ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION

RECIPE & INTERVIEW: Jersey Blush Sauce with Local Ingredients

Culinary Institute of America Chef Daniel McDowell offers an easy recipe for a savory blush sauce, using local Jersey produce to complement the basics. He also talks frankly about the practice of using local farm produce from a budding restaurateur’s perspective…

L to R: NOT Chef McDowell, Chef McDowell

Jersey Blush Sauce with Local Ingredients

by Daniel McDowell, Culinary Institute of America Chef

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

3/4 cup chopped sundried tomato

1/2 white onion, diced

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 oz. unsalted butter

3 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup white wine, Chardonnay*

1 oz. capers

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 oz. heavy cream

2 cans Jersey Fresh Tomato sauce*

*denotes local ingredients

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan on high heat, saute onions in 1 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil and 2 oz. of the butter until translucent.

2. Reduce to medium heat. Add 2 additional tblsp. of olive oil and the sliced garlic. Saute 4 minutes.

3. Add cherry tomatoes and increase heat to high until tomatoes are soft.

4. Add the tomato sauce and wine. Stir.

5. Add dry spices and grated cheese. 

6. Stir in heavy cream, 2 additional ounces of butter, and capers.

7. Cover and simmer 10 minutes on medium heat.

Serve over ravioli. Garnish with shaved parmesan and parsley.

INTERVIEW

RM: What do you recommend drinking with this sauce?

DM: Bud Light! No, really, a standard Merlot would be great. The white wine used in this recipe is a 2007 Chardonnay from Tomasello Winery in Hammonton, NJ.

RM: What are your thoughts, from the restaurant management perspective, on using fresh, local ingredients?

DM: It is nice in a theoretical home-cooking situation. I like to use them. However, in the restaurant industry, it’s not as practical because nothing is in season year round in the Northeast of the country. Many of the restaurants based on the home-cooking model, with frequently changing menus and all local produce are in the fertile regions of California. I recently spent several weeks traveling throughout Southern California’s agricultural regions, visiting organic farms and wineries.

So cooking with local produce…it’s a good idea, it’s the ethical thing to do, to support the farmers in your community, but not always the most feasible business practice. For those in Northern regions, it’s a challenge for chefs and restaurant owners.

RM: What is your future restaurant going to be like, and will you take local food into consideration?

DM: An All-American Pub with local flair and a unique take on traditional pub fare. Although I would like it to be on the East Coast, I want my customers to know where their food is coming from and do my part in slowing down the carbon footprint that the restaurant industry typically leaves behind.

RM: Over the past few years, new restaurants that use local/organic ingredients are getting a ton of press. Do you see the the push to go local and organic as just a trend in the culinary world? 

DM: No. It’s not some new trend, it’s how people lived before modern technology. Growing your own food without chemicals is not am amazing new thing! What about the pilgrims?! They didn’t order from SYSCO!

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They certainly didn’t. And plenty of restaurant owners, in Philadelphia and beyond, are finding creative ways to wine and dine satisfied customers, one local ingredient at a time. Thank you to Daniel for this recipe, making it a bit easier for those of us to buy and cook local from the comfort of our own homes!