For California Mexican, a new vision

DOnA TOMAS is not a restaurant name that rings many bells outside the San Francisco Bay Area. The owners, Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky, have never been on the cover of Food & Wine, competed on “Iron Chef” or even cooked at the James Beard House. Google them and mostly what you will find are references to their new cookbook, named after their first restaurant, in Oakland.

In a food culture that seems to worship celebrity above creativity, it says everything that their book is a knockout on every level, not least because a vicarious eater will get as much out of it as will a dedicated cook.

Unlike the average perfunctory compilation of restaurant recipes, what the two business partners have produced is one of the most appealing Mexican cookbooks ever published and one of the best in any category all year.

You can instantly conjure the melon salad seasoned with chile powder, kosher salt and fresh mint and drizzled with pungent crema, the Mexican answer to creme fraiche, but you have to taste it to believe it. Ditto the very simple, sublimely silky corn pudding, or the queso fundido, translated into Californian with goat cheese and blanketed with a classically complex sauce of pumpkin seeds and tomatillos with three herbs.

The subtitle of “Dona Tomas: Discovering Authentic Mexican Cooking,” from Ten Speed Press ($29.95), is slightly misleading. This is authentic California Mexican cooking. Schnetz says he takes what he tastes in Mexico City, Oaxaca and Guadalajara during his yearly trips and translates it using local ingredients and twists, always with the goal of elevating an undervalued cuisine. “We try to be a step beyond what’s out there,” he said.

A literary kickoff

THE book’s dreamily meandering foreword is by the very lyrical Mexican American writer Richard Rodriguez, who happens to be Schnetz’s uncle, and it speaks volumes.

“Dona Tomas is Cal-Mex of a sort we have never tasted. It rejects the blandness of California Mexican cooking, but also the greasy bathos of it. Dona Tomas belongs to the nouvelle California initiative for the pure and the good.” The inspiration for the queso fundido, after all, was the Alice Waters signature at Chez Panisse, warm goat cheese, Schnetz says.

Schnetz, who is half-Mexican and grew up eating his Guadalajaran grandmother’s tortillas and refried beans, met Savitsky while both were cooking at Square One in San Francisco. They opened Dona Tomas in 1999 after she had been the chef at Cafe Marimba and he had started a cafe in Sacramento with his brother, among other stops on their resumes.

Savitsky now runs the front of the house at Dona Tomas and contributed the cocktails to the book, including a cucumber daiquiri and a lime colada. (The partners also own a taqueria in Berkeley called Tacubaya and are opening a third place.)

Schnetz credits two non-Mexicans, cookbook author Diana Kennedy and Chicago chef Rick Bayless, with inspiring him to head up the chile trail. “Her book, ‘The Art of Mexican Cooking,’ got me excited about it,” Schnetz said. “It was so comprehensive, it brought that cuisine to life, made me realize how underutilized it was. And Rick Bayless, what he did with his restaurant, he brought it to America.”

The recipes in “Dona Tomas” are more accessible, though, than either Bayless’ or Kennedy’s. The writing is compelling: Mike Wille, a chef and writer in Los Gatos, Calif., who collaborated on the book, has a gift for communicating the sights, sounds and smells of cooking that are essential cues in a recipe. Hominy in pozole should “begin to flower open”; a roux should be “amber colored with the aroma of toasted hazelnuts”; pickled onions should be apportioned in “a three-finger pinch.”

The graphic design also helps: The lavish and gorgeous photos seem to yell, “Try me,” while headnotes are printed above the bold titles, which has the curious effect of making each dish almost speak for itself. You jump straight to the ingredients, and before you know it, you’ve made seared albacore with a spicy pumpkin seed-sesame sauce and pickled red onions.

An excellent glossary at the start of the book demystifies the more exotic ingredients, and most can be found at a decent supermarket; even crema is available in a can. A blender is key for many of the sauces, but anything more complicated is rarely needed.

Schnetz says he California-ized his food partly by developing side dishes that would not be served in Mexico, which makes it supremely easy to put a full meal together from his book. Everything seems not just to fit but to almost fall into a menu. That amazing corn pudding goes with the tuna, which goes with the richly flavored achiote rice; the queso fundido can start a dinner party, and a sweet and crusty zucchini cake dusted with canela, Mexican cinnamon, can finish it.

Verdolagas -- purslane sauteed with garlic and tomatoes -- could accompany anything, with its vibrantly rounded flavor from so few ingredients. A cookbook that entices you to try a vegetable you have been ignoring at the farmers market for 20 years is not to be underestimated.

Creative cooking

BUT then the book is crammed with enticing ideas: salt cod and potato tamales; pozole with crab, or with duck; a salad of wilted cabbage, toasted pecans, chicharrones and cilantro with baked goat cheese; pumpkin seed brittle; salmon tacos with mango salsa; roasted chiles rellenos filled with potato or zucchini and crab.

Another simple recipe can become an addiction: pumpkin seeds toasted in a skillet with whole cloves of garlic and chile de arbol.

