Flavor online.com summer_2011

ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

Pleasing both the eye and palate, this healthfulcomposition has it all — grilled and raw veggies,sharp and silky flavors and a satisfying crunchfrom nuts and crispy garnishing.

www.flavor-trends.com www.flavor-online.com 2011 • Issue 3 FLAVOR & THE MENU 43

The overarching menu trend toward bigger, bolder flavors is sparkingchefs to get innovative in creating more-interesting, delicious salads.

“Many consumers say that a better overall variety of salad optionswould encourage them to purchase more salads at full-servicerestaurants, particularly at bar and grill (37 percent) and family-styleconcepts (35 percent),” finds Technomic’s Salad Consumer TrendReport. And chefs are responding to the data by viewing the categoryas more than a home for Caesar salads and house greens. They’rebuilding salads with uncommon ingredients, like burdock root andgreen peppercorn. They’re embracing kale’s bitterness while mellowingits toothsome quality. And instead of limiting protein components tochicken and shrimp, they’re adding quinoa, or perhaps duck confit.

From composed salads to greens, chefs are telling intricate flavorstories, weaving the plot with textural play, exotic ingredients andunexpected combinations.

THE CULINARY ADVENTURE“The trick in offering dishes outside the comfort zone, of course, istweaking, but not going too crazy,” says Nathan Sears, executive sous chefat Vie in Western Springs, Ill. “You also build trust with your diners.”

Vie runs a roasted and fried sunchoke salad with lettuce greens,cheddar cheese and duck confit. Sears pan-roasts the sunchokes,getting a good caramelization and a sweet, nutty flavor from them. Healso adds raw sunchokes to the salad, slicing them thinly on amandoline and then deep-frying for a lovely mouthfeel and crunch.The greens mix includes red oak, green oak, mustard greens, pea shootsand tatsoi. Duck confit and cheddar finish the profile.

“We were using duck confit elsewhere in our menu, and wheneverwe can, we like to utilize product in-house, so we developed this salad,”says Sears. “The sunchoke and the confit are warmed together on

SALAD DAYSChefs are upping the flavor proposition for greensto meet consumers’ demand for bold, bright flavors

Have Arrived

PRODUCE TRENDS

BY KATIE AYOUB

PRODUCE TRENDS

FLAVOR & THE MENU 2011 • Issue 3 www.flavor-online.com www.flavor-trends.com44

pickup, and they’re just really nice againsteach other.”

Although kimchi has gained traction,thanks to Korean food’s inroads withbarbecue and fusion dishes, it’s not often seenoutside of that context. At South Edison inMontauk, N.Y., chef/partner Todd Mitgangserves a hearts of palm and kimchi salad withpreserved Meyer lemon, green onion, toastedsesame seeds and crispy shallots.

“The preserved lemon adds a salty citrusflavor that is familiar yet foreign,” he says.“Kimchi adds heat in a fermented,mouthwatering way. Hearts of palm bring in adifferent texture with a subtle brininess.” Forcrunch and a little heat, Mitgang adds Easteregg radish. “The salad has salt, heat, citrusand texture,” he notes.

THE ROOT OF THE MATTERCulinary adventure in a root vegetable?When it’s the unfamiliar burdock, yes. Withthe consistency of a carrot and mild, earthytones, it’s got a lot to offer. In Japanesecookery, where burdock root goes by thename gobo, these attributes are brought out.

At Sen in East Hampton, N.Y., GeneralManager Jesse Matsuoka tweaks a familyrecipe for the restaurant’s popular cold sidesalad. He marinates the burdock root in soy,mirin and sugar, then woks it on high heat.He adds soy, mirin and sugar, letting the rootstew on low heat for almost an hour. He thenadds shichimi togarashi, a spice mix thattypically combines roasted orange peel, chilepepper, sesame and hemp seed, Szechuanpepper, nori and ground ginger. “The spicemix rounds out the earthiness of the burdockroot really nicely,” says Matsuoka.

