The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Extraordinary Produce of California's Most Iconic Market

by Laura McLively, Erin Scott (Photographer)

Overview

Celebrating the unfamiliar yet extraordinary produce from California's most iconic market, Berkeley Bowl, this cookbook offers recipes for a panoply of fruits and vegetables that have been largely overlooked or forgotten in popular cuisine.

Registered dietitian Laura McLively, an avid home cook and creator of the popular blog MyBerkeleyBowl, created a recipe for every unfamiliar or "exotic" fruit and vegetable she found at Berkeley Bowl. Here is a collection of her favorite discoveries, and a tribute to the remarkable, 40-year-old family-run market that inspired them.

Shining a spotlight on the versatile and unique qualities of the astonishingly beautiful, plant-based bounty that's available to vegetarians and meat eaters alike, these recipes and photographs will help you embrace hundreds of exciting fruits and vegetables you may never have tasted or thought of cooking, including crunchy sea bean spindles, tubers bigger than a toddler, wiry haired rambutans, and wrinkly skinned Indian bitter melon. Eating more types and colors of plants exposes us to a wider variety of nutrients, antioxidants, and beneficial bacteria.

Berkeley Bowl is a mecca for great chefs, and with the recipes in this cookbook, you'll see why. Even if you don't live near Berkeley Bowl, getting your hands on these ingredients can be a fun and rewarding experience in its own right, and cooking with them will make your meals explode with flavors, textures, and new culinary adventures for all your senses.

Partial list of recipes:
     Green Garlic Soup with Lemon Cardamom Yogurt
     Sweet & Sour Tofu with Gooseberry
     Charred Nopal and Black-eyed Pea Chili
     Corn and Chive Stuffed Squash Blossoms
     Pepino Melon Poke
     Stuffed Indian Eggplant
     Morel Pot Pie
     Starfruit Almond Torte

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941529966
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	404,977
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Laura McLively is an Oakland, California based registered dietitian and food writer. An avid home cook, Laura is the creator of MyBerkeleyBowl, a popular blog about cooking with unusual fruits and vegetables from Berkeley Bowl, from which the seeds for this book took root. Her mother, who was raised in Spain, exposed her at a young age to the joys of cooking Mediterranean and international cuisine. Laura McLively is a frequent contributor to the food and recipe section of the Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News. She has worked at the Native American Health Center in Oakland since 2009, where she is currently the Director of Nutrition and Fitness.

Berkeley based photographer Erin Scott's images have been featured in Saveur, Huffington Post, Jamie Oliver, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, Cottages + Bungalows, Refinery 29 and many many other publications. Her pictures are found in cookbooks published by Ten Speed Press and Roost Books as well as Parallax Press and others, and she is the author, photographer, and stylist of The Yummy Supper Cookbook.

Table of Contents

Introduction 17

The Berkeley Bowl Story 19

Kitchen Notes 26

Leaves

Gai Lan 34

Catalan-Style Gai Lan with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Sorrel 36

Lemon Sorrel Butter

Chrysanthemum Greens 37

Chrysanthemum Greens and Turnip Fried Rice

Epazote 38

Corn Tortillas with Epazote Leaf

Treviso 40

Treviso Spring Rolls with Black Tahini

Stinging Nettle 44

Stinging Nettle Filo Bites

Pea Shoot 45

Breakfast Pea Shoots and Polenta

Opal Basil 46

Matcha Mousse with Opal Basil Syrup

Mizuna 48

Grilled Cheese with Mizuna, Dates, and Goat Brie

Rau Ram 49

Summer Salad with Rau Ram Chimichurri

Taiwanese Spinach 51

Beans and Greens

Salad Savoy 52

Toasted Salad Savoy with Pears and Goat Cheese

Chinese Cabbage 54

Spanish-Style Chinese Cabbage on Manchego Toast

Shiso 55

Shiso Limeade

Flowers, Seeds, and Pods

Romanesco 61

Romanesco Slaw with Chili-Lime Pepitas

Purple Okra 62

Purple Okra Pickles

Tamarind 64

Tangy Tamarind Mustard

Fresh Chickpea 65

Spring Chickpea Tabbouleh

Squash Blossom 66

Sweet Corn and Chive-Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Banana Blossom 69