Tasting any of them makes it easy to see how “Dona Tomas” came into being. Schnetz said the owner of Ten Speed Press, which is based in Berkeley, is a regular customer who loved the cafe’s food and wanted to get it into print. The same publisher has also just come out with another book from Cafe Pasqual’s in Santa Fe, N.M., that has far less to offer. That much better-known restaurant may hold a Beard award. But “Dona Tomas” is the winner for cooks.

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Queso de chiva fundido con pipian verde (Broiled goat cheese with pumpkin seed sauce)

Total time: About 1 1/2 hours

Servings: 8

Note: From “Dona Tomas” by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky

3/4 cup hulled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 cup tomatillos (about 4 tomatillos, 3/4 pound)

1/2 bunch epazote, stemmed, washed and dried (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 bunch cilantro, stemmed, washed and dried (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 bunch parsley, stemmed, washed and dried (1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 fresh jalapeno

1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 to 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound goat cheese

Tortilla chips, preferably homemade

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pepitas on a baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, until evenly browned.

2. Soak the tomatillos in cold water for a few minutes, then peel off and discard the husks. Place the pepitas, tomatillos, epazote, cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeno and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a blender. Add 1 cup of the broth and blend on high speed until a slightly lumpy puree is achieved.

3. Place a large straight-sided skillet or frying pan over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the sauce, stirring to prevent splattering. Decrease the heat to low and slowly simmer for about 1 hour, stirring frequently and adjusting the consistency with more broth when it reaches gravy consistency and starts to splatter. Check and adjust the seasoning with salt as necessary. Keep hot if using right away, or transfer to a container to cool. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days.

4. Heat the broiler. Divide the goat cheese into 8 portions and form each into a 1-inch thick patty (this thickness allows the cheese to bake quickly and evenly). Place the patties individually into 4-inch ramekins and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese softens but still retains its shape. Carefully remove from the oven and ladle the warm sauce over the cheese. Serve immediately with the tortilla chips.

Each serving: 285 calories; 15 grams protein; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 24 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 26 mg. cholesterol; 527 mg. sodium.

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Budin de elote (Corn pudding with zucchini)

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, plus 10 to 15 minutes for settling

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: From “Dona Tomas” by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky

Butter for pan

3 cups fresh corn kernels (3 to 4 ears)

1 1/2 cups zucchini cut into 1/4 -inch dice (3 to 4 slender zucchini)

1/3 cup flour

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

3 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack positioned in the center. Butter a 9-inch casserole.

2. Place the corn and zucchini in a bowl and toss with the flour to evenly cover. Spread into the casserole.

3. Wipe the bowl clean and combine the eggs and yolks and whisk briefly. Add the cream and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Pour over the vegetables.

4. Bake about 1 hour, until lightly browned on top; it should feel like a firm pillow. Allow to cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Each of 10 servings: 342 calories; 6 grams protein; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 30 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 223 mg. cholesterol; 283 mg. sodium.

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Atun del diablo (Seared albacore tuna with pumpkin seed-sesame sauce and pickled red onions)

Total time: 45 minutes, plus 1 to 2 hours for marination

Servings: 6

Note: Adapted from “Dona Tomas” by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, divided

Kosher salt

Pinch dried oregano

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch ground allspice

1 red onion, sliced paper thin and submerged in cold water for 1 hour

4 chiles de arbol

2 teaspoons canola oil

1/4 cup hulled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 clove garlic

4 (6-ounce) albacore tuna steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick

Freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 bunch cilantro, stemmed, washed, dried and coarsely chopped, for garnish ( 1/4 cup)

1. To prepare the onions, place a small saute pan over medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Saute the sliced garlic for 30 seconds, until lightly perfumed and translucent. Transfer to a small bowl and add one-quarter cup vinegar, one-half teaspoon salt, oregano, cumin and allspice. Mix well. Gently squeeze the water from the onion slices and add them to the bowl. Toss well to coat. Marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour and no more than 2 hours before serving.

2. To prepare the sauce, place a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles and toast for about 2 minutes, pressing them into the pan and turning occasionally with tongs to prevent burning, until they turn light brown and give off a sharp aroma. While the chiles are still hot, remove the stems and submerge the chiles in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate. Drain and transfer to a blender.

3. Return the skillet to a burner over high heat and add the canola oil. When the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds, decrease the heat to medium-high and toss the seeds for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they begin to brown and become evenly crisp. Transfer to the blender. Place the sesame seeds in the pan over medium heat. Toast for 1 minute, until browned. Transfer to the blender.

4. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and one-half cup warm water to the blender and process on high speed for about 1 minute, until pureed, scraping the sides occasionally. Add the garlic and salt to taste and continue to blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is the consistency of a wet cake batter. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Makes one-half cup.

5. Season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper. Place a large saute pan over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is smoking, add the tuna, shaking the pan to prevent sticking. Cook 1 1/2 minutes, until crisp and brown on one side. Add the butter and flip the tuna. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes, until the second side is crisp and brown.

6. To serve, arrange the tuna steaks on a platter or individual plates. Spoon the warm sauce over each. Garnish each with a large three-finger pinch of the pickled onion and a pinch of the cilantro. Serve at once.

Each serving: 323 calories; 30 grams protein; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 19 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 54 mg. cholesterol; 140 mg. sodium.