Gardens of Eatin'
True confessions: the freak cold snap over Mother’s Day weekend was a killer in my garden. Among the casualties were a beautiful assortment of classic kitchen herbs and a ton of annuals. Now that I’ve dried my tears, and the heat of summer is in the air to stay, it’s time to plant again. As always, our city’s wonderful chefs are full of inspiration and information, and it’s a pleasure to share their answers to one important question: What are you excited about planting right now?
Rafe Vencio, Bar Botanico
It’s all about the radish for Rafe. He fell in love with Gold Zlata Radish seeds from popular seed bank Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. “I chose this variety because it has a fairly spicy flavor and sweet clean finish. It's great eating fresh and dipped in hummus, or plain butter with salt. You can also grill them whole, dressed with fresh herbs, vinegar, good olive oil and nutritional yeast. The other reason I chose this is because I wanted to…break up the monotony of eating the same type year after year,” he comments.
He will, of course, be adding his radishes to salads and slaws. But he will also go further, experimenting with steaming, grilling, sautéing, and deep-frying tempura-style. “I'm harvesting the crop at different stages of maturity, and I have planned some recipes along the way. Not just the roots, but also the greens. They’re always good for cooking or eating fresh,” he says. In the case of a serious bumper crop, he’s already thinking about a radish relish, similar to bread & butter pickles.
“I'm also excited about new types of Asian leafy greens. I'm growing Komatsuma Tendergreen Mustard, tasty with a slightly spicy and mild flavor. And as always, Tatsoi, another kind of mustard green, is my all-time favorite! It packs the most flavor and is the most weather tolerant of any leafy green vegetable that I've grown.”
Jennifer Gerasole, Girasole
Jennifer Gerasole stays cool in the shade – which is comfortable but not a high-yield garden proposition. “The things always on my mind are space and sunshine! We have neither...We plant basil every year in our courtyard at the restaurant which we purchase from Janoski's Farm. The basil is used in many dishes, especially Spinach Spaghetti, and Caprese salads. In addition to the classics, I am looking to plant nepitella/calamint, a Tuscan herb that looks like oregano and has a mint-basil flavor. Excellent for mushroom dishes.”
Click here for Jennifer’s Spinach Spaghetti recipe.
Bethany Zozula, Whitfield at the Ace Hotel
In general gardening terms, Bethany is primarily interested in native plants that "keep the bugs happy, meaning butterflies and pollinators. But it’s her husband’s Turkish heritage that’s generating this summer’s garden menu of tomatoes, eggplants, okra and peppers, all started from seed.
“We planted Lice (pronounced lee-chay) tomatoes, which are a beautiful pink color, as well as Adonna eggplants, which we will stuff, Turkish style, when they’re ready,” she says. There will also be Pepperoncino peppers to use for their rich spice and flavor, and frying peppers, too.
The heirloom varieties she chose, as well as many others from various culinary traditions, are available at Two Peas in a Pod. Bethany is happy to note that last year’s parsley came back unexpectedly. Her kale has already set seeds for the next round of greens-growing, and her ever-dependable rhubarb and asparagus have shown up for duty as always.
Sonja Finn, Dinette
Without hesitation, Sonja shared what’s at the top of the vegetable garden list. “For me summer means peppers, so that's a lot of what we plant, including Serbian peppers. They are like a plump banana pepper, and they’re what my mom grew up with in Serbia, so my dad has always grown them for her in his garden. I grew up eating them, and I grow them now, too.”
While Sonja’s seeds from from Pirot, Serbia, you can find Serbian pepper seeds online. “Get the hot variety,” she counsels. “The woman who grows our seedlings from seed is Danielle Marvit, who did the seedling growing at Brenckle’s Organic Farm and Greenhouse this year.”
Sonja will roast and peel her peppers. “They are really good plated just like that, and topped with minced garlic, marjoram leaves, a sprinkle of red wine vinegar, good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and fleur de sel. Once roasted and peeled, I freeze them so that I can have them for the rest of the year, too. My mom makes ajvar with them -- a spicy roasted pepper relish, but very labor intensive. Sometimes I blend them in the Cuisinart with some tangy feta to make a quick spread. Or I sauté them with onions and scramble in an egg. And I obviously use them on pizzas.”
The garden menu doesn’t stop there. “I like having a jalapeno plant, so that I can add fresh heat to any dish. Also, shishitos for grilling of course. And really any pepper, hatch chilis, poblanos, hot banana peppers...I probably eat peppers with every meal in some form.”
Left to right: Serbian peppers, Dinette’s rooftop garden, a crop of ripe summer tomatoes
Photos courtesy of Dinette
Sam and Lori DiBattista, Vivo Kitchen
Sam and Lori DiBattista, and now their daughter Martina, keep Vivo Kitchen supplied with fresh herbs onsite in Sewickley. “Much of what we grow happens right on our patio, which can be fun for guests to sit amongst the ingredients that end up on their plates. The patio is predominantly an herb and edible flower garden. Parsley and basil are really big ingredients in many of our dishes and have a high, almost unruly yield. As for the edible flowers we grow, we can add those to any dish as a garnish and it immediately makes the plating look beautiful and fresh,” says Martina.
Lori plants larger veggies at home garden, focusing on shishito peppers and heirloom tomatoes – both mainstays of the Vivo menu. Her favorite tomato is the Zebra tomato because of its high yield and good looks. Sam loves to pair heirloom tomatoes with lemon verbena grown on the patio.
Most seeds grown at home and at the restaurant come primarily from Grow Pittsburgh.
Yang-suk Biondi, Nak Won Garden
Like so many chefs, Yang-suk is hungry for heritage varieties that yield the specific flavors, colors and textures they grew up with. Starting with seeds she brought with her when she came to Pittsburgh in the 1980s, Yang-suk grows Korean peppers, various heritage cucumbers, and flavorful perilla for both its seeds and leaves. Both are used in specific dishes served at Nak Won Garden.
The original perilla seeds came from her grandmother’s farm at the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. Her peppers are propagated every year from seeds gathered from the previous year’s harvest.
Yang-suk is also looking forward to big crops of edible chrysanthemum, known as Crown Daisy in English and soot gat in Korean. It’s used as a flavoring herb in various dishes.
Left to right: Edible chrysanthemum, perilla and Korean pepper seedlings
Photo courtesy of Nak Won Garden