California Cuisine

recipes

The Basics: Gremolata

Part condiment, part salsa, gremolata is a traditional Italian herb mix made of chopped garlic, lemon peel, and parsley.

Part condiment, part salsa, gremolata is a traditional Italian herb mix made of chopped garlic, lemon peel, and parsley. It's most famously used to garnish the Italian braised veal dish osso buco, but here in Northern California, I've seen it used in everything from pasta to pizza. The fresh flavors from the lemon and parsley, plus the intense hit from the raw garlic, lighten up fatty foods, particularly those containing a lot of cheese or red meat.

It's so easy to chop together that there's no excuse not to make a small batch every day to sprinkle over just about anything: California-style pizza, pasta dishes, grilled fish or meat, steamed vegetables, and even Southern casseroles. Try using cilantro instead of parsley and orange instead of lemon for other variations. Also, play with the ratios. Sometimes a garlic-heavy, lemon-heavy, or parsley-heavy gremolata works better for certain dishes.

Be sure to chop the parsley on top of the other ingredients; it helps incorporate all of the flavors together into a paste.

Make the gremolata recipe now.

Oscars

What's on the Menu at the 2010 Governors Ball?

The Governors Ball — the glitzy official afterparty of the Oscars — is a mere five days away.

The Governors Ball — the glitzy official afterparty of the Oscars — is a mere five days away. For the 16th year in a row, all eyes are on celebrated chef Wolfgang Puck, who's created what he hopes to be a blockbuster menu. We tracked down what he'll be serving at this year's soirée. What tony tastes does he plan to feed the stars? Take our quiz to find out!

Take the Quiz