Food

“Among all our native edible plants, the nut of the bay laurel tree is one of the most delicious,” says Esselen Tribe medicine woman Cari Herthel. Historically enjoyed by California’s Indigenous communities, bay nuts are typically used as a condiment, digestive aid, and stimulant.

Esalen’s Farm & Garden was recently blessed with the kind of abundance that feels straight out of a Roald Dahl book! But rather than one giant peach, we have over 1,000 pounds of squash! So Chef Abi cultivated a variety of delicious dishes — including a nourishing curried soup.

There’s a gluten-free “happy” snack you’ll find at every konbini and at every sakura celebration. Celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month, get the easy, heart-felt recipe for onigiri.

Every pho aficionado will tell you that the secret to this Vietnamese staple is the broth, a two-plus hour process of breathing and waiting. We wouldn’t recommend shortcutting personal transformation, but we’ll hungrily allow it for pho in honor of API Heritage Month 2022!

Once upon a time, a former Esalen chef lost her healthy path and fought her way back from yo-yo dieting to get her life back on track. Today, this holistic nutritionist and coach leans into plants, creating delicious recipes like this one.

This drink is pure gold when it comes to creating more ease in your life. Combining a historical concept from India, coconut oil, some spices, and California’s famous almonds, discover a five-minute ritual for well-being and comfort.

As easy as 1, 2, 3! Overnight Oats for breakfast at the Lodge is a moment of happiness and health. We got the recipe from a kitchen insider (wink) so you can make them at home.

A delicious vegan coconut curry recipe from a Central California family gives us reason to break bread and ponder the role of bread and togetherness across cultures and time.

Esalen’s executive chef spent years trying to make the perfect roasted chicken. Learn the one thing he did to get it right, and try his recipe for yourself – with chicken or turkey – to experience Esalen at home.

Pick a cup of wild blackberries to celebrate the end of the blackberry season and explore a classic Central Coast recipe from Big Sur Bakery — with some creative twists.

An oily little fish with a big role in Big Sur local history delivers heart health and a heartwarming memory just up the road on Highway 1. This is a simple, salty recipe you’ll want to rediscover, again and again.

No one will ever have to convince you to “eat your peas” if you go with these pea “tips.” Here’s an authentic Asian veggie recipe that’s ridiculously easy and quick for fall — or anytime, actually.

We’re big fans of this luscious, Lavender Chevre Cheesecake recipe! Simple and light, a slice of this California creation will transport you right to your coastal vibe.

Imbibe in the simple summer ritual: take a personal moment in a special spot and refresh yourself with a cool beverage. Our barista supervisor shares a simple recipe with easy-to-find, fresh ingredients.

Who wants some pancakes? Whole grain lemon-blueberry pancakes are packed with both nutrients and flavor, and are fun to make with family.

“Pesto” is usually synonymous with “basil,” but you can use the same basic method — pounding herbs, nuts, and other aromatics together with oil — to play with flavor. What's in your garden this week? Make it a pesto!

This juice is exactly as it sounds, and so much like an experience here at Esalen...it's all the things and will have you feeling balanced, grounded and vital.

A fruit panzanella takes the same mix of bread, fresh produce, and acid used to create traditional savory panzanella and turns it into something that’s great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert. For this version, we macerate blackberries with honey, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and white balsamic; vinegar highlights and punches up the berry flavor.

It’s hard to go wrong with flavor combinations when you pair things that come into season together, like early spring’s pea shoots and asparagus bolstered with the last of winter’s citrus. This salad is spring green on a plate, with a delightful mix of flavors and textures — acidic citrus, bright mint, sweet peas, crunchy nuts, tender asparagus — that elevate it beyond an everyday salad.

Polenta is easy to cook and a great canvas for all kinds of flavors. This version is rich with herbs, but you could substitute your favorite spices, add cheese, stir in some sauteed mushrooms or spinach — the possibilities are limitless. 

Nutty notes ensure this Esalen favorite has layers of deep flavor. Light but warm and nourishing, it's vegan and gluten free and made mostly of pantry staples. 

Gazpacho is a flavorful, chilled soup made primarily from ripe tomatoes that is perfect to enjoy on warm summer days. Though the recipe is simple, creating really good gazpacho requires getting a few details right.

This divinely sweet “grown-up” orange juice is packed with minerals, nutrients and enzymes to keep your immune system healthy.

This hearty, European style rye bread is a signature offering at Esalen. If you've visited us you've seen it at the bread bar, and likely you've enjoyed a slice of it — toasted or untoasted — perhaps topped with butter, jam or a nut or seed butter.

The juice itself is called Farm & Garden Green and it's a garden lover's dream, according to Food and Beverage Supervisor Lisa Hudson. “This ‘un-recipe’ features seasonal ingredients growing in Esalen's Farm & Garden and, of course, that's constantly changing, as is the recipe!,” says Lisa. “The consistent thread you'll find is that it's packed with the freshest, most vibrant greens, veggies and herbs of the season, with just a kiss of sweetness that comes from Meyer Lemons that have grown around the Esalen property for many years.”

Summer is in full swing and our Garden is producing carrots in a wide spectrum of colors that are both lovely to behold and tasty to eat. As the heat starts to climb, it's a good time to enjoy a nice cool, refreshing salad that is easy to pack for an afternoon picnic or having friends over for a backyard BBQ. Carrots can be the star of a salad and even surpass the more famous versions of summer salads like potato and macaroni.

With this recipe the classic pesto goes through a transformative experience, moving away from the traditional basil version and finding a way to use the often-overlooked leaves of celery which many discard. At its heart pesto is a simple combination: part leaves, part nuts or seed, a little garlic and cheese, then the whole thing is bound together with an acid (here we use lemon juice) and olive oil. Understanding this breakdown opens your ability to transform anything from our garden (or yours) into wonderful variations on pesto.

Inspired by a walk through the Farm & Garden as farmers harvested for Thanksgiving dinner, this spiced nut milk is infused with the spirit of Esalen. Warm and nourishing for the body and mind, Harvest Milk is luxuriously creamy on its own, makes a great base for smoothies and is wonderful in a latte.

Gourmet organic chef, author, and Esalen faculty Leslie Cerier shares a vegetarian twist on sushi.

If you’ve ever been at Esalen during Thanksgiving week, you’ve probably noticed that our Thanksgiving feast is the best, ever. That’s because we love Thanksgiving. We put tons of love into sharing our favorite dishes, from our own traditions, with the Esalen community.

This versatile dish is a staple at lunch-time and tapas-time at bars and in homes everywhere in Spain. The trick to making a really good tortilla is to avoid the temptation to slice the potatoes into straight, uniform slices. Doing so robs the resulting omelet of the nooks, crannys, and voids that are necessary for the eggs to do their thing.

Beloved by Esalen guests and staff alike, these are quite possibly the best pancakes in creation.