It’s Easy Being Green
Growing up Italian, I learned to eat salad after dinner. I consider it a type of dessert topped with healthy fruits, nuts, and vegetables, as well as a wonderful digestive aid. But salad, for most, is a satisfying meal all by itself. A big bowl of rich, leafy goodness topped with meat or seafood is sure to please. This New Year, it’s time to think outside the box — or bowl. We’ve asked some of our best local chefs to share their favorite ways of preparing fresh and unique salad fare.
— Maria Desiderata Montana, photography by Vincent Knakal

Day Boat Sea Scallop Salad by executive chef Fabrice Hardel
at Le Fontainebleau at The Westgate Hotel downtown



JANUARY RECIPES


Day Boat Sea Scallop Salad
Plantain and Avocado Mousse, Gooseberries, Fava Bean, Micro Mizuna, and Pomegranate Coulis By executive chef Fabrice Hardel at Le Fontainebleau
at The Westgate Hotel downtown

Ingredients:
16 sea scallops
2 avocados
1 plantain
3 tbsp water
2 leaves of sorrel
3 tbsp of sugar
8 gooseberries
1/2 lb of fava beans
4 pc cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Key lime
1 pack of micro mizuna
2 pomegranates
1 tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper

Preparation for the avocado mousse:
Peel the plantain and cook it slowly for about 20 minutes with 1 tbsp of sugar and the water. Then mash it with a fork. In a food processor, put the avocado, plantain puree, and the sorrel with a pinch of salt and mix it for about one minute until the mix is very smooth.

Preparation for the fava bean salad:
Blanch the fava bean and peel them. Add the cherry tomatoes (cut into quarters), salt and pepper,
the Key lime juice, and the extra virgin olive oil.

Preparation for the pomegranate coulis:
Cut the pomegranate in half, squeeze the juice out, and put it into a saucepot with 2 tbsp of sugar and the cornstarch. Bring it to a boil and stir it for 2 to 3 minutes.

Preparation for the sea scallops:
Cook each side for about 2 to 3 minutes in a very hot non-stick pan with extra virgin olive oil.

Serves 8



Tecia di Granchio
By executive chef/partner Damaso Lee at Trattoria Acqua in La Jolla

Ingredients:
4 oz of lump crab meat
1 oz of organic baby arugula
1 small mango, diced
1 small avocado, sliced
1 hot house cucumber, thinly sliced
1 heirloom tomato, sliced

Preparation:
Stack ingredients with crab on top.

Serves 1



Grilled Prawn Salad
Arugula, Cantalope, Red Onion, Honey-Miso Vinaigrette
By executive chef Chris Idso at Pacifica Del Mar in Del Mar Plaza

Ingredients:
4 large tiger prawns, peeled and cleaned
1/4 cantalope melon, cut into 1/4-inch slices
5 thinly-sliced red onion rings
3 oz fresh arugula
3 tbsp honey-miso vinaigrette (see below)

Ingredients for the honey-miso vinaigrette:
1/2 cup dark miso paste
2 tsp fresh lime zest
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6 tbsp honey
1 cup canola oil
Ground black pepper to taste

In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the oil. Slowly whisk in the oil to
emulsify the dressing. Adjust lime juice and black pepper to desired taste. Do not add salt.

Preparation:
Begin by grilling or sautéing the prawns and arrange them in a circle in the middle of a large
dinner plate. Toss the arugula with the onions, cantaloupe, and 2 tbsp of the vinaigrette. Place the salad
over the prawns, drizzle the plate with 1 tbsp of the vinaigrette, and serve.

Serves 1



Fresh Salad
By executive chef Ryan Johnston at Fresh Seafood Restaurant & Bar in La Jolla

Ingredients for the white balsamic vinaigrette:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 oz white balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, minced
4 oz extra virgin olive oil

Soak shallots in vinegar for 1 hour, and then mix in Dijon and extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients for the salad:
1 persimmon, peeled and cut
1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
1 pomegranate, seeds only
1 head of frisee, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces
1 bunch of arugula
2 oz toasted walnut pieces
2 oz Parmesan, thinly sliced (use peeler)
3 oz white balsamic vinaigrette (see above)

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese, together. Season with salt and pepper and
garnish with Parmesan cheese slivers on top.

