Autumnal Delights: Preserved Lemons, Tuscan Kale, Wild Mushrooms, and Pumpkin

One of our favorite culinary destinations is The London Plane, a market, cafe, bakery, and floral shop in Pioneer Square. Covid-19 has changed much about eating out, but The London Plane is currently open for take out, dining on the patio and shopping, both in-person and online.  This year we’re excited to offer our Tuscan Kale seasonal pie with preserved lemons from London Plane.  

“Pagliacci has been a staple in my life since high school when I would stop in for a slice and a salad on ‘The Ave’ and we are all really excited about this partnership on the pizza,” says London Plane owner Katherine Anderson. “Preserved Lemons utilize one of our favorite techniques for using the entirety of a product as well as creating an absolute flavor bomb of an ingredient. Modeled after the North African tradition of preserving citrus, we take organic lemons that have been juiced, pack them with salt, sugar and a mix of aromatic spices and let them slowly become golden jewels over the course of a few weeks. After a quick poaching in their own preserving liquid to further concentrate their flavor and texture, they are ready to be used in all kinds of recipes.” 

Our seasonal Tuscan Kale features these preserved lemons from The London Plane and Tuscan kale, which is treasured for its flavor. It has an earthiness and an almost nutty sweetness that stands up to big flavors—like preserved lemons. We mince the rind of the preserved lemons and blend them with fresh cracked pepper, ricotta and cream to make a base with a nuanced burst of citrus. We top it with mozzarella and a layer of Tuscan kale tossed with olive oil. We finish the pizza with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. 

Wild mushrooms are the inspiration for our other seasonal pizza. If you’re lucky enough to know a mushroom hunter, you know their boots are caked in forest duff this time of year— for this is when golden chanterelles light up the understory in the Pacific Northwest. Our friends at Foraged and Found Edibles are busy scavenging to bring us a medley of wild mushrooms for one of our favorite seasonals. Our Wild Mushroom Primo features a blend of freshly plucked roasted mushrooms, onions, provolone and mozzarella over an olive oil and garlic base. After baking, we top it with parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. 

Pumpkins, another autumn delight, make an appearance in our seasonal gelato. Gelatiamo’s Pumpkin Gelato is a satiny-smooth and creamy version of the best pumpkin pie ever. Maria Coassin, owner and flavor maestro at Gelatiamo, starts with fresh, roasted pumpkin and seasons it with ginger, cinnamon, allspice and clove. One taste and you’ll understand why what began in 2003 as a playful experiment designed to be a one-off is back for a 16th encore.