The following recipe, slightly altered to use local produce, is one that Johnson’s Steakhouse, 160 Golf Course Rd in Weaverville, recommends serving with Alpen Cellars 2008 White Riesling.

Whisk first 10 ingredients in small bowl.

Preheat oven to 275°. Sprinkle ribs racks on all sides with salt and pepper and place in baking dishes. Pour orange juice over ribs and cover with foil. Bake until ribs are tender, about 2.5 hours. Remove ribs from baking dishes.

Transfer to roasting pan: pour any remaining juices over and cool.

Prepare grill at medium heat. Cut each rib rack in half. Grill until browned, brushing frequently with glaze and turning often, about 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from the Penna Gourmet Olive website

Place olives in boiling water for three minutes. Drain and place in salt brine (1 pound of pure salt to 1 gallon water) for three days.

Remove from salt brine, and drain. Dehydrate for 4–6 days using a food dehydrator set at 120 to 130°. Move olives daily to change contact points.

If your dried olives are too dry, blanch in boiling water until re-hydrated to desired moisture. After draining, toss with olive oil and add spice while the olives are still hot.

To store your olives for any period of time, we strongly urge freezing the dried olives. When you want to use them, thaw and toss in olive oil and spice.

This recipe comes from Maurice and Cindy Penna and is adapted slightly from the Penna Gourmet Olive website. It evolved from an old Mediterranean recipe and promises “a finished product that cannot be bought at any retail store” and that is plentifully consumed as part of daily life in Mediterranean countries. For curing 2.5 pounds of fresh green olives Always rinse the olives in fresh water prior to preparing. Place olives one or two at a time on a bread board and strike with a mallet or any other heavy object to crack the olives in preparation for leaching the bitterness out.

Place cracked olives in fresh water. Cover with water until all olives are submerged. This may require placing an object on top of the olives. The container used in processing should be glass, ceramic, or plastic.

Change the water daily for 10 days until the olives have lost most of their bitterness.

Once the olives have lost bitterness, prepare the preserving brine: Take ¾ cup of 5 percent wine vinegar or 5 percent distilled vinegar and add water until you have 32 liquid ounces. To this acidified brine add 5 level tablespoons of pickling salt (pure NaCl with no additives), and stir until dissolved. Drain the water off the olives well, then add the new acidified salt brine. The container should be of a type that can be sealed so no flavor will be picked up in the refrigerator. Keep refrigerated from here on.

Now is where the preparer can become creative and add spices to the olives.* Remember to go slow on amounts of spice because spices will be absorbed as the olives sit in the spiced solution.

By the end of day 4, the olives are ready to eat but will continue to absorb the spices.

*The publication “Olives: Safe Methods for Home Pickling” contains many ideas for spicing the final brine: dill pickle spices, fennel seed, fresh dill, fresh fennel, dried chili pepper or pepperorns, garlic. Available at anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8267.pdf .

Mediterranean Style: A Variation

This recipe comes from Marino Garbis and calls for tree-ripe black Mission olives. Like the Mediterranean Olive recipe at left, it uses water to cure the olives and brine to preserve them. He said he’s known people who put olives in a gunny sack and set them in a flowing stream to remove the bitterness. The variations between this recipe and the recipe above from the Pennas gives an idea of how personal preferences alter curing and brining methods. Personal preference even plays into the variety and ripeness of olive used. Chris Kerston recommends using mature green olives in any curing and brining recipe. According to the UC Davis publication referenced above, green olives are mature when their juice is a creamy white color.

Wait until Mission olives are black on the tree but still firm. Pick them, wash them, and slice into each olive nearly to the pit.

Place the olives in fresh water to cover, and change the water twice a day. Repeat daily for least 3 weeks until the olives have lost some of their bitterness.

Next the water-washed olives go into a salt water and vinegar brine. To prepare the brine, for each 1 gallon of water, use 6 ½ tablespoons pure salt (sometimes called pickling salt, it’s pure NaCl with no additives) and ½ cup vinegar. Mix enough to cover the olives. Let them sit in the brine for 2 days before tasting.

