Always Home

I've been reading a lot of memoir, and this is one of my favourites from the year. An 2022 Book Babes' alternate choice, it's written by Fanny Singer, daughter of Alice Waters. More of a sensory journey, with fragments of reminiscence from a privileged childhood spent in the South of France and Berkeley California. Much adored by the adults of her life, Fanny had her school lunches packed by her mom, the gifted restaraunteur and chef Alice Waters. This memoir shares recipes as well as memories. 

Here are some for my recipe file:

Salad dressing

Start by placing a clove of garlic and a 1/2 tsp sea salt in a Japanese mortar and grind to translucent paste. Cover the garlic with 1 Tbs of red wine vinegar and 1.5 Tbs of Banuls* vinegar and let sit for ten minutes so that the acid has time to mellow the heat of the allium. Whisk in scant 1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard and then 6 Tbsp of virgin olive oil, beating vigorously to emulsify. Add a grind of black pepper at the end and taste, adjusting for acid balance and salt. (enough to dress a salad for six)

*Banyuls vinegar or combo of sheery vinegar/apple cider/lemon juice

Anchovy vinaigrette

Pound a large clove of garlic and a big pinch of sea salt in mortar. Rinse and debone an anchovy and add single fillet to the pestle. Grind to a paste with garlic and add a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of champagne vinegar. Let macerate for several minutes. Use a fork to whisk in a few glugs of olive oil (about 2:1 acid) and a generous showering of freshly ground pepper. For a more Caesar inflected sauce, add a Tbsp of finely grated parmesan. (as long as the word anchovy doesn't come up, most children will happily eat it).

Citron presse

Make a lemon infused simple syrup by putting a cup of sugar and the peel of one lemon in a saucepan with a cup of water. Bring to a boil and allow to roll for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Can store in refrigerator for up to a month.

To serve, put 1 Tbsp lemon syrup in a glass with a few ice cubes. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon and stir in sparkling water/water to taste. Sweeten with more syrup if desired.

Garlicky noodle soup

Combine a cup or two of cooked noodles, a minced head of garlic, and a chopped bunch of parsley in a pot of simmering chicken stock, removing a minute or two when the garlic is just blanched and the flavours have a moment to marry.

Optional: add poached chicken; add mirepoix (cook first in pan with diced carrot, celery, onion, parsnip until fragrant and semi translucent); fresh dill

Coming Home Pasta

Recipe demo

Pat's Pancakes