Pullman Kitchen shares simple ideas for your Easter feast

Thanks to the warm sun and the longer days of spring, the green garlic and pea tendrils are popping up at farmers markets while the lilacs and wisteria are popping open in our back yards.

After a record-setting wet winter, it’s finally time to celebrate the return of delicate, green vegetables with an al fresco feast for friends and family. And what could be more appropriate than a simple brunch made from farm-fresh eggs and asparagus, crispy potatoes and tender, young salad greens?

Round out your menu with a refreshing cocktail and an edible centerpiece featuring borage flowers and other fresh herbs, and you’ve got the recipe for an easy and relaxing spring brunch.

At The Pullman Kitchen in Railroad Square, Chef de Cuisine John Trunk and Executive Chef/Owner Darren McRonald have been creating delicious dishes for weekend brunch lovers ever since they opened three years ago this month in the historic City 205 building.

“The brunch is getting more popular, and the menu changes at least seasonally,” said McRonald, who started his career at Table 29 in St. Helena in 1991, then cooked at Le Cirque in New York, Chez Panisse in Berkeley and the West County Grill in Sebastopol.

The restaurant features train-station accents like vintage suitcases to go along with its railroad theme. Along with many others in Santa Rosa, the chefs are looking forward to the debut of the SMART train just a block away later this spring.

“We’re still waiting for the train,” McRonald said. “But at least we have the West End Farmers Market now at the train station.”

The chefs, who often buy fresh produce from local farmers, are gearing up for serving a special Easter brunch this month.

“We’ll do a Crab Benedict,” McRonald said. “And maybe a Leg of Lamb Sandwich with a mint salsa verde.”

When he was growing up in New Jersey, McRonald remembers his mom serving up a spiral-cut ham with a side of scalloped potatoes for the family’s traditional Easter feast.

For home cooks serving a spring brunch, he suggested translating those iconic flavors into a Crustless Quiche Lorraine with a side of crunchy breakfast potatoes. His Crustless Quiche is basically an Italian frittata, without all the muss and fuss of making a dough, rolling it out and pinching the edges.

The frittata is perfect for people on the Paleo diet since it’s low-carb. It also cooks up faster than a quiche. You simply sauté your veggies and then pour them with the cheese and ham, the eggs and cream, into a frying or sauté pan.

“Mine is traditional Italian - you don’t mix the egg fully,” McRonald said. “We add a little bit of cream to create airiness, and then the asparagus, Gruyere cheese and ham ... we like to use the Black Forest Ham from Niman Ranch.”

At the restaurant, McRonald cooks the frittata in a black steel pan, but home cooks could also use a high-quality non-stick or a cast-iron pan that has been well seasoned.

“Just heat the metal pan first, so the eggs on the bottom cook and don’t stick,” McRonald said.

For the breakfast potatoes, the chefs use red potatoes that they boil first, then roast at high heat with a little olive oil, thyme and smoked paprika.

On the side, you can serve a simple mixed green salad, dotted with shaved radish and some pickled red onion, all dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette.

“It’s made from balsamic vinegar, olive oil and Dijon mustard,” McRonald said. “Just use the 1 to 3 ratio, acid to oil.”

To wash it all down, McRonald suggests a classic Bloody Mary with a modern twist.

At The Pullman Kitchen, they make the cocktail with fresh horseradish and chipotle puree, with a splash of both lemon and lime juice. Instead of vodka, they use soju, an alcoholic beverage from Korea.

If that doesn’t fit the ticket, you can always serve a mimosa made from sparkling wine and fresh orange juice, or a Bellini made from peach nectar and Italian prosecco.

Soju is a clear, distilled alcoholic beverage made in Korea from rice, barley, wheat or sweet potato. You could also use the traditional vodka.

Pullman Bloody Mary

Makes 6 pints

For Bloody Mary Mix:

3 (small 5.5-ounce) cans tomato juice

2 cups peeled tomatoes with juice

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

¼ cup fresh grated horseradish, peeled

½ teaspoon celery salt

½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

- Tabasco sauce, to taste

- Salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon chipotle in adobe

For cocktail:

2 ounces soju per serving

- Spicy salt, for garnish

- Lemon wedges, celery stick and something seasonal (olive, radish, cherry tomato or pickled bean) for garnish

For Bloody Mary Mix: Puree all ingredients in blender.

For Bloody Mary: In a mixing glass filled with ice, mix and shake 2 ounces of soju. Add Bloody Mary Mix to fill the glass.

Using a strainer, pour into a new pint glass with ice, rimmed with spicy salt,

Garnish with lemon wedge and celery stick, and add one seasonal garnish of your choice: olive, radish, cherry tomato or pickled bean.

If you like, you could also add sliced leeks and green garlic to the asparagus in the quiche. You could also make this quiche with a store-bought crust, if you prefer.

Pullman Crustless Quiche

Makes 6 to 8 servings

12 eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream, lightly whipped

10-12 asparagus spears, blanched and sliced

1 cup Black Forest ham, diced

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the eggs loosely, so yolks and whites are just barely integrated. Whisk in the cream lightly, then add the asparagus, ham and cheese.

Pour into a 10-inch sauté pan or seasoned cast-iron pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until set.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Pullman Breakfast Potatoes

Makes 3 to 4 servings

3 pounds red bliss potatoes

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons dried thyme, ground

2 tablespoons cumin seed, toasted and ground

- Extra virgin olive oil

- Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and place potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with salted cold water, bring to a simmer and cook until knife tender.

Drain potatoes and let cool. Combine spices in a small bowl.

Once potatoes are cool, cut them in quarters. Toss potatoes with olive oil and season with spice mix, salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 to 30 minutes at 450 degrees.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.