FAMILIAR…BUT BETTERChicken salad stands familiar and loved inthe pantheon of composed salads. Chefs areadding ethnic touches, turning them towardIndia or the Mediterranean with differentbuild-outs. But what about making thechicken less of the star? Indeed, we’re seeing amovement toward entrée salads in whichprotein shares the spotlight with produce.

Randy Zweiban, chef/owner of Provincerestaurant in Chicago and now Phoenix,turns a chicken salad on its head, makingapple the lead, with rotisserie chicken takinga critical supporting role. “It’s been on ourlunch menu since we opened, and I can’t takeit off; the lunch regulars really like it,” he says.

The salad is composed of seasonal apples,candied olives, jicama, toasted almonds andpulled chicken, finished with an apple-cidervinaigrette. “Opposite ends of the flavorspectrum play well together, so candying theolives combines briny notes with sweetbeautifully,” Zweiban says. He adds jicama tomirror the texture of the apples whileintroducing a different flavor.

Beets and goat cheese are a classiccombination, where earthiness meetstanginess in a beautiful flavor match-up.

Eric Sayers, executive chef at CQ’sRestaurant at Harbour Town, located at SeaPines, Hilton Head Island, S.C., serves beet

Cutting-Edge CROUTONSChefs are paying attention to the crouton, seeing it as more than anafterthought of texture and tradition. Today, the flavor story is told witheach and every component on a plate, ratcheting up dimension anddistinction along the way.

PUMPKIN-BREAD CROUTONS finish a panzanella salad— Vie, Western Springs, Ill.

WARM POLENTA CROUTONS top a Caesar salad— Houlihan’s Restaurant

GOLDFISH CRACKERS replace bread croutons on the kid’smenu Caesar salad— California Pizza Kitchen

FRIED GOAT-CHEESE PEARLS top a crispy duck salad— The Lazy Goat, Greenville, S.C.

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At Chicago-basedProvince, deconstructedchicken salad puts thefocus on crisp apple andjicama, with pulled chickenas an accent.

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carpaccio with goat-cheese quenelles,candied walnuts and strawberries. He makesthe salad more approachable by mellowingthe aggressive flavor of goat cheese withwhipped cream.

“It’s one of my best-sellers,” he says.“People don’t prepare beets at home, so theylike to see them on the menu.” By slicingthem thinly, carpaccio-style, the beets deliverbeautiful plate presentation.

“But it also helps with food cost,” Sayerssays. In the fall and winter, he changes out thegoat-cheese quenelles for blue-cheese mousseand replaces the simple vinaigrette with awarm bacon vinaigrette.

SLAW INNOVATIONSlaws are no longer relegated as anafterthought side dish that mimics themayonnaise-laden fare found at family picnics.Indeed, chefs see slaws as another opportunityfor unique flavor profiles—exhibiting textureand seasonality with each refreshing bite.

Zed 451 is a high-end, all-you-can-eatconcept from San Francisco-based TavistockRestaurants. At both its Chicago and BocaRaton, Fla., units, the restaurant prides itselfon fresh and seasonal fare. Instead of a saladbar that offers greens with a selection oftoppings, Zed 451 offers its Harvest Table, acollection of 18 composed salads. Its mostpopular? Pad Thai Slaw.

“It’s really big with businessmen. It’scomfort food and a dish people can relate to,”says Patrick Quakenbush, executive chef.Green and red cabbage, carrots, cilantro andpeanuts are dressed with a pad Thai dressing(peanut butter, plum sauce, sweet Thai chile,cilantro, garlic, shallot and lime juice). “Ourdiners like it even more than the high-endstuff that costs us much more to produce.They’re looking for the same, but different —and this delivers beautifully,” he says.

South Edison’s Mitgang serves a Gala appleand Brussels sprouts slaw with coriander aïoliand warm heirloom beans.

“I love how the sweetness of the applesbrings out the mild sweetness of the sprouts,and how they match each other texturally,”he says. “The aïoli adds just the right amountof sharpness to bring the beans together withthe slaw.”

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Lettuce PLAYWhen it comes to thinking outside the box, chef Brian Overhauser ofHahn Family Vineyards in Soledad, Calif., readily takes on thechallenge. Overhauser’s go-to salad prep is a “heritage blend” withvinaigrette and goat-cheese fritters.

