6 posts tagged “orange county”

I love hearing about new restaurants.  Here are a couple of ideas from listeners:

"I don't know how often you are able to include Orange County restaurants in the mix, but I think Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa would be a perfect fit for the show.  It's a small European-style cafe run by two brothers that specializes in wine and food pairings, but they're very in touch with the community and are even involved with the local CSA program!"
-- Nina

"The best indian food in LA is in the hallway of hell just north of the sidewalk cafe on venice walk.  It's run by a mother, father and their 2 girls.  All the food is homestyle, the prices are low and the portions are healthy.  The family is vegetarian but delicous meat dishes are available.

"They have the best samosas i've ever had.  They're super light and crispy.  I also adore their chai."

-- Lori

If you have a restaurant that you want to share, email me.

Good Food producer Gillian Ferguson recently reported from the Anatolian Food & Culture festival in Orange county.  When she returned home, she couldn't get a certain Turkish delight out of her mind:

Ashure, more often referred to as Noah's Pudding, is jam-packed with flavor and has an even richer history to boot.

Ashure means the number 10 in Arabic and traditionally there are 10 ingredients in the pudding.  Folklore however tells a different story.  The name Noah's Pudding refers to the story of Noah's Ark and it's often said that 40 ingredients are incorporated into the dish.  Legend has it that when the ark came to rest on a mountain (believed to be Mount Ararat in

Turkey) Noah's family prepared a celebratory meal.  Culling all the ingredients that were left on the ship and tossing them into a large pot this famous dessert was born.  Just like the pudding itself, the legend of Noah's Pudding has many variants, but in every household the tradition involves sharing the dessert with friends and loved ones.
 
Sema Hasmer who cooked enough Ashure to feed 500 guests at the festival last weekend was kind enough to share her recipe.  Invoking the Turkish habit of göz kararı, or what we might call eyeballing, she says no two Ashure are ever the same and all recipes are approximations with room to embellish.  The following recipe makes approximately 8 servings.

Noah's Pudding (Ashure)

2 1/2 cups barley
1 cup chickpeas
1 cup dried beans
dried apricots
dried figs
raisins
sugar (roughly 1 part barley to 3 parts sugar)
hazelnuts (finely chopped)
walnuts (finely chopped)
cinnamon

Common additions include, but are not limited to, apple rind, orange zest, pistachios, rose water and pomegranate seeds for decoration.

Soak barley and beans overnight.  The following day fill a pot with water (1 parts barley to 4 parts water, in this case 10 cups water) and bring to a gentle boil.  Cook the barley over low heat, stirring frequently, until just tender and the water is thickened.  The liquid will be gooey and white.  Add chickpeas and beans and continue to simmer.  Continue to stir as beans cook. 

Like cooking a risotto, add the following ingredients slowly while stirring.  Add apricots, figs and raisins stirring between additions to incorporate each ingredient.  Finally add the sugar and continue to simmer to your liking.  Taste and adjust recipe as needed.  Top with walnuts, hazelnuts, cinnamon and if you wish, pomegranate seeds.

 
 

 

While the hearty doner kebab and the glistening mounds of baklava are no doubt delicious, the true gems lie in the lesser-known delicacies.  Manti, a traditional dumpling stuffed with ground beef, is topped with garlicky yogurt and a spicy red sauce with hints of parsley, mint and paprika.  Each bowl is made to order.

Aryan is everywhere; the salty yogurt drink, like a savory lassi, is unlike anything I had ever tasted.   The kofte are a must.  Both the Icli Kofte (bulgur stuffed with ground meat and deep fried) and the Mercimek Kofte (a spicy lentil and bulgur patty) are sublime.  For a taste of Turkish comfort food try the Yayla soup, a

deliciously subtle soup of yogurt and rice. 

And not to be missed are the Gozleme, balls of dough rolled paper-thin and stuffed with your choice of ground meat, feta cheese or spinach and made fresh on the premises.   For those with a sweet tooth the options are endless. 

My personal favorites were the Quails Nest and the Rose Cookies, both named for their appearance.  The

flaky puff pastry of the Quail's Nest, nestled in a bath of sweet syrup and topped with ground pistachios, is the perfect accompaniment to a Turkish Coffee from famed Masal Café.  For a heartier dessert, Ashure, or “Noah’s Pudding” is said to have 40 ingredients.  While each recipe varies, the pudding served at the fair incorporated chick peas, white beans, apples, walnuts and cinnamon to name a few.

 

The list of delights is endless and one could easily spend a full (no pun intended!) four days exploring what’s on the menu, but fortunately for those of us who can only make it for an afternoon, or who like me have eyes bigger than their stomach, most dishes are available to go as well.

Head to Orange County for a four-day festival to celebrate the culture, history and cuisine of the Anatolian region (modern day Turkey).

When: Thursday, April 2nd – Sunday, April 5th, 2009; 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

If you can't make it, one our producers will be there to report on all the yummy Turkish food they have including the doner above.

We did a segment a few weeks ago on restaurants that are vegetarian but don't advertise themselves as such. Here's a comment from a listener about an Orange County spot:

Enjoyed your show on Stealth Vegetarian.  In the lead up to your talk about Orange County I was SURE you were planning to talk about Avanti Cafe in Costa Mesa.  Nothing at all against Veggie Grill - the sweet potato fries are delish.  But Avanti is what that story was all about.  Completely hand made, slow food, organic local produce, amazing.  Avanti Cafe was named BEST RESTAURANT in the OC Weekly's Best of OC 2008.  NOT best vegetarian, but BEST RESTAURANT ORANGE COUNTY.  Here's the link. http://www.ocweekly.com/bestof/2008/award/best-restaurant-255951/
Heads up.  Avanti is really something!  Avanti puts So Cal on the forward stealth map.  Not to be overlooked again.
www.avantinatural.com