Clafoutis are traditionally baked with cherries however Pastry Chef Terri Moore of the Tin Roof Bakery and Cafe recommends using apricots, plums, peaches, or apples as possible substitutes for pitted cherries.

Tart shell

• 1 large egg
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt
• 7 oz or 14 tablespoons cold cubed butter

Use the paddle attachment of mixer to combine dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing on low. Next add in the cold butter cubes and mix until butter is the size of peas. In a separate bowl mix the egg and cream together. Add this mixture to the mixer and let go until the dough almost forms a ball. If the dough seems dry add just a little more cream.

Now form the dough into a disk, cover in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out ¼ inch thick and line a tart pan. At this point I like to chill again, then dock the dough. Blind bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Pour claufoutis mixture into tart shell and bake. 

Filling

• 5 eggs
• 12.5 oz. sugar (1½- 1²/₃ cup)
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 3.25 oz. all purpose flour (³/₄ cup)
• 10 oz. unsalted butter (1¼ cup)
• vanilla bean
• seasonal fruit (pitted cherries; apricot, plum, apple work well)

Slit the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds from the bean. Combine butter and vanilla seeds over medium heat and heat until the butter reaches a noisette (light brown color). Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth.

Meanwhile, whisk to combine eggs and sugar with orange zest. Add the cool strained butter. Sift the flour over and mix. Store overnight for more flavor or use immediately. Pour half the batter into the tart shell. Add the fruit, whole, pitted cherries or sliced stone fruit or apples. Pour the rest of the batter over the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is golden and does not jiggle, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve chilled.

Serves 8-10.

From Terri Moore, Pastry Chef, Tin Roof Bakery and Café

Dave Guzzetti, former restauranteur and continuing caterer and former Chico City Councilman, offers these salads that use bounty from the garden.

The Sicilian classic; use as a side dish or relish. Serve at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut 2 eggplants into ½-inch slices along with 1 red onion sliced the same way.

Brush the slices with olive oil. Put the eggplant and onion on separate baking sheets and roast 30-40 minutes, turning once. Remove from oven and cool.

Cut 1 tomato into chunks and place in a large bowl along with ½ cup each of kalamata and green olives and a small jalapeno pepper, sliced.

Cut the eggplant and onion into coarse chunks and add to the mix.

Add ½ cup chopped basil, ½ cup chopped Italian parsley, 1½ tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of local olive oil. Toss gently.

Season with good salt and fresh ground pepper and put in the frig for several hours or overnight.

Can accompany pasta, rice or use as an antipasta or a relish.

Boil 1 pound of orecchiette (‘little ears’ or small sea shells) pasta in salted water, then drain and hold.

Cut 2 ripe tomatoes into 1-inch chunks and place in a bowl along with 4 tablespoons of chopped basil.

Heat 1 tablespoon of local olive oil and saute ½ red onion, finely diced, along with a diced zucchini (not too large). Brown several minutes, add fine chopped garlic. Remove from heat and toss with tomatoes and basil. Salt the salad to taste and add fresh ground pepper.

Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of good olive oil. Mix this dressing with the pasta.

Add the vegetable mix. Toss with ½ cup of chopped kalamata olives.

“My friend has a firm policy about summertime baking: Do not turn on the oven between Memorial Day and Labor Day.’ I don’t know if I could take it that far, but I agree that when it’s hot outside the last thing I want to do is heat up the house.” —Doni Greenberg

Doni’s website, anewscafe.com, has more recipes—and much more about the northstate and beyond.

6 small sweet potatoes (about 1 per person)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more for the pan)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Peel and slice potatoes into whatever shape “fry” you want. (Keep in mind that skinny fries will cook faster.)

Place the sliced potatoes into boiling water for about 1½ minutes to blanch (partially cook; also known as parboil).

