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| Vegetables Moving to
Center Stage
The American
frontier was no place for vegetables. People
always on the move didn’t have time to learn
how to grow them under local climatic conditions.
So livestock filled the void in the frontier
American’s diet. Vegetables, meanwhile,
"have always rested on the periphery of our
plate," observes Deborah Madison in the
introduction to her latest cookbook, The
Vegetarian Table: America (Chronicle Books,
1996).
Perhaps it is no
surprise that in California, where the frontier
ran out, vegetables have crept back toward the
center of the plate. Madison, the founder of
Green’s restaurant in San Francisco, is one
of many chefs who credit farmers markets with
helping spur the trend. The new American
"passion for vegetables" has been
accompanied by a growing awareness that the
quality of the produce depends on how it is
grown, "which is why the garden and the
farmers’ market have become such important
resources for anyone who wants to cook easily and
cook well," she explains.
Madison has chosen a selection
of recipes intended to highlight
"traditional flavors." Thus, she
presents succotash, blue corn enchiladas and
Concord grape pie. She updates one California
traditional flavor by dressing the salad that
follows with a walnut vinaigrette. "Years
ago one would have found it dressed with a sweet
poppy seed dressing, once a California
favorite," she writes. Walnuts, which firmly
place the dish in California, where most walnuts
are grown, are paired with potatoes in the second
recipe, which Madison credits to the wife of the
governor of Michigan in 1914. The governor’s
wife declared that the croquettes "are fine
and make a good substitute for meat."
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Avocado
and Pink Grapefruit Salad with Walnut
Vinaigrette
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1/3
cup walnut pieces
1 large pink grapefruit
1 tbs champagne vinegar
or white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 shallot, finely diced
3 tbs walnut oil
1 head butter lettuce, or
3 large handfuls of
arugula leaves, long
stems removed
1 large or 2 small Haas
avocados
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| 1.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly toast the walnuts until
they begin to smell good, about 7
to 10 minutes, then remove to
cool. 2. Using a sharp
knife, cut a slice off the top
and bottom of the grapefruit.
Stand the grapefruit upright on a
cutting board and slice away the
peel, following the contours of
the fruit and removing the white
membrane to expose the pulp.
Holding the fruit in one hand
over a bowl, cut along both sides
of each segment to free the
segments, capturing them and the
juice in the bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine
1 tbs of the grapefruit juice,
the vinegar, salt and shallot in
a small bowl. Let stand for 10
minutes to macerate the shallot,
then whisk in the walnut oil.
4. If using
butter lettuce, discard the
ragged outer leaves, separate the
inner leaves at the base, wash,
and dry well. Gently tear them
into large pieces or leave whole.
If using arugula leaves, wash and
dry them. Place half the lettuce
or arugula I a bowl, add half of
the dressing, and toss to coat.
Divide the green between two
plates. Halve, pit, and peel the
avocados then slice crosswise
onto a plate. Spoon the remaining
dressing over the avocado slices
then divide them between the
plates, tucking them in between
the leaves. Ad the grapefruit
sections and walnuts, and serve
right away.
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