Cauliflower and Cilantro Pesto

The restaurant
Bar Amá – Los Angeles, CA

The dish
Cauliflower and cilantro pesto

The experience
You know how sometimes it's hard to tell what dishes are going to be best at a restaurant? This was one of those times where I couldn't decide whether it was worth ordering this dish, over everything else on the amazing menu. Let me tell you – it was. As soon as I got home, I made it for a dinner party. It's both delicious and filling.

Notes
I made this for a vegan friend by simply leaving out the cheese. It worked great.

Ingredients

Pesto
5/8 cup unsalted raw cashews
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 small garlic clove, minced or grated
Zest of 1/4 lime
1/4 teaspoon seeded and finely chopped serrano chile
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese (I used soft feta)
Generous pinch of sea salt

Cauliflower
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, cored and separated into small florets
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon crumbled cotija cheese (again I used feta)
Juice of ½ lime

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake cashews on a rimmed baking sheet until toasted and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cilantro, and once it wilts, after about 30 seconds, drain in a fine-mesh sieve. Force out as much water as possible.

Combine garlic, lime zest, serrano chile and olive oil in bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth and emulsified. Add blanched cilantro and purée until semi-smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the cooled cashews, the 1/4 cup of cotija cheese and the sea salt and pulse.

Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts shimmering, add the cauliflower florets and salt. Toss and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake for 3 minutes, then flip the cauliflower florets. Roast an additional 6 to 8 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Transfer the cauliflower to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Combine cauliflower, pesto, remaining cashews, chopped cilantro, cotija and lime juice in a large bowl. Serve.

Serves two to four, depending on portion size.

Adapted from Tasting Table.

Photo courtesy of T.Tseng

Spanish-Style Gazpacho

The restaurant
Ecos Del Mundo — Mexico City

The dish
Gazpacho

The experience
On our last day in Mexico City, I was desperate for a vegetable-forward meal. In fact, I was craving gazpacho but I doubted I'd manage to satisfy that particular craving. Mostly out of curiosity, I peered at the menu of an organic restaurant, one block from the main plaza in Coyoacán. Lo and behold, gazpacho! I ordered one bowl then a second. The waiter thought this was a bit strange, but I didn't care. It was easily the best gazpacho I'd had outside of Spain.

Notes
The secret to good gazpacho: ripe tomatoes and high-quality ingredients. You can add honey if your tomatoes aren't ripe enough, but ideally you want to start with tomatoes that are truly ripe. The quality of the olive oil makes a big difference, so splurge if you can. I use California Olive Ranch EVOO, which I found on sale for $6.50.

I've made countless versions of gazpacho, tweaking the recipe a little each time. The recipe below draws on this Serious Eats technique, but I've changed the proportions and ingredients significantly.

Ingredients
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
1 sweet pepper (such as a cubanelle, Anaheim or Hungarian), cored, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 small white or red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic and salt in a large bowl and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Transfer vegetables to the freezer until vegetables are frozen, about 30 minutes.

Remove vegetables from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature until mostly thawed, about 30 minutes.

Blend vegetables at high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add olive oil and vinegar. Strain soup through a fine mesh strainer.

Chill for at least 6 hours.

Taste before serving and add more salt or vinegar if needed. Drizzle each bowl with olive oil.

Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Soup

The restaurant
Hungry Mother – Cambridge, MA

The dish
Butternut squash and apple cider soup

The experience
I was so sad to learn that Hungry Mother closed this summer. The Cambridge restaurant, known for its southern cuisine and slow food ethos, was one of my favorite places to eat in the Boston area. The first time I went I didn't have a lot of money. All I could afford was a side of collard greens and a soup — butternut squash and apple cider. That soup blew my mind. They never had it on the menu again and I've yet to find another butternut squash soup I enjoy as much as that one.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, seeded and cubed (about 6 cups)
3/4 cup onion, minced (leeks or shallot also works here)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons shortening (olive oil, ghee, butter, coconut oil — chose the flavor you prefer)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
Salt

Directions
Peel and cube butternut squash and mince onion.

Heat shortening in a large heavy saucepan, add the onion and sauté over high heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft but not burnt.

Add garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add squash and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes.

Pour mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Add sour cream and apple cider and blend until combined. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Garnish with apple.

Serves four.

Nopalito's Totopos

The restaurant 
Nopalito – San Francisco, CA

The dish
Totopos, one of the most popular appetizers at this upscale Mexican restaurant.

The experience
When I first saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to recreate it at home. The ingredients are simple but I the combination is complex. I'm planning to scale it up and serve it at an upcoming summer BBQ.

Ingredients
8 oz tortilla chips (about half a bag)
1/2 cup salsa de arbol (store bought or recipe below)
1/4 cup queso fresco or cotija cheese
1/2 cup thinned sour cream
Lime wedges
Handful of cilantro (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Warm salsa in a small saucepan over low heat.

Arrange tortilla chips on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes.

Transfer chips to serving bowl and add salsa, tossing gently to combine. Keep adding salsa until the chips are coated. Top with cheese and cilantro, if using.

Serve with sour cream and lime wedges.

Salsa de arbol
This specialty salsa can be found in Latin American grocers (or if you're in SF, you can buy Nopalito's own sauce). It's also easy to make yourself if you can't find it in a store. The following recipe comes from The Commodore in Brooklyn, via Saveur.

2 tbsp. canola oil
4 cloves garlic
1⁄4 white onion, chopped
55 dried chile de arbol, stems removed
1 tomato, roughly chopped
Kosher salt, to taste

Heat oil in a 12” skillet over medium-high; cook garlic until brown, 3 minutes. Add onion and cook 3 minutes more. Add chiles and cook 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1⁄4 cup water; cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 8-10 minutes. Place in a blender with salt and 10 tbsp. water; purée until smooth.

Photo courtesy of Nopalito

Thyme Lemonade

The restaurant
Sudestada – Buenos Aires, Argentina

The dish
Thyme lemonade

The experience
I visited Sudestada a few days after arriving in Argentina, back when I had no idea how rare it is to find good Southeast Asian food in Buenos Aires. At the time (before the crazy runaway inflation of recent years), Sudestada offered a fantastic lunch special that included lemonade. The lemonade was a special treat for me because I usually drink water to save money. The food was good, but I swear, I went back for the lemonade.

Ingredients
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
6 cups water
6 sprigs thyme (or rosemary, or whatever fresh herbs you have on hand)
2 cups fresh lemon juice

Directions
Combine honey, sugar and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then stir to dissolve sugar. Turn off heat and add thyme/rosemary/herbs (I used rosemary because it needed to be picked from my garden). Let sit until cool.

Pour syrup and lemon juice into a pitcher and stir to combine. Add remaining 4 cups of water. Taste and add more water if needed.