Hung out to dry

A few tobacco plants grew on our rooftop this year. I harvested them on Monday -the last day of Summer. The leaves are now hanging in my apartment. Tobacco needs to air cure before being rolled -it should be ready to use in a couple of weeks, at that time I think I’ll try rolling a few homemade cigars.

I’m honestly not even that big of a tobacco smoker, so I guess I’m doing this more out of curiosity than anything else. What will grow on a Brooklyn Rooftop? In the process of answering that question I hope to encourage more green rooftops all over the city as well as simple diy rooftop gardening. It’s a hobby that a lot more people would take up if they could be shown a way to make it economically attractive. With cigarettes at ten dollars a pack I figure that I my seven little tobacco plants must have yielded a few hundred dollars in tobacco. Clean tobacco -organically grown and additive free.

Why grow tobacco? Putting my right to satisfy personal curiosity aside, if I have any problem with tobacco -like a lot of other people- it’s more of a gripe with the big tobacco companies and their deceptive advertising, additives, agricultural practices, etc. In my effort to make some diy smokables I feel like I’m throwing a small stone at big tobacco.

Smoking is not the only use for tobacco. It’s also nice to have fresh tobacco leaves to cook with. Here is a recipe for tobacco sauce that we serve with grilled pork.

serves six

3 lbs Pork loin

salt & pepper

1 large onion sliced

12 oz dark beer

1/4 c molasses

1/4 oz dried tobacco leaves

a little fresh green tobacco for garnish

1 qt dark pork stock

dried hot peppers

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Cut a little bit of fat off of the pork and save it, this will be used in the sauce. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook over a grill that is not too hot. Cooking meat in large pieces over a slow flame keeps it juicy and flavorful. For a three pound piece of pork it might take up to 45 minutes. Cook it to desired doneness. Check this by poking it. As it cooks it will firm up. If you are new to this then just cut a very small incision and peek inside. Don’t over cook the meat. Pull it off the grill while it is still a little bit under done and let it rest. While it is resting it will remain hot and therefore continue to cook -this is called “carryover cooking.”

While the meat is cooking make your sauce. Render the reserved pork fat by cooking it in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once the fat has begun to liquefy use it to saute the onions. Let the onions caramelize and then deglaze with the beer. Add the molasses. Add the dried tobacco, hot peppers and allspice. Let the beer cook down at least half way before adding the pork stock. Simmer the sauce until it has reduced by two thirds.

Slice the well rested pork and spoon the sauce over it. Serve with starch and veg such as mashed potatoes and mustard greens or sweet potatoes and green beans etc. Garnish with fresh green tobacco leaves.

Tobacco Leaves on the day of Harvest

The end of a Summer of dedicated urban gardening yields chiles, tomatoes, squash, herbs, greens and life experiences. My successes and failures this season have taught me some difficult lessons, but in the end I have had a lot more to show for my work than I did last year, which I guess is the idea. Every Summer since I started gardening on my rooftop four years ago I have made a little bit more compost, filled more boxes, planted more seeds, and harvested more vegetables.

I Grew Tomatillos for the first time this year

I have been able to grow enough herbs to supply our kitchen with all of the green ingredients that have gone into our Chimichurri since June and I will probably get another month or two of growing season before the first frost kills the annuals and sends the perennials into dormancy.  Some of my home grown ingredients were snuck into various dishes with out much mention as in the case of the papalo on the tacos or the tomatoes and purslane in the little salads that we top our sopes with, but other ingredients took center stage in menu items such as the rooftop greens.

I got the seeds when I was in Tobago last year, but last Summer I couldn't get them to germinate. This year I have 5 or 6 plants that are growing like weeds. We used Tobacco leaves as a spicy garnish for Pork Chops with Pumpkin and Molasses Sauce.

One night I was even able to put together a 9 course tasting menu focusing on our home grown ingredients. Each dish had one or more key ingredients from the rooftop garden. The couple who enjoyed that meal are regulars and have been so pretty much since day one, and one of them was celebrating a birthday.

Papalo Growing in an old trash can

Back in May at Edible Brooklyn’s Uncorked tasting we used some of our rooftop greens as part of a bean salad that served as a bed for bite sized pieces of seared local bluefish.

Purslane is nice in salads and it does well all the way through the hottest part of the Summer.

Next week Palo Santo will be participating in a local food tasting event called Let Us Eat Local and I plan to use a good amount of homegrown produce. We will be making Pork Tacos with local pig parts and our homemade tortillas topped with rooftop salsa. All that will be paired with Brookly Brewery’s BLAST which is sort of like a hoppy IPA on steroids.

Rooftop Tomatoes

That pretty much sums up most of this year’s urban farming success stories, so what about the failures? Well… Besides the unfortunate leafy victims of the uphill battle with the incessant aphids the biggest tragedy this year was losing a rabbit. Maybe I got a bit over zealous when I decided to make a go at raising minor livestock on the third story rooftop of a Brooklyn townhouse? But I thought “how difficult could it really be?”