Drain the water and pat the potatoes dry with a towel.

Try to get the potatoes as dry as possible. (Water can cause a steaming effect, which results in a soggy potato, not a nice crisp one, which is what we’re going after.)

In a plastic bag place the seasonings and cornstarch. (The cornstarch helps give a nice crust.) In another bag pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the potatoes in the bag with the olive oil and shake well to cover. Remove the potatoes from the oil “shower” and transfer to the bag with the seasonings and cornstarch. Inflate the bag slightly (blow into it) and twist the top shut, then shake the potatoes until they’re covered.

Get a baking pan that you don’t mind putting in the barbecue. (It will get pretty sooty.) Drizzle enough olive oil to lightly cover the pan. Bring the pan and the sack of potatoes outside to the preheated barbecue. (If you have a temperature gauge, about 400 degrees would be great.)

Set the baking pan onto the barbecue grill and let the pan get very hot. Then place the potatoes onto the pan. (I hate to mention this now, but you could need more than one pan, depending upon how many potatoes you’re cooking.)

Close the lid and let the potatoes bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and let the other side bake for another 10 minutes or so, or until nicely browned and crispy. Serves 6 to 8.

Enjoy!

Kelly and David Gomez operate Root Catering in Chico with “a vision for using only the best locally grown and produced foods and products.” The following recipe, which uses Greg Massa’s organic brown rice and fresh summer peaches, is sometimes served customers at the Massa table at Chico Farmers’ Market.

Combine rice, peaches, ¼ cup brown sugar and ginger, and pour into a 9x9 buttered pan.

Combine flour, remaining ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cut in butter. Sprinkle this mixture over rice, and sprinkle the toasted slivered almonds on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Amanda Leveroni, of Bacio Catering & Carry Out Cuisine in Chico, sends this along for Edible Shasta-Butte readers: “Last year, Sheri and Gail canned up salsas in
the summer for holiday gifts later in the year. My favorite was their Apricot Salsa. So delicious and unique with just the right amount of piquant flavor. Pour it over cream
cheese or chevre and serve with crackers or pita chips. Try it as a savory-sweet sauce for cooked pork or chicken dishes or brush it on cooked kabobs for a zesty
summer treat! I can’t wait to see what’s in my stocking this year.”

3 quarts apricots, chopped
1 quart tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon mustard seed

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cook slowly until mixture thickens (1½ – 2 hours). Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Follow the instructions for your canner to process.

Makes about 7 pints.

Gas, Taunton Press, 2009. Fred Thompson is the author of seven additional cookbooks, as well as publisher of Edible Piedmont, which covers local foods in the plateau region of North Carolina where he keeps his grill hot and smoking. Fred says: The Italian classic panzanella gets a new spin when you grill the bread. This added dimension, I think, further brings out the summer sweetness of dead-ripe beefsteak tomatoes. The juxtaposition of the caramelized, toasted bread against the sweettart
tomatoes makes for plenty of contrast in flavor and texture. You can also try this without grilling the tomatoes, if you prefer. Just don’t make this salad too far in advance. You want the bread to have a little structure and crispness.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces day-old Italian bread, cut into ¾-inch-thick slices
6 dead-ripe meaty tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into
quarters
¼ cup minced red onion
⅓ cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
7 or 8 grindings black pepper

Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter.

When it’s about half melted, throw in the garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the garlic to take on a little bit of color. Remove from heat and brush this mixture on both sides of each slice of bread.

Oil the grill racks. Preheat your grill using all burners set on high and with the lid closed for 10 to 12 minutes.

Place the bread on the grill, close the lid, and cook, turning once, until well marked. Careful here; depending on the moisture content of the bread, this could happen as quickly as 2 minutes (or about 1 minute on each side), but it usually takes about 4 minutes. Place the tomatoes on the grill, close the lid, and cook for a few minutes per side.