Banana Blossom with Glass Noodles and Crispy Garlic

Snake Bean 71

Smokey Snake Beans

Purple Cauliflower 73

Purple Cauliflower Quesadillas with Curry Crema

Cranberry Bean 75

Three Sisters Succotash with Crispy Sage

Chestnut 76

Roasted Chestnut Chocolate Torte

Spores and Succulents

Sea Bean 80

Sea Bean and Soba Salad

Wood Ear Mushroom 82

Wood Ear and Israeli Couscous Consommé

Nopal 83

Charred Cactus and Black-Eyed Pea Chili

Hedgehog Mushroom 85

Hedgehog Mushroom Toast

Morel Mushroom 88

Morel Pot Pies with Asparagus and Peas

Abalone Mushroom 89

Abalone Mushroom Schnitzel

Aloe Vera 90

Aloe Vera Mango Ceviche

Purslane 92

Purslane with Chilled Melon and Feta

Matsutake Mushroom 93

Matsutake Miso Soup

Fiddlehead 95

Fiddlehead Tempura with Sriracha Crème Fraîche 95

Alba Pioppini 96

Meyer Lemon-Marinated Pioppini and Frisée Salad

Stems

Long Choy Sum 100

Tortilla China

Bac Hà 102

Garlic Soup with Bac Hà

Yellow Garlic Chive 103

Nori Packets with Yellow Garlic Chives

Cardoon 105

Moroccan Cardoon Stew

Rhubarb 106

Vanilla Rhubarb Jam

White Asparagus 108

White Asparagus with Preserved Lemon

Ramp 109

Ramped-Up Mushrooms

Green Garlic 111

Green Garlic Soup with Lemon Cardamom Yogurt

Lemongrass 112

Lemongrass Coconut Ice Cream

Kohlrabi 113

Kohlrabi Ramen

Roots and Tubers

Purple Potato 116

Purple Potato Galette with Tarragon

Daikon 118

Savory Daikon Pancakes with Ginger Maple Syrup

Malanga 120

Malanga Masala Latkes

Satsuma Sweet Potato 122

Chipotle-Roasted Satsuma Tacos with Cilantro Yogurt 122

Golden Beet 123

Golden Beet Tamales with Red Pepper Sauce

Water Chestnut 125

Greek Spaghetti with Water Chestnuts

Watermelon Radish 126

Watermelon Radish and Pineapple Carpaccio

Burdock Root 129

Burdock Root Pizza

Jicama 130

Forbidden Rice Bowls with Stir-Fried Jicama

Horseradish 132

Port Roast with Horseradish Crisp

Salsify 133

Creamy Salsify Soup with Salsify Chips

Lotus Root 134

Spiced Lotus Chips

Parsley Root 136

Curry-Roasted Parsley Root with Feta-Yogurt Sauce

Sunchoke 137

Sunchoke Farro with Roasted Apricots

Celeri AC 138

Celeriac Ravioli with Celery Leaves and Lemon Oil

Yuca 141

Buñuelos de Yuca

Savory Fruits

Moqua 144

Moqua Pisto with Fried Egg

Anaheim Chile 146

Anaheim Chile and Corn Chowder

Winter Melon 147

Tom Yum Soup with Winter Melon

Plantain 149

Thai-Style White Curry with Plantain

Milpero 151

Roasted Milpero Salsa Verde

Blue Hokkaido Squash 154

Spiced Rice with Blue Hokkaido

Armenian Cucumber 155

Falafel Waffles with Armenian Cucumber Slaw

Indian Eggplant 158

Stuffed Mini Eggplants

Singua 159

Singua Paneer Curry

Indian Bitter Melon 161

Indian Bitter Melon Tonic

Chayote 162

Chayote Pozole

Cherry Bomb Pepper 165

Stuffed Cherry Bomb Peppers

Green Papaya 166

Green Papaya Gazpacho

Carnival Squash 167

Carnival Spice Cake

Sweet Fruits

Redcurrant 170

Redcurrant Almond Clafoutis

Pomelo 172

Broiled Pomelo with Cinnamon Crème Fraiche

Fuyu Persimmon 173

Persimmon Gingersnap Smoothie

Mangosteen, Longan, Kiwi Berry, and Fragrant Pear 175

Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Fruit-and-Cheese Plate

Pepino Melon 176

Pepino Melon Poke

Sour Cherry 177

Sour Cherry Rosemary Corn Muffins

Rambutan 178

White Chocolate Rambutan

Guava 180

Guava with Cotija and Honey

Papaya 181

Papaya Canahua Breakfast Boats

Buddha's Hand 183

Buddha's Hand Scones

Cherimoya 184

Cherimoya Panna Cotta

African Horned Melon 186

Kiwano Cooler

Blood Orange 188

Braised Leeks with Blood Oranges

Cape Gooseberry 189

Gooseberry Sweet-and-Sour Tofu

Dragon Fruit 192

Dragon Fruit and Lime Curd Tart

Sour Plum 193

Sour Plum Salsa

Quince 195

