Archive Page 3
April 22nd, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
The morel season is just getting started, and within a week or two it will really explode. This will be a good year for morels – there have been plenty of forest fires, and if it doesn’t stay too dry we can probably expect to see them through July.
Currently, Chef Jonah has a limited amount of morels from the Mt. Shasta area – they are on the menu (as long as they last) in a dish of poached hen egg, potato hash cake, ramps, and asparagus. Keep an eye out for more in the next few weeks!
As far as spring goes, we are seeing our favorites all over the Farmer’s markets, and subsequently, the Oliveto dinner menu. Favas, ramps, snow peas, asparagus…it’s a real springtime menu now, as shown with dishes like the antipasto of English peas, asparagus, and ramps with burrata and basil pesto.
burrata and basil peburrata and basil pesto
April 18th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
April 21, 2013
Bruschetta di Salsiccia di Aglio
Bruschetta with garlic sausage and Tuscan kale
Radiatori con Ragù di Pollame
Radiatori pasta with poultry ragù
Arrosto di Maiale
Sicilian-style roasted pork with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and pork jus
Kumquat & Tangerine Shortcake
Murcott tangerine and candied kumquat shortcake, served with whipped goat’s milk yogurt
Kumquat & Tangerine Shortcake
Murcott tangerine & candied kumquat shortcake, served with whipped goat’s milk yogurt
Prix fixe $40.
Served family-style. For groups of one to twelve*. Whole table must order prix fixe menu. A modest and appropriate regional wine will be available as perfect accompaniment to the meal.
call 510-547-5356Â or reserve online
*Larger parties: please let us know at the time of your reservation that your table will be ordering the Sunday Supper menu so we can plan accordingly. Thanks!
April 17th, 2013 by Bob Klein
In the beginning (at Oliveto at least), there was chicken…
Not too long after we first opened, the occasional Liberty Duck from Jim Reichardt popped up on our menu, but mostly the early days of beautifully raised birds were dominated by the wonderful chickens of Bud Hoffman. And it’s still hard to beat a Hoffman hen.
Soon after the ducks, we discovered Philip Paine’s Sonoma pigeons, with their rich, flavorful, dark meat which we could serve briefly grilled over a wood fire.
Since Chef Jonah Rhodehamel joined us, the number of fine game birds provided by small local farmers has burgeoned, adding geese (in season), Guinea hen, and quail to the mix. It was Jonah who thought a menu based on that abundance would be wonderful as well as diverse and a challenge to his inventiveness.
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Bird Dinners Menu
“Fare is Fowl”
May 7 – 10, 2013
menu will be priced a la carte
Call 510-547-5356 or reserve online
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Antipasti
Cold
Torchon of duck liver with pain de mie
Terrina of pigeon with frisée, house-pickled vegetables, and mustard
Salad of duck fat-roasted vegetables with duck confit and watercress
Garden lettuces vinaigrette
Warm
Buttermilk-fried quail with Castelmagno cheese and celery
Seared duck liver with blackened strawberries and old aceto balsamico
Charcoal-grilled duck sausage with lentils, wild mushrooms, and duck fat vinaigrette
Hen and lobster boudin blanc with English peas, fava beans, and morel mushrooms
Minestra of hen and spring vegetables in puff pastry
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Pastas
Pappardelle with hen ragù and basil
Strozzapreti with cock’s combs and bone marrow
Mascarpone gnocchi with Marsala and bird sugo
Cappelletti of duck with sage
Red winter wheat conchiglie with seared hen liver, aceto balsamico, and radicchio
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Secondi
Roast sausage-stuffed Guinea hen
Roast Liberty Farms duck breast
Charcoal-grilled pigeon
Spit-roasted hen with smoked tomato glaze, baked beans, and Swiss chard
Call 510-547-5356 or reserve online
April 12th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
April 14, 2013
Italian Feast of San Gennaro, LA
This Sunday Farmhouse Supper takes us across the Atlantic to the city kitchens where Italian-American cuisine was born. Between 1880 and 1920, more than 4 million Italians, mostly from the south, immigrated to America, where they began to recreate their traditional food with an American style. The always-developing cuisine shows its southern influence with its use of tomatoes, rich sauces, and pasta, and has come to be identified with traditional family recipes, hearty meals and a convivial atmosphere — not to mention great respect for the chef.