Serves 4

Tecia di Granchio by executive chef/partner Damaso Lee at Trattoria Acqua in La Jolla
 
Grilled Prawn Salad by executive chef Chris Idso at Pacifica Del Mar in Del Mar Plaza
 
Fresh Salad by executive chef Ryan Johnston at Fresh Seafood Restaurant & Bar in La Jolla


Adobe El Restaurante
Step into the Adobe El Restaurante dining room and you’re in for a lesson in the eternal pleasure of eating, complete with mahogany wood tables, fine china, and delicious food in an elegant and unpretentious atmosphere. Tucked away near the Torrey Pines Reserve in Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, this luxuriously subdued getaway reflects a warm and welcoming Spanish vacation home — with a wait staff to satisfy your every whim.

Executive chef Jesse Frost extenuates a coastal California-style cuisine with a touch of Mexican and Spanish flare. The dishes feature a melting pot of different tastes and bold flavors that make for exotic combinations.

Frost also brings the "chef’s farmers market" concept to the table with a menu presenting a range of innovative meat and poultry dishes embellished with locally grown produce, aromatic flavors, fresh seafood, and mesquite wood fire grilled favorites. The result is what Frost describes as comfort foods with a twist — eclectic yet familiar, accessible yet refined.

Attention to detail is evident in the Marinated Beet Salad paired with a Sonoma Coast 2004 Chardonnay. The sweet-tender red beets are nestled alongside baby arugula, molten brie, toasted cumin, and candied nuts. The smooth and full-bodied wine rounds out the palate with its acidity, and brings out the sugariness of the salad.

If that isn’t enough, I dove into the Sautéed Diver Scallops "Marmitako" with piquillo pepper, onion-fennel tart, preserved lemon, and fried caper berries. Paired with a Napa Valley 2004 Sauvignon Blanc, it makes for an explosion of sweet and sour bitterness on your taste buds.

The pan-roasted Scottish Venison Loin is seared crispy on the outside, cooked perfectly pinkish rare on the inside — perched on top of stone-ground white polenta, celery root, chestnuts, pears, ruby red beet vinaigrette, and freshly sliced white Alba truffles.

Then there’s the halibut, pan-roasted and surrounded by a petite Australian lobster tail, winter truffles, rice polenta, and fennel-ginger nage. This large bowl of savory ingredients is enriched with a juicy broth at the bottom to be slurped up with every bite.

Beyond reproach, a side of Crayfish Risotto turns out to be a creamy and full-bodied concoction of crayfish, arborio rice, shallots, garlic, white wine, lobster stock, cream, mascarpone cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and butter. Add a seasoned mound of short ribs that you can cut with your fork, and the meal is complete.

Land and sea delights include beautiful New Zealand Green Lip Mussels with coconut-lime curry, pea vines, linguini pasta, and kielbasa sausage or a Lamb Porterhouse with eggplant caviar, vanilla oil, braised shank, and prosciutto dust.

Still have room for dessert? Select an Avocado Sorbet that is cold and velvety or consider petite Lemon Meringue pies, Espresso Chocolate Mousse Bombe, Raspberry Velvet (French-style sheet cake with raspberry mousse and raspberry puree). Chocoholics will flip for the Chocolate Lava Cake; molten chocolate cake, light and puffy, with a chocolate ganache center, a side of brandied cherries marmalade, and vanilla bean gelato. A tiny cup of espresso is the perfect ending.

It’s no wonder that Frost has been the recipient of numerous accolades including: Finalist Best Casual Hotel Dining 2005 (California Restaurant Association), Finalist Best New Restaurant 2005, and Finalist Best Chef of 2006
(La Jolla Light). (858/550-1000, www.estancialajolla.com)
— Maria Desiderata Montana

A Few Words With Chef Jesse Frost

Where did you gain your experience? I have been cooking professionally for 11 years and went to the California Culinary Academy.

What’s your favorite dish to prepare at home? Mac ’n’ cheese. Not Kraft, but with real Wisconsin cheddar.

Any food network mentors? I like Alton Brown and Iron Chef.

What’s your pet peeve in the kitchen? When the cooks try to sneak in a soda during prep time — it kills your palate.

Do you eat behind the scenes? Very little, but we taste everything.

What was your favorite food growing up? Stuffed pork chops with homemade applesauce.
 


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