Lunch with Patricia Wells

I had lunch with Patricia Wells

Really!

A Southern Season, our wonderful locally owned gourmet store, has a great cooking school and have been getting in some incredible chef's. If I already have their cookbook and love it, it is a must do. I didn't like the format of this class as much as the other two I have taken there. The first two were real demonstrations of cooking by the chef's. This was lunch with whoever you happened to sit at the table with. Fortunate for me, I saw the wife of the huz's partner. I was surprised she was there because she lives in Greensboro. Her husband has a vineyard and grows out some of the wine grape crosses that the huz makes. I later found out that my good friend Pat was there with her husband John. I can not believe we didn't see each other.



Anyway, lunch was made by the staff from Patricia Wells' new book, Vegetable Harvest. She picked out the recipes and discussed them and ate at one table. She signed cook books and answered questions, but I think it would have been better if she had mingled more. Regardless, I purchased the new cookbook and had her sign the two I already had, Bistro Cooking and Simply French.

The menu:

Couscous Salad with Spinach, Parsley and Spring Onions with Creamy Lemon-Chive Dressing
Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme and Pistachio Oil
Potato Salad with Spring Onions, Capers and Mint
Grenadine, Rhubarb and Raspberries

The wines:
2005 Domaine de L'Idylle Roussette De Savoie Altesse
2004 Chateau Marouine Cotes de Provence

All of the food and wine was good. I came home and made the Zucchini Carpaccio although without the $24 for 8 ounces of pistachio oil. We served it with Sea Scallops on a bed of leeks from the same cookbook.


We are still cooking out of it, last night we had roasted chicken with shallot vinaigrette, which cooked in the oven with a timer while we we were working in the vineyard and it came out perfectly juicy and tender!




From Patricia Wells Vegetable Harvest: Zucchini Carpaccio with Avocado, Lemon Thyme and Pistachio Oil



1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tea fine sea salt
4 T best-quality pistachio oil, almond oil, or olive oil (I used olive oil and it
tasted perfectly fine)
4 fresh, small zucchini (about 4 ounces each) rinsed, dried, trimmed at both ends
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced very thin
1/4 cup salted pistachio nuts
4 sprigs fresh lemon thyme (I used regular thyme) with flowers, if possible
zesty lemon salt (zest of one lemon mixed with 1/4 cup fleur de sel)

In a small jar, combine the lemon juice and salt and stir to blend. Add the oil, cover the jar, shake to blend.

With a mandoline or very sharp knife, slice the zucchini lengthwise as thinly as possible. Place the slice on a platter, pour the lemon mixture over the zucchini. Mix well to evenly coat the slices. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade at least 30 minutes and up to one hour.

At serving time, carefully arrange the slices of marinated zucchini on individual
plates, alternating with the avocado slices, slightly overlapping each slice. Sprinkle with pistachio nuts. Season with salt and thyme.

This is being submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Ellie of Kitchen Wench. Be sure to go to her site on Monday and read the round-up from foodies around the world. It is always very good.