SU M M E R 2022

Summer fun

TasteFOOD / WINE / DINING OUT

The Bounty of the Bramble
MAKE THE MOST OF THE BLACKBERRY’S FLEETING SEASONWITH THESE RECIPES FROM 805-AREA CHEFS.

M

By Jaime Lewis Photograph by Gary Mossy favorite photo of my son dates
to when he was 2 years old. In it,
he stands before a mass of tangled
blackberry vines, wearing a bucket
hat and a gap-toothed toddler grin.
His pudgy cheeks and hands arecovered in blackberry juice, and he has a crazed
look in his eye. As I recall, he nearly ate his weightin blackberries that day.
Of course, most blackberry plants are too prickly
for a little guy to navigate, but these were Triple
Crown Blackberries: a thornless variety thatinvites quick and painless picking. The day I took
the photo, our friends had invited us to make adent in their berry patch before the birds got to it.
Their Triple Crown vines started as cuttings fromsomeone else’s vines, which started as cuttings fromsomeone else’s. That August afternoon, the plump
berries warmed in the sun, so ripe they tastedalmost boozy. Enamored, I asked if our friends
would pay it forward with a few cuttings for me, too.

BLACKBERRY CARDAMOM JAM
At The Royal Egg Café, chef-owners Jaron
and Bree Gugliuzza kept getting requests
from customers for dishes with blackberries.
So, they came up with this blackberry jam,scented with cardamom.
“It’s a unique but versatile spice that pairs
incredibly well with the blackberry flavor,”
says Jaron, “especially toasted,” as it is in
this recipe. At the café, the jam is used ina number of dishes, including the housemade ricotta toast. “I personally like theblackberry cardamom jam best spread on
top of our cheddar jalapeño biscuit,” Jaron
says, “along with some soft, unsalted butter.”Makes 1 quart
⅛ cup ground cardamom
4 quarts fresh ripe blackberries, rinsed
2½ cups white granulated sugar¼ cup lemon juice

78 SUMMER 2022 / 805LIVING.COM

Today, those four modest cuttings pump out
pounds upon pounds of blackberries each summer;
I love making refrigerator jam, tarts, and smoothies
with the bounty. My son is 12 now, and (only veryslightly) better at transporting berries from vine
to mouth, but his obsession remains. On any givensummer day, I’ll find him by our blackberry patch,
picking and eating with gusto—and with that same
maniacal focus.
Three Central Coast chefs share his passion forblackberries. Check out their recipes for the sultry
seasonal fruit here, including Blackberry Tarragon
Pie from pastry chef Emilie Sandven at Helena
Avenue Bakery (helenaavenuebakery.com) in Santa
Barbara; Blackberry Cardamom Jam from chefowners Jaron and Bree Gugliuzza of The Royal EggCafé (theroyaleggcafe.com) in Westlake Village;
and Duck Breast with Blackberry-Ginger Sauce
from Chef Mark Huston at Jane ( janesb.com)
restaurant, which has locations in Santa Barbaraand Goleta.

Warm a sauté pan over medium-low heat.
Once it’s hot, add cardamom to pan andtoast for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
In a saucepot, combine toasted
cardamom with remaining ingredients.
Bring to a simmer and cook down forabout 1 hour, stirring every 10 minuteswith a wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
Remove from heat and transfer to ablender. Blend well in batches, taking careto avoid overfilling blender with hot jam.
Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve
into a metal or other heatproof container,pressing firmly with a wooden spoon toextract all jam. Let jam cool completely
overnight in the refrigerator, uncovered.
Transfer to an airtight container. Store in
the refrigerator and use within 30 days.

BLACKBERRY TARRAGON PIE“I come from Denmark, where raspberryand black licorice is a common pairing insweets,” says Emilie Sandven, pastry chef
at Helena Avenue Bakery. “I wanted toemulate the combination of sweet, tart
berries with an earthy, herbal, anise-y flavor.
I decided on blackberry and tarragon,because I felt that reflected the central
California climate and produce best.”
Sandven, who buys blackberries at thefarmers market in Santa Barbara, cites Caitlin
Ranch and 2 Peas in a Pod Farms as favorite
sources. For home bakers in hot summer
kitchens, she recommends refrigerating piemaking tools before using them. “Refrigerate
your pie tin, rolling pin, and the bowl andblade of your food processor,” she says, “tokeep your dough as cool as possible.” >Simmer up a batch of The
Royal Egg Café’s Blackberry
Cardamom Jam, a staple
at the restaurant that'sserved in a variety ofdishes, including straight
up on nine-grain toast.

