Grilled lemon grass shrimp, as served in its “Ten Tigers” version at Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento. It’s one of owner Mai Pham’s favorites because its aroma and flavors bring back memories of street food in her native Vietnam.
It’s the time of year when cheese logs and yule cakes are so omnipresent it makes you wonder if they’ve cloned themselves.
So we searched for unique appetizers that are favorites of area chefs. Among those we think you could re-create for holiday gatherings are recipes from Lemon Grass Restaurant, Green Boheme and the new Citizen Hotel’s Grange restaurant.
If those seem too rich for your palate or your bank account, we also had a little fun creating some small plates with small prices using items we found at the 99 Cent Only Stores and Dollar Tree.
Raw vegan garlic naan with cucumber raita
Prep time: 1 hour
Soaking time for nuts, 8 to 12 hours; dehydrating nuts, 24 hours at 105 degrees
Serves 12
Recipe by Brooke Preston of Green Boheme, a raw and vegan takeout and catering company in Sacramento.
The art of raw and vegan cooking is in replicating the flavors and textures of regular dishes with healthful and digestion-kickstarting ingredients. This recipe emulates flatbread but without the filling weight of regular bread, says Preston.
“This is going to give you all the flavor you want, but it’s good on your system too,” she says. “So if you were to eat garlic bread slathered with some kind of sauce on it, you’d probably feel pretty heavy after that. But with this, you can overindulge and still work out afterwards.”
INGREDIENTS
For the bread
3 peeled zucchini
1/2 yellow onion
2 golden delicious apples
1 cup pecans or walnuts, preferably soaked and dehydrated
1 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, preferably soaked and dehydrated
1 1/4 cups golden flax seed powder
1 1/2 cups almond pulp
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-5 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
For the dipping sauce
1 3/4 cups cashews, soaked 4-6 hours and drained
1/2 cup young coconut meat (about 1 coconut)
1/4 cup young coconut water, or more as needed
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Probiotic powder (the contents of 1 capsule)
1/4 teaspoon peeled and grated ginger
2 peeled and shredded cucumbers
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Small handful minced mint leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
For the bread: Shred zucchini, yellow onion and apples in food processor outfitted with the shredding blade. Replace shredding blade with S blade and pulse to mince. Remove any large pieces and put combination into a large mixing bowl.
Add pecans or walnuts and sunflower seeds to food processor and process until finely ground. Add the finely ground nuts and seeds and all other ingredients into the bowl with shredded zucchini, apples and onion, and mix thoroughly with hands.
Form into balls (approximately 1/4 cup each) and press with palm to hand-form disks onto dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 8 to 12 hours, or until dry enough to flip naan over onto mesh dehydrator trays. Flatten naan disks again gently with palms and return to dehydrator for another 6 to 8 hours, or until naan is of desired consistency (soft and pliable but not gooey).
For the sauce: Combine all ingredients except for shredded cucumber and spices and blend until completely smooth. Add shredded cucumber, salt, pepper, cayenne and mint and blend. Serve with naan bread.
Sauce may be refrigerated for up to 4 days in an airtight container, while the naan can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
Per serving, approximately: 541 cal.; 15 g pro.; 31 g carb.; 42 g fat (7 sat., 20 monounsat., 15 polyunsat.); 0 mg chol.; 445 mg sod.; 11 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 68 percent calories from fat.
Roasted butternut squash soup
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 2 1/4 hours
Serves 4
Recipe by Michael Tuohy, chef at the Citizen Hotel’s Grange restaurant. Butternut squash means the changing of seasons for Tuohy. “It’s one of those things that turns the clock for me,” Tuohy says. “It always says fall and winter.”
INGREDIENTS
2 butternut squash
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon white pepper
Kosher salt to taste
2 cups heavy cream (optional)
Pecorino or Parmesan cheese for garnish
Saba (made from grape must and similar to aged balsamic vinegar, it can be found at Italian markets)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
With a fork, prick holes into squash. Then place squash on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove squash from oven and cool enough to work with. Split in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds with spoon and discard. Remove pulp of squash from skin and reserve. Discard skin.
In a large sauce pot, heat grapeseed oil and add onion and celery; sauté until soft. Add squash pulp, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, chicken stock and cider. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from heat.
Add butter, honey, white pepper and some salt, be sure and taste. Add cream if using; taste again, add more salt if necessary. Other spices can be used at this point to adjust seasoning. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated pecorino or parmesan and drizzled saba.
Per serving without heavy cream: 464 cal.; 10 g pro.; 64 g carb.; 22 g fat (10 sat., 6 monounsat., 6 polyunsat.); 40 mg chol.; 505 mg sod.; 13 g fiber; 28 g sugar; 40 percent calories from fat.
