COOK LIKE A CHEF: KATCHKIE FARM'S CSA WITH GEORGETTE

By Georgette Farkas

How many jobs come with a local farm CSA attached? Despite a lifelong culinary career, this is the first time I’ve had the privilege of taking home a weekly haul of Hudson Valley vegetables – during the local growing season, of course. Great Performances is the proud owner of Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook, NY. While most of Katchkie’s produce goes into our catering menus and educational programs for the Sylvia Center, some is also set aside as a very welcome perk for the GP culinary team. As a result, every Thursday, when I receive my vegetable stash, I feel I’m taking part in my very own private edition of “Chopped” or “Top Chef”. I’ve challenged myself to use everything in the “mystery basket”, although usually in several different dishes. This week, I confess I did gift some of my red beets to a dinner guest who was eying them jealously. Although I did keep the picture-perfect beet greens for myself to compose a sort of chimichurri to dress my grilled zucchini. I can’t help but ask what the judges would think. Read on for a taste of this week’s Katchkie Farm vegetables.

Chilled Swiss Chard & Garlic Scape Soup

This is a twist on the classic French “soupe de laitue”. Greens, onion and just a little bit of potato are sautéed, then simmered with stock or water and then puréed to a silky-smooth consistency. It’s also a cousin to vichyssoise, only made here with approximately three parts greens and only one part potato. I finished the soup with nonfat yogurt. The ratio I like is about two parts vegetable mixture to one part yogurt. While I haven’t tried them myself, you could experiment with a non-dairy nut or oat-based yogurt, if you prefer a vegan soup. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a final dollop of crème fraiche makes for a decadent accent.

 

Swiss Chard & Thai Chili Summer Rolls
cucumber, carrot, rice noodles, ginger-sesame dipping sauce

This is my farm inspired version of the classic Vietnamese summer roll. I used blanched Swiss chard leaves (stems removed) in place of traditional rice paper wraps. My filling includes tamari-marinated carrot and cucumber, as well as rice noodles blanched and tossed in sesame oil, plus some of the Thai chili dipping sauce spread on the chard before wrapping,

Some of the CSA beets (steamed and shredded) would have been a fine addition to the rolls, but I gifted them to my beet loving dinner guest!

Learn from my mistake! I thought I could get away with not peeling the cucumber and imagined the skin would add extra crunch appeal. Bad idea! The bitterness in the cucumber skin is a deal breaker. 

 

Grilled Zucchini & Whole Wheat Couscous Tagine
apricot, beet greens, toasted pistachio

The success of this dish calls for boldness. Start by getting a really good char on the zucchini, using a stove top grill pan if you’re cooking indoors. Once grilled on both sides, douse zucchini generously with plenty of lemon juice. For the couscous, sauté spices such as cumin, coriander, fennel and ginger in olive oil. Add the amount of boiling water required for the couscous and then pour it over the grain, along with some chopped dried apricot, and cover. However much seasoning you think is enough – double it! I finished the dish a lemony beet greens dressing, because I had beet greens! First blanch the leaves and toss with plenty of lemon and olive oil. Alternately, fresh coriander and/or parsley will do just fine. 

Pro tip: I really never use store bought spice blends, but happily make an exception for the ones made by my friend Chef Lior Sercarz at La Boite. Here, I used his Marrakesh No. 6

 

 

WELLNESS TIPS FOR SUMER BBQS

By Emilia Sochovka, MS, RDN, CPT

Nothing says summer quite like a BBQ, whether it’s in a backyard, on a rooftop or in a park. Embrace Wellness is here to help you reach your health goals while also enjoying summer celebrations. Socializing with friends and family is an important part of practicing wellness. Here are some wellness tips for summer BBQs:

  • Reject social pressure around food. Focus on internal cues such as hunger when assembling and eating your meal, rather than external cues. If another guest is directly pressuring you to make a certain food choice, respond with a simple “no, thank you.” Only you should decide what and how much you eat.
  • Balance your plate with veggies. Seasonal veggies deserve a place on the BBQ buffet because of their disease-fighting phytochemicals and fiber. If you’re a guest, offer to bring a side dish. Fresh ideas include Crunchy Cucumber Salad, Green Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing and Katchkie Farm Cucumber, Melon & Arugula Salad.
  • Plan an active game. While mingling and eating is usually the main event at a BBQ, games allow partygoers of all ages to have fun and move their bodies. Activities include cornhole, spikeball, badminton, wiffle ball and ring toss. Or try wheelbarrow races and capture the flag, which do not require any special equipment.

Don’t forget to hydrate (perhaps with infused water), wear sunscreen and practice grilling and food safety.

Learn more at gpembrace.com.

 

About Great Performances

Founded in 1980 as an event waitress service for women in the arts who wanted a flexible way to supplement their income, GP has grown into one of the country’s leading catering and events companies In addition to working with partners like the Plaza Hotel, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Museum, the Apollo Theater, and Wave Hill, Great Performances promotes sustainable food practices through its organic farm in Upstate New York and offers emerging artist scholarships to service staff.

