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Not enough competition to satisfy your hunger? Check out our taco ranking chart for more delicious food-on-food conversation.

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Brussels Sprouts Two Ways

By Michael Solomonov

Serves 4 to 6

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, root removed and halved
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup Basic Tehina Sauce (recipe below)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• Canola oil

VINAIGRETTE

• ¼ cup white anchovies, minced
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ¼ cup chopped dill
• Kosher salt

TOPPING

• 1½ cups hazelnuts, toasted
• 3 tablespoons harissa
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons water

BASIC TEHINA SAUCE

Serves 10, makes about 4 cups

• 1 head garlic
• ¾ cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 generous cups tehina
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

FOR THE TEHINA

1. Break up the garlic and let it fall into the blender. Add lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt. Blend on high for a few seconds until you have a coarse puree. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes to let the garlic mellow.
2. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a large mixing bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Add the tehina to the strained lemon juice in the bowl, along with the cumin and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Whisk the mixture together until smooth (or use a food processor), adding ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, to thin it out. The sauce will lighten in color as you whisk. When the tehina seizes up or tightens, add ice water until it is smooth, creamy and thick.

FOR THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS

1. In a small mixing bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt. Reserve 1 cup of the Brussels sprouts for the baba ganoush in the next step.
2. On high heat, add 2 tablespoons of canola oil to a large sauté pan. Sear the Brussels sprouts cut-side down in a single layer until charred – approximately 6 minutes. You will need to repeat this step until all of the Brussels sprouts are roasted. Be sure to wipe out the pan and use fresh oil for each batch.
3. On the final batch, pour the white wine vinegar into the pan to deglaze, releasing the charred bits from the bottom. Transfer the Brussels sprouts from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

FOR THE BABA GANOUSH

1. Sauté the cup of reserved Brussels sprouts in a hot, dry pan to create a slow, deeply blackened char – about 15-20 minutes. Once the sprouts are blackened on all sides, remove them from the pan and set aside in a small bowl to cool.
2. Transfer the Brussels sprouts to a food processor and blend with tehina, lemon juice, and one teaspoon of salt. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary until the baba ganoush is a coarse puree.

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE

1. Add the anchovies, parsley, dill, white wine vinegar, and olive oil to a small bowl and season with salt.
2. Whisk to emulsify and season to taste with salt and vinegar.

FOR THE TOPPING

1. In a small bowl, combine the hazelnuts with the harissa and a bit of water, and toss to coat.
2. To serve, spread the baba ganoush on a small plate with the back of a spoon. Toss the Brussels sprouts with the vinaigrette and spoon an even layer across the baba ganoush. Top with crumbled feta and the toasted hazelnuts. Garnish with additional chopped parsley.

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In fact, it takes years of hard work to compete against such behemoths, let alone all the upstarts. King’s Row does have one advantage: Its founder is an accomplished chef, Craig Shelton, with a serious science background.

King’s Row CEO Sam Sabky says that Shelton launched the coffee company to provide a more luxurious coffee experience to consumers without jacking up the prices. “He felt that much of the flavor potential of coffee was left untapped in single origin roasting,” Samky explained of his partner. “So, he invented a Bordeaux-inspired roasting and blending method that unlocks that potential and achieves incredible flavor, complexity, balance and smoothness.”

The company launched in 2015, selling beans that showcased the blending and roasting of the beans. Two years later, King’s Row unveiled its game-changer, King’s Brew, a nitro cold brew in cans that drinks strong and smooth, with a long shelf life.

Here, Sabky joins the list of Food Republic–approved start-up leaders who we’ve chosen to share their thoughts and background in the latest installment of What’s Your Story?

What can you tell us about the inspiration for King’s Row?
King’s Row was founded by James Beard award-winning Best Chef, Craig Shelton. He firmly believed that coffee was the ultimate affordable luxury, hence our motto “Suited for a King, Crafted for You.”

What was the first product you launched with?
Our first product was the Shelton Signature, a medium roast blend consisting of five world class single origins, roasted individually to different temperatures, then blended to create a coffee with massive complexity, natural sweetness and a lively acidity, all in perfect balance. It is the coffee that Shelton served at his award-winning Relais & Chateaux restaurant, the Ryland Inn, in New Jersey.