Remove the bread to a cutting board, cut into ¾-inch cubes, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, onion, olive oil, vinegar, herbs, salt, and pepper. Toss gently
with your hands to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoningsif you desire. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6 to 8.

Whether accompanying lamb, spread over brioche, or added to iced tea, this aromatic jelly adds a bit of cool to most meals. Apples or quince can also be used in place of loquats.

4 pounds loquats, halved and the
seed removed
2 cups mint, roughly chopped
½ cup white vinegar
3½ cups sugar

Cook loquats and mint in 3 cups of water over medium heat until the loquats are soft. Add vinegar and cook on high heat for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and
mash into an applesauce consistency.

Next, place the loquat mixture in a sieve, lined in several layers of cheesecloth over a large bowl. Allow the juice to drain for several hours.

Once fully drained, place the juice in a non-reactive saucepan, dissolving the sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently. Turn the heat up to a boil, and remove the surface scum with a large metal spoon for about 10 minutes. Continue to boil until the temperature on a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees. At this point the juice has gelled. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can test if it has reached the gelling point by pouring it off the side of a spoon. If it comes off in a sheet instead of a stream, it is done. Or you can scoop a small amount in a metal spoon and place the spoon in the freezer. It should be gelatinous when cool.

Once gelled, carefully pour the juice into hot, sterilized jars, leaving ¼ inch headroom. Wipe the rim and edges with a warm, moist cloth.

Seal and allow to cool. No further processing is needed.

Makes 10 4-oz jars.

These preserves are great added to vanilla bean ice cream,
plain yogurt, and used as a sauce alongside both chocolate
and sponge cake.

3 pounds plums, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound grapes, halved
3½ cups sugar
4 tablespoons light rum

Dissolve sugar in 1 cup of water in a large saucepan over
high heat and bring to a boil. Add the plums, reducing
the heat to medium and cooking them until they are soft
but still firm. Remove plums and in a large bowl combine
them with the uncooked grapes. Meanwhile, bring the
syrup back to a boil, thickening it slightly for another
couple of minutes. Once thicker, remove from heat and
add the rum.

Fill hot sterilized jars with the plums and grapes, one
inch from the rim. Pour the rum syrup over the fruit
arranged, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe jars clean with
a damp cloth then and seal. Process in a boiling water
bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 8 half pint jars.

Making tomato juice works best with a food mill;
otherwise it is necessary to add the step of blanching and
peeling the tomatoes.

Simply wash the tomatoes, cut them into small pieces,
and place them in a saucepan to simmer over low heat
until they are soft. Run them through a food mill and
return to the saucepan. Continue to heat until the juice
reaches a boil. Remove from heat and pour into hot,
sterilized jars.

Process the juice in a boiling water bath for 10 to 15 minutes.

After tasting this recipe made from garden fresh tomatoes and horseradish, you and your guests will never want to drink prebought Bloody Mary mix again!

Combine all ingredients. Pour into hot, sterilized jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 pint jars.

Doni Greenberg writes, “I adapted this recipe from one that called for zucchini sticks. This works as a wonderful appetizer or a delicious accompaniment to a spring green salad.”

Prepare baking sheet: either coat lightly with non-stick spray, or brush with olive oil. Set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the lightly beaten egg whites in a pie plate or shallow container. Set aside.

In another pie plate or shallow container combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Roll each asparagus spear in enough egg whites to coat and then place each egg-white dipped asparagus spear in the dry mixture and gentle roll the spear until it’s covered with the crumb mixture. Place each spear on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the asparagus is crispy on the outside but still slightly firm inside. (Vary the time depending upon the thickness of your asparagus. Avoid over-baking the asparagus. You can always return it to the oven if it’s under-done, but there’s no going back if it’s mushy.) Serve with your favorite aioli or other dipping sauce.

Dave Guzzetti, former Chico City Concilman and longtime restauranteur and caterer, offers this recipe for sopash, which is regularly served at Portuguese festas throughout the spring season. Many traditional festas are celebrated in California’s Central Valley, where Portuguese dairy (and other) farmers live.