In 2019, Great Performances moved to The Bronx. Six months later, Covid-19 hit New York and the entire city shut down. GP transformed its kitchens, almost overnight, to begin providing meals for those most in need: senior citizens, the food insecure, and hospital and healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

As New York is reopening, Great Performances opened the doors to its new kitchens in Mott Haven where it creates delicious food for a wide variety of events. Click here to see some sample menus.

GP is actively looking for new people to join their team. If you’re looking or know someone who is, check out our most recent listings or contact HR.

Family Fun

Play an I SPY version of BINGO with your friends! Click the image to play Bingo with your friends and family as you sail down the East River.

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The Dish Blog
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Carina Hayek

Chefs’ Choir: Chef Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel’s Russian Pelmeni

For Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel, making pelmeni is more than just cooking—it’s a cherished family tradition. She grew up rolling out these hearty Russian dumplings alongside her mother and grandmother, filling the kitchen with warmth and conversation. Now, she hopes to pass the tradition on to her little one, sharing the joy of homemade comfort food, one bite at a time.

Read More »

SHERRY VINEGAR VINAIGRETTE

by Georgette Farkas

During week 3 of our Culinary Egg-venture cooking series, we made a delicious Eggs en Cocotte Forstière–and a couple variations. As usual, I prepared a salad to accompany the meal using some of the beautiful spinach and other greens I’d found.

I keep a variety of vinegars in my pantry at home and this week I thought I’d feature sherry vinegar with its nutty, caramelly flavors balancing the sharp acidity typical of a vinegar. This Spanish cousin to balsamic vinegar is made from sherry wine which is naturally fermented and then aged for six months in barrels. If you don’t already have a bottle in your pantry, I recommend this addition.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

  • 1/3 cup sherry vinegar

  • 1 tbs shallots finely minced

  • 1 tbs Dijon mustard

  • 1 cup olive oil

Procedure

In a small mixing bowl combine salt, pepper and sherry vinegar until salt dissolves. Whisk in Dijon mustard and shallots. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste.

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More Recipes

Chefs’ Choir: Chef Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel’s Russian Pelmeni

For Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel, making pelmeni is more than just cooking—it’s a cherished family tradition. She grew up rolling out these hearty Russian dumplings alongside her mother and grandmother, filling the kitchen with warmth and conversation. Now, she hopes to pass the tradition on to her little one, sharing the joy of homemade comfort food, one bite at a time.

Read More »

ZESTY ANCHOVY VINAIGRETTE

by Georgette Farkas

During week 2 of our Culinary Egg-venture cooking series, I shared an updated version of one of my favorite dishes from my childhood: Eggs Piperade. This Basque Country cousin of the Shakshuka features fennel, both the bulb and the seeds, along with bell peppers, and tomatoes creating an incredibly flavorful, delicious sauce in which we baked eggs and then topped with crispy chorizo bits. Big, bold flavors like this call for a side salad with bold, zesty flavors, so I paired it with an arugula salad  dressed with my zesty anchovy vinaigrette.

The anchovy vinaigrette stands up to the Piperade without overpowering it. This is also one of the few dishes in which I’ll use raw garlic, which can be too potent in many dishes, but plays beautifully with the anchovy here.

Peppery arugula or bitter dandelion greens make the perfect accompaniment. Try this recipe and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

  • 2 oz anchovy, finely chopped (if using anchovies canned in oil, do not discard oil)
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Procedure

In a small mixing bowl whisk together chopped anchovy, garlic and mustard. Whisk in red wine vinegar and a pinch of ground black pepper. In a slow stream, whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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More Recipes

Chefs’ Choir: Chef Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel’s Russian Pelmeni

For Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel, making pelmeni is more than just cooking—it’s a cherished family tradition. She grew up rolling out these hearty Russian dumplings alongside her mother and grandmother, filling the kitchen with warmth and conversation. Now, she hopes to pass the tradition on to her little one, sharing the joy of homemade comfort food, one bite at a time.

Read More »

EASY LEMON VINAIGRETTE

by Georgette Farkas

I recently taught a series of cooking classes called “A Culinary Egg-Venture”. Our first class, Green Tortilla Espanola, included lemon juice and lemon zest to enhance the flavors of the vegetables.  And even though this would have been perfect as a meal on its own, I think it pairs beautifully with a salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette using the leftover lemon juice and zest.

This lemon vinaigrette makes use of the lemon juice and the lemon zest, which gives the dressing a beautifully bright, refreshing flavor that pairs well with almost any lettuces you wish to add.

I always recommend making extra as it will keep well in the fridge for a few days and can even be used as a marinade. Let me know how you end up using this recipe!

Easy Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
  • 1/4 cup chives, minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

Procedure

  1. In a small mixing bowl combine lemon zest and juice, chives salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste.
  2. Note, in addition to or even in place of chives, feel free to add chopped fresh parsley and/or tarragon.

A RECIPE FOR SUSTAINABILITY: PICKLED SWISS CHARD STEMS

by Georgette Farkas

I recently taught a series of cooking classes called “A Culinary Egg-Venture”. Our first class, Green Tortilla Espanola, featured Swiss chard leaves. In the first step of preparing the dish, we stripped the leaves from the stems and set aside the stems. But I encouraged the class to reserve the stems – they are wonderful pickled and tossed into a
salad.

