Mangia! Mangia!

Holiday season, whether you celebrate or not, can be a time of community gathering and delicious meals. We checked in with our talented kitchen and culinary team after their wildly successful stint with Big Sur Food & Wine. Chefs D3 and Quinton and baker Camilla open their recipe notebooks for some non-denominational holiday yum. “We take care of you by nourishing you so you can focus on the things that you came to Esalen to do,” says Esalen Food and Beverage Manager Chloe Scott.

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The cooks and work-scholars that make up the Esalen kitchen staff perform mouthwatering alchemic magic daily — mixing, blending, and transforming a multitude of ingredients and spices, a few dozen feet from the Farm & Garden to create culinary delights for the Esalen community, guests and staff alike. "We are preparing more than 750 meals — every single day,” says Food and Beverage Manager Chloe Scott.

"We want to make sure as we're feeding a variety of people with a variety of dietary needs, restrictions, and preferences — that means providing a grain, a staple, a starch, a protein for both vegetarians and omnivores," says Scott. Amidst all the stirring and sautéing by the talented team led by sous chefs D3 and Quinton, Chloe calls it "a joy and a privilege" to provide guests the sustenance they need to participate on campus fully. 

"It's a beautiful thing to present delicious meals for our guests, in accordance with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. They are fed and cared for, and with those needs met, they have the spaciousness to do the self-care and personal work in their workshops. We take care of them by nourishing them so they can focus on the things that they came to Esalen to do. Folks come here to meet a variety of goals and challenges. None of that is possible without having nutritious ingredients in their bellies. Then, you’re able to cultivate the mind's and the spirit's work."

Scott refers to the Farm & Garden as “the greatest resource for providing quality nourishment to our guests, an opportunity to use the freshest, most nutritious ingredients," and she always adjusts menus and recipes to take full advantage of the week’s available harvest. "To get produce at their peak flavor, sometimes even just hours after it has been picked, is such a rare thing for most of us. That's something very few kitchens can say, and it brings an entirely new level of value to our dishes." 

Though there are always veggies that need chopping or a pot that needs to be stirred — "Mouths that must be fed!" — the Esalen Kitchen took some time to choose a few favorites to cultivate a familiar holiday meal. 

The menu starts with a roast chicken that requires a two-day brine and works best with big handfuls of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage (direct from the Farm & Garden). Sous chef Quinton Nuquist, who provided the recipe emphasizes that "the food we produce is meant to feed and nourish not just the body but the soul as well.” This main course is accompanied by a "community favorite," a savory quinoa salad that regularly inspires guest feedback demanding it be served “at every single meal!” The roasted root vegetables are made with parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips — "which are all grown here and can be picked in the fall." For something sweet, a lemon buttermilk cake, which, by all accounts, rapidly disappears.

“if there's one final word of what we do, it's just 'nourish,’” Chloe says. “That's the whole point — and enjoy!"

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An Esalen Holiday Meal

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• Whole Chicken
• Brine (recipe below)
• Butter
• Handfuls of rosemary, thyme, and sage

Directions

1. Put the bird in the brine two days before the meal.
2. Pull and pat dry, then allow the bird to dry for the day before the meal.
3. Melt butter with herbs in a pot, strain and transfer to small Bain-marie and salt tops.
4. Roast at 325-350F, rotating every 15 minutes until it reaches an internal temp of 140F.
5. Allow to rest a minimum of 30 minutes.

Chicken Brine

Ingredients

• Water, 1.25 gallons
• Handful of bay leaves
• Salt, 1.75 quarts
• Sugar, 0.5 gallon
• Peppercorns, 1 cup

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a large soup pot, bring salt and sugar in water to a boil, making sure to dissolve all sugar and salt.
2. Remove from the heat and use an ice bath to cool.
3. Pour over and completely submerge your chicken.

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Savory Quinoa

Ingredients

• Red and White Quinoa, 1 quart
• Pickled Red Onion, 1/3 quart
• Shredded Kale or Chard, 1/3 quart
• Hemp seeds, 2/3 cup
• Grapeseed oil, 2/3 cup
• Plum vinegar, 3.5 fluid ounces
• Bragg liquid aminos, 2/3 cup
• Lemon juice, 1/3 cup

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa.
2. Chop/shred chard or kale and add to your cooked quinoa.
3. Add chopped pickled red onion to your cooked quinoa.
4. Combine grapeseed oil, plum vinegar, Bragg liquid aminos, lemon juice, and honey for the dressing. Toss into quinoa mix.

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Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients

• Parsnips, 1 pound
• Rutabaga, 1 pound
• Turnips, 1 pound
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Peel and cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and store them separately if you're not cooking them immediately.
2. Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet and use a squirt bottle with olive oil to drizzle vegetables with oil.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Roast at 400 F until vegetables have some browning around the edges and can easily be pierced with a fork, about 30-45 minutes.

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Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients

• Cake Flour, sifted 2 ¾ c (or 2 ½ c APF + ¼ c cornstarch)
• Baking Powder 2 tsp
• Baking Soda 2 tsp
• Salt 1 tsp
• Granulated Sugar 2 c
• Butter (softened) 10 tbs
• Large eggs 4
• Vegetable Oil ¼ c
• Lemon (save juice for frosting, Zest of) 
• Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp
• Lemon Extract 1 tsp
• Yellow Food Coloring (optional) 5 drops
• Whole-Fat Buttermilk 1 ¼ c
• Unsalted Butter, softened 1 ½ c (3 sticks)
• Buttermilk 3 tbs
• Lemon Juice 1 ½ c
• Powdered Sugar 7 c

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Spray or grease two 9-inch cake pans.
3. Cut out 9-inch parchment paper circles and press down on the bottom of each pan.
4. Trace the pan for the perfect circles.

For the cake

1. In the bowl on an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat on high for approximately 3-5 minutes to break down the sugar crystals.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Once the butter and sugar are well creamed, scrape the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring. Scrape the bowl again. Turn the mixer back on low and alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk until both are well combined. Once the batter is smooth, turn the mixer off immediately.
4. Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake on the middle rack, undisturbed, for 30 minutes.
5. If the centers of the cakes are puffed up, check the cakes by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, take them out of the oven. If the toothpick has batter on it, bake for another 5-10 minutes and recheck.
6. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Then, carefully flip them out on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.

For the frosting

1. Once the cakes are room temperature, place the butter in a clean stand mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Then scrape the bowl and turn on low.
2. Mix in the buttermilk and lemon juice. Then add 5 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating to incorporate.
3. After adding 5 cups of powdered sugar, turn the mixer up to beat out any clumps. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too loose, add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

To assemble

1. Move one cake to a cake stand or platter. Scoop about 2 cups of frosting onto the cake. Use a large flat spatula to spread the frosting out evenly.
2. Set the second cake on top of the frosting, being careful to center the cake. Gently press the cake a little to level the top. Then scoop all remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to work the frosting over the top and down the sides.
3. Turn the cake stand to smooth out the sides with the flat edge of the spatula. Once you are satisfied with the sides, use the spatula to make swooping marks on the top of the cake. Use a wet paper towel to clean up the cake stand.

Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to serve, make sure the cake is at room temperature. All classic layer cakes taste best at room temperature!