For about a dozen guests, 

• use about 6 pounds meat, either in large stewing pieces or a roast, but you must have some bones, even if they are bought separately.  (Beef is traditionally used, of course.) Put the meat and bones in a slow cooker or Dutch oven. 
• Add white wine to cover the meat, 
• 12-15 whole cloves of garlic, 
• 2 onions, cut in chunks, 
• 2 carrots, cut in chunks, 
• 3 or 4 cups of tomato sauce, 
• a cup of catsup, 
• a few bay leaves, 
• 1 tablespoon each black pepper, allspice, cumin, salt, and cinnamon. 

Cook 8-12 hours. Add a little water later if you need to, but cook it slow!  About an hour before serving, remove the meat to a separate bowl, then quarter a head of cabbage and add it to the broth.

To serve, put a thick slice of bread (a little stale is OK) in the bottom of the bowl, top with sprigs of fresh mint.  Ladle the soup with cabbage over the bread and add some meat to the bowl.

Enjoy.

Craig Thomas, chef at The Red Tavern restaurant in Chico, was voted by Edible Shasta-Butte readers a Local Hero in the chef/restaurant category. He offers this recipe, which is featured this spring at the Red Tavern, 1250 The Esplanade in Chico. The restaurant is open Monday thru Saturday at 5:30. Call 530.894.3463 and visit redtavern.com.

Serves 4

Pea ‘Stock’

To make the stock add the pea shells, onions, celery, carrot, bay leaves, peppercorns, bacon and water to a pot. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. Strain and reserve.

Sauté

Add the oil to a hot pan, and sauté the shallots, Prosciutto and peas for about 2 minutes. Add the mint. Combine this with the strained stock and purée it in batches adding a little butter to each batch. Purée until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl with a dollop of crème fraîche and sautéed pea tendrils.

Crème Fraîche

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Combine both in a glass jar. Cover with tea towel and let stand at room temperature 16–24 hours until thick. Cover and refrigerate. Use within 10 days.

This recipe from Chico caterer Marianne Brenner uses several staples of the spring market: fresh eggs, asparagus, green garlic, and, of course, fresh spring herbs, which Marianne gathers right outside her kitchen.

Green garlic is subtle and mild, easy to use, and easy to sniff out at the markets. Green garlic bunches look similar to green onions or very small leeks. A slight purple tinge on the bunch and a quick sniff will let you know they’re green garlic. Both green garlic and garlic scapes are available in the spring. Garlic is planted in fall, and in spring, it sends up a long stem with a flower bud at the top. This “scape” or stem, as well as the bud, are wonderful to eat and cook with, since they have a mild garlic flavor. Full garlic bulbs form only if the stem and flower are cut off the plant so the plant’s energy can go into the bulb.

 Green garlic is harvested during the spring ritual of thinning the rows. Pulling up some of the immature garlic plants leaves more room for adjacent bulbs in the ground to develop into heads. It’s these young plants that are bunched into green garlic.

If you can’t find green garlic for this recipe, use ½ cup chopped green onions in its place, sauté them until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Then add 3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced, with the asparagus.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl until blended. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

Warm the olive oil in a medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat. Add the green garlic and sauté until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the asparagus and herbs, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Raise the heat to medium and cook, without stirring, until the omelet is set and golden on the bottom but the top is still runny, 8 to 10 minutes. While the omelet cooks, run a spatula around the edge of the pan a few times, to prevent sticking.

Invert a plate on top of the pan, then carefully invert thepan and plate together. Lift off the pan and slide the omelet, browned side up,back into the pan.  Cook the second side over medium heat until pale gold, about 3 minutes longer. Do not overcook, as you don’t want the eggs to be dry. (Alternatively, use a flameproof sauté panand slip the omelet under a preheated broiler to brown the top.)

Slide the omelet onto a serving plate, let it cool for a bit, and then cut into wedges to serve.