Bruschetta di Ceci
Crostino of ceci bean salad with balsamic dressing
Penne alla Vodka
Penne with creamy tomato vodka sauce
Chicken Parmesan
Breaded chicken topped with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella
Strawberry Tart
Strawberry tart served with strawberry sorbet and zabaglione
Strawberries from Catalan Farms
Prix fixe $40.
Served family-style. For groups of one to twelve*. Whole table must order prix fixe menu. A modest and appropriate regional wine will be available as perfect accompaniment to the meal.
call 510-547-5356Â or reserve online
*Larger parties: please let us know at the time of your reservation that your table will be ordering the Sunday Supper menu so we can plan accordingly. Thanks!
April 8th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
First pick of the season berries from Yerena Farm in Watsonville
Thanks to the warm and relatively dry spring, strawberries are slowly starting to make their appearance in farmer’s markets around the Bay Area. California produces over 80% of the nation’s strawberries, and we can’t wait to get our hands on them.
Our friends Karen and Bob at Lucero Organic Farm in Lodi say the berries they planted in December are just around the corner from being ready. Karen predicts in a week they’ll be at farmer’s market in Berkeley, with the high season hitting in May.
Lucero grows Seascape strawberries, a small and flavorful breed, which like most strawberries grown in California was developed by the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program. The farm lets the plants “struggle,” which means the plants have to search hard in the soil for nutrients. This gives the berries a lot of really good flavor with a distinct sweetness. As the season progresses, the plants “struggle” more, and their berries get smaller and sweeter. Karen loves to crush them up and put them in milk, like a strawberry milkshake without all the sugar.
Look for strawberries at Oliveto menu in the coming weeks – once Chef Jonah finds the perfect flat of ripe berries, you can bet they’ll be appearing on the menu.
April 5th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
April 7, 2013
Lake Como, Italy, from John & Tina Reid via Flickr
Insalata di Cavolfiore
Roasted cauliflower salad with olives, capers, and citrus
Fusilli e Ceci
Fusilli with chickpeas, basil, and spicy tomato sauce
Brasato de Agnello
Braised shoulder of lamb with white wine, garlic, chili, and rosemary
Chocolate Budino
Warm chocolate pudding served with whipped cream
Prix fixe $40.
Served family-style. For groups of one to twelve*. Whole table must order prix fixe menu. A modest and appropriate regional wine will be available as perfect accompaniment to the meal.
call 510-547-5356Â or reserve online
*Larger parties: please let us know at the time of your reservation that your table will be ordering the Sunday Supper menu so we can plan accordingly. Thanks!
April 1st, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
It’s been a tense year for citrus growers since a case of Huounlongbing (HLB) disease was detected on a Los Angeles backyard pomelo tree in March 2012. HLB, though harmless to humans, is deadly to citrus trees. The disease is spread through the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), an aphid-like pest, which been found in groves throughout the Southern US, Mexico, and many other countries.
So far, no new cases of HLB have been reported, but the ACP pest has been found in groves in San Bernadino, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and Imperial counties, where it is currently under eradication. In November 2012, ACP was found in the San Joaquin Valley, resulting in a quarantine. Eradicating the ACP pest is only possible through tree removal, new planting of uninfected trees, and, of most concern to organic growers, heavy use of pesticides.
We recently had a talk with our friend Bill Fuijmoto, the go-to man for produce, and he shared a few insights on what we might expect for the future of organic citrus in California.
