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Chef’s Choir: Adam Kaye’s Crudite Dip Recipes

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At Great Performances, food is woven into every moment from a quick coffee break to a grand celebratory feast. We bring this belief to life through delicious food, warm hospitality, and boundless culinary creativity. At the heart of it all is our Chefs’ Choir℠ ensemble – a unique and diverse group of extraordinary chefs and cooks who power our catering, café, and restaurant services. With their diverse talents, perspectives, and culinary expertise, they shape the unforgettable menus that define our events, from corporate gatherings and nonprofit galas to weddings and milestone celebrations; and that feed our diners at our cafés and restaurants.

Through the Chefs’ Choir℠ ensemble, our chefs step beyond the kitchen to share their passion and expertise directly with you. They offer recipes to try at home, stories that inspire, insights into their craft, and tips to elevate your cooking. Whether you’re looking to recreate a signature dish, explore new techniques, or simply find fresh inspiration, the Chefs’ Choir℠ ensemble brings the artistry and creativity of Great Performances into your home, making every meal a celebration.

Adam Kaye, co-founder of The Spare Food Co. recently partnered with The Sylvia Center to curate the menu for their Art of Cooking Gala. This month, in celebration of The Sylvia Center and sustainability, he shares some recipes that ensure full utilization of ingredients including a carrot top pesto, a radish greens aioli, and a fermented beet greens.

Carrot Top Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups carrot tops, rinsed and chopped
  • ½ cup basil
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup nuts (walnuts, almonds, pinenuts, etc.)
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 1.5 cups vegetable oil, chilled
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Fill a mixing bowl with iced water.
  2. Blanch the carrot tops in the boiling water for 1 minute. Add the basil, stir and cook for another 30 seconds. Strain the greens over a colander in the sink. Immediately plunge into the bowl of ice water. Chill completely.
  3. Drain the blanched greens. Squeeze out as much of the water as possible and roughly chop on a cutting board.
  4. Place the blanched, chopped greens into a blender with the remaining ingredients.
  5. Puree on high for about 1 minute until you have a smooth, bright green pesto. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
  6. Serve or chill immediately.

Radish Greens Aioli

Ingredients

  • 3 cups radish greens (or turnip greens), washed and chopped
  • 1 cup Italian parsley leaves, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
  • 6 cornichons
  • ½ tsp minced garlic
  • 1.5 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 soft cooked eggs (5-6 minute boiled egg, chilled and peeled)
  • 1 – 1.25 cups vegetable oil (grapeseed or blended olive oil)
  • salt and pepper to taste

 

Method

  1. Combine the cornichons, garlic, mustard and eggs in a blender.
  2. With the blender running, very slowly add the oil to emulsify.
  3. Add the greens and herbs to the blender and puree until smooth and emulsified and you have a green aioli
  4. Season with salt and pepper. If needed, add a splash of cornichon liquid for more acidity.
  5. Chill immediately

Fermented Beet Greens Condiment

The idea here is to incorporate some finely chopped fermented beet greens into a green sauce that you might already make. I’m thinking along the lines of an Italian Salsa Verde or Chimichurri or Chermoula or Zhoug – I think something that has some heat and spice would be nice as a contrast to the other two green sauces.

Prepare the fermented beet greens as though you were making sauerkraut. You can check out Adam’s video for Watermelon Rind Sauerkraut on Instagram here.

  • wash and chop the beet greens
  • mix well with coarse salt (2% weight of the greens)
  • it should get liquidy; if it isn’t creating enough liquid, add a little 1.5% salt brine
  • press down, cover, and allow to ferment at room temperature for about a week

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