DIG INN WINTER
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FOREWORD
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NO-BONE BROTH
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APPLE OF OUR EYE
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THE FIELD SALAD
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DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
From our Culinary Innovator, Lydia Yeakel.
A warm broth equals a warm heart. But don’t take our word for it.
Third-generation farmer, Ken Migliorelli, has winter production down to a fine art.
Perfectly dressed greens topped with this season’s finest. It’s yours to make.
Stir things up at home with these easy salad dressings.
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PASSION, HUSTLE, & TURNIP CAKES Find out what our Sous Chef Calvin Eng is cooking up.
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FIT FOR A QUINCE From salad to yogurt topping, we’re crazy about poached quince.
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foreword
Winter is a season of stillness. The outwardly-focused energy of the summer and fall seasons is redirected inward, encouraging us to rest, meditate, and prepare for the rebirth of spring. We chose ingredients for this season’s pantry that boost immunity and vitality to make up for the fleeting sunlight. Winter squash, fennel, cardamom, citrus, and braising greens are delicious, nourishing, and abundant during winter. Other items to look for at the farmers’ market are sweet potatoes, apples, quinces, onions, and beets. Hard storage crops are about all you’ll find as far as local produce is concerned, but preserved foods like pickles, jam, and sauerkraut are readily available. As always, our new menu is a result of a true collaboration between mind and mouth. We’ve spent hours tasting and tweaking, but as you’ll see in the pages that follow, the real muse is always our farm-fresh produce. While we continue to explore new cooking techniques and flavor combinations, the end goal is a balanced menu filled with beautiful, vegetable-forward dishes. Lydia Yeakel Culinary Innovator
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KALE WITH APPLE AND BLUE CHEESE
black kale, arugula, apple, grilled scallion, gorgonzola, classic balsamic see page 19 for dressing recipe
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GREEN GODDESS SALAD
escarole, kale, watermelon radish, avocado, pumpkin seed, green goddess dressing
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INTRODUCING
NO-BONE BROTH We’ve taken a deep dive on a traditional broth, using sea greens and veggie scraps to create a steaming, vegan, and oh-so-nutritious winter warmer.
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For our No-Bone Broth, we found inspiration in the compost bin. Leftover stems, leaf fiber from our fresh juice program, and sea vegetables create this no-waste, vegan, and nutrient-packed broth. We’re serving it straight up, over a grain and vegetable combo, or with protein.
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CHARRED BROCCOLI WITH MEYER LEMON
broccoli, meyer lemon, olive oil, chili flake
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CITRUS SALAD
broccoli leaf, fennel, radicchio, orange, meyer lemon, parsley, cardamom dressing
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apple of our eye
Driving through the Hudson Valley during winter, white farmsteads dot high pastures, fields lie in fallow, and naked trees border the skyline. Aside from the trickle of streams and the occasional packed roadside diner, there is a general stillness in the air. After a heavy summer and fall harvest, most Dutchess County farmers take solace in this rare calm. But not Ken Migliorelli—who supplies Dig Inn’s Mutsu apples, watermelon radishes, and winter carrots. Ken says his family has been farming in the Tivoli region since 1975, growing 160 types of fruits and vegetables on their 1,000 acre farm. And, as Ken points out fields of sweet carrots and rows of laden apple trees, it’s evident he has winter production down to a fine art.
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“I’ve been farming all my life—since I was 15—and I just love to see stuff grow. I learned you could put a foot of straw over the carrots and parsnips to stop the frost getting in. And they store better left in the ground than if we put them in a cold store or root cellar.” This natural affinity continues to dictate Ken’s low input production method, which relies on effective land management and predicting disease outbreaks before they strike. “We mix it up with two to three years on vegetables, then three to four years on grain, hay, or cover crop. And when you’re ahead of the game in terms of pests and disease, you can rely on less toxic controls.” Ken has almost entirely removed the middleman from his operation, supplying local restaurants, farmers’ markets, and farm stands—with any market waste swiftly donated to City Harvest. “Seeing our name, and the names of other growers up on a menu, that acknowledgment feels pretty good.”
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INTRODUCING
THE FIELD SALAD Featuring seasonal roasted vegetables, The Field Salad is built from the ground up. Lightly dressed greens let local produce steal the show. Our best salad yet.
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dressed for success
CLASSIC BALSAMIC
HERBED YOGURT
TAHINI
¾ cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup oregano (~4 sprigs) 1 clove garlic 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp honey or agave 1½ cups olive oil 2 tsp sea salt 1 crack black pepper
⅓ cup chopped basil ⅓ cup chopped parsley ⅓ cup chopped dill 1 minced shallot 1 tsp capers 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar 1 cup plain yogurt ½ cup olive oil 1 tsp sea salt 1 crack black pepper
3 cloves garlic ½ cup good quality tahini ½ cup fresh lemon juice ½ cup warm water ½ cup olive oil 1 tsp sea salt
Place all ingredients, except the olive oil, in a blender. Puree on medium. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil to emulsify. Continue to puree until smooth.
