stall and completely forgot about) and a loaf of bread for this evening’s festivities.
The menu? No, not caviar on brioche toasts. My Oscar party shall not compare to the Super Bowl party with Chef Travi. Oh no. Tonight, my guests will be eating orecchiette with swiss chard, broccoli rabe and cherry tomatoes. Nothing fancy, but that’s all the market (and my budget) would allow.
And in the meantime, we’ll be crossing our fingers for all those aspiring like ourselves, hoping that some day, maybe one or two of us will make it to the Oscars, too.
What I ate: Sunday, Feb. 10th
It was a beautiful day in LA today. The streets were packed with runners, people walking their dogs and cars sped past with families eager to make the most of the warm weather. After weeks of unseasonably cold Los Angeles weather, things are starting to heat up again.
At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market this morning everyone had a smile on his or her face. The pedestrian streets were packed with happy families and hand-holding couples in short skirts and tee shirts–their bare limbs basking in the glory of our newly returned sunshine. With the cold snap a week behind us, the farmer’s fare looked lush and plentiful. Satsuma oranges and golden yellow Meyer Lemons glowed in the sunlight. Tomatoes were plump and avocados were soft to the touch. Carrots of all shapes and sizes–tiny sweet ones, large rabbit teasers–attracted hundreds of eager eyes to their bright colors.
I quickly emptied my pockets of singles and twenty-dollar bills with all that I loaded into my Mexican lobster market bag. I bought firm little Persian cucumbers, fresh mint, a heavy bunch of red and white Swiss Chard, a fat handful of green and purple scallions, sun kissed Meyer lemons, Japanese oranges, hand picked spinach, ripe avocados and a batard of freshly made bread from the Bread Man.
Back home, after showing my husband my market finds, we got inspired to make sandwiches. After frying up some fresh chicken breast and spicy chicken sausages from Trader Joes we had the freshest lunch in town.
Sunday Market Chicken Sandwich
Fresh French Bread–warmed in the oven
Sautéed chicken breast
Juice of half a lemon
Mayonnaise
Fresh market spinach
Whole grain mustard
Olive oil
Malden sea salt
Mild flavored cheese
Warm the bread in the oven at 250 while you sauté the chicken in a little olive oil. Squeeze half a lemon and a pinch of salt to season the chicken. When the bread is warm inside and has a bit of crunch cut into it halfway to create a pocket for the food to go into. Spoon May onto the bread, whole grain mustard then add spinach and cheese. Add chicken and drizzle with a little olive oil and salt. Put in oven for 3-5 minutes to warm up the cheese.
Persian Cucumber Salad
5 little cucumbers
A healthy drizzle of olive oil (your best stuff) to dress
A good-sized bunch of mint (finely chopped)
2 scallions (finely chopped)
Salt and Pepper
A splash of red wine vinegar
Peel the cucumbers and slice ¼ inch thick. Add finely chopped scallions. Drizzle the whole thing generously with olive oil—enough to coat everything and to make a nice dressing. Add a splash of vinegar (about 2 tablespoons) and season with salt and pepper to create a balance of acidity with the oil and salt. Put in freezer to make cold. Serve within minutes.