Laïola Menu Notes

Here are some menu notes Mark writes for the staff, we'd like to share them with you.

A few words about dry-cured sausages
A note about our extra-virgin olive oil
My take on aïoli
Why fry in olive oil?
Postres
Our selection of Spanish and local cheeses
A few words regarding poetic license

First, a few words about dry-cured sausages: Traditional dry-cured sausages – the rough textured, toothsome ones such as Italian salami, French saucisson sec, Greek loukanika and of course, the sausage of our inspiration: Spanish chorizo – aren't cooked. Instead, the raw meat and fat are stuffed into natural casings and left exposed to the air, picking up wild yeasts and cultures that start fermentation. These beneficent bacteria feed off the sugar, generate lactic acid, which protects the meat from spoilage as well as introduces their tangy flavor. Then, like wine and cheese, the sausages are hung to age in a cool, humid place to develop the unmistakable, savory taste that comes from slow ripening. White mold grows on the outside; moisture evaporates as the sausage dries.

Salt is the key component in rendering the raw meat safe and edible. Salt substantially reduces the microbe activity that would otherwise cause rancidity and spoilage. All our dry-cured sausages include curing salt, sodium nitrate. The nitrate is used to prevent the possibility of contamination in sausages that are hung to dry at above refrigeration temperatures for extended periods.

The process of dry-curing meat has been practiced for thousands of years by craftsmen who were on intimate terms with their handiwork. Used as a means of preservation, dry-curing was particularly important in hot climates, especially in isolated areas removed from the modern comforts of refrigeration. The process we use is inherited from those who had a need for careful preservation in the days before easy transport, packaging or freezing. We dry-cure a variety of sausages, pork tenderloin and the like for their distinctive and unique flavor, ours are cured in a mixture of kosher salt, dextrose, sometimes sugar or honey, and sodium nitrate.

• Fuèt mildly sweet Catalan-style pork sausage. A dry cured sausage made with pork shoulder from Niman Ranch. Seasoned with coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and Pimentón; a mildly spicy, smoked (over open oak fires) paprika, from the Extremadura region of Spain, garlic and ginger.
• Verraco wild boar chorizo. A dry cured sausage made with wild boar leg meat and coarsely hand-chopped Niman Ranch pork back fat. Seasoned similarly to the Fuèt with the addition of dry red wine and black pepper.
• Lomito Embuchada dry cured pork tenderloin. Niman Ranch pork tenderloins cured in a mixture of salt, dextrose and nitrate. Seasoned with garlic, Pimentón, sugar, cayenne pepper, coriander and nutmeg.
• Butifarra de pato duck and pistachio sausage. A finely textured fresh sausage made with Liberty duck meat, duck liver and Niman Ranch pork shoulder and back fat. Seasoned with onions, garlic, fruity red wine, the Fuèt spices and pistachios. The sausages are stuffed into duck neck skins, poached, and chilled.
• Salchichón slightly spicy dry-cured pork sausage. A mix of coarsely ground Niman Ranch pork shoulder and back fat seasoned with plenty of Pimentón garlic, chile powder and cayenne pepper.
• La Quercia Rossa organic, dry-cured ham. A domestic dry-cured ham made in style of proscuitto or Jamón Serrano from natural, antibiotic free, certified organic Iowan pork. The 'Rossa' label is the first and only breed-specific, (Berkshire pork) organic ham commercially available in the USA.

Early Summer Menu, 2007

• Local Sevillano olives orange, rosemary. Large Californian green olives from (.....), estate cured, marinated in orange juice, moscato vinegar, rosemary, garlic, chile flakes and Sciabica extra-virgin olive oil.

A note about our extra-virgin olive oil: Nick Sciabica & Sons. Since 1936, Sciabica's has been producing natural cold pressed olive oil from their family run facilities in Modesto, California. They were one of the first companies nation-wide to press organic, single varietal olive oil (think single varietal wine) in limited quantities. Our all purpose olive oil is the Mission variety, winter harvest. It is an oil with a clean flavor that is traditionally Californian. Produced from the very first variety originally planted by Spanish Franciscans in their settlements of the Californian Missions and pressed continuously since the company's founding.