I guess here I should give some sort of explanation of why I took on the project in the first place. I could blame it on the strong influence of the Omnivore’s Dilemma which I was in the middle of reading, but in reality it stemmed from something whose roots went far deeper into my philosophical development. For those of you who didn’t know this already, I was a strict vegetarian for about five years up until about ten years ago when I graduated from vegetarian cooking school and went into the mainstream food service workforce. I made a conscious decision to force myself back into eating meat, fish, milk and eggs again. I thought about what direction I wanted my career to take me in and about how intertwined it would be with my own personal eating habits and I decided to broaden my opportunities. The road to success as a vegan chef looked narrow, and one of it’s biggest foreseeable drawbacks was that as a vegan chef I would most likely be more of an activist than an artist.

I had made my decision, but I have since then learned that some middle ground does exist. I have now become what one might call a conscientious omnivore. And though I am far from a career activist, I do what I do with a political agenda and I have aligned myself with a movement which aims to resensitize the general public to issues of food purity and the sustainability of our food supply. It has become of more and more importance to me to have intimate knowledge of my food and its sources. Which is really why I have put so much into my rooftop garden. More than just growing a few plants I hope to cultivate a deeper understanding of where my food comes from. So the next logical step was to try and raise my own meat. If the only meat I ever see are pink and red slabs wrapped up in plastic I might even forget that it came from an animal. An animal whose life was take in order to sustain mine.

So… My plan was to breed rabbits but I only got as far as one -a black and white little guy who I named Pedro Ximenez after the grape varietal. I had him for a few weeks and everything seemed to be going well. I built him a relatively large hutch that was shaded by bean plants and a plywood roof. I fed him mostly vegetable scraps from the kitchen along with some fresh leaves from the garden. He seemed happy and appeared to be healthy until one day he just fell over dead.  Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it so hard and just called the farmer upstate the next day to see if he could bring me another live healthy one, but instead I gave up. I just felt so guilty about what had happened that I couldn’t step foot in the garden for about a week. I was paralyzed every time I even thought about climbing up the ladder to check on what was still alive. Luckily it rained quite a bit that week, otherwise a lot of plants would have dried up because I wasn’t watering them. The experience could have just been part of the learning process, so maybe I’ll give it another go some time in the future? After all, a set back like that one only becomes a true failure when I give up trying to eventually succeed. If I have gained anything through this process of trial and error it is a much deeper appreciation for the toil of the farmers who feed us. Their jobs are not easy.

Tobacco Flowers with the Manhattan skyline in the background

Serves 4

4 large caigua stuffing cucumbers (check out the photo in my last post)

1 lb. ground beef

4 hard boiled eggs

olive oil

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 small sweet or hot chile minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 large ripe tomato chopped

1/4 c raisins

1/4 c green olives

1/4 c beer

salt and pepper to taste

Brush the caigua with a little bit of olive oil and roast in a 400f oven for a few minutes until they start to blister and soften up a bit. Pull them out of the oven and let them cool.

Make the picadillo filling in a large saute pan. Heat a little oil and brown the onion, garlic, and chile pepper. Add the spices and the tomato and keep stirring.

Deglaze with the beer. Add the raisins and olives.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stuff each caigua with picadillo and a boiled egg. Flash the stuffed peppers in a hot oven in order to be sure that they are served hot.

Some of my friends reading this might remember the last blog that I had, and if those who do are comparing it to this one then I am sure that they are disappointed by the dryness in the writing and the lack of action in the stories. For those reading this who haven’t know me for too long, who only know me under the context of Jacques the Chef at Palo Santo, or who just weren’t paying attention five years ago, let me give you a little bit of background:

“Who the F#*k is Jacques Gautier?” was the tagline that my friend Trudy gave me when she registered the blog and persuaded me to post on it. It was February 2004 and I was living up the end of a hot summer in Argentine wine country. After a stint at a winery (learning a bit about the alchemy that converts tough skinned malbec berries into blood red elixirs) I spent the better part of a year traveling through Latin America –hanging out in markets, restaurants, and borrowed kitchens- soaking up all of the culinary inspiration that I needed to put together Palo Santo. Between posting new recipes that I had come up with and photos of local market scenes I also dipped into such topics as various romantic encounters, ambitious debauchery, and how I survived danger while on the road.

This blog on the other hand is a comparatively tame and politically correct forum for me to shamelessly self-promote Palo Santo -the restaurant that I own in Brooklyn. And quite honestly, since Palo Santo opened in 2006 my life has as well been relatively tame due to the fact that working as many hours as I do leaves me with very little time to look for trouble.

With all of that said… Having recently had the chance to get away from the restaurant, and take twelve days of vacation in Colombia, I considered writing a post with a little bit more bite to it, but then I chickened out, so all you get are some photos and the recipe below.

Parque Tayrona is a large nature preserve on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast near the Venezuelan border.

Fresh fish out of the ocean and on to my plate.

Vendors on the beach sell ceviche, ice cream and fresh juices.

Pure genius! Turn the crank and use the blades to shred a coconut without removing it from the shell.

A fisherman cleans fish on the beach.