In a recent innovation aimed at maximizing utilization of a lettucemix, he put his heritage blend to work as a base for soup.Overhauser infused the mix into chicken stock, accompanied bygarlic confit. He then pureed and strained it and adjusted theconsistency and flavor profiles with cream, white truffle oil, salt andpepper. “I added a little Kitchen Bouquet to give it a brown note,” hesays. He served the soup in a demitasse cup topped with truffle foam.“Because this particular blend is chicory-based, it worked. I wouldn’tdo it with radicchio,” he says. “It has a nice earthiness and richness.”

Then Overhauser took the usable menu life of the lettuce mix a stepfurther; he strained the infused lettuce solids from the soup stock,mixed in goat cheese and stuffed the resulting mixture into ravioli. Hefinished it with an heirloom tomato bisque reduced to a bright sauce.

For Overhauser, the idea of a lettuce soup isn’t too far a stretch.“Where I studied in France, there were numerous lettuce soups, andthey all had a really nice flavor profile,” he says.

Minimizing waste while maximizing usage and profitability inspiresOverhauser’s innovations. “When you’re rotating your lettuce-mixinventory, use the new box for your salads and get creative withanything you have left,” he says. “It’s all about cost efficiency. I don’tcare what level you’re at in foodservice, if you don’t think like thatevery day, you’re making a mistake.” — T.C.

Chef Brian Overhauser extends the menu life of his lettuce mix bytransforming it into a soup topped with truffle foam.

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THE PERENNIAL CAESARThe Caesar salad is a solid performer on asalad menu, but not very interesting to a lot ofchefs. Some refuse to menu it; others carry it,but reluctantly. But Province’s Zweibanfeatures a Caesar salad and makes it his own.

“When I opened Province, I said that we’refirst and foremost a café, so I wanted to carrythe standards: a good burger, fresh oysters, agreat rotisserie chicken dish and, of course, aCaesar salad,” he says.

But he branded it with a Provincesignature, extending his sustainablecommitment by sourcing romaine from agrower that employs aquaculture, using only atiny fraction of the water used inconventional methods. Zweiban replaces thetraditional Parmesan in the Caesar withManchego, which fits better into his pan-Latin sensibility. He adds chile to the mix.And his croutons get a flavor boost fromsmoked paprika, cumin and coriander. Allelements combine to change up the classicCaesar and make it memorable.

WARMING UP TO KALEKale can be a tough sell. It’s a pretty hard-coregreen, infamous because of its strong,somewhat bitter flavor and rigid structure.But its health halo glows brightly, attractingthe attention of diners seeking more-wholesome offerings.

At True Food Kitchen, with two units inArizona and two in California, the TuscanKale Salad is a successful, craveable dish. Yes,craveable.

“Really healthy food can taste really good,”says Michael Stebner, executive chef of thismicro chain, which plans to grow to 20 unitsin the near future. The key to its kale salad:“We start with cavolo nero, or dino kale, andpull the ribs out,” he says. He then marinatesit for at least 20 minutes in extra-virgin oliveoil, lemon juice, chile flakes and garlic. Toorder, he sprinkles the kale with bread crumbsand Parmesan.

“The sum is better than the parts, like agood Caesar salad,” says Stebner. “You get agreat richness from the oil, and the kale itselfis savory and wonderful.”

Jenny Ross, executive chef/owner of 118Degrees in Costa Mesa, Calif., says massage is

PROTEIN Over the TopWhile entrée salads are nothing new, topping them with a greaterrange of premium proteins is. One of the largest salad chains,San Diego-based Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., which operates 112Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation concepts, is just coming out of thefirst phase of testing six premium-protein salad toppers for guests tochoose from, adding $2.99 to $3.29 to the regular price of the buffetmeal. The options include marinated and grilled sirloin, three kinds ofmarinated grilled chicken (salt and pepper, Asian and balsamic-vinaigrette-marinated), tofu and edamame.

“We're viewing this as a first step,” says Joan Scharff, vice president ofbrand and menu strategy. “Opportunities for additional premiumproteins — such as shrimp and salmon — are endless.”

