An Aussie Comes to California
Warm and Sour Tamarind Pumpkin Soup Recipe + Margaret River Semillon
An outlet mall, In-N-Out Burger, Whole Foods. These were the three things my Aussie friend Tanya wanted to do on her last day in California at the end of a three-week family road trip through the American West. Not sure what that says about us Californians, but who am I to deny a friend from experiencing some of our state’s many charms?
Tanya’s teenage daughter loaded up on sneakers at the outlet mall (I even got a new pair of Converse, feeling decidedly like a nineties version of myself). In-N-Out was also for the teenager who, it turns out, is a burger aficionado. She had heard rumors of the cheeseburger greatness of this California born fast-food chain and needed to taste for herself. (You can read her rather amusing blog post, confirming and dispelling various rumors about America, including whether In-N-Out actually has the best burgers.)
As for Whole Foods, I could do Tanya one better. For down the street from our nearest In-N-Out is Lazy Acres, the Shangri-la of wholesome food shopping.
To walk the aisles of Lazy Acres is to bath in the edifying uplift of all that is organic and fair trade and good for our bodies and the planet and on and on and on. End cap refrigerators filled with kombucha, freezers of bone both, shelves of kimchi and sauerkraut all promise redemption for your microbiome. Vitamin C infused face wash and aluminum/BPA/red-dye #5 free deodorants beckon with their “clean” beauty regimens. Even the plastic sunglasses proclaim their eco credentials, whatever that means. Truly it does not matter for I enter Lazy Acres for rice noodles and avocados and leave with a bag weighed down with seaweed cheddar puffs, Yuzu furikake, and kefir cultured butter. Yet my soul (and wallet) feels light, as grass-fed and free range as the store’s beef tenderloin.
It was on once such venture to Lazy Acres that I chanced upon Honeybee Tamarind Puree. An impulse purchase but one I could justify, as one does all such purchases, knowing that one day I would need this tamarind puree for a pad thai or curry and then, I would be ready! Into the cart it went.
As it turned out, rather than waiting for the right recipe to present itself, I finally found a reason to use that tamarind last week. A bounty of sugar pie pumpkins not used for holiday desserts were taking up space in our kitchen. After roasting and scooping out the flesh, I was left wondering what to make. My thoughts turned to that tamarind jar, still unopened months after purchase. One of my favorite Northern Thai dishes is a curry of pumpkin and pork, made orange-red, and fiery-sour with curry paste and tamarind. As it is soup season, I was in the mood for something of those flavors but slurpable, with the heat optional so that our son would still eat it. The final bowl had all the comforting notes of a creamy pumpkin soup with a sour kick from the tamarind and briny umami from the fish sauce. Thank goodness I had that tamarind sauce at the ready.
And what of Tanya’s goals for her last day in California? On a picnic bench outside of In-N-Out under a pale blue California winter sky, her three kids and husband happily devoured cheeseburgers, French fries and milkshakes. On the other side of the table, Tanya and I pulled sushi and spicy poke ahi rolls, glass bottles of kale and ginger juice and organic berry kefir from our Lazy Acres bag for our wholesome spread. It was, in many ways, the best of California.
I would be remiss from talking about the best of California and not mentioning the devastation happening in Los Angeles right now with the wildfires. It is a bit surreal to be so close in San Diego, with the only hint of the fires raging so close being the haze off the coast. We are grateful to be safe here, but I know wildfires well enough that the risk for any of us is never far off. The devastation for the thousands of families who have lost their homes and communities is hard to fathom. For anyone looking to donate, my friend Kevin, a lifelong Angeleno suggests the LA Fire Department or the Humane Society. In San Diego, the ICA in Encinitas is accepting donations today 1/11 until 2pm. Follow their page for updates on volunteering and donating.
Warm and Sour Tamarind Pumpkin Soup
If you prefer this vegetarian, leave out the fish sauce but you will need to balance the seasoning with more salt and maybe a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for the umami. This warming, but not spicy. Feel free to kick it up with a spoonful of your favorite chili crisp stirred in.
Serves: 6
2 T. grapeseed, rice bran or vegetable oil
3 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped, about ½ cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
3 T. tamarind paste*
2 T. fish sauce
1 T. coconut sugar or light brown sugar
3 cups peeled and roasted squash (sugar pie pumpkin, butternut, kabocha) (or 2 - 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt
Pepper
1 cup coconut milk
Chopped peanuts and chili crisp to serve (optional)
Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add shallots, garlic and ginger and sauté for five minutes until softened. Meanwhile in a small bowl mix tamarind, fish sauce and sugar until sugar dissolves. When shallot mixture has softened, add tamarind sauce and pumpkin purée stirring to combine. Add chicken or vegetable stock, stirring again. Bring to a boil them reduce to a simmer over medium low. Simmer for 20 minute to let flavors marry. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or pepper. Reduce heat to low and stir in coconut milk just to heat through. Serve warm with a sprinkling of peanuts and drizzle of your favorite chili crisp if desired.
To Drink…
Ashbrook Estate Semillon Wilyabrup, Margaret River, Australia 2021
In honor of my Aussie friend, today I give you a quintessential, value-friendly, Australian wine: Margaret River Semillon from Ashbrook Estate. James Halliday, the preeminent Australian wine critic calls says of Ashbrook, “This estate is one of the quietest and highest achievers in Australia, maintaining excellent viticulture and fastidious winemaking.” A third-generation family owned winery, their Semillon is made from organic, estate grown grapes. The 2021 offers all the tropical fruit and grassy notes that young Semillon is known for with some of the straw and nutty characteristics beginning to emerge from several years in the bottle. Those tropical fruit notes go nicely with the tamarind pumpkin soup. With that in mind, consider this with your next pad thai take out, or salmon poke roll from Lazy Acres.
$24 at Caves in Encinitas or from $21 at various online retailers