Tomatillos Beneath A Mountain Of Yakisoba Noodles and Coconut

(served on a fused glass plate, courtesy of The Wood Gallery)

FOR THE COCONUT-GINGER SAUCE Dice the shallots, garlic and ginger. Vary the amount of ginger according to your taste for it. To start, use about half as much ginger as shallots. Saute the shallots, ginger and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. When the garlic just begins to brown, pour in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and stir vigorously until the vinegar evaporates. Turn down heat and add the coconut milk. Add dill weed, dried basil and black pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat 20-30 minutes; mixture will thicken.

FOR THE TOMATILLOS BENEATH YAKISOBA NOODLES Bring water to boil for the yakisoba noodles, let simmer.

Drop the tomatillos in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, remove, let cool slightly and slice. Each tomatillo will make 3-4 slices.

Hold the bell pepper half over an open flame until the outer skin blisters. Let cool and remove blistered skin.

Cut the oyster mushrooms lengthwise and saute in olive oil.

As you begin to saute the oysters, drop the noodles into the boiling water. After about one minute, you'll need to stir to separate the noodles. The noodles and mushrooms will finish cooking at about the same time. (3-4 minutes for the noodles).

Drain the noodles. Place a thin layer of noodles on your serving dish. Add the tomatillo slices. Cover with another layer of noodles. Add the oyster mushrooms. Add another layer of noodles. Slice the red bell pepper into thin strips. Reserve a few strips to garnish the top of the noodles, add the rest to the noodles. Add the rest of the noodles.

Quickly saute the snow peas. Remove before they start to turn brown.

minutes should be enough. Arrange the snow peas and pepper slices on top of the mound of noodles. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Timing is crucial in getting this dish to the table warm, so be sure to have the ingredients cut and prepared for cooking in the proper sequence. Starting with the sauce gives it time to simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.END OF RECIPECamille's Veranda Dining Room A recipe from Chef Steffen Reinhard of Newport Bay's world-famous Camille's Veranda, dedicated to creating exciting new tastes using regional foodstuffs. From Chef Steffen:

Intolerance for dairy products puts white sauces off limits for many diners. Here's a white sauce free of dairy products that, combined with the zesty tomatillo, delights those who thought they'd never savor a white