Place all ingredients, except the olive oil, in a blender. Puree until mixed, but not smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste. 19
Place all ingredients, except the olive oil, in a blender. Puree until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and add salt to taste. Add in additional water as necessary.
PASSION, HUSTLE, & TURNIP CAKES
While other kids spent their weekends playing ball or skateboarding, Brooklyn-born Calvin Eng yearned for time spent in the kitchen with his mom, bonding over meticulously crafted wontons, dumplings, and turnip cakes. “Food should take a lot of time, a lot of love, a lot of effort, and have a lot of thought put into it,” Calvin says. “I hated going to school. I’d always loved food growing up, and I just knew I had to do it for a living.” Calvin spent three years studying Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island before circling back to his home borough. And, despite a growing chef shortage in New York City, he believes no other place makes the cut. “Every borough and every neighborhood in New York has its own food scene,” he says. “Everybody eats, so whatever your actual passion is, you can always connect it back to food in some way.” Currently enrolled in Dig Inn’s Sous Chef program, Calvin considers mentorship—along with “passion, hustle, and drive”—a key ingredient to his success. “At restaurants, everyone you work with is your family. It’s really important, especially because I’m so young and have so much more to learn,” he says. “Chef Matt Weingarten [Dig Inn Culinary Directory] is an awesome dude to look up to—he’s so relatable, and I aspire to be that person for other cooks at Dig Inn.” A firm believer you need to “eat good food to make good food,” Calvin spends his spare time eating, scribbling ideas in restaurants, and soaking up new techniques. “I eat a lot of food. I learn and get ideas and take notes every time I eat out, whether it’s a deli sandwich or a sit-down meal,” he says. 20
Calvin’s professional tastes center on intricate and elegant small plates, but he admits his at-home favorite involves bread, cheese, and minimal effort. “Mayo on the bread is the trick to a perfect grilled cheese—that’s what makes it crunchy,” he says. Beyond life at Dig Inn, this passionate cook has a grand plan to open his own Asian eatery before his twenty-fourth birthday. “Inauthentic,” but in a good way. “I want to do something progressive and technical using seasonal ingredients—like throwing Brussels sprouts in a traditional dish,” Calvin says. “I always want to be learning and trying new things.” 21
fit for a quince
POACHED QUINCE 3 large quinces 3 ½ cups water ½ cup agave or honey 1 lemon, cut in half 4 cloves 4 pieces allspice 1 Peel each quince and cut in half along the meridian (top to bottom). 2 Using a melon baller or a sharp spoon, remove the fibrous core and seeds from the center of the quinces—they are very woody and need to be removed entirely. 3 Quarter and place in a pot with water and spices. 4 Squeeze the lemon into the pot and add the remaining rind. 5 Cover pot with a parchment round and place on stove. 6 Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. 7 Cook quinces for about 45 minutes or until blushed and tender. Remove and discard parchment. Cool quinces in liquid and reserve in refrigerator until ready to use. 8 Serve with a sharp sheep’s milk cheese, over yogurt, or toss cubes into your favorite kale salad.
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If pear and apple were to have an affair, this Middle-Eastern delicacy would be the lovechild. Despite quince’s sweet adopted parentage, this winter special is tart—which means it requires a little more love than your average fruit. During the poaching process, the originally pale yellow flesh blushes to a beautiful russet, and tannins soften into notes of honey and rose.
KALE AND QUINCE
black kale, red mustard greens, walnut, poached quince, olive oil
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GRAND CENTRAL
MIDTOWN EAST
BATTERY PARK CITY
275 Madison Avenue · NY
150 East 52nd Street · NY
225 Liberty Street · NY
between 39th + 40th
between Lexington + 3rd Ave
Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place
WALL STREET
MIDTOWN WEST
NOMAD
80 Pine Street · NY
40 West 55th Street · NY
1178 Broadway · NY
corner of Pine + Pearl
between 5th + 6th Ave
corner of 28th + Broadway
BOWLING GREEN
COLUMBIA U
UNION SQUARE
80 Broad Street · NY
2884 Broadway · NY
17 East 17th Street · NY
between Stone + Marketfield
between 112th + 113th
between Broadway + 5th Ave
HUDSON SQUARE
MADISON SQUARE PARK
BOSTON
350 Hudson Street · NY
16 East 23rd Street · NY
557 Boylston Street · MA
between King + Charlton
23rd + Madison Ave
Spring 2016
Let’s start with a meal.