More recently, you came out with cans of nitro cold brew, called King’s Brew. What can you tell us about that product and how it’s doing?
King’s Brew is a blend of six of the highest quality single origins, each roasted individually and blended in a precise formula that extracts perfectly in our cold brew process. It’s quality, convenience, health and on-trend, all-in-one. Ingredients are just coffee and water — no calories, sugar or dairy — and the nitrogen adds a creamy texture without the cream.

Where can people find it? 
We launched this past June into 38 New England Whole Foods, and since then it’s picked up incredible traction and can now be found in over 100 grocery stores in the Northeast, and counting. It’s also available for purchase on our website.

99.9% of the feedback is either “Smooth” with 10 O’s, or “this is the best cold brew I’ve ever had.” Most people are surprised by the lack of bitterness they thought synonymous with ready-to-drink cold brew.

The quality of our beans combined with our roasting and blending method yields a cold brew coffee that maintains its peak flavor for over 120 days. That’s the longest peak flavor longevity on the market; ready-to-drink cold brew typically acidifies and deteriorates after 30 days. We also have a patented process to eliminate the risk of botulism without affecting flavor, should the can accidentally go unrefrigerated. The FDA recommends this safeguard for low acid products, though to our knowledge, King’s Brew is the only refrigerated nitro cold brew that has this safeguard in place.

The coffee market seems exciting but I imagine there must be a lot of competition and it’s hard to break through. How does King’s Row differentiate?
Expertise, Quality and Process. All King’s Row products are developed by Chef Shelton, who has dedicated three decades to perfecting coffee. His expertise in culinary arts, wine, the physiology of taste and molecular biochemistry (Yale ‘82) equip us with a unique toolset atypical of coffee companies, which provides a distinct advantage in how we craft our coffees.

On the quality front, we’re paying on average 35%-100% greater than Fair Trade rates, based on quality. By incentivizing quality over quantity, we gain consistent access to some of the world’s best beans and also ensure that the farmers, workers and land are treated fairly.

Lastly and most importantly, our Bordeaux-inspired process is truly how we separate ourselves. Our roasting and blending methodology yields complexity, smoothness and balance that is unachievable in single origins and traditional blends, and the consumer and expert feedback has corroborated our claim.

What kind of coffee drinker gravitates towards King’s Row and how would you suggest others get to know your coffee?
As you can imagine, coffee connoisseurs truly enjoy our products, but it’s with the everyday coffee drinker where we’ve seen the biggest and most positive response. Americans are drinking a daily cup of coffee at the highest level in six years, and the majority of those everyday drinkers are not picking out tasting notes or guessing origins — they just want a good cup of Joe. What we’re hearing the most is, “I don’t have to add anything to this,” which is the ultimate validation for us. Great coffee doesn’t need to be disguised with additives, nor does it need to be astronomically priced. With our nitro cold brew can specifically, we’re finding that millennials are the biggest consumer. They’re quality-, trend- and health–focused, but also want convenience. King’s Brew checks all of those boxes.

The post Inside King’s Row, The Chef-Founded Coffee Brand appeared first on Food Republic.

Today, Wylie Dufresne is known for his inventive and delicious donuts, which he serves up at Du’s Donuts & Coffee inside The William Vale hotel in Brooklyn, and he’s still revered for his groundbreaking cooking at WD~50. But on weekend mornings, Wylie puts his Willy Wonka–esque culinary skills to use for his family, cooking pancakes, eggs and this sure-fire French toast for his wife and kids.

At home in Manhattan, they cook on a customized BlueStar RNB gas range. “My wife and I designed the kitchen and we wanted to make sure that we had a range with great firepower and ample oven space,  similar to what you’d find in professional kitchens,” Wylie says, noting that his wife is an excellent baker.

Their setup includes side-by-side convection and standard ovens, so they can cook at different temperatures at the same time, as well as four burners split to either side of a 24-inch griddle. It’s a professional-quality kitchen befitting culinary royalty, but for Wylie and his wife, it’s about having options and the space to enlist the whole family in making crowd-pleasing dishes like this French toast. “Cooking is an important part of our lives—and getting our kids involved in that has been a great joy and they love it.”

What’s the secret to Wylie’s soul-satisfying French toast? He says to dredge the bread in the egg mixture, then place each piece in a hot sauté pan with either oil or clarified butter. This crisps the edges before the bread gets drained and placed in the oven to puff up, creating the crunchy-luscious contrast that makes this dish such a family favorite.

