Lea este articulo en español aquí.
With a panoramic view of the riparian corridor and picturesque hillsides of the Paicines Ranch, the newly opened Overlook Dining Hall offers up not just the beauty of the San Benito countryside but also dishes using the best in local meats and produce at its weekly lunch series.
“This place is something of a hidden gem,” said Ranch Business Manager Mary Rowen. “But we don’t want to keep it to ourselves. It is meant to be shared with people.”
According to Rowen, ranch owner Sally Calhoun had been hoping to create a space like the Overlook to serve as a San Benito County food hub ever since she purchased the land.
“This has been her dream coming to fruition,” Rowen said. “There’s so much regenerative agriculture happening in this community, and she wanted to have some sort of food hub where we could support all the incredible local farmers and ranchers in our area.”
Paicines Ranch has been a local leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture since it was founded in 2001. Raising sheep, turkeys, pigs and chickens and maintaining a 25-acre vineyard, all operations at the ranch are certified organic.
The Overlook, which includes a commercial kitchen, dining hall and outdoor seating, opened in January. It is certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, which rates projects on their adherence to green building standards.
But you do not need a certificate to know that the Overlook is as close to nature as Calhoun had envisioned. Besides the breathtaking view, nature itself is abundant all around it.
“We have the hawks out here, playing on the air current,” said Rowen. “Other birds as well—right now, you can see everything from turkey vultures to ravens out there. And occasionally, there are sheep grazing near the fences.”
The meals served at the Overlook are developed by the ranch’s director of food and beverage, Chef Carlos Cañada, who, for our Eat, Drink, Savor series last Thanksgiving, had also roasted a turkey and provided recipes.
For lunch on Dec. 7, he prepared two dishes: breaded lamb chop “lollipops” topped with chimichurri, served over roasted delicata squash, and turkey roulade, stuffed with wild mushrooms and spinach served over au gratin potatoes. (The recipes for the main dishes are included at the end of this article.)
The ranch itself is the source of the meats used in the dishes, with livestock raised using low-stress management techniques.
“Our teams really work hard with the animals,” she said. “They have 7,500 acres to move through and they are helping us to manage the land. They’re getting diverse foliage, and you can taste the nutrient density and the flavors of the meat as a reflection of the land.”
All of the produce is locally grown as well. “One thing I love about Chef Carlos,” Rowan said, “is that, because he does work with everyone around us, there’s a local story behind every plate and every meal.”
Cañada developed the “lollipop” recipe when he was trying to decide what to do with some surplus lamb. Breading it with parmesan cheese, it has become one of the favorite dishes among guests at the ranch.
“We had a group come in for a week-long stay, and they didn’t want lamb,” Cañada said. “I still made it for them, and at the end of the week, when asked what their favorite dish was, they all chose the lollipops.”
As prepared by the chef, the chop was very tender, and the thin, crisp crust provided a perfect level of savory seasoning, offering a nice counterpoint to the slightly sweet but hearty squash.
“There’s wool sheep and hair sheep,” Rowen said. “We use hair sheep because of the quality of their meat, so you’ll get really good marbling.”
The turkeys are also pasture-raised at the ranch and are processed and frozen before the late summer heat waves to reduce stress on the bird. Turkey has become one of the staples of the meals.
“I have been making turkey roulade for as long as I can remember,” Cañada said. “I don’t remember where I took it from in the first place but have been making it in one form or another for maybe 20 or 30 years.”
A boned turkey breast is flattened with a mallet then rolled up with a mushroom and spinach stuffing, then browned. Simmered for two hours in a tomato and wine broth, it is then sliced and served on a bed of buttery au gratin potatoes. The meat maintains a firm texture, with the flavor of the bird enhanced by the addition of a dollop of the stock it was cooked in, making for a rich gravy.
The meal was accompanied by a “Holiday Spritz,” a mix of Pinnacle organic apple juice, sparkling cider and cranberry juice. Delicious on its own, a note near the dispenser suggests “adding some cheer” from the bar, which carries local beer and wine as well as mixed drinks.
Stephanie Rocha, owner of The Nest Box, a biodiverse farm in San Martin, is a regular guest at the Overlook and says she comes to Paicines Ranch as often as she can.
“I absolutely love it,” she said. “They always serve good, wholesome food. It’s delicious. I’m a little bit of a food snob, and I can taste the difference. So it’s absolutely worth the trip out here.”
Rocha also purchases meat from the ranch. Most frequently ordering a side of beef, she bought a turkey for the first time this year.
“All my guests raved about it,” she said. “I haven’t eaten factory-farmed meat for over a decade. It is hard to find good quality meat, and when I do find it, it’s like I’m hooked.”
Lunch at the Overlook is served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Tickets are $25 and can be bought through the ranch’s website
Recipes from the Overlook at Paicines Ranch:
Lamb “Lollipops”
Ingredients:
- 4 each bone-in French lamb rack
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 whole egg
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Olive oil for frying
Method:
- Clean the lamb of any excess fat, separate the chops by individual chops, season the meat with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg with a small amount of water.
- In a separate bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper.
- In another mixing bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parsley and parmesan cheese.
- Working one by one, drench the chops in flour first, then in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Set aside.
- Once all the chops are breaded, heat a saute pan with a generous amount of olive oil and fry the chops on both sides until lightly brown, let them rest on a baking sheet or a large saute pan, and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 10 minutes.
Turkey Roulade
Ingredients:
- One large turkey breast or boned-out turkey thigh
- 1 cup of cooked mushrooms
- 1 TB minced garlic
- ½ cup minced onions
- 1 cup cooked spinach
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil for frying
- Chicken or turkey stock
- 1 cup tomato ( canned or fresh)
- 4 cups cooked bacon
- Bay leaves and peppercorns
- White wine (use red wine if desired)
Method:
- Clean the turkey and pound the meat with a meat mallet until thin enough to roll, then set aside.
- Prepare the stuffing by cooking the onion, garlic, spinach and mushrooms in a saute pan, and season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, finely chop the stuffing and set aside .
- Season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides, then gently rub the stuffing onto the meat on one side, just enough to cover the whole thing. Gently roll the meat with the stuffing ensuring there is little or no stuffing coming out to the side. If you can, tie the meat with twine—it’s easy, just takes practice.
- In a braising pan or cast iron pot, sear the meat on all sides at medium heat. Once all sides are seared, set aside, and discard the oil that you used for this. Using clean new oil, saute the remainder of the vegetables and bacon for about 2 minutes, glaze the pan with the wine, add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer. Add the meat back onto the pot, cover with a lid or paper, and bake for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender
- Take the meat out of the pot and let it cool, strain the stock and skin the excess fat from the top.
- To serve the roulade, cut the turkey into 2-inch size rounds, reheat the stock with the turkey and serve with your favorite sides—mashed potatoes, polenta, and rice all work perfectly.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
You must be logged in to post a comment.