The idea for the toppers came out of Garden Fresh's trial of a newexpress unit that opened in January. There, 50 percent of guestsopted to add a protein. During full-sized-unit tests to date, 10 percentof guests purchased the add-ons.

“We're thrilled! We looked around the market and realized that a lotof fast-casual concepts had the option of adding-on proteins to theirsalads,” says Founder/CEO Michael Mack. “Doing it at Garden Freshjust fits who we are, creates more choice for our guests and takestheir experiences over the top.”

Because grilled is the favored preparation-flavor profile for theproteins, Garden Fresh is adding grills in central kitchens that serveall its regions. The grills open up the opportunity to add a greaterrange of grilled proteins to Garden Fresh’s composed salads, soups,pastas, pizzas and flatbreads — “a black-and-blue salad, forexample, cross-utilizing the grilled sirloin,” says Scharff.

— Monica Kass Rogers

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Greens become a complete meal when topped with marinated, grilledchicken. The extra price for add-on proteins still makes for an affordable dish.

needed to extract the true wonders of kale.She serves a marinated kale salad, whichcombines black kale with avocado, walnuts,kalamata olives and cucumber. “I dress thekale in an olive-oil-based dressing, then addavocado, massaging the kale with the tongs,so the cell walls break down a little,” saysRoss. For plating, she compression-molds thesalad, then tops it with fresh avocado. Out of15 salad offerings, the kale salad ranks No. 1.

But her average diner seeks out healthfulfood; 118 Degrees serves food cooked belowthat temperature, and the focus is onnutritious, whole foods. So perhaps kale is aneasier sell here or at True Food Kitchen,which shares similar philosophies.

“But our greatest success is our wide arrayof customers,” says True Food Kitchen’sStebner. “We have college kids who arepolitical eaters; early retirement, who want totake better care of themselves; and middle-aged, who see their bodies changing and wantto feel better about what they eat.”

So, who does that leave? Who does kalenot appeal to? Not surprisingly, it’s the 45- to55-year-old male — “the steakhouse guy,”Stebner says. “That’s who we struggle with.”

BEST FRUIT FORWARDThe idea of using fruit as a salad componentisn’t new, as fruit can lend sweetness, perfumeand rounded texture. But chefs are steppingup their game here, too. Zed 451’sQuakenbush menus a roasted pineapple“Madagascar,” where he sprinkles freshpineapple with crushed green peppercorn,then roasts it. Once caramelized, he finishesthe pineapple with an orange-yogurt sauce.

“Green peppercorn is not as spicy as black,so you get a distinctively different flavor,” hesays. “It adds a subtle spiciness and texture tothe squishy, sweet pineapple.”

At Valhalla Table in Costa Mesa, Calif.,chef/owner Ehrline Karnaga tosses romainewith mango, white quinoa, avocado,cucumber and red pepper. She finishes it withtortilla strips and dresses it with a mangovinaigrette (very ripe mango, rice vinegar,lemon and orange juice, honey, red-pepperflakes and oil). “It’s a really fresh-tastingsalad, and the quinoa is a great source forprotein,” she says.

“The way to increase your salad sales is tooffer something familiar, but elevated — asalad with really great flavor.” &

KATIE AYOUB, an award-winning writer andformer food-magazine editor, owns Katie AyoubEditorial Services; www.katieayoub.com

PRODUCE TRENDS


Take-Away TIPSVARY THE MIX: Try adding unusual touches like burdock root, sunchoke,hearts of palm, even kimchi to assorted greens to create signature salads.

CRAVEABLE CROUTONS: Anything with a satisfying crunch will do, from friedcheese to crispy polenta cubes. If bread’s your base, jazz it up with zippyseasonings or a dusting of finely grated cheese.

BEET THIS: Earthy, ruby-red beets and goat cheese are a salad combo made foreach other. Thinly sliced beet rounds add drama and a better-for-you aura.

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Toothsome, healthfulTuscan Kale Salad is ahit at True Food Kitchen,featuring marinatedblack-leaf kale, finishedwith bread crumbs andParmesan.

Self Improvement

Flavor online.com summer_2011