Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life

With organic and seasonal cooking principles becoming ingrained in today’s kitchens, and new buzzwords including locavore and CSA steadily gaining traction, how do we integrate food politics into daily life in ways that are convenient, affordable, and delicious? Lucid Food offers more than eighty-five healthy, eco-oriented recipes based on conscientious yet practical environmental ideals. Sustainable chef and caterer Louisa Shafia demystifies contemporary food issues for the home cook and presents simple, seasonal dishes that follow nature’s cycles, such as Baby Artichokes with Fresh Chervil, Apricot Shortcake with Lavender Whipped Cream, and Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Soup. Her empowering advice includes how to source animal products ethically and responsibly, support local food growers, and reduce one’s carbon footprint through urban gardening, preserving, composting, and more. This cookbook celebrates the pleasures of savoring home-prepared meals that are healthful, honest, pure, additive-free, and transparently made, from the source to the table.

Acknowledgments • vii

Introduction • 1

Eco-Kitchen Basics • 9

Fall • 27

Elderberry cold tincture 31 Buckwheat crepes with mashed potatoes and jack cheese 32 Amaranth porridge with fruit and nuts 35 Tortilla espa–ola 36 Chickpea cakes 39 Grilled maitake mushrooms 40 Ginkgo nut mushroom dumplings with simple dipping sauce 42 Roasted beets with persimmons over market greens 45 Kale salad with avocado, almonds, and toasted nori 46 Seven-vegetable miso soup 48 Red lentils and spinach soup 49 Roasted tomato and goat cheese soup 52 Pan-roasted portobello mushrooms with mashed parsnips 52 Roasted fennel stuffed with white beans and chestnuts 54 Grape and ginger—glazed chicken 56 Persian stuffed dumpling squash with rose petals 59 Charred eggplant and polenta torta 60 Black walnut tea cake 61 Fall fruit focaccia 62 Bittersweet chocolate cake with prune purée and hazelnuts 65

Winter • 67

Apple pomegranate sangria 72 Nutty banana shake 73 Green smoothie 74 Indian spiced scrambled eggs 75 Congee with vegetables and fresh herbs 76 Inarizushi (stuffed tofu pockets) 79 Crispy yuba rolls with lime-mustard dipping sauce 80 Grapefruit and celery root salad with watercress 82 Cucumber and pomegranate salad 85 Red cabbage, apple, and dulse salad 86 Creamy red kuri squash soup 88 Warming asian rutabaga soup 89 Fesenjan (chicken in pomegranate walnut sauce) 91 Mediterranean shepherd’s pie 92 Lemony gold beet barley risotto 93 Oven-roasted dungeness crab with fennel and orange 95 Buckwheat and orange zest gingersnaps 98 Pear kanten with pecan crunch 101 Poached quince in orange blossom water 103

Spring • 105

Sassafras tea 109 Rhubarb spritzer 110 Matzoh brei with caramelized apples 112 The best granola ever 113 Stinging nettle pesto with seared scallops 115 Baby artichokes with fresh chervil 116 Eggs and new potatoes with green olive pesto 117 Watercress with roasted enoki mushrooms and peas 120 Fava beans and seared zucchini with garlicky croutons 123 Lamb’s quarters and pea shoots soup 125 Ash-e-reshteh (persian new year’s soup with beans, noodles, and herbs) 126 Orecchiette with morel mushrooms and garlic ramps 131 Almond tofu with snap peas and soba noodles 132 Miso-glazed striped bass with shiso cucumber salad 135 Spot prawns with garlic, sorrel, and white wine 136 Carob pudding 137 Rhubarb and pistachios over thick yogurt 138

Summer • 141

Blueberry chocolate decadence smoothie 147 Watermelon, apple, and lime shake 147 Lemonade with lemon balm and lemon verbena 148 Tahini and honey over fresh fruit 150 Grilled apricots with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar 151 Smoked farmed trout purée with cherry tomatoes 153 Marinated mackerel with dill and horseradish yogurt 154 Indonesian corn fritters 155 Puntarelles with anchovy dressing 156 Chicken paillards with sun-dried tomato purée over arugula 158 Chilled cucumber soup with avocado, cumin, and mint 159 Watermelon gazpacho 160 Chunky tortilla soup 163 Stuffed poblano chile peppers 165 Grilled pizza 166 Grilled mussels with simmered tomatoes over couscous 168 Tofu banh mi sandwiches 171 Apricot shortcake with lavender whipped cream 172 Fresh berry dessert sauce 175 Fresh fruit sorbet 175 Blueberry cobbler with oat scone topping 176

Accompaniments • 177

Tamarind ketchup 178 Pickled cauliflower 179 Mixed pickled vegetables 181 Citrus chutney 182 Pickled mango and habanero relish 183 Cilantro-jalape–o sauce 184 Cucumber yogurt 184 Watercress mashed potatoes 185 Sautéed leafy greens 186 Sweet potato and cranberry cornmeal biscuits 189 Green rice 190 Smoky eggplant dip with yogurt 192

Resources • 193

Index • 195