Other varietals include Sevillano, Manzanillo and a blended oil; Marsala. All Sciabica oils are boldly flavored with an oleic acidity of 0.8% maximum. Balzana. A small batch-handcrafted olive oil produced in Santa Cruz. Balzana is a blended oil made from several varieties hand picked from groves in the Coastal and Sierra foothills, then stone ground, cold pressed and harvest dated. It has a fresh 'olivey' nose and nuances of citrus with a peppery finish. Unio Siurana.

Though Catalonia accounts for only about 5% of all the olive oils produced in Spain, its output includes two of the four Spanish olive oils with a protected declaration of origin (Denominaciones de Origen, or D.O.). Cold-pressed Siurana contains 90% Arbequina varietal olive oil. It has a rich bouquet, pale green color, a flavor reminiscent of artichokes and a very low acidity: 0.5% maximum.

• Cigrons amb Morcilla chickpeas with house-made blood sausage. Cigrons, or chickpeas (also known as garbanzos) were brought to Spain by the Romans. Though chickpeas are certainly the most important of the legumes used in Spain, Catalans are equally fond of favas, black–eyed peas and white beans, or mongets. Our dried chickpeas are soaked then cooked in the usual manner (simply in water with a clove-studded onion, carrot and bay leaf) drained then sautéed with fried blood sausage, onions, garlic parsley and topped with toasted pine nuts. Blood? In sausage? Yes, broiled or fried, dry-cured or smoked, cold or hot, eaten alone or as an ingredient in a stew, blood sausage is an established feature of Iberian cuisine. Apart from the pig's blood, back fat and belly, our sausage filling contains onions, crème fraiche, thyme, sweet spices, Pimentón and cayenne pepper.
• Savory garlic flan cumin caramel. This is a true flan in every sense except that the custard contains no sugar. It is made with gently poached garlic, eggs, cream and milk, then baked with a caramel infused with toasted cumin. It is un-molded and served with a few greens dressed in lemon vinaigrette. The caramel is topped with coarse sea salt.
• Chickpea croquetas olivada a?oli. These fritters are made from a cooked chickpea flour batter – not unlike polenta- as it contains a small amount of coarse corn meal. It is seasoned with olive oil, salt and grated (............) cheese. The batter is then cooled until firm, cut into batons and deep fried in olive oil. The croquteas are served with an olive paste flavored a?oli.

My take on aïoli: Though it may be subject for some heated debate, evidence points to the origin of this ubiquitous sauce as Catalonia. The Catalan name in and of itself, strictly speaking is the recipe: Allioli. All (garlic), i (and), oli (oil). That oil, of course, being extra virgin olive oil. Salt is added, another given. Anything else, claim Catalan purists, is just gilding the lily. Perhaps a drop or two of lemon juice or vinegar, if you must... But eggs? Never. Allioli made with egg yolks isn't allioli at all. Its just garlic mayonnaise.

The fact that allioli's closet relative, the aïoli of Provence does include egg yolks is taken by some Catalans as further proof that the French don't know that much about food at all!

All talk aside, the truth is that the most allioli and all aïoli served in restaurants today - Catalonian or otherwise - is made with eggs, purism be damned. The traditional eggless version is too difficult to make in quantity and too capricious – predictably separating. My concession to tradition is the use of a mortar and pestle to begin the emulsification as it does not incorporate air into the mixture creating a richer sauce. We also season our aïoli with both a splash of lemon juice and mild vinegar, as well as the addition of a little water to improve consistency.

And yes, we use the French spelling and pronunciation as it nicely mirrors the spelling of our restaurant's name: Laïola.