Moscato-Poached Quince

Passionfruit 196

Passionfruit Zabaglione

Kumquat 197

Pickled Kumquats

Starfruit 198

Starfruit Almond Torte

Prickly Pear 201

Prickly Pear Sorbet

Seasonal Menus 203

Ingredient Key 204

Acknowledgments 208

Index 210

About the Author 215

Editorial Reviews

03/19/2018
Food blogger McLively’s enthusiastic debut showcases recipes featuring the unusual and exotic produce found at one of California’s most recognizable grocers: the Berkeley Bowl. McLively organizes the recipes by produce type: flowers, seeds and pods, spores and succulents, stems, and sweet and savory fruits. The leaves category, for example, includes recipes with chrysanthemum greens, stinging nettle, and opal basil. The ricotta-filled sweet corn, chive-stuffed squash blossoms, and fiddlehead tempura with sriracha crème fraîche make perfectly light and delicate appetizers; heartier dishes include falafel waffles with Armenian cucumber slaw, and hedgehog mushroom toast with crusty sourdough. Even McLively’s desserts, dishes such as lemony Buñuelos de Yuca (cheese and yuca fritters) and roasted chestnut chocolate torte, showcase the uniqueness of her Berkley Bowl treasures. McLively offers alternatives for each featured ingredient so readers can make their favorite recipes year-round with produce from their local markets, though it’s the specialty items that make this cookbook fun. The recipes are adventurous, but their execution is straightforward—perfect for those looking to cook outside their culinary comfort zones. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"This beautiful book, which celebrates Berkeley's iconic grocery, is filled not only with Erin Scott's stunning photographs but also with recipes and ideas for how to use produce that grows on our shores but is not always the easiest to know what to do with. Now I know how to use those banana flowers I've encountered in Florida––and many other foods as well." —Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy and In My Kitchen 

"I've been waiting for this book for the past decade. Since moving to the Bay Area, Berkeley Bowl has been my go-to market for buying food––whether catering an event or cooking for my family––and I am always discovering new produce there. The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook is an invaluable resource with fresh ideas for familiar ingredients and dozens of recipes for ingredients that you probably have never heard of (let alone cooked)." —Bryant Terry, James Beard Foundation Leadership Award recipient and author of Afro-Vegan 

"The recipes are adventurous, but their execution is straightforward—perfect for those looking to cook outside their culinary comfort zones." —Publisher's Weekly 

"If you've ever wanted to diversify your diet and include some of the stranger vegetables at the grocery store, The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook is a must-buy. Registered dietitian Laura McLively has created easy, accessible recipes for vegetables like stinging nettle, sea bean, kohlrabi, ramp, green garlic, chayote, pomelo, and more. She also tells you why they're worthy of inclusion in your diet—and it turns out, there are tons of superfoods (with super benefits!) we're all missing out on." —MindBodyGreen

"You could say [McLively] wrote the book on the place.... You'll be cooking inventively in no time." —Diablo Magazine  

"The diversity is stunning and inspiring, with recipes using flowers, seeds and pods, savoury fruits, leaves, spores and succulents, roots and tubers, stems and sweet fruits, plus tips on where to get these if you don’t live in the shop’s vicinity." —American Express Essentials

From the Publisher