Wild Arugula Soup with Saffron and Pears by executive chef William Bradley
of Addison at The Grand Del Mar

Deceptively Delectable
So often it is assumed that if a food is good for you, it will be lacking in flavor. Wrong! There are so many good-for-you foods that can be prepared in ways that will send your taste buds soaring. From blueberries and walnuts to spinach and chocolate, there is no limit to the creative concoctions that are possible. It’s simple — pick healthy foods that you love and get busy. It can be as easy as adding freshly chopped basil to tomato soup, topping a fresh romaine salad with sliced apples and walnuts, or stirring a handful of dark chocolate pieces into your next "low-fat" morning muffin recipe. If you feel you need some extra help, there are plenty of books that provide recipes for increased wellbeing, energy, and vitality. For now, here are a few luscious offerings that some of our local chefs have created.
— Maria Desiderata Montana, photography by Vincent Knakal

JANUARY RECIPES

Wild Arugula Soup with Saffron and Pears by executive chef William Bradley
of Addison at The Grand Del Mar

Ingredients:
1 cup shallots, diced
4 whole cloves of garlic, halved
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp grape seed oil
5 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
3 oz fresh spinach leaves
12 oz fresh wild arugula
sea salt to taste
2 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
2 tbsp of Spanish saffron
2 whole pears, peeled, seeded, and cut in half

Preparation for the soup: Place shallots, garlic, butter, and oil in a saucepot. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stalk and cream, reduce down by half. Add spinach and arugula. Cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Take off burner and season with salt. Cover the top of pot with plastic wrap and set aside for 5 minutes. (This will allow ingredients to steep and obtain maximum flavor.) Place into blender, puree at high speed for 2 minutes until mixture is completely smooth. Adjust seasoning and finish with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Preparation for the pear: Place sugar, wine, and saffron in a saucepot. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the pairs and remove from heat. Cover with plastic wrap and place into refrigerator for 48 hours.

To Serve: Place a nice wedge of saffron poached pears in the middle of a warm soup bowl. Pour warm soup around it. (serves 4)

Soy Marinated Tofu with Chino Farms Baby Vegetables, Petit Herbs, and Vanilla Emulsion by executive chef Jason Knibb of Nine-Ten in La Jolla

Ingredients:
2 tofu steaks firm, sliced in half
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 oz soy sauce
8 baby carrots, peeled and blanched
8 asparagus spears, blanched
1 cup Brussels sprout leaves
1 cup mushrooms of choice
1 bunch broccolini, blanched
1 oz Italian parsley, minced
1 oz chives, minced
1 oz unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable stock

Preparation: Slice the tofu in half, creating two 1/2-inch-thick tofu steaks. Place tofu in cassolette pan. Smash the garlic and place in a measuring cup. Add olive oil and soy sauce mix. Pour mixture over tofu and cover with plastic. Marinate for 15-20 minutes in refrigerator.

Pre-heat a large non-stick sauté pan on medium high heat. Remove tofu from marinade and reserve marinade for later. Add olive oil to sauté pan. Once oil is hot, add tofu steaks. Reduce heat to low. When tofu turns golden brown (about 2-3 minutes) flip to other side. Let cook for 2-3 minutes more or until hot on inside. Place the tofu on a plate.

In the same sauté pan, increase heat and add vegetables. Sauté for 2 minutes, add vegetable stock, and let reduce by half. Add butter and herbs. Once butter is incorporated, remove from heat.

Place vegetables on top or around the tofu on plate. You may spoon some of the marinade around or on top of the tofu and serve.

Greek Yogurt Marinated King Salmon, Sugar Pie Pumpkin Puree, Blueberry-Acai Sauce
by executive chef Wade Hageman at Blanca Restaurant in Solana Beach

Ingredients:
6 oz piece of salmon
1 qt chicken stock
1 ea sugar Pie Pumpkin
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 shallot
2 oranges
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted
1/2 cup acai puree
1 pt blueberries
black pepper
kosher salt
grape seed oil

Preparation for the yogurt marinade: Mix the yogurt and black pepper with the zest and juice from 1 orange together. Add the salmon, completely coat it, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preparation for the pumpkin puree and dice: Peel and deseed the pumpkin. Dice 1/2 of pumpkin into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside. Take the other half and rough dice. Add this half to chicken stock and simmer until tender. Puree in blender until smooth. Pass through a sieve, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm. Take the other 1/2-inch diced half and sauté in grape seed oil until caramelized and soft. Cool in fridge.

Preparation for the sauce: Mince the shallot and lightly sauté in oil until translucent. Add 3/4 of blueberries and acai puree. Gently cook until berries are soft. Strain and season with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the blueberries and keep warm.

Preparation for the ragout: Clean leaves off of spinach, wash, and set aside. In a little oil, add caramelized pumpkin dice, toasted walnuts, and spinach leaves, and sauté until hot. Season with salt and pepper.

Preparation for the salmon: Wipe off marinade, season with salt and pepper, and sauté in oil until presentation side is golden brown. Finish in oven to desired temperature.

Garnish: Cut out supreme of orange and zest, set aside.

To Plate: Make a pool of pumpkin puree in the middle of the plate. Place the spinach, walnut, and pumpkin ragout on top of puree. Place salmon on top of ragout. Top salmon with orange supreme and zest. Sauce the plate with blueberry-acai sauce.

Spicy Cocoa Nib Crusted Ahi Tuna with Fresh Avocado & Sweet Ponzu
by executive chef Orion Balliet of Azul La Jolla

Ingredients for the spicy cocoa nib spice mix:
2 tsp white sesame seeds
3 tsp sansho (Sichuan pepper)
1 tsp small pieces of dried nori (seaweed)
3 tsp flakes of dried tangerine peel
3 tsp chili powder (togarashi)
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
3 oz ground cocoa nib

Ingredients for the ahi:
4 eight-oz pieces of block-cut yellowfin or big eye ahi tuna
4 oz Kikkoman soy sauce
1 tbsp. Spicy Cocoa nib Spice Mix

Ingredients for the sweet ponzu:
1 part sweet Indonesian soy sauce
1 part yuzu lime juice

Preparation: Coat ahi with Kikkoman soy sauce, then generously season with the cocoa nib spice mix (do not add salt). Sear in hot pan with a minimal amount of hot oil, about 1 minute on each side. Take ahi off the heat and allow to rest for 2 minutes before slicing.

While ahi is resting prepare a plate with fresh sliced avocado and a little sliced red onion. Lay sliced ahi over avocado and season with sweet ponzu. Garnish with micro greens.

Chef’s note: Cocoa is a super food: The Kuna people of the San Blas islands, off the coast of Panama, have a rate of heart disease that is nine times less than that of mainland Panamanians. The reason? The Kuna drink plenty of a beverage made with generous proportions of cocoa, which is unusually rich in flavonols that help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels. Maintaining youthful blood vessels lowers risk of high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, kidney disease, and dementia.

In addition, eating fish is great for your digestive system because the natural body temperature of fish is much below our own, guaranteeing that fish fats and oils will remain liquid throughout the digestion process, not to mention the omega-3 fatty oils. (serves 4)