Below is a quick and easy recipe for pickling the stems. Although here we’ve kept them as long stalks to fill the mason jar, they would also make a stunning confetti if you cut them brunoise style before pickling them. Although, you could do that after pickling, which would give you plenty of options for how you use them in a dish!

 

Pickled Swiss Chard Stems

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch chard stems
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbs  sugar
  • 1 tsp  kosher salt
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme

Procedure

  1. Prepare the pickling brine by combining vinegar with sugar, salt and spring of thyme. This may be done directly in the jar you will use to pickle your chard stems. Scale quantities to adapt to quantity of stems and container you are using.
  2. Leave stems whole or cut them in a variety of shapes to suit the ways in which you may eventually use them. For example, slice thin, cut in small cubes or simply cut stems to fit your jar. Shape and size may also depend upon your pickling container. We recommend a glass jar with tight fitting lid.
  3.  Place stems in a jar, pour brine over, cover with lid and refrigerate. Brine at least eight hours.

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More Recipes

Chefs’ Choir: Chef Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel’s Russian Pelmeni

For Anastassia Batsoula-Deuel, making pelmeni is more than just cooking—it’s a cherished family tradition. She grew up rolling out these hearty Russian dumplings alongside her mother and grandmother, filling the kitchen with warmth and conversation. Now, she hopes to pass the tradition on to her little one, sharing the joy of homemade comfort food, one bite at a time.

Read More »

GP'S PIVOT SHARED BY CAPITALONE AND FORBES

Our friends at CapitalOne shared the story of how Great Performances pivoted during Covid. In less than two weeks after NYC shut down and we turned off our burners, we once again fired up our kitchens and engaged our teams, this time to feed the 80,000 seniors in need.

Click here to read the full article on CapitalOne’s website.

Click here to watch the video on Forbes.

AWADH

Chef Aarthi Sampath
Great-Performances_Peoples-Kitchen_Awadh_Gaurad-Anand
Chef and owner Gaurav Anand

Awadh is a showcase for the storied “dum pukht” or slow cooking style popular in the Lucknow region. Chef-Owner Gaurav Anand opened the restaurant in 2014 following on the success of his New York City restaurants Bhatti Indian Grill and Moti Mahal Delux.

Chef and owner of three critically acclaimed and internationally recognized NYC restaurants – Bhatti Indian Grill, Moti Mahal Delux and Awadh – Gaurav Anand is one of the youngest restaurateurs in the city. He has been praised by numerous media outlets for the authenticity and innovation he brings to Indian cuisine, and includes 2 Star reviews by The New York Times. He has created sold out dinners at the prestigious James Beard Foundation, and Awadh was rated the best Indian restaurant in NYC by the Village Voice.

Chef Aarthi Sampath’s passion for cooking took root in her parent’s kitchen where she perused cookbooks of culinary stars she never imagined would be in her orbit. Chef Sampath was determined to change this narrative, first with studies at the Institute of Hotel Management in Jaipur, and then with a coveted place in the Taj Hotel Group Management Program. After five years developing a deep appreciation of Indian Cuisine with the Taj Group in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai, it was time to pursue a global perspective.

Chef Sampath came to the United States to attend Johnson & Wales University. She then joined Junoon in New York City as an intern and she rapidly ascended to the Chef de Cuisine role, applying modern techniques to traditional Indian cuisine that so perfectly reflected Junoon’s culinary style and Michelin star status. Chef Sampath played a leading role in Junoon’s expansion while expanding her own horizons, working with chefs at the James Beard Foundation and several exclusive culinary festivals.

Skill and a commanding presence earned Chef Sampath status on several national TV series. She was a 2016 winner on the fiercely competitive “CHOPPED”. She has also graced the screen on “BEAT BOBBY FLAY”, winning the day with her biryani. “I feel elated for the opportunity to represent Indian culture in the western market. Although Biryani is nostalgia to some, it’s still not very known, other than the complexity of making it,” explained the rising star chef.

Featured dishes provided by Chef Aarthi Sampath
on November 19th, 2021:

Chicken Makhanwala, Dal Makhani, Steamed Basmati Rice
Chana Masala, Kolhapuri Subz Panchmel, Steamed Basmati Rice

Featured dish provided by Chef Aarthi Sampath
on September 23rd, 2021:

Chicken Makhanwala, Dalcha Palak Kebab, Steamed Basmati Rice, Mint Raita 

Featured dish provided by Chef Aarthi Sampath
on March 4th, 2021:

Turmeric Lime Chicken, Coconut Basmati Rice,
Roasted Beet Kachumber Salad, Mango Cilantro Chutney 

Featured dish provided by Chef Aarthi Sampath
on January 7th, 2021:

Coriander Roast Chicken, Cucumber and Mint Yogurt Rice,
Carrot-Mustard-Cilantro and Market Greens Slaw, Asafoetida-Lime Vinaigrette

Photos courtesy of Awadh

Awadh

2588 Broadway,
New York, NY 10025
646.861.3241

www.awadhnyc.com

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