Hubert
Keller
Chef at Fleur de Lys
San Francisco, CA
Hubert Keller's Vegetarian Philosophy
Fleur de Lys, San Francisco
I am proud of the fact that Fleur de Lys was the first upscale French
restaurant in the United States to offer a vegetarian menu. I never
imagined how much attention our vegetarian menu would attract and how
popular it would become. Since we introduced it in the 1980s, the nation's
awareness of the healthfulness of vegetarian food has grown significantly.
Over the last two or three years especially, professional chefs have
led the way in demonstrating how flavorful and resourceful meatless
dishes can be.
The success you can expect from the recipes is directly related to the
quality of the produce you use. Always take advantage of the peak growing
season and resist making dishes when their star ingredients are not
in season. When shopping for ingredients take advantage of the access
to the beautiful premium produce, much of it organic, sold at the farmer's
markets in this country, the produce is likely to be extra fresh, high
quality and raised with care and integrity. One final thought: since
these dishes are inexpensive to prepare, I recommend you use whatever
you have saved by not buying meat on upgrading the wine to accompany
the meal.
Figs and Blueberries in Citrus Broth
| Degree
of Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Time
Needed: |
20
minutes |
| Chilling
Time: |
1
hour |
| Cost: |
Medium |
| Wine
Suggestion: |
A
Grand Sauternes |
Yield: 4 servings
• 1½
cups orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 1
cup grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• 3
Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• ½
teaspoon fresh ginger, finely shredded
• 2
Tablespoons honey
• 1
Tablespoon rum
• 16
to 20 ripe black figs
• 3
Tablespoons blueberries
• 1
banana, sliced ½-inch thick
• 8
mint leaves for garnish
Mix the 3 citrus juices in a stainless steel or Teflon saucepot. Add
the ginger, honey and rum. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, prick each fig
with a fork in a few places. Plunge all of the fruits gently into the
boiling juices. Turn off the heat, cover up and let cool down. Refrigerate
for 1 hour. After chilling, you will notice that the blueberries have
released a very attractive reddish color into the citrus broth. Serve
into shallow rimmed soup plates and decorate with the fresh mint leaves.
