Baked Sweet Potatoes, Butter-Braised Leeks, Sour Cream and Shiitake Rayu
People often ask me how frequently we change the menu at the restaurant.
I don't have a formula for how I go about it, and am likely to make changes simply when I tire of something. However, more often than not, it is the availability of an ingredient that will inevitably force a change. In France, cooking according to what is available in season is relatively easy as I find the seasonality of ingredients plus ou moin respected. However, instantly falling in love as a vegetable explodes into its annual abundance only for it to (sometimes, just as quickly) slip out of season, takes a little getting used to.
In this particular case, it was the lovely little zucchini that I had become so accustomed to receiving that were suddenly no longer available. In their place, a wooden crate of organic sweet potatoes made their debut. The resulting recipe dresses them up a bit – like the jacket potatoes I enjoyed so fondly as a kid. Go ahead and reach for that full-fat sour cream. (I only wish creme fraiche could be its equal).
