Chef Scott Clark’s Umami-Packed Coastal Cookbook

Scott Clark, a chef with Michelin cred (Benu, Saison) ditches the high life for something quieter on California’s Central Coast. Coastal, a cookbook packed with soulful, spirited flavor – and plenty of umami – is the result.

Good Food is Intuitive. And Takes Time.

What type of stories do you like? The Journey is a popular one, its story arc built into the narrative. Scott Clark, a chef who I came to know while he was cooking at Saison in San Francisco, tells a story you may have heard before: Aspirations for Michelin stars, insane hours spent cooking to achieve those stars, chef burns out/flames out and chooses something different. Clark’s ‘something different’ is time with his family and a restaurant in an old railroad caboose about 45 minutes south of San Francisco in Half Moon Bay. Slinging sandwiches, as he says in the introduction, and being happy.

Half Moon Bay is worlds away and yet oh so close to San Francisco. The same insane ingredients he cooked with at Saison are just as gettable in his new locale. When left to his own devices, Chef cooks intuitively, casually, with the seasons and an open heart. Plentiful cheffy touches are part of Clark’s process – quick cooking is not the Coastal jam. But, if you are knowledgeable enough about your ingredients, your pans, and your own cooking sense, you’ll easily find your way. Can’t find crab? Try it with rockfish. Did you buy too much spinach at the farmers’ market? Toss an extra handful in, no worries.

This laissez-faire approach is a gift for the home cook, allowing space for imagination and what is at hand to make something even better. Use Coastal as a starting point – we can’t all be lucky enough to live in coastal California and where you live is pretty darn great, too – so make the most of the gifts bestowed on you and get cooking.

Recipes I Made

Any cookbook is a commitment and Clark lists out his flavorful layers in the basics section, or as Clark puts it, the go-tos. Most recipes call for at least one of these go-tos. You will not always have time to make them but Clark’s ideas and flavors shine brightest when you commit to the whole experience.

If you live in the Bay Area, you must start a Scott Clark recipe-fueled journey with the Dad’s Luncheonette Hamburger Sandwich (p. 91). Literally, everyone in the Bay Area has written about it since Clark opened for business in 2017. It’s a sandwich to travel for. I chose the beef route (there is a maitake option, too). The beef part was easy – defrost some Stemple Creek (my kids notice when I don’t use this Marin-based company’s beef). Then prep the cheffy bits. First up, Dad Sauce (p. 91), which is egg-based like mayonnaise so it whips up thick. It’s a bit peppery and tangy and slightly sweet, like the best honey mustard but lighter. Then I made Pickled Onions (p. 48), one of Clark’s go-tos. Tangy and sweet from white balsamic and sugar.  I had brioche buns on hand and fresh lettuces from Sebastopol’s Orchard Farms. Put them all together and hamburger alchemy achieved. Delicious.

I made Sweet Soy Glaze (p. 55) to go with the Dungeness Crab Rice (pp. 218-221). I went to three stores to find bonito flakes and kombu. It is simple to make, speaks loudly of the sea and of Japan, and packs a roar of umami in a teaspoon. For the rice, Asian pear is out of season so I swapped in a red pear – you’ll want a firm pear to stand up to the pan’s heat. I ordered crab from Fishmonger Don and was off to the races. I bought the ingredients to make Chile Jam (p. 60) but ran out of time to make this serving suggestion. I served the dish with a giant bottle of sriracha.

I’m quite sure I put too much spinach in the final dish as the flavors were all there but everyone at my table complained that there was too much spinach in the dish. (So much for winging it!) I liked the dish’s ginger-onion base which the Sweet Soy Glaze nicely complemented.

To get a sense of Clark’s way with vegetables, I cooked Bacon-fat Roasted Turnips (p. 234), with Tokyo turnips from Front Porch Farm and Hobb’s Applewood-Smoked Bacon. Simple and delicious. Do you know Grace Young’s cookbook, The Breath of a Wok? I have made Young’s dry-fried string beans countless times for my family. Clark’s Dry-fried Green Beans (p. 352) were good and different with shishitos, mushrooms and chile, but my entire family said “go back to the original.” There’s no messing with Young’s success around my table! Clark references local Szechuan restaurants in his technique so maybe he is a Young fan, too?

Who Would Like This Cookbook

Do you live on the California Coast? Or anywhere coastal? It doesn’t matter if you do but it helps to understand Clark’s approach. The access to global ingredients and the bounty of land and sea create their own sort of energy in this place. You don’t even really need a passion for well-crafted ingredients, no matter where they come from, or a focus on exceptional ingredients produced (mostly) locally. What you do need is a joy of cooking, of not minding if you have to strain a sauce or set aside something to marinate for days (or weeks), a joy of going to three local markets to find an ingredient. Who needs Amazon? The pleasure is in the pursuit. If this is you, jump in with both feet. A world of flavor awaits.

You can feel Clark’s happiness radiating off of each page, in the recipes and in Cheyenne Ellis’ photography. You might call Clark’s cooking California Cuisine and that would be truthful. I’d also call it soulful.

I was provided a preview copy of Coastal