Cheesy artichoke dip
Total time: 35 minutes, plus 30 minutes to soften goat and cream cheeses
Makes 4 cups
Recipe by Deneb Williams, executive chef at The Firehouse Restaurant. Williams serves this recipe because it’s easy and can be made the day before.
“It’s actually better if it sits in the fridge overnight, and then it takes 30 seconds to a minute to heat up,” he says. “It goes great with bread, crackers and vegetables so you can put it in the center of a big munchie pile.”
Plus, it’s always a hit, he says. “It has a very broad spectrum of appeal – people love warm, dippy stuff, and Dungeness crab is always a hit.”
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup goat cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
½ cup canned artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped
1 pound spinach (see procedure)
8 ounces crab meat or chopped cooked bay shrimp (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Allow goat cheese and cream cheese to soften at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 10 seconds, then immerse in ice water. Drain and press spinach until mostly dry; chop.
Using a food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until incorporated. (Alternate method: Hand-chop artichokes, spinach and scallions, and mix with ingredients in large bowl.)
Heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until warm throughout. Serve with crackers, a sliced baguette or raw vegetables.
Funghi di portobello con ripieni di gamberi
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe by Dominick Bellizzi of Dominick’s Italian Market & Deli in Granite Bay.
These shrimp-stuffed portobello mushrooms are a holiday tradition for Bellizzi’s family. “My aunt made them, my mother made them, we have them every year,” he says.
His favorite part about them? Shrimp with the flavors of basil, garlic and rosemary, plus the meaty heartiness of portobello. “That’s like surf and turf,” Bellizzi says.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
6 ounces cooked bay shrimp
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Eight 2- to 2 1/2-inch portobello mushrooms, dark gills removed
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, basil, garlic and rosemary. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; mix in shrimp, breadcrumbs, cheese and mayonnaise. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange mushrooms, rounded side down, on oiled baking sheet. Mound shrimp filling in mushrooms, pressing filling to compact slightly. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake mushrooms until tender and filling begins to brown, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.
Per serving: 433 cal.; 22 g pro.; 24 g carb.; 29 g fat (7 sat., 12 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 6 other); 109 mg chol.; 985 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 59 percent calories from fat.
Grilled lemon grass shrimp
Prep time: 50 minutes (includes marinating time)
Cook time: 3 minutes
Makes 24 shrimp skewers
Recipe by Mai Pham, owner and chef of Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento.
The smell of the charred shrimp tails brings Pham back to the streets of Vietnam where street vendors sold shrimp served a dozen different ways – on a skewer, in a lettuce wrap or on rice, to name just a few.
But it’s the shell left on the tail that emits that aroma.
“You get a little bit of charred flavor from the shell and it really infuses the shrimp,” says Pham, who serves a version of this recipe at Lemon Grass using tiger shrimp and appropriately called “Ten Tigers.”
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons minced lemon grass
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground chili paste or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 pound large (20-25 count) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
24 (6- or 8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes to prevent burning
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine lemon grass, garlic, soy sauce, chili paste, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add shrimp; marinate for 30 minutes.
Add oil to the shrimp and toss several times. Thread 1 shrimp on each skewer. Grill shrimp over medium heat just until done, about 2 to 3 minutes total depending on the size. You can also pan-sear the shrimp.
Per skewer: 25 cal.; 4 g pro.; 0 g carb.; 1 g fat (0 sat., 0 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 37 mg chol.; 109 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 29 percent calories from fat.
New Zealand cockles
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves 10 cockles or Manila clams
Recipe by David Boswell, executive chef at Lounge on 20 in Sacramento. The holidays mean seafood to Boswell and there’s just something festive about a bowl of cockles.
Boswell was introduced to the cockle while working at the St. Helena restaurant Tra Vigne and has used them ever since. “Juicy is the word I use,” he says. “As you steam them, they puff up with their juices when most clams are known to shrink.”
INGREDIENTS
10 cockles (washed) or Manila clams
1/8 cup smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, sliced thin
1/2 cup Roma or hot house tomato, small dice
3/4 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 baguette
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash cockles (or clams) under cold water and set aside.
In a sauce pot, add bacon and cook over medium heat until just starting to brown. Add garlic and toast in bacon fat. Add tomatoes, wine, pepper flakes and cockles. As the cockles start to open, add butter and season to taste. Add torn basil and reduce wine by half.
Taste broth for proper seasoning. Once all cockles have opened, serve in a bowl with warm baguette. Discard any cockles that have not opened.
Per clam without baguette: 53 cal.; 3 g pro.; 1 g carb.; 3 g fat (2 sat., 1 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 14 mg chol.; 23 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 48 percent calories from fat.