• Bacon-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo. Pitted medjool dates (a varietal grown in Palm Desert) are stuffed with our house-made fresh chorizo sausage and wrapped in Niman Ranch bacon. They are skewered four to an order and grilled. Served with a drizzle of aged Balsamic vinegar. Fresh chorizo is significantly different from dry-cured as it is more aggressively seasoned. Ours contains not only Pimentón and cayenne but also a paste made from dried guajillo and Californian chiles. It is made from Niman Ranch pork shoulder and back fat.
• Escalivada grilled eggplant, peppers & onions. The verb escalivar in Catalan means to cook in hot ashes or embers, and Escalivada is simply an arrangement of vegetables that have thus been cooked. We grill the vegetables (Rosa Bianca eggplant, red and green bell peppers, sweet onions and local San Marzano tomatoes) then peel, de-seed, - including the eggplant – and dress them in a vinaigrette made from the 'juices' of those vegetables released during cooking, plus sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Served with a few sprigs of parsley and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.
• Grilled Octopus fresh shelling & Romano bean salad. 'Pulpo', or young octopus – 2-3 per pound – sustainably harvested from the Mediterranean are quickly blanched, cooled, marinated in extra virgin olive oil and grilled. The bean salad is composed of fresh cranberry beans, yellow wax beans and romano beans, celery, capers, tomatoes and a tart vinaigrette – think traditional three bean salad – and a dose of extra virgin olive oil. When the fresh pulpo are not available we intend to substitute a sustainably caught, frozen, baby octopus -12-15 per pound – from the South Pacific.
• Tortilla Española sweet onion, potato & favas. The open-faced Spanish omelet known as 'tortilla' appears in written recipes as early as 1578. Over the following centuries, the classic potato and egg dish became so typical that it eventually attained the rank of a national dish, hence the name Tortilla Española. (The name tortilla is the diminutive of torta the Spanish word for pie or cake. Not to be confused with the Mexican flatbread of the same name. Our tortilla is not some form of quesadilla.) Nowadays, almost anything is used to make tortillas in Spain; from wild mushrooms to tiny eels, and we also plan on using the dish as a medium to highlight local seasonal ingredients. Local sweet (un-cured) onions and early season (........) potatoes cooked in plenty of extra virgin olive oil are featured in a relatively traditional version here. A coarsely textured fava bean and almond puree accompanies the tortilla.
• "Esqueixada" of Pacific Halibut peppers, tomatoes & sieved egg. Esqueixada is another definitive Catalan dish – in a way, it's the Catalan version of seviche – as it is made from raw, salt-cured fish, "cooked" only by its marinade. The name Esqueixada comes from the Catalan verb esqueixar, meaning to shred – and traditionally made of salted, dried cod. Ours, however is prepared with local halibut we salt-cure ourselves, then slice raw, sashimi-style. A mixture of diced tomatoes, peppers, sliced onions, parsley, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil act as the marinade/dressing. The dish is completed with a topping of finely sieved hard boiled egg.
• Monterey Bay sardines garden vegetable en escabeche. Only three quarters a century ago the town of Monterey was known as "the sardine capital of the world." It rivaled the great anchovy and sardine canneries of the Mediterranean for output and quality. The canneries are long gone but the fish remain. We roast them simply and serve them with assorted baby vegetables "en escabeche"; a technique in which the vegetables are first cooked then lightly pickled in a mixture of mild vinegar and white wine, with sugar garlic, bay leaf and spices. As usual, the dish receives a healthy dousing of extra virgin olive oil. Expect to find cauliflower, baby carrots, fennel, tiny onions and/or peppers in the mix.
• Patatas bravas spicy Pimentón aioli. Small, tender, farmer's market potatoes get a double fry in extra virgin olive oil – the first at 225° Fahrenheit to cook the tots throughout, the second at 375° Fahrenheit to finish and crisp their exterior. Well salted then served with a generous portion of an aïoli seasoned with cayenne and Pimentón.

Why fry in olive oil? Considering the expense, the low smoking point and its delicate nature; why would we choose to use extra virgin olive oil in our fryer? For one; unlike many polyunsaturated vegetable based oils (note that olives are not botanically a vegetable, rather a fruit) our specially blended olive oil ~ 75% high oleic, no GMO, expeller pressed safflower oil and 25% extra virgin Spanish Picual olive oil ~ has no additives, anti foaming agents or chemicals to prolong "shelf-life" used in fryer-specific oils by many manufacturers. Also, our olive oil is not hydrogenated, nor does it break down into low-density lipoproteins (LDL's) or the "bad" cholesterol causing lipids when heated above a certain temperature. Olive oil is natural and healthy - has an appealing aroma and produces a distinct yet light flavor in the foods fried in it.