Since ACP and HLB are so devastating, and in fact have almost wiped out Florida’s citrus industry, California citrus farmers at risk for infection will be taking every precaution to protect their groves. Since this might include heavy insecticide sprays, Bill says if ACP continues to spread,organically grown California citrus may become hard, or even near impossible, to find in the coming years.
Citrus farmers like Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis of Churchill Orchards in Ojai have so far been unaffected by ACP, but say they remain worried, especially after nearly losing their tangerine crop to freeze this year.
We will keep our fingers crossed and our eyes open.
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If you have citrus trees, learn to spot the signs of ACP and HLB, and report possible symptoms to the California Department of Food and Agriculture with their “Save Our Citrus” app.
March 29th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
March 31, 2013
Tarta pascualina, a savory spinach pie, enjoys popularity in both Argentina and Uruguay. Italian immigrants who voyaged to South America to gamble on a new life brought with them the recipe for this tasty and filling pie. The tarta pascualina’s origins lie specifically in the region of Liguria, Italy, where the dish can be traced back to the 16th century.
Traditionally eaten during Lent, this meatless dish contains a number of eggs, a Christian symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The eggs are cracked directly into the flavorful filling of spinach and ricotta cheese, and after a stint in the oven, they emerge as hardboiled eggs baked into the pie. Although associated with the period leading up to Easter, the tarta pascualina may be enjoyed at any time of year.
Torta pascualina’s origins lie in the Liguria region of Italy, where it can be traced back to the 16th century. Italian immigrants brought over the recipe to Argentina and Uruguay, where it became very popular as a Lenten dish because it contains no meat. Eggs are cracked directly into the filling, and emerge as hardboiled eggs baked into the pie.
Torta Pascualina
Savory Easter pie with eggs, swiss chard, leeks, and asparagus
Ravioli di Ricotta al Pesto
Ricotta-stuffed ravioli in pesto sauce
Arrosto di Agnello con Stufato di Fagioli e Oliva
Spit-roasted leg of lamb with a stew of cannellini beans and olives
Dulce
TBD
Prix fixe $40.
Served family-style. For groups of one to twelve*. Whole table must order prix fixe menu. A modest and appropriate regional wine will be available as perfect accompaniment to the meal.
call 510-547-5356Â or reserve online
*Larger parties: please let us know at the time of your reservation that your table will be ordering the Sunday Supper menu so we can plan accordingly. Thanks!
March 25th, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
Chef Jonah with Sophie Gayot of GAYOT.com
Gayot, the esteemed lifestyle magazine, has released its annual Restaurant Awards Issue for 2013, and we are thrilled they have named Chef Jonah one of the Top 5 Rising Chefs in the US.
From GAYOT.com’s article:
“Deeply involved in the Bay area food scene, Rhodehamel has established relationships with local farmers and purveyors; his ongoing kitchen projects include a special aging cave for house-cured charcuterie, whole-animal dinners, handmade pastas made with specially milled local flours and unique heirloom tomatoes bred specifically for Oliveto’s kitchen.”
Congratulations, Chef!
March 21st, 2013 by Sarah Bruhns
March 24, 2013
Taormina, Sicily
Fennel Salad with Pecorino Romano
Fennel salad with Valencia oranges, pine nuts, and pecorino romano
Fusilli con Salsiccia di Maiale
Fusilli with garlic pork sausage and white wine sauce
Arrosto di Maiale con Radicchio
Sicilian-style spit-roasted pork shoulder, served in slices, with Yukon potato purée and grilled red radicchio
Dulce
TBD
Prix fixe $40.
Served family-style. For groups of one to twelve*. Whole table must order prix fixe menu. A modest and appropriate regional wine will be available as perfect accompaniment to the meal.
call 510-547-5356Â or reserve online
*Larger parties: please let us know at the time of your reservation that your table will be ordering the Sunday Supper menu so we can plan accordingly. Thanks!