Wylie Dufresne’s French Toast Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 slices challah bread, cut 1 1/2″ thick
• 1 qt. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil or clarified butter
• Powdered sugar and maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (with convection if it’s an option).
2. Place challah in high sided baking dish.
3. Warm heavy cream with 1 cup sugar until fully dissolved. Pour over bread and allow to soak for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally.
4. Place oil (or clarified butter, my preference!) in a high sided sauté pan and set over medium heat.
5. Whisk remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the eggs vigorously.
6. One at a time, carefully dredge each piece of bread in egg/sugar mixture and place directly into sauté pan. Once golden on one side (about 1-1/2–2 minutes), flip and color on the other side. Drain well on paper towels and place in oven on a sheet pan for 5 minutes, until warmed through and nicely puffed. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.

This post is brought to you by BlueStar® appliances, designed for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results in their own kitchens. In business since 1880, the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer specializes in handcrafted gas ranges, cooktops, electric and gas wall ovens, complementary kitchen ventilation hoods, premium refrigeration, and induction. The company’s spectrum of highly innovative appliances stays true to an authentic restaurant kitchen experience at home. Available in over 750+ colors and finishes, and with almost infinite configuration possibilities, BlueStar® offers unmatched options for customization.

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The annual event counted Michael Solomonov, Stephen Starr, Audrey Claire Taichman and Nicholas Elmi as co-hosts this year, and the chefs and restaurateurs invited every major player in the city’s culinary scene to come out and cook and make drinks to benefit FringeArts, the 22-year-old performing arts organization headquartered at the food of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

“This town has two great things we are lucky to have: this unbelievable scene of culinary artists and a renowned performing arts community,” says Nick Stuccio, President and Producing Director of FringeArts.

Food Republic attended the September 27 event, escorted down to Philly from New York on a media bus by Solomonov himself, along with boxes full of his Federal Donuts. During the two-hour drive, the witty Solomonov explained how he and Elmi combined chefs from different culinary backgrounds to cook together at Feastival. The result was unexpected takes on pierogies, banh mi, sandwiches and pasta dishes borrowing from the chefs’ individual backgrounds—with nary a cheesesteak to be found.

“This concept that we dreamt up really worked out much better than we could have anticipated, Elmi writes in post-event. “All of the chefs were thrilled to partner with another chef that perhaps they never got the chance to work alongside. Watching new bonds form and old bonds strengthen was pretty incredible.”

The chefs weren’t the only attraction: Performers from FringeArts activated throughout the indoor/outdoor venue, hanging from the ceiling and staging burlesque performances as guests queued up for the inventive dishes.

“My job at FringeArts is to help artists bring their ideas to life,” says Stuccio. “We talk about source material—literature, the environment, politics. Chefs create using much the same process— drawing inspiration walking through a local market, from their travels—the smells, people, customs. I’m enamored with their process and the immense passion and enthusiasm both culinary and performing artists share.”

See photos from the 2018 Audi Feastival in Philadelphia below:

The post Inside Philly’s Recent Feastival, With Chef Pairings And Burlesque appeared first on Food Republic.

Here are my picks for the very best plant-based restaurants in Barcelona.

HETTA CUISINE

As the latest restaurant from eco-group Tribu Woki, Hëtta – Swedish for “heat” – is indisputably one of the coolest new restaurants in Barcelona. The concept is unique: Hëtta uses only local, seasonal products, and there are only nine main ingredients at one time. The ever-changing menu is based on an X&Y axis system and features around 30 different dishes, all cooked with different techniques and at different temperatures. At the bottom of the menu the dishes are raw, and as you move up they evolve to smoked and marinated, rising to steamed, then fried and finally baked. Hëtta isn’t a vegan restaurant but it offers fully-plant based dishes, and you’re advised to share five to six plates between two people.

Tomato, eggplant and lettuce were the featured veggie ingredients during my visit, so I enjoyed dishes like arugula and herb hummus with spirulina-sprinkled endives, a zingy salad of marinated tomato with five-herb puree and seasonal flowers, and steamed eggplant served with adobo sauce, sultanas and sunflower seeds. A standout was the pan-fried cos lettuce with raw almond emulsion and BBQ sauce, which was the perfect blend of flavors – fresh and crispy, creamy and tangy. Best of all, however, was the tomato baked with limestone (for six hours!), served with basil and fried onion. After being cooked for so long the tomato was sweet, succulent, and – dare I say it – meaty.