• Arugula salad warm peaches and jamón a la plancha. A simple salad of farmer's market arugula dressed in a sherry vinaigrette. Served with two farmer's market peach halves wrapped in La Quercia Rossa ham and lightly grilled on the plancha. The dish gets a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a scattering of fried, salted almonds.
• Cataplana of Tomales Bay clams garlic, tomatoes & salchichón. While Tomales Bay is known for its oyster farms, few are aware that the bay is also home to sweet, tiny clams. While clams are a natural part of the local ecology, oyster farmers have found a breed of Manila clam well suited to sustainable aquaculture; the Marin Gem. We steam the clams in a vegetable broth enriched with sofrito, - a gently stewed mixture of minced onions, tomatoes and olive oil – minced garlic, parsley and a fine julienne of our house made Salchichón. They are served in a traditional copper Portuguese cataplana.

A note about our vegetable stock: The vegetable stock is made with the same care that goes into the preparation of all our house made ingredients. It is a strongly flavored broth made with 1-part chopped vegetables, (including: onions, carrots, leeks, fennel, celeriac, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and spices) to 3-parts water. We use vegetable stock for 3 primary reasons; it is lighter in flavor than protein based stocks and does not compete with the delicate taste of the shellfish as wine does, it does not thicken or became unpleasantly gelatinous when reduced, and it can be used in other dishes to accommodate vegetarians.

• Pacific bream a la plancha rapini & fried lemons. A generous portion of skin-on filet of sea bream – a delicate, white fleshed fish, that is a member of the Sparidae family; which includes porgies, dorade and Tai snapper, known as besugo in Spanish – is griddled in olive oil on the plancha. It is served with blanched, seasoned rapini and lemon wheels that have been lightly dusted in flour and deep fried. Yes, they are to be eaten...
• Slow roasted Napa lamb garden peas with spring onions. Don Watson provides us with naturally raised lamb from his Napa Valley ranch weekly. His sheep are raised by humane and sustainable practices – nomadically herding them throughout Napa and Sonoma counties (see below) – without the use of antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones. We use only whole animals, so you can expect to see a variety of cuts rotate on and off the menu. The 'slow roasted' cuts include the leg and shoulder. These are marinated in extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, garlic and lemon, and then roasted for 3 hours-plus to an internal temperature of medium to medium well. We intend for the meat to be 'falling off the bone'. A generous portion of carved meat is served simply with a splash of the natural juices and a light sauté of Half Moon Bay peas and braised spring onions from Star Route Farms.
• Who exactly are the 'Wooly Weeders'? They are the sheep being used to naturally tidy up the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma – keeping thistle or poison oak at bay, thin grape leaves, munch back blackberry brambles and perhaps most importantly, organically fertilize the vines with their waste. It's an everything-old-is-new-again approach to sustainable herding and vineyard management. Instead of spending hundreds of man-hours weeding or using hundreds of gallons of industrial herbicides, these lambs do the job of several workers in less time, with less environmental damage and while using less petroleum-based farm equipment than it would cost to use conventional methods. Don Watson's sheep enjoy an idyllic life, grazing only in organic or biodynamic vineyards. Then, of course, we kill 'em and eat 'em. Such is life...
• Slow roasted piglet mongets, quince aioli. "Nose-to-tail-eating means it would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of the whole beast; there is a set of delights, textural and flavoursome, which lie beyond the filet." Fergus Henderson, chef of St. John Restaurant, London. And no animal exemplifies the joy of nose-to-tail eating quite like the pig. We celebrate this gloriously versatile animal and use every bit of him throughout our menu. From our charcuteria, blood sausage, or queso de cabeza, nothing from the piglets goes to waste. Our pork comes from a collective of farms on the Northern Californian and Oregon coasts. They are a mix of three breeds: Landrus, Chesterwhite and York. We receive them at a dressed weight of 35-40lbs. and like the lamb, we roast the legs and shoulders, reserving the chops and loins for the grill or plancha. The pork is accompanied by mongets, a white bean similar to cannelini and our aioli enriched with quince paste – known as membrillo in Spanish. I believe Anthony Bourdain put it best when he wrote in the introduction to chef Henderson's cookbook, "If nose to tail makes a statement, it's that nearly every part of nearly everything we eat can be delicious in the hands of a patient and talented cook...Nearly anyone – after a few tries – can grill a filet mignon... a trained chimp can steam a lobster. But it takes love, and time and respect for one's ingredients to deal with a pig's ear or kidney properly."
• Bistec a al parilla grass-fed beef, Cabrales butter. For the meat lovin' crowd, our specially chosen cut of grass-fed beef comes from Marin Sun Farms in Point Reyes. Again, this product is naturally raised without the use of antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones and never sees the inside of a feed lot. We will be featuring lesser known cuts to rotate on and off the menu. Expect to see steaks such as: hanger or flatiron, grilled 'to temperature', sliced and served with a Cabrales blue cheese compound butter. The seasonal vegetable accompaniment will change frequently and is omitted on the menu because, in all honesty, anyone who orders this dish does so for the beef, not the side... That said, expect to find roasted baby carrots with cumin, sautéed summer greens, braised cipollini, or the like nestled next to your beloved bovine.

