Plated delivers the origin story of a dish, as told by an establishment’s chefs and owners. Today's plate is from Get Fresh Table and Market in Park Slope.
On the plate: Pork belly with parsnips, squash broth, and winter green salad. $15
The players: Caroll Lee, co-owner, and Juventino Avila, chef and co-owner.
Juventino Avila: "Patrick Martins, the founder of Heritage Foods where we buy our pigs, turned me on to the Berkshire breed. I talk to the company on Tuesdays for example, and they'll tell me what’s available. Big restaurants don't want the trotters or the belly; they’ll want the chops. I’ll cure and smoke the pork belly with applewood chips, then braise it. We don't have a smoker so I improvise with a perforated hotel pan on top of another hotel pan.”
Caroll Lee: “We don't have a gas burner either, which makes it even trickier. We wanted to be energy efficient, so we built the kitchen with induction burners. They're super-efficient and they don't get too hot—they just transfer the heat directly to the pot, so the kitchen's not smoky and hot.”
JA: “The parsnips are currently from Satur Farms on Long Island. The parsnip mash also has roasted parsnips pieces, and today I've added some roasted almonds. The squash changes back and forth from Hubbard to Delicata. I never know what they'll send; it depends on what they have. The last component of the dish is a salad with hothouse frisee, tarragon, mint, and parsley. James Beard had a parsley salad in the 70s—that was my inspiration.”
CL: “At first we were a market making ready-to-cook meals with locally-sourced, organic ingredients that weren’t heavily processed. One week ago we started serving brunch and dinner. In the evening the market area lights turn down and it becomes more of a restaurant. We're starting a gallery for local artists here since we have this great space, and we want to use it to keep the community vibe going. Also, there’s is a local company called Hot Bread Kitchen that makes our lavash and granola—their mission is to employ immigrant women, strengthen their own culinary traditions, teach them English, and give them entrepreneurial skills. That's the kind of business we’d like to support.”