EIXAMPELING BRUNCH CAFE & BAR

The West’s brunch obsession never really took off in Spain, but things might be about to change. Since its opening in March, Eixampeling Brunch Café & Bar has been a victim of its own popularity: every weekend the lines of hungry customers outside get longer and longer, and owners Nico and Dean found themselves rushing to expand much sooner than they’d anticipated. That people are happy to wait outside for an hour in the Barcelona sun for a table is testament to just how good the food is at Eixampeling. The menu is varied, and though it’s focused around more ‘classic’ brunch fare (e.g. eggs) there are plenty of veggie and vegan options to keep you happy. The obligatory avocado on toast is easily veganized by removing the feta cheese, and topped with red onion, tomatoes and rocket, it’s the perfect way to start your day.

If you don’t fancy a breakfast-style dish you can choose from one of the two delicious veggie burgers: there’s the Vegilante, a spinach burger with guacamole, tomato, red onion and crispy salad leaves, and the Too Mushroom, a portobello mushroom burger that’s topped with caramelized onion (vegetarians can add halloumi). The salads are also divine, particularly the roasted pumpkin salad with hummus, mixed leaves and sunflower seeds. The dishes are so beautifully presented it’s almost a shame to tuck in… but once you’ve had a mouthful there’ll be no stopping. The cold Andalusian Gazpacho is another great vegan choice, and in the cake counter at the front of the cafe there’s usually a selection of indulgent plant-based cakes to finish off with.

FLAX & KALE

Teresa Carles is known throughout Spain as a veggie restaurant pioneer, and her latest Barcelona restaurant has set the bar even higher. Flax & Kale isn’t actually a vegetarian restaurant, it’s ‘flexitarian’: while 80% of the menu is vegetarian or vegan, the remaining 20% contains some form of oily fish, be it cod, salmon or anchovies. There are three Flax & Kale restaurants in Barcelona, although the newest (and, I think, the best) is Flax & Kale Passage, which offers gluten-free vegan pizzas, healthy Asian fusion cuisine and even boasts its very own Kombucha Lab.

Let’s start with the pizza, because it was the pizza that first blew me away. The crux of a good plant-based pizza is usually the “cheese,” but despite its rapidly improving taste and texture, this can still sometimes be hit-or-miss. Not at Flax & Kale. Here I had my first ever vegan four cheese pizza: plant-based cheddar, blue cheese, mozzarella and a Parmesan-style cheese cutely dubbed “parmigiano teresiano.” The cheeses were melted over a bed of San Marzano tomatoes, and it was gooey, creamy, stringy; I just wish I had a slice to present those who laugh at the very idea of vegan pizza. The gluten-free dough was also exceptional: crisp, light and chewy, it’s a blend of whole grain and non-wheat flours.

Also on the menu is “My Vegan Japanese Girlfriend Bowl,” something I ordered just because I loved the name so much. But happily, the dish itself was delicious: black rice and quinoa topped with jackfruit, green soybeans, onions and tomato, and innovative vegan “scrambled eggs” made from ackee. Another standout dish was the “BBQ Pulled Pork Bao,” where tender braised jackfruit perfectly replaced slow-cooked pork; the texture and taste really has to be experienced to be believed. Drizzled with vegan mayonnaise, chilli jam and fresh cilantro, these delightfully squidgy steamed buns were so satisfying that I had to order a second portion.

“Eat better, be happier, live longer” is the motto at Flax & Kale, and after dining here I can confirm that I left feeling very happy indeed – so happy that I’m wondering whether it’s foolish to fly to a different country just to eat at a restaurant there?

RASOTERRA

Tucked away in the narrow streets of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, vegetarian bistro Rasoterra is focused on slow food made with seasonal and local produce. On the menu, beside each dish, are denotations telling you which dishes are vegan, which are locally sourced and which are gluten-free. The best way to eat here is to share. You’re advised to choose five small plates between two, and the standout for me was the huitlacoche mushroom and avocado taco with bean cream, picked onion and green pepper. Nicknamed the Mexican truffle due to its earthy, pungent taste, huitlacoche isn’t really a mushroom: it’s actually a fungus that grows on corn, and it’s absolutely delicious.

