Earlier this year when visiting Santa Monica (CA) farmers’ market, I kept my eyes peeled for my friend Amelia Saltsman, author of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook thinking it would be serendipitous to run into her while there.
Fortuitous it was.
I spotted her giving a private tour to a group who had “purchased” her services at a silent auction. That market tour was so successful that Amelia decided to start doing them for the general public. If you’re planning to be in the Santa Monica area and are interested in getting additional information on that click here.
We recently caught up with Amelia and posed our Guest Foodie questions to her. What follows are her responses.
Which food product or gadget would you never give up? Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, Maldon Sea Salt, and great olive oil. I could feed my family in an infinite variety of ways if I had just great salt and olive oil on hand—and of course, amazing seasonal ingredients from the farmers’ market that make showstoppers out of the simplest preparations. 
I could toss salads, roast vegetables, sauté, start a braise or a soup. I could probably eke out a few desserts too.
What do you like to serve when you entertain? I build entertaining menus around what’s in season. I focus on simple dishes that have a big wow factor. For instance, we’re just beginning tomato season, so I might start a casual garden supper with cups of “Instant Chilled Tomato Soup,” which is basically hand-grated tomatoes with a bit of, you guessed it, olive oil and salt. Okay, a splash of red wine vinegar wouldn’t hurt. The texture, color, and flavor of fully ripe tomatoes prepared in this way makes this truly a “bite of the best.”
Describe your “last meal?” Hmmm, hard to choose. It would definitely involve carbs, salt, and fat, but not in a sloppy way that masked the beautiful flavors of all the vegetables I would want. It would be either Japanese or Italian and made with love.
What food is your secret guilty pleasure? See’s Candy! Specifically dark chocolate Normandies, which are filled with walnuts and buttercream. I’ve been known to eat four bonbons and call that lunch! And as you can see from all my answers above, I’m not really a sweets person. Go figure.
What is your go-to neighborhood restaurant? Echigo for sushi. It’s on the second floor of a strip mall in West Los Angeles. Toshi-san serves Tokyo-style sushi and sushi only. That means no edamame, California rolls, or, as his sign says, “cooked stuff.” What you do get is brilliant, warm sushi rice topped with very fresh fish. The contrast between cold fish and warm rice (that’s the Tokyo part) is ethereal.
What is one food product most people don’t know about, but should? Italian anchovy fillets. They are the umami secret weapon of cooking. Dissolved in warm olive oil, they add savoriness, but not fishiness, to vegetable dishes, pastas like orechiette with cauliflower and parsley, and condiments like salsa verde. I could go on and on. I use the kind that come packed in olive oil; they’re easy to use and don’t require the rinsing and boning that salt-packed anchovies do.
Follow her on twitter @ameliasaltsman
– bonnie
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