Postres

• Pan con chocolate sea salt, Arbequina olive oil. This dish is a play off a simple Spanish breakfast snack: toasted bread, a melted chocolate bar, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Though chocolate production is usually associated with European countries other than Spain, it was the Spaniards who first introduced the old world to cocoa beans and chocolate plays an important roll in Catalan cuisine, sweet and savory. Our chocolate is a rich ganache-like mousse made with eggs, milk, cream and vanilla bean. It is scooped free-form and served with a drizzle of Arbequina olive oil, a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and lightly toasted Acme bread.
• Crema Catalana. The traditional Catalan custard covered in a thin sheet of caramelized sugar, is perfumed with cinnamon and lemon peel. It is the nature of the custard, however, not the flavoring or burnt sugar topping that defines this dish. Unlike crème brûlée in which the custards are baked in a water bath, the custard in Crema Catalana is usually finished on the stove-top. Ours combines both techniques in an attempt to get a best-of-both-worlds texture.
• Orange blossom cake peaches, plums, apricots. Though European-style desserts and baked goods eventually became commonplace in Catalonia, the region's first pastries were Moorish in inspiration, and thus included lots of pine nuts, almonds, orange blossoms rosewater, candied fruits (which are still popular?) marzipan and the like. This dessert is a cake made of almond meal, semolina flour, sugar, eggs, and enriched with locally produced goat's milk yogurt. After baking it is moistened with syrup flavored with orange blossom water. It is served with sliced Blossom Bluff peaches and plums and apricots from Hamada Farms.
• Strawberry-sangria sorbet almond milk sherbet. Inspired by our bar manager Camber's sangria, the sorbet is a red wine, sherry, citrus mixture in which Dirty Girl Farms dry-farmed strawberries are steeped. The mix is then strained and frozen. The sherbet is made with almond paste, sugar and milk with a whisper of cinnamon. Its flavor is intended to just hint of horchata.

A note about our selection of Spanish and local cheeses. Our selection of cheeses will vary from time to time as we are committed to provide a variety of selections from different regions, and in different styles, as well as from the milk of different livestock. For example, our opening selection may include: Serra da Estrela; a soft, sheep's milk cheese from Portugal. Garrotxa; a medium firm, goat's milk cheese, with a heavily molded rind from Spain. Bellwether Carmody; from Petaluma; a medium soft, jersey cow's milk cheese with an edible rind. Valdeon; a mixed milk, sharp, blue veined cheese with a smooth texture, wrapped in chestnut leaves.

Finally, a few words regarding poetic license. At Laïola we are committed to the idea that we are a Californian restaurant inspired by Spain (and as our fine State was once in its domain making this marriage all the more natural) rather than a "tapas bar" or "ethnic" restaurant. In an attempt to make the menu and its explanation simpler, I have at times used more commonly recognizable terms, phrases or names for dishes that may not always be absolutely accurate. Rather than pretend to be the ultimate authority of Catalan cuisine, or merely mimic a culinary style or import the products of our particular geographical inspiration, we resolve to fabricate our dishes from the local goods within the spirit of said cuisine or region.

This is what has come to be Laïola's philosophy – practically a cliché these days – to procure the finest from the local farmers, fishermen, ranchers, and artisans, and prepare them in a fashion befitting their freshness and seasonality, and in a manner that is unambiguous, honest and culturally true.