March, 1999
Publication title: Flare, vol. 21, Iss. 3, pg. 36
Place: Toronto
Writer: Unknown
A Collection Of Sarah McLachlan’s Favourite Recipes
Chicago-based chef Jaime Laurita teamed up with Sarah McLachlan at her Vancouver home to produce the cookbook A Collection of Sarah McLachlan’s Favourite Recipes ($28, Madrigal Press). Laurita, who is McLachlan’s personal chef when she’s on tour, has cooked for KISS, Barenaked Ladies, Motley Crue, Placido Domingo, Phil Collins and even Marilyn Manson. (Fried newt, anyone?) All this from a Brooklyn boy who got his start on an Easy-Bake Oven.
Noreen Flanagan: How did you end up making spring rolls for Sarah?
Jaime Laurita: I was cooking for The Rolling Stones for the launch of their Bridges to Babylon tour. It was really chaotic. I was working, literally, 23 hours a day, feeding upward of 400 people. In the midst of this, Sarah McLachlan’s people called and asked if I would consider going out on the road. I jumped at the opportunity.
NF: What’s it like cooking for Sarah and her band?
JL: I feel really important working for them because I know that the food keeps them going. I kinda feel a little bit responsible when Sarah has a great performance because I know the food I cook makes them so content.
NF: Whose idea was it to do the book?
JL: Sarah came to me one day and said, ‘You know, you should have a cookbook, especially for vegetarians. As a matter of fact, we should write one.’ I said ‘OK’ and I never brought it up again. When we got back from the tour, she called and said, ‘Are you ready to do this book?’ I said, ‘Wow, we’re really going to do this.’ The next week I was in her house.
NF: Tell us about the cookbook.
JL: The recipes [there are more than 80] are mainly vegetarian, but there are some fish dished as well. The beauty of the book is that all the dishes were created in her house on her eclectic plates. I brought some recipes with me, but the others we came up with are based on what we found on Granville Island that day. [Sarah also contributed her own recipes, such as Mom’s Currant Cake and Writer’s Block Cookies–which she makes when she can’t find her muse–and a chai tea recipe she and her husband, Ash Sood, created.]
NF: What’s in your future?
JL: I want my own cooking show where celebrities come on set or I go into their homes and cook.
NF: Your first three guests?
JL: Obviously Sarah, because I love her. She’s great. I would also like to go into the home of Luciano Pavarotti and cook Italian food with him all day. I also think it would be crazy cooking with Dolly Parton. She’s just so full of hell. I can just picture being in her kitchen and having a riot.
NF: So, Sarah, Jaime tells us he feels a “little bit” responsible for your great performances.
Sarah McLachlan: I agree that good food plays a very important role. If you eat crap that’s made with no love and isn’t good for you, then I definitely think it’ll alter your performance. A good meal made with love really helps keep everyone going.
NF: Is there a meal that you had on the road that really stands out?
SM: Every day was a new adventure. That’s one of the great things about Jaime’s food: he rarely makes the same thing twice. But if I had to pick one favourite meal it would be the one served on the last day of Lilith Fair. He made a feast of curried lobster and sweet corn and set it all up on the bus with a tablecloth and candles, which made it feel like home. It was very special and tasted fantastic!
NF: Jaime says that some days you just want to dive into a bowl of macaroni and cheese. What are some of your other indulgences?
SM: Well, it depends on what you’re calling indulgences! But mac and cheese is some–times a big craving–same with grilled cheese sandwiches–oh, and then there’s chocolate, which I believe is a food group unto itself.
NF: Are you an adventurous eater?
SM: I must admit I’m not terribly adventurous–like, no raw egg on the sushi for me, thank you very much. I did, however, once eat a thousand-year-old egg in Thailand (no kidding, it’s nasty–a delicacy to some, I guess). Oh yes, Jaime introduced me to risotto with truffle oil and I haven’t been the same since. It’s wonderful and easy to make–just lots of stirring.
NF: What’s your favourite recipe?
SM: It’s impossible to pick just one–they’re all great!
“BASS”ICALLY SARAH
“This Chilean sea bass with a spicy fruit salsa is my favourite recipe,” says Laurita. “I designed this dish especially for Sarah. It has all her favourite ingredients.”
4 Chilean sea bass (or white fish) fillets Salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour for coating Vegetable or canola oil for saute
SPICY FRUIT SALSA
1 tsp jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 small, red onion, chopped fine
1 papaya, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
Wearing gloves, remove seeds and membrane of jalapeno pepper and discard. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
SPICY PASTE (FOR THE FISH)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp aniseed
1/2 tsp mustard seed, toasted in a dry saute pan for one minute
Combine above ingredients in small bowl to form the spicy paste.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Season fish with salt and pepper. Coat with flour. Brush a heavy coating of the spicy-paste mixture (above) on the skin of the fish. Add about 2 tbsp of oil to a very hot, oven-safe skillet and sear the fish-skin side. When the skin is crispy, place fish in oven for approximately 10-12 minutes. Serve with fruit salsa (above). Serves 4-6.