The spinach croquettes with pine nuts, sultanas and vegan aioli were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, and packed with rich, piquant flavours. Zucchini also features heavily during the summer months, be it in soups, pastas or salads, but the stuffed zucchini flowers are exceptional. This Italian staple has been given a Catalan twist, and locally grown zucchini is steamed til perfectly firm-yet-tender, and their delicate flowers stuffed with parsley and a creamy almond pesto.

Other popular dishes include the Trinxat — a traditional potato and leek mash (with the addition of tempeh), that’s shaped into little cakes, lightly fried and then topped with hot mole and charred cherry tomatoes. Rasoterra is a principled restaurant (it even has its own manifesto: “Behind each of our dishes, behind each and every one of our ingredients, there is a story. Stories about traditions, cultures, places, secrets, arts and crafts. Stories of love, dedication and passion….”) and it’s clear that extreme care is taken with both the preparation of the food and presentation of dishes.

BARCELONETA SANGRIA BAR

You can’t visit Spain and not sip some sangria, and luckily for those following a plant-based diet, one of the best vegan restaurants in town is BarCeloneta Sangria Bar. Just steps away from the beach, this cool bar serves up vegan versions of Spanish tapas, as well as plenty of raw food dishes. The selection of sangria is large, multicoloured and varied, and there’s a great selection of local organic wines, too. The most popular dish is the aromatic plant-based paella, which comes with succulent yet chewy soy-based ‘shrimps and prawns’, artichokes and mushrooms; it’s excellent — and the first time I’ve encountered a paella with mock-meat and not just veggies.

There’s also an array of traditional Catalan tapas that have been veganised: Las croquetas – mushroom croquettes with sun dried tomato sauce, Patatas BarCeloneta – grilled sliced potatoes with romesco sauce and curried lentil cream, and “Langostinos” a la plancha – veggie “langoustines” (made with soy, wheat and konjac) and baby onions in balsamic, grilled with fresh lime and truffle. Another delicious dish was the organic chickpea and tempeh skewers with eggplant and sundried tomatoes, sauteed and seasoned with tomato jam and sesame.

TERESA CARLES

I can’t write about the veggie food scene in Barcelona without including Teresa Carles. As mentioned, Teresa Carles is the brainchild behind Flax & Kale, and the original pioneer of Spain’s vegetarian restaurants, but it was her eponymous restaurant that kicked things off in Barcelona back in 1979. Located in the buzzing El Raval neighbourhood, close to Plaça de Catalunya, today the restaurant is the epitome of modern style, with exposed brickwork, wooden floors, and a stainless-steel station where you can grab quick juices or salads. It’s usually packed out (you’ll need to reserve a table in the evening) and the weekly changing menu includes plenty of vegan options.

The menu is varied: from home-made cakes and pasta dishes to seitan hamburgers, risottos and soups, there’s something for everyone. Favourites include the Teresa Goes to Tokyo Salad, (wakame, cucumber in asazuke, turnip daikon, tofu, mirin, golden sesame and soy), the Red Devil Raviolo (bicollo ravioli stuffed with aubergines and dried tomatoes, layered on baked eggplant towers with a soft leek cream), and tofu marinated with beetroot, mushroom scallops, spinach, wild asparagus, and mushroom and thyme sauce. Many of the vegetarian dishes can be veganized if you ask, and most of the desserts are plant-based: save room for the vegan black forest cake with coconut cream, chocolate pearls and cherry jam.

Selene Nelson is a UK-based food and travel writer. Follow her foodie adventures here.

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What is clean wine? Pretty much as it sounds: organic, biodynamic, sometimes natural wines. Thrive Market hired NYC master sommelier Josh Nadel to curate a collection of wines made with minimal intervention, and which will sell in packs of 6 or 12 with prices from $11.99 to $17.99 per bottle — with free shipping (again, where wine shipping is allowed).

 “Thrive’s wine program was inspired because we don’t want chemicals in the foods we eat, so why should we drink them in our wines?” Nick Green, co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market, tells us via email.

The initial results are promising. Thrive Market sent me a bottle of 2016 Domaine de Roquemale Gres Syrah, an organic red with a medium to full body—and similar to the  type of wine I buy at one of my favored wine stores. The ability to add a few bottles onto an order of Thrive Market’s organic and highly vetted products and ingredients seems like a winner. Shop and see for yourself on Thrive Market’s site.

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