La Cucina di TerrESa

Recently, after much urging from family and friends, I decided to start my own little business: La Cucina di TerrESa with the simple desire of offering cooking classes that celebrate the vegetable kingdom—more specifically, organic, seasonal produce—and food tours emphasizing all that is organic to Americans vacationing or relocating in Paris. I am enamored of and forever inspired by vegetables, their noble simplicity, the stunning array of color, texture, flavor and aroma they offer. All rhyming with the seasons. Freshly harvested. Exhaling the earth. They are the artist’s palette of my cooking. My passion for all that is culinary goes way back. I guess I could say it started at home  where I mustered up dinners for four hungry brothers. And working and managing restaurant dining rooms in San Francisco for over twenty years allowed me to linger in many a kitchen and observe many a chef: La Mediterranée, Carta, the Flying Saucer, South Park Café, Bistro Clovis… It was when I first came to France, in 1980, that I discovered a culinary culture and heritage which celebrated fresh, seasonal produce, regional artisan products, amazing breads, incredible cheeses, and wines that bring such harmony to a meal… When I began traveling in Italy, I made yet another discovery: that of Italian cuisine. Ah! Who but the Italians know how to give to vegetables, beans, grains, and fresh herbs such a marvelously central place in the dishes that comprise their meals. Such ingenious, inventive culinary spirit! I’ve never stopped researching and discovering the vast richness of their cuisine from Sardinia to Bolzano, la cucina povera to Harry’s Bar. In 1996, I finally set down roots in Paris: a long-nourished dream. Since then I’ve spent time in Toni Vianello’s kitchen at l’Osteria and Alain Passard’s three-star restaurant l’Arpège. Both marvelous experiences where I gleaned many a wonderful culinary secret. How I love to wake up in the morning and head off to the open-air markets when I’m having friends for dinner. As I walk among the stands gorging with fresh, colorful produce, I draw inspiration for the dishes I’ll prepare. On a warm September morning, for example, plump eggplant and Smyrna figs suddenly seem to speak to me in a chorus… and that evening I’m serving up a roasted eggplant risotto topped with baked Smyrna figs, a drizzle of their syrupy juice and a sprinkle of roasted walnuts. More often than not the meals I conjure up for friends are new attempts at pairing the season’s flavors, textures, colors harmoniously, sometimes with surprising results. I record them each in a notebook (if I don’t, I often forget what I tossed and stirred together) and next time around I work on what needs adjusting to make the dish sing. As I shell peas, cut open squash, seed tomatoes, peel artichokes, shuck corn, slice fennel, rinse leeks… I’m always thinking of how to combine and prepare them in the simplest of ways, remaining as true to their original nature as possible. Coaxing out their subtle savor with a bit of shallot or garlic, a pinch of lemon zest, a splash of white wine, a sprinkle of fresh thyme, a drizzle of honey. Perhaps in a certain sense I tend to undress vegetables as opposed to dressing them up. I use eggs and cream sparingly; butter when I can’t do without it; parmesan, pecorino, goat cheese — from organic farms whose animals are humanely raised and handled — with a generous hand, and extra-virgin olive oil…everywhere. Beans of every sort: borlotti, cannellini, fava, flageolet, northern white, black, red… Rice, polenta, quinoa, green lentils, chickpeas; pumpkin seeds, sunflower and poppy; walnuts, pine, hazelnuts… They’re all faithful companions. As for the sea and its precious inhabitants, I mostly leave them alone. It is over-burdened, they’re over-fished. But wine carries a regal presence at my table. I’m constantly searching for ancient cépages and lesser-known gems with lots of earthy, mineral qualities as they form a succulent marriage with all that is plant and root. The Savagnin grape from the Jura comes to mind; the same green-skinned grape that makes up the famous Vin Jaune. Marvelous Chinon made from the Cabernet Franc grape in the Loire Valley—I must mention Bernard Baudry’s La Croix Boissée. And hailing from Italy—by far my favorite land of wines — such antique cépages as Timorasso from Piedmont and Falanghina from Campania… Cooking food, sharing it with others is a marvelous celebration of life: the subtle seasonal harmony of color, texture, savor echoing a harmony of existence. It’s also a gentle ritual honoring the interconnectedness of life: in exchange for the bountiful gifts we receive from the Earth (not to forget the toiling hands of those who thoughtfully work the land) we heighten our awareness and offer a multitude of simple, reciprocal gestures to balance our place in nature. When I sit down to a meal I’ve prepared knowing that care was taken, concern and respect were shown to earth and animal, the celebration takes on a depth, a connectedness that is itself nourishing—deeply so. I feel a humbler sense of place in the mystery that is life. The next time you’re in Paris I’d love to share with you what I’ve discovered and learned across the years, and teach you dishes that could grace your table and delight family and friends. Don’t hesitate to contact me. La Cucina di TerrESa [email protected]