Lesson 02

LAST WEEK WE LEFT OFF WITH SAVORY YOGURT SAUCES, the first of the MODERN MOTHER SAUCES. Yogurt sauces are easy and quick, keep them in mind for anything from crudos (Anatomy of a Crudo p. 236), grain bowls (Turmeric Lentil Rice w Mustard & Cumin Seeds), vegetable dishes (Charred Winter Squash w Sumac Yogurt & Pistachio p. 218) or a late night dip (Green Goddess Yogurt p. 390) for a fried pita/flatbread (warmed up in a frying pan with a little oil). My current favorite is roe swirled into a thick yogurt and used as a dip for salted-lemony cucumbers spears or potato chips. These sauces are a breeze and open you up to being creative and intentional with where you and your palate are at.

Sweet yogurt sauces hold the same ease and ability to tap into creativity. A dollop of your favorite or homemade jam a top of yogurt and you can do away with individual single use plastic containers of flavored yogurt, serve it simply with toasty nuts or seeds or pair it with a slice of the world’s best banana bread, poached pears, or puddings.

ANATOMY OF A FRUIT PLATE

Let get started on these sweet versions of yogurt sauces by introducing a daily ritual of preparing a beautiful fruit plate for breakfast, midday treat or dessert. Hokey me wants to classify this as an act of self-love and a meditational moment to get creative with plating. Keeping in mind the elements of a dish: the star, the sauce & the flourish.

Left to Right;

• Turmeric-Almond Granola, Coconut Yogurt, Star Fruit, Passion Fruit Pulp w Seeds

• Salty Oatmeal, Red Currant Compote p. 98, Cranberry Seeds & Fruit Powder Flourish p. 115

• Simple Winter Fruit Bowl with hidden Cocojune.

• Tahini Yogurt p. 36 with Apricot Saffron Compote p. 99, Fresh Persimmon, Sumac, Rose Petal

• Blood Orange, Beet, Pistachio, Tahini Yogurt p. 36

• Guanabana, Papaya, Star Fruit, Passion Fruit, Squeeze of Orange Juice

• Early Spring Fruits of Poached Rhubarb, Strawberries, Orange, Rhubarb Syrup and (a healthy grating of fresh) Ginger

• Coconut Chia Pudding, Kiwi, Muesli of Oats Goji & Sunflower Seeds and Red Fruits Tonic p. 99

• Dried Apricot, Goji, Golden Raisin & Fresh Pear Compote with Coconut, Rice and Quinoa Porridge

• Remnants of a yogurt fruit plate sauced with Concord Grape Tonic p. 99

• Persimmon, Strawberry Tonic p. 99 & Pulsed Pistachio-Fennel Pollen Flourish

• Pear-Cranberry-Golden Raisin-Lychee Compote over Salted Oatmeal

• Mangosteen & Rambutan Souvenirs

• Salted Summer Melon & Plum

• Strawberries in Passion Fruit Shrub

• Strawberries in Coconut Milk Infused w Cinnamon Leaf

• Apricot Saffron Compote p. 99, Salted Oatmeal, Cinnamon

• Lemon Date Jam, Yogurt and (a healthy grating of fresh) Ginger

It’s winter in NYC and my time to indulge in fruits from out of area is now. I look to the area closest to us with in season fruits, the Caribbean & Florida, like papaya, citrus, pomegranate and banana. I don’t overdo it and consider it a special treat. Otherwise I’m okay with apples, pears and the berries I froze from the summer greenmarket. This yogurt recipe called, Trash Can Apples is so addictive! Consider yogurt smoothie as base is a win using your local super berry instead of acai, here it’s the cranberry. Warm compotes made with dried fruits are perfect for this time of year, prunes become magic in this application.

WINTER COMPOTE

In a small pot place dried fruit, some examples; apricots, prunes, golden raisins, goji, jujube, figs, and dates. & spice, optional; few threads of saffron, stick of cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, one star anise and/or 3-4 whole cloves.

Add enough filtered water to cover.

Slowly warm on the lowest setting until simmering approximately 15-20 minutes. Taste the fruit “broth”, add sweetener to your liking and a pinch of salt to open the flavors. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until all are soft, plump and juicy. Keep an eye on it, adding additional water if liquid evaporates below the fruit line.

Let it come to room temperature and serve with yogurt, keep warm and serve over oatmeal or porridge, or eat solo with some pulsed pistachio.

(You can cover the dried fruit in water overnight to speed the cooking process. You can leave it out covered or in the fridge. The next day in a small pot warm them on medium heat bring up to a simmer right away, doing away with the initial slow warm up.)

EXTRA CREDIT;

Granola for your fruit bowl. Use up those bits of grains, nuts, seeds and spices you have tucked away. The tweak of this granola is the caraway or fennel seed used. The secret here is letting it sit for 20-30 minutes so that the oats absorb the oil and moisture and become dense and crackly opposed to dry and raw, almost muesli-like.

SCRAPPY GRANOLA

Use what you have!

½ cup buckwheat, quinoa, millet or other small grain in your pantry

1/3 cup coconut, olive oil or avocado oil

1/4 cup honey, agave, maple or date syrup (use half the amount if you like less sweet)

1 cup oats

½ cup nuts; cashews, pecans, almonds etc., halved or chopped

½ cup desiccated coconut

¼ cup almond meal or dried almond pulp (discard from making almond milk)

¼ cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons sesame, hemp or chia seeds

2 teaspoon whole anise or fennel seed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ginger or cadamom

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon salt

Mix the oil and sweetener. If using coconut oil add it to a small pot along with the sweetener.

In a dry pan toast grains until its aromatic and some begin in pop.

Add the toasted kasha/grains along with the remaining ingredients to the oil-sweetner mixture and combine well.

This next step in crucial for getting that crunchy-steeped in flavor-dense granola. Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes so that oats can absorb the moisture.

Warm oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove pan and stir granola, bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the color is a few shades darker and it smells toasty and aromatic.