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Acclaimed Chef David Tanis On The Simplicity Of 'Market Cooking'

Chef David Tanis at his home in an undated photo.
Alice Gao, Courtesy of Kinfolk
Chef David Tanis at his home in an undated photo.
Acclaimed Chef David Tanis On The Simplicity Of 'Market Cooking'
Acclaimed Chef David Tanis On The Simplicity Of 'Market Cooking' GUEST: David Tanis, author, "Market Cooking"

With all the markets around we've come closer than ever before to the French concept. If you've ever wound up throwing out some of that fresh produce when you realize you did not know what to do with it, there's a cookbook made for you. Chef David Tanis has a new cookbook out called market cooking. He's all about learning how to buy and work with the freshest most flavorful ingredients in he joints me now. Welcome to the program.Thank you.Thank you for joining is. This new book includes more than 200 recipes all inspired by the farmers market. When you go to the farmers market do have an idea what you're looking for?I may have a general idea, but I like to go and get inspired just from what is there. It's fun and it's nice to go with an open mind. If your heart is set on green beans, you might have tunnel vision. I like to go see what is there.How can you make a meal based on just what you find at your local farmers market?It depends upon your farmers market. Mind you can buy potatoes and chicken and by the salad greens. Sometimes you don't even have a farmers market.Are the recipes -- would you say they were for the average home cook?I would. I would say it's even for beginner cooks but I think it's for any levels of experience.There are no difficult recipes in the book. I did not want a book that was difficult. I want a book to be enticing and inspirational. Is someone looks the recipe and says that is delicious and then they say they can make that.Are there certain types of falling corneas that we should be looking for right now?There's so many leafy greens that are at their best right now. A lot of the autumn vegetables are coming in squash and pumpkins and they're just gorgeous Japanese great eggplants are at the market. So you get a bit of a mix in Southern California.And talking about fall ingredients Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Is a recipe in the book that you would recommend for Thanksgiving dinner?There are number of recipes that will be suitable for Thanksgiving. I'm already getting requests from everyone sing -- saying this or that dish is suitable. Anything with parsnips -- every vegetable in the book has its own short chapter. Parsnips get a pretty good representation. Just great had roasted parsnips I would not want anything else.Could you share one of the recipes in this book with us.Yes, I'm flipping through the book and my eye is settled on the raw artichoke salad, which is made with very thinly sliced artichokes, dress with all of oil, salt, pepper and shaved Parmesan cheese. That sounds good to me right now.Butter has gotten bad rap over the last years. For vegetables do you prefer to use butter or olive oil?I lean more towards all of oil but sometimes a nice little butter is what you're looking for. A little bit order -- a little butter is not a bad thing. We can have a little bit of everything. Doesn't rule out fat or any other kind of fat.You mentioned before if someone would page to this book, dachshund C-1 of the beautiful photographs in this book and say that looks delicious, I want to make it look at the recipe and see that it's really not that complicated. I'm wondering what your approach to cooking is overall. Do you like to keep it simple?I like to keep things simple, absolutely. For the most part people tend to over -- over complicate cooking. A lot of times the simplest approaches produce the best tasting food.You worked with one of the founders of the slow food movement. Where do you think that movement is today and where is it headed?I'm glad you asked that question. I think people are a lot more cognizant of what is good and what is bad in terms of agriculture and in terms of diet. There are a lot of obstacles in the way. There are a lot of giant companies who monopolize and it's difficult to trust that farming land will be held in a sustainable kind of way. But in terms of people wanting the right thing and in terms of young farmers now wanting to do the right thing and --I want to say that he will be speaking about his book market cooking and recipes the revelations ingredient by ingredient at Chino Farms Rancho Santa Fe this coming Sunday and next Monday at the San Diego Jewish culture in La Jolla. Thank you so much.Thank you the hope to see used in.

With all the farmers markets around San Diego, we've come closer than ever before to the French concept of au marché: buying the freshest ingredients possible for everyday meals.

But if you've ever wound up throwing out some of that fresh produce after you realized you didn't know what to do with it, there's a new cookbook made just for you.

Chef David Tanis, former head chef of the famed Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley and writer of the New York Times "City Kitchen" column, has a new cookbook called "Market Cooking" that includes more than 200 recipes based on the freshest, most flavorful ingredients.

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Tanis will be in San Diego for two events this week. He joins Midday Edition Monday to discuss how home cooks can make meals out of the simplest ingredients.

Recipe: Seared Cauliflower with Anchovy, Lemon, and Capers

It seemed for a while that every fine-dining restaurant in New York City was offering a thick “cauliflower steak” as a playful, rather high-priced vegetarian main course. Crisp, caramelized, and juicy, it is awfully good. But it’s more practical for a home cook to achieve the same delightful effect with smaller slices.

To make the sauce, heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a small saucepan. Add 3 or 4 chopped anchovy fillets and cook slowly over medium heat until the anchovies have dissolved. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper and 2 or more minced garlic cloves.

A book cover of chef David Tanis' cookbook, "Market Cooking" next to his seared cauliflower dish in a skillet.
Photographs by Evan Sung
A book cover of chef David Tanis' cookbook, "Market Cooking" next to his seared cauliflower dish in a skillet.

Turn off the heat and stir in some grated lemon zest and chopped capers. Set aside. (The sauce is also good with boiled or steamed cauliflower florets.)

Halve and core a cauliflower and cut into small 1/2-inch thick slices. (Save the little crumbly bits for another time.) Put two large cast-iron skillets over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil per pan. Slip the slices carefully in the pans in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and let them brown on the first side, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully turn them over and cook for about 2 minutes more, until tender but still firm. Don’t crowd the slices or they won’t crisp well. Transfer to a platter, spoon the anchovy sauce over the cauliflower, and sprinkle with roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley. Serve with lemon wedges. Makes 4 servings.

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Excerpted from David Tanis Market Cooking by David Tanis (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2017.

When: Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Where: Chino Farm

Free and open to the public

David Tanis Book Event

When: November 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center

Tickets: $15-$20