SUMMER 2022 / 805LIVING.COM 79

Taste Food

Serves 6 to 8
DOUBLE CRUST
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and		 cut into small cubes
4–8 tablespoons water, ice cold
1 egg, beaten
FILLING
5 pints blackberries
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
To make the double crust: Combine
flour, salt, sugar, and butter in a foodprocessor and pulse until butter is peasize pieces. Add water 1 tablespoon at atime and pulse after each addition until
dough comes together. Form into 2 evenly
sized discs and wrap tightly in plastic
wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
To make the filling and bake thepie: Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out oneof the dough discs and transfer it to thebottom of a pie tin, leaving about an inchof overhang on the sides.
Combine all filling ingredients in a mixing
bowl and toss to coat berries evenly. Allow
just a few of the blackberries to get a little
smashed to incorporate their juices. Pourfilling into dough-lined pie tin.
Roll out top crust of the pie and lay it overberries, so there is about ½ inch of doughoverhanging the edge of the pie tin. Press
together the overhang from the top andbottom crust and fold it onto itself. Crimp
the edge and cut vents in the center of thetop crust. Brush with beaten egg. Bakefor about 75 minutes, until crust is goldenbrown and filling is bubbling beneath vents.
If top starts getting too dark during baking,drape pie with aluminum foil and continue
baking until done.

DUCK BREAST WITH
BLACKBERRY-GINGER SAUCE
Chef Mark Huston of Jane has madethis duck dish for decades, but he can’tremember the inspiration for it, exactly.
“It may have been a riff on canard àl’orange (duck with orange sauce),” hesays. “That’s a classic duck-and-fruitpairing.” For the blackberry-ginger
sauce, he uses blackberries that his

80 SUMMER 2022 / 805LIVING.COMpartner Margaret gets at The Santa
Barbara Farmers Market downtown.
“The hardest part of making this dish—and the most important part—is makingthe stock,” he says. Finding duck bones toprepare a stock may be a challenge. Check
with your local butcher for bones from birds
they’ve already broken down. And while
you’re at it, order four duck breasts for thisdish, too. The stock requires an overnight
stint in the refrigerator, so be sure to prepare
it the day before you intend to serve the dish.
Serves 4
DUCK STOCK
1 cup duck bones (about 1 duck, broken		 down), cut into 3- to 4-inch pieces½ teaspoon vegetable oil½ onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into		 2-inch pieces
1 celery rib, cut into 2-inch pieces
1½ teaspoons tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
BLACKBERRY-GINGER SAUCE
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup port plus 1 tablespoon, divided
3 cups duck stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch		 Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 cup blackberries
DUCK BREASTS
4 duck breasts		 Kosher salt		 Cracked black pepper		 Fresh blackberries, for garnish
To make the duck stock: Preheat oven to400°F. In a large bowl, toss duck bones withoil to coat. Spread bones in a single layer ona rimmed baking sheet (reserve bowl with
oil in it) and roast, turning bones once, until
they begin to brown, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss onion, carrot, and celery
in the empty, oiled bowl, to coat. Oncebones have browned, scatter vegetables
over and around bones on baking sheet as
evenly as possible. Roast until vegetables
are also well-browned, about 20 more
minutes. Remove baking sheet from heat
and allow it to cool slightly.

Transfer bones and vegetables to a stockpot
or large Dutch oven, discarding any fatthat has accumulated on baking sheet.
Toss vegetables and bones with tomato
paste, and add thyme, parsley, bay leaf,and peppercorns. Add cold water to a level
about 2 inches above bones and vegetables.
Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer until
stock is a deep red-brown color and reduces
to about three cups—about 3 hours.
Let stock cool slightly, then strain it
through a fine-mesh sieve into a large
sealable container. Discard solids, seal thecontainer, and refrigerate stock overnight.
The next day, when you’re ready to
prepare the dish, skim off and discard the fatfrom the top of the stock.
To prepare the Blackberry-Ginger
Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium
heat, add shallot and ½ cup port. Reduce
liquid until it’s almost gone, about 5 minutes.
Add duck stock and simmer until liquid isreduced to 1 cup, about 20 to 30 minutes. Ina small cup or jar, whisk together cornstarchand 1 tablespoon port. Add cornstarch
mixture to stock reduction and cook until
just thick enough so that it pools in place ona plate. Set thickened stock reduction aside.
To prepare the duck breasts: Preheat agrill pan or barbecue. Season duck breasts
with salt and pepper on both sides andplace them in a sauté pan just large enoughto hold them, skin-side down. (If pan is
too large, the fat will spread and burn.)
Over medium-low heat, render fat until
three-quarters of it is gone, about 15 to
20 minutes.
Transfer duck breasts, skin-side down, topreheated grill pan or barbecue, discarding
fat and reserving sauté pan. Cook breasts,
for 10 minutes, turning occasionally, but
keep skin sides down for the majority of thetime, being careful not to burn them.
Meanwhile, finish the Blackberry-Ginger
Sauce: Deglaze reserved pan with remaining
1/2 cup of port. Simmer over low heat for 1 to
2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper andwhisk in butter. When mixture is reduced
to ¼ cup, add to thickened stock reduction.
Fold in ginger and blackberries, and remove
from heat to avoid overcooking berries.
To plate the duck: When cooking timeis up, transfer duck breasts from grill orbarbecue to a plate or tray and allow themto rest for a few minutes. Slice duck breasts
and serve them skin-side up over a pool ofBlackberry-Ginger Sauce. Garnish with fresh
blackberries. 