Homespun recipes from Big Sur

Among the most magical places in the world is that stretch of Highway 1 south of Carmel and north of San Simeon that snakes along the coast, weaving, rising, falling and twisting along the western edge of the Santa Lucia mountain range, through redwood trees and past artist studios, a famous retreat, a luxury hotel tucked neatly out of view, a rustic post office, a tiny store.

This is Big Sur, home to poets, writers, actors, artists, renegades and visionaries. Now, there’s a great book that tells the story of a restaurant where so much of the region’s colorful history unfolded.

“My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur” (Andrews McMeel, 2009, $35) is written by Romney Steele, whose maternal grandparents, Lolly and Bill Fassett, opened the restaurant in 1949 in what had been a log cabin owned by Orson Wells and Rita Hayworth.

A trip to Big Sur is not complete without a stop at the famous restaurant, preferably at the end of the day, when customers gather on the western deck to watch the sun sink into the Pacific. Multileveled, with wrap-around decks, porches, winding stairs and redwood trees reaching skyward, Nepenthe is more than a restaurant; there’s also a cafe, a juice bar and a retail shop, all threaded through with a beguiling aura of history.

Romney Steele grew up at Nepenthe and the book is filled with family, regional and cultural history, personal memories, dazzling photographs and recipes for many of the dishes anyone who has stopped there has enjoyed. I recognized a photograph of new-potato hash with poached eggs instantly and my mouth watered nostalgically as I read the recipe for sour-cream apple coffee cake.

The recipes are refreshingly homespun, without the professional kitchen jargon that fills so many contemporary cookbooks. You can tell they work in a home kitchen. Yet as engaging as they are, the place itself, the characters — from Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to Langston Hughes, Richard Brautigan and Jimi Hendrix — and the times, especially the 1950s and 1960s, may be even more enticing.

“My Nepenthe” makes me want to get in my car and drive south. Until I can, the book is the next best thing.

These luscious souffle-like custards are perfect for either breakfast or dinner on a chilly day. Certain techniques — boiling instead of searing the poblanos, for example — seem a bit outdated but this is how it was done at the famous restaurant and if you ever enjoyed it there, you’ll recognize the taste with the first bite, so evocative of a special time and place.

Chile Custards with Salsa Fresca

Makes 4 servings

—Salsa Fresca (recipe follows)

4poblanos

6 to 8ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

6eggs, lightly beaten

1cup whole milk

½cup half-and-half

—Nutmeg

—Kosher salt

—White pepper in a mill

—Chopping cilantro, for garnish

—Corn tortilla, hot

Make the salsa and set it aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the poblanos into a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about 5 minutes, until the poblanos soften. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Set a poblano on a work surface and use a small knife to make a 2-inch slit down one side, beginning just under the stem. Carefully remove the seeds and fill the poblano with cheese. Continue until all poblanos have been seeded and filled. Set each poblano in a 5-inch ramekin and set the ramekins on a small baking sheet.

Add the milk and half-and-half to the beaten eggs, season with a dash of nutmeg, a generous teaspoon of kosher salt and several turns of white pepper and whisk thoroughly. Pour the custard over the poblanos; they will not be fully covered.

Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven and cook until the custard is set and nicely browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Carefully set each ramekin on a plate, top with salsa, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately, with hot corn tortillas and the remaining salsa alongside.

Salsa Fresca

Makes about 2 cups

5 or 6Roma tomatoes, cut into small dice

1small red onion, cut into small dice

2garlic cloves, minced

1jalapeno, seeded and minced

½bunch cilantro, leaves only

—Kosher salt

—Juice of 1 lime

Put the tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno into a medium bowl and toss gently. Add the cilantro, season with salt and add the lemon juice. Let rest for a few minutes, taste and correct for salt and acid. Cover and chill until ready to use.

In “My Nepenthe,” author Romney Steele includes her grandmother’s recipe for herb-stuffed pork roast with wine-poached quince alongside. Because I have a wheelbarrow full of just-picked quince pleading for my attention, this recipe caught my eye. It is a perfect way to use the fruit; poached quince is indeed delicious with pork but it is also great with roasted chicken, venison stew and duck.

Wine-Poached Quince with Rosemary

Makes about 2 cups

—Juice of 1 lemon

2quince

1cup dry white wine

—Peel of 1/2 lemon

1/3cup honey

4tablespoons granulated sugar

1bay leaf

1fresh rosemary sprig

½cinnamon stick

2black peppercorns

Fill a medium bowl half full with water, add the lemon juice and set aside.

Peel and core the quince. Slice into thin wedges, then drop the wedges into the lemon water.

Put the wine into a medium saucepan, add the lemon peel, honey, sugar, bay leaf, rosemary, cinnamon, peppercorns and 1¼ cups of water.

Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers gently. Drain the quince, slide them into the poaching liquid and simmer until fork tender. Begin testing for tenderness after about 10 minutes; it may take up to 40 minutes, depending on the age, size and variety of quince.

When tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer the quince to a small serving bowl. Return the saucepan to high heat and reduce until thick and syrupy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Hold a strainer over the qiunce and pour the syrup through it. Let cool and serve warm or chilled as a side dish or condiment.

Michele Anna Jordan hosts “Mouthful” each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com.