Roasted Pig stuffed with rice at a fast food restaurant in Bogota.

And now the recipe…

The vegetable on the cutting board is caigua, or pepino para rellenar -a variety of cucumber (I guess that technically makes it a fruit) that is used primarily for stuffing. The resulting dish resembles a chile relleno.

Blue borage and yellow tatsoi flowers for garnishing.

Herbs for salads and chimichurri.

Vegetables planted in reclaimed containers.

Squash vines will have flowers in a couple of weeks.

Nasturtium and their peppery leaves.

The NY state section of our wine list has grow significantly in the past two years, and last week’s Long Island wine tasting, Brooklyn Uncorked, has inspired us to pick up a few more local wines. Below is our complete selection of NY wines. (The ones in bold are currently being offered by the glass.)

Also, make sure to catch me at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket doing a cooking demo this Saturday, May 30 from 10am – 2pm.

Happy Tasting!

-Jacques

Blanc de Blanc ’05 Wölffer Estate, Brut, South Fork

Sauv Blanc/Semillon/Viognier/Chard ’08, Shinn Estate, “Coalescence, ” North Fork

Muscat/Pinot Grigio/Pinot Bianco ’07 Channing Daughters, “Sylvanus,” South Fork

Viognier ’07 Brooklyn Oenology, North Fork

Rkatsiteli ’06 Dr. Konstantin Frank, Finger Lakes

Tocai Friulano ’07 Channing Daughters, South Fork

Chardonnay ’05 Wölffer Estate Selection, South Fork

Merlot/Chardonnay/Cab Sauvignon/Cab Franc Rosé ’08 Wölffer Estate, South Fork

Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Chardonnay Rosé ’08 Water’s Crest, North Fork

Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Rosé ’08 Bouké, North Fork

Pinot Meunier Sparkling Rosé NV Château Frank “Célèbre,” Finger Lakes

Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Petit Verdot/Syrah ’07 Bouké, North Fork

Merlot/Syrah/Blaufränk/Cab Franc/Dnfldr ’07 Channing Dts. “Rosso Fresco,” North Fork

Cabernet Franc ’07 Millbrook, Hudson River Valley

Merlot/Cab/Malbec/P. Verdot/Cab Franc ’06 Shinn Estate, “Wild Boar Doe,” North Fork

Merlot/Cab Franc/Cab Sauvignon ’05 Water’s Crest, “Campania Rosso,” North Fork

Merlot ’03 Wölffer “The Grapes of Roth,” North Fork

Cabernet Sauvignon ’05 Wölffer “Claletto,” North Fork

Riesling, Sparkling Crémant NV Château Frank “Célèbre,” Finger Lakes, New York

Chardonnay, Late Harvest ’07 Wölffer Estate, South Fork

THE PALO SANTO ROOFTOP GARDEN. Styrofoam containers originally made to ship fresh fish are reused as garden boxes. They hold up nicely in any weather. The fact that they will not biodegrade makes it essential to give them a second chance at life -keeping them out of landfills. Using them to create a green roof also helps to better insulate the top floor of the building.

Garlic cloves planted in the fall sprout weeks before the last frost and are ready to be eaten by mid April.

A LA PLANCHA! Homegrown green garlic, chives and micro greens garnish a seared sea scallop served over creamy polenta.

Late last week I started creating dishes using a few vegetables grown on the roof of the restaurant -green garlic has so far been the star.

This coming Summer at the hight of the growing season I plan to put together a few tasting menus centered around ultra-local homegrown garden vegetables.

Later to be transplanted outdoors, seedlings sprouted under florescent lights eagerly await the last frost. From top to bottom; Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Edible Flowers, Calabaza.

Chives

Hardy Greens begin to sprout in early spring, a few weeks before the last frost hits.

Next Week is Restaurant Week in Brooklyn!

Monday March 23 – Thursday April 2

We will be offering a $23 three course prix-fixe dinner and 2 for 1 $23 brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

Heritage Foods U.S.A. Dinner

@PALO SANTO

Thursday March 19th 2009

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Tacos Surtidos

local beef offal / handmade tortillas / guacamole

-Brooklyn Wiesse

Slow Roasted Pork

potato salad / lemon / thyme / aioli

-Brooklyn Local 1

Grilled Pork Loin

green beans / olives / pecans / mint

-Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre

Braised Beef Ribs

arroz con tuetano / rajas / tangerine

-Brooklyn Local 2

Cornbread Pudding

pork fat / rosemary ice cream / blood orange

-Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Setting out long plates of Scallop Ceviche served on the half shell

Live Musicians at Slice of Latin America Event

Vip's show up - talk a lot, but don't eat much.

A Slice of Latin America -The tasting event that I have most look forward to for the past three winters.

Near two dozen chefs from Latin restaurants all over the city got together last week for an annual fund raising gala in support of the Comity for Hispanic Children and Families.

For the third year in a row I also brought the same dish, Taylor Bay Scallops on the Half Shell. I know that its not like me to make the same dish twice, but its been such a hit, so I figured I’d do it again.

Papa and the Old Cuban Guy rolling Habanos