TO MARKET, TO MARKET
David Tanis has been preaching the gospel of placebased, seasonal cooking and eating for more than two decades. He’s the author of cookbooks, numerous magazine articles, and “City Kitchen,” a weekly column for The New York Times, and has served as chef at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, Santa Fe’s late, great Café Escalera, and his own private supper club in Paris. Although his fourth book, David Tanis Market Cooking: Recipes and Revelations, Ingredient by Ingredient, is more ambitious in size (480 pages, 300 color photos) and scope (225 recipes) than the previous three, it doesn’t stray far from the formula that defines his work: relatively simple, straightforward recipes delivered in a personal, knowledgeable voice that makes you want to get into the kitchen — or, in this case, to the market.
“When I say ‘market cooking,’” Tanis writes in the introduction, “... loosely translated, it means: I go to the market, see what looks best, and then decide what will go on the menu. The fresh ingredients provide the inspiration for the meal.” The eclectic selection of recipes are arranged by the author’s affection for the primary ingredient. Thus, the book opens with “Alliums United,” celebrating the many ways garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, and scallions can stand on their own or provide a soup, sauce, or foundation for other savory dishes such as an onion and bacon tart, Lebanese kibbeh, and Japanese scallion custard.
“Vegetables are central to a meal,” Tanis writes, and the notes and recipes in the section, “Mad for Vegetables,” form the heart of the book. Again, the organization is quirky, with the 26 entries flowing from what the author calls “lighter” — lettuces, herbs, asparagus — to “heavier” — cauliflower, winter squash, and mushrooms — with beans and greens, tomatoes, and roots filling the space between. There’s even an homage to New Mexico chiles, with recipes for classic green and red chile sauces rubbing elbows with a fiery North African paste and Chinese hot pepper oil.
There’s not much that’s market fresh in Northern New Mexico in midwinter, but odds are there is a recipe here to provide a relatively easy-to- prepare star turn for whatever you do find. Anyone for hubbard squash with Parmesan and brown butter? Parsnips with turmeric and feta?
— Patricia West- Barker
“David Tanis Market Cooking: Recipes and Revelations, Ingredient by Ingredient” is published by Artisan Books.