Dru Rivers of Full Belly Farm is one of the farmers’ names that first appeared on Northern California restaurant menus in the 1990s.
It wasn’t common practice back then to credit the farmers who provided the beautiful fruits and vegetables that were expertly showcased in delicious dishes from lauded chefs. Thankfully, much has changed since then.
“My real culinary mentor was always going to be the farm,” says Amon Muller, second generation farmer and son of Dru Rivers and Paul Muller. Along with his wife, Jenna, Amon Muller has created a delightful cookbook, called Full Belly: Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm, featuring 100 recipes and stories from his family’s 400-acre farm in the Capay Valley.
As promised, this no fuss compendium of more than 300 pages offers readers more than recipes. Chapters are designated by the four seasons, but each season is helpfully broken out into early, mid, late and preserving. Lengthy headnotes for each recipe tell a deeper story about the ingredients or the genesis for the recipes, and many offer a swaps/spins option for substituting ingredients.
While it’s a hard-working cookbook (much like the farm itself, which has utilized sustainable farming practices since 1985), it also includes plenty of whimsy and storytelling. Along with a two-page explanation including the necessary qualifications for “How to be a Farm Dog,” there are also detailed descriptions of specific varieties of potatoes and tomatoes grown on their farm and their distinctive characteristics. Even surprising recipes for a fermented hot sauce and a pomegranate syrup exemplify how Full Belly utilizes everything that it grows.
Regardless of one’s culinary or farm knowledge, this book is a perfect companion for all food lovers. With its beautifully balanced snapshot of farm life, it offers invaluable information that is designed to enhance and deepen the appreciation for farms and all they offer. At the very least, it will help us all to enjoy fruits and vegetables at their very best, seasonal peak.
And one can meet the authors nearby soon. Amon and Jenna Muller will be signing their book at the upcoming Thursday, March 26, Chef’s Farmers Market in San Rafael, where Full Belly is a regular exhibitor and chef favorite.
The following is excerpted with permission from Full Belly: Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm by Amon and Jenna Muller, published by Hardie Grant Publishing, March 2025, RRP $40 hardcover.
Roasted Beet, Carrot, And Citrus Salad With Mint And Yogurt
Serves 4 to 6
This colorful salad packs a real vitamin C punch and is just what we want to eat when winter gives way to spring. A combination of different beet varieties makes a beautiful salad. I love to leave the skin on the beets. It gives them an earthy flavor when roasted, so take your time scrubbing them clean and trimming any bits that look tough.
If you can find beets with the tops on, they are often fresher than storage beets, and the skins are much more tender. The herbs are what make it really shine, so don’t skimp there. While destemming herbs can be tedious, think of it as meditative and know that it will make a big difference in the end result.
Swaps/Spins: You can omit the yogurt to make it dairy free, opting for some good-quality olive or avocado oil. And for the herbs, we like mint and parsley best, but tarragon is also nice on this salad, or a mix of the three. Amon
Ingredients:
Beets and Carrots
2 tablespoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10 medium red, gold or Chioggia beets, washed, trimmed and cut into wedges
10 to 15 small new carrots, washed and trimmed (7 to 8 if large, peeled and cut into spears)
Citrus
1 navel orange
1 blood orange
1 grapefruit or pomelo
2 small mandarins
Herbs
1 bunch mint, washed
1 bunch Italian parsley, washed
Dressing
1 cup (240 grams) yogurt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Assembly
Extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Roast the beets and carrots: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a small bowl, combine the salt, cumin, pepper and chili flakes. Toss the beets with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of the olive oil and half of the salt mixture and arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. If using different color beets, try to keep the varieties separate, as the colors will run and bleed into each other as they cook.
Roast until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Toss the carrots with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and all but 1 teaspoon of the remaining salt mixture. Arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer and roast until fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the citrus: Supreme the orange, blood orange and pomelo into a bowl, squeezing the juice from the membranes into the bowl. For the mandarins, if you are using a variety with a very thin skin, slice paper thin from stem end to blossom end lengthwise with a very sharp knife and place into the bowl with the other citrus, without removing the peel. If the peel is thick, peel before slicing.
Prep the herbs: Pull the leaves off the mint and parsley stems. Finely chop 1 tablespoon or so of each for the dressing. The remainder can be left whole for the salad.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and chopped mint and parsley and stir to combine.
To assemble: Arrange some of the warm beets and carrots on a platter; layer with some of the citrus and herbs. Continue to build the salad until all items have been used. Sprinkle with the reserved salt mixture and drizzle with the dressing.
