Originally published in the Taste Our Love for the Land cookbook, published 2015.
While “farm to table” has been a restaurant buzz phrase for the past decade, chefs like me—who’ve been around for more than a few decades—have been living farm to table from the very beginning. We just didn’t promote or sell it that way. For me, sustainability and farm to table is a way of life—something I do every day, at work and at home.
Don’t get me wrong; the marketing of farm to table has done a great service to our country. Now people are more aware of what good food is—the taste properties of fresh vs. processed, the nutritional value and the importance of supporting our local farmers.
“What’s good for our planet is good for our palate.”
Chef Josiah Citrin: Sustainability is a way of life. Photos: courtesy of Josiah Citrin/“Taste Our Love for the Land,” 2015
At our restaurant and in every dish I prepare, I do what I can to help promote sustainability. We now separate our garbage for composting, grow some of our own vegetables in garden towers and buy from farmers close to home. Promoting the next generation of chefs is also important to me, and from time to time we have one or two junior high school students learning in our kitchen.
Sustainability is my way of life. I believe that doing what we can to ensure that food and resources are available for the next generation is something we should all work at. From my point of view, every expertly grown product reinforces my belief that the finest, freshest ingredients always yield the best flavor in their natural state and provide superior results in the kitchen. What’s good for our planet is good for our palate.
Pasta alla Melanzane
Serves 8 | By Josiah Citrin
Pasta alla Melanzane
Serves 8 | By Josiah Citrin
Eggplant Compote (recipe follows)
Green Tomato–Garlic Sauce (recipe follows)
Charred Eggplant Purée (recipe follows)
Parmesan Cream (recipe follows)
Pepper Relish (recipe follows)
8 zucchini or squash blossoms
1/4 lb. unsalted butter, melted
2 tromboncino squash or 3 green zucchini
Extra-virgin olive oil, for sautéing
Sel gris (gray salt), for seasoning
Prepare Eggplant Compote, Green Tomato–Garlic Sauce, Charred Eggplant Purée, Parmesan Cream and Pepper Relish in advance and reserve.
Separate zucchini blossoms into individual petals and arrange on a sheet pan lined with a non-stick silicone baking mat. Lightly brush the flowers with melted clarified butter. Place another baking mat over the flowers and bake at 150°F for approximately 2 hours, until crispy.
Slice the tromboncino squash lengthwise into wide, flat “noodles” approximately 1/8-inch thick. Heat a sauté pan over high heat. Sauté the sliced squash with extra virgin olive oil until tender and season with sel gris.
Reheat reserved recipe components if made more than a few hors in advance. Place a 2-inch molding ring on the center of a serving bowl. Mold the Eggplant Compote in the ring. Layer the tromboncino noodles on top of the eggplant. Place a dollop of Pepper Relish on top of the tromboncino and top with crispy flower petals. Pipe dots of Charred Eggplant Purée and Parmesan Cream around the Eggplant Compote stack. Carefully pour Green Tomato–Garlic Sauce into the bowl.
Eggplant Compote
3 medium Rosa Bianca eggplant
¼ cup unsalted butter
1½ cups small-diced sweet onion
2 tablespoons orange blossom honey
½ cup water
Sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Peel the eggplants and cut into small dice. Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced onion and sweat until tender and translucent, but not browned. Add the eggplant and keep cooking until the eggplant is tender. Add honey and deglaze with the water. Keep cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the compote onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator. Once the compote is completely cooled, transfer into a bowl and fold in the chopped parsley. Transfer the compote into an air tight container and reserve.
Green Tomato–Garlic Sauce
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
½ cup sliced sweet onion
4 garlic cloves (in the skin)
2 cups large-diced green tomatoes
1¼ cup chicken broth
1¼ cup water
1 ounce sweet basil (stems attached)
½ cup manufacturing cream or heavy whipping cream
Sea salt, to taste
Melt the unsalted butter in a large pot over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and garlic and sweat until tender and translucent, but not browned. Add the green tomatoes chicken stock, water and basil and cook over a very low simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine strainer into a medium size sauce pan. Add the cream and reduce over low simmer until 1½ cups remain. Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl set over ice and chill immediately. One the sauce is completely cooled, transfer into an air tight container and reserve.
Charred Eggplant Purée
½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 Rosa Bianca eggplants, peeled and cut into large blocks
1 pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or blended canola-olive oil
1½ cups sliced sweet onion
1 cup water
Sea salt, to taste
Toss eggplant with the olive oil and sea salt in a large bowl. Char eggplant over an open flame until completely black on all sides. Meanwhile, heat the blended oil in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and sweat until tender. Add the charred eggplant and water and cook at a low simmer until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Transfer the eggplant mix into a blender and blend until smooth and velvety. Strain the purée through a fine strainer into a bowl set over ice and chill immediately. Once the purée is completely cooled, transfer into a squeeze bottle with a fine tip and reserve.
Parmesan Cream
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 cup sliced sweet onion
½ cup manufacturing cream
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Heat the unsalted butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the onion and sweat over medium heat until tender and translucent, but not browned. Add the cream and continue to cook at a low simmer until reduced by a quarter. Transfer the reduced cream into a blender, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and blend until smooth and velvety. Strain the cream through a fine strainer into a bowl set over ice and chill immediately. Once the cream is completely cooled, transfer into a squeeze bottle with a fine tip and reserve.
Pepper Relish
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups diced Lipstick peppers
1 teaspoon orange blossom honey
½ cup water
1 pinch sel gris (gray salt)
Heat the oil in a large non-stick sauté pan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add the peppers. Sweat the peppers over low heat until completely tender, but not browned. Add the honey and water and cook down until liquid cooks off completely. Transfer the peppers to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator. Once the relish is completely cooled, chop very fine. Transfer the chopped relish into an air tight container and reserve.
