Limehouse Produce Kicks Off Second Annual “Berry Creative” School Campaign to Raise Awareness for the Popular Fruit 3.12.15

Limehouse Produce kicks off its second annual “Berry Creative” campaign to celebrate the official start to strawberry season (National Strawberry Day was February 27)  with area schools to help raise awareness for the popular fruit. Schools and classes in the Charleston area are encouraged to get more engaged in this program by having students submit projects about strawberries. Projects can be recipes, drawings, artwork, or stories involving strawberries.  The school with the most creative entry will receive a Grand Prize of 100 pounds of local strawberries, an announcement of their win on the Limehouse Produce website and promotion about their efforts. The strawberries can be used in the schools next fundraiser, bake sale or however the school sees fit.  Also, each school that enters in the competition will receive some strawberries just for participating.

To learn more about the “Berry Creative” Campaign, schools can visit www.limehouseproduce.flywheelsites.com.  Entries for the competition are due April 3, 2015 with the winner being announced April 10, 2015.

To see more about last year’s competition:

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Limehouse Produce Announces 2015 Citrus Celebration Dish and Drink Winners 2.27.15

Charleston’s best bars and restaurants have been promoting sweet and savory citrus offerings for the last two months, as part of Limehouse Produce’s 2015 Citrus Celebration. Limehouse Produce shared these featured dishes and drinks on their website along with recipes for people to download and try on their own. Patrons were invited to vote for their favorite dish and drink online until February 22. A panel of judges then visited the top five places from each category and select a winner as well.

“This year’s Citrus Celebration was even better than the last,” stated Weston Fennell, lead buyer for Limehouse Produce, as well as a Citrus Celebration judge. “The competition was tough because all of the dishes and drinks that were judged were delicious and creative.”

The votes from online and live judges have been compiled and a winner for the Best Citrus Dish and Best Citrus Drink have been chosen!

Best Dish:

• Bryan Cates of Basico: Citrus, Radish, Pistachio and Amberjack Crudo

Best Drink:

• Jayce McConnell of Edmund’s Oast: The Anejo Age

The winner in each category will be promoted on the website and social media and will receive a ½ page ad in The Local Palate to showcase their dish/drink.

Featured Produce of the Month: Radishes 2.11.15

Featured Produce of the Month: Radishes

February 2015

The Facts:

¨ Locally we recommend getting them from Thackeray Farms in Wadmalaw Island (https://www.facebook.com/thackerayfarms)

¨ Easy to grow, they mature less than 30 days from seeding

¨ Some of the varietals include scarlet globe, cherry belle, cherriette, april cross, summer cross and red flame

¨ Vary in size, color, shape and taste

¨ Radishes are part of the Brassica family, and like other cruciferous vegetables, are packed with antioxidants. Since radishes are detoxifiers and are rich in vitamin-C, they have been connected to treating many types of cancer. Radishes are a very good source of potassium, which contributes to a large list of health benefits, including reducing blood pressure. Radishes lower body temperature and relieve inflammation from fevers, and since they act as good disinfectants, radishes also fight infections that can cause fever.

¨ Radishes with butter and salt is a French classic.  Because of its simplicity, it’s important to use quality ingredients such as fleur de sel, fresh crunchy radishes and good butter. Good salt simply deepens the flavor of the butter and radishes allowing you to enjoy the simplicity of each ingredient in harmony with each other. Radishes sandwiched between buttered bread is a traditional children’s snack in France.  However, you could easily serve individual radishes with a side of butter and salt as a beautiful appetizer.

Recipe: Raw and Pickled Radish Salad with Boiled Egg and Tarragon

By Joe Dimaio, Stars Rooftop and Grill

Raw and Pickled Radish salad

With boiled egg and tarragon.  Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the salad

Radishes, assorted easter egg, French breakfast, cherry bell

Eggs, boiled   1ea  ( crumble whole egg by hand into small pieces)

Tarragon  3 sprigs  ( pick leaves for garnish)

Bibb lettuce 8 leaves

Vinaigrette 1 cup

Pecorino Romano, a few thin shavings

Pickled radishes: quarter half of your assorted radishes, pickle the quartered radishes and  shave the other half raw with a Japanese mandolin

For the pickle:

1 cup Champagne Vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Salt

1 ½ cup H2O

bring all ingredients to a simmer and add quartered radishes, turn off and let sit in fridge until cool and store up to 6 months in an airtight container.

For the vinaigrette:

Shallot  1tbsp. minced

Sherry vinegar  ½ cup

Evoo  ½ cup

Honey 1 tbsp

Pink peppercorn    a pinch (fresh cracked)

combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl whisking until combined. Set aside until plating the salad.

*Plating this salad is all up to the person eating it. It could be in a bowl or a plate. I prefer a plate so I can scatter all the ingredients out artistically but with little meaning so every ingredient is seen. I like to dress the salad on the plate so some of that vinaigrette you made can be seen then a little pecorino and the tarragon leaves at the end to finish.

Recipe: Bagna Cauda Curd

By Chef Nate Whiting, 492

Yield = 1 quart

5 each Whole eggs

170g Anchovies

1 each Lemon Zest

75g Lemon Juice

50g White Wine Vinegar

25g Anchovy Juice

25g Glucose

50g Shallots, germ removed, Minced

8g Garlic, germ removed, Minced

1 each Fresh Bay Leaf

2g Franks red Hot

.5g Malic Acid

375g Butter, Diced, room temperature

1. Place all the ingredients except the butter in a Cryovac or Ziploc (Freezer) Bag.

2. Set a circulating water bath to 82.3°C \180°F

3. Seal the bag in a chamber vacuum or use water displacement to seal the Ziploc bag.

4. Place the bag in the Bath; when the bath returns to temperature, cook for 2 hours.

5. Remove from the bath, discard the Bay leaf and transfer the entire contents of the bag into a blender.

6. Puree smooth.

7. While the blender is running add the diced butter a little at a time, continue until all the butter is added and the mixture is smooth.

8. Strain onto a pan and chill completely in the refrigerator.

9. Serve cold with Fresh Radish or other raw vegetables.

Recipe: French Breakfast Radishes

By Chef Aaron Lemieux, Michael’s of the Alley, Victor’s Social Club and Vincent Chicco’s

Ingredients 

(10) French breakfast radishes-cleaned and sliced in half

1/2 bunch Genovese basil

1/4 bunch Italian parsley

1 oz perigord truffles sliced thinly on mandolin

1/2 lb unsalted Plugra (or 83%) fat content butter

Kosher salt to taste

Micro sorrel, basil & beet greens

Olive oil

Maldon salt (for plating )

1 teaspoon lemon juice

method

Slice truffles and cube butter into 1/2 cube. Season with salt lightly and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

Use the paddle attachment on mixer and mix “truffle butter”   When the truffles are evenly dispersed cover and set aside

Use a 3qt sauce pot and boil salted water. Add the parsley + basil for 8 seconds and using a perforated spoon submerge in ice water.  Let sit for 2 minutes remove and squeeze excess water

Combine with 1/4 cup of high grade olive oil in the blender or vita mix

Pulse on low then gradually increase speed.

Pour mixture into plastic container and set aside.

To plate – start by tossing 1/2 of the radishes with some micro sorrel + micro basil, olive oil and fresh lemon juice, season with salt + pepper

Use a soup spoon and spoon the basil parsley mixture in the bottom of a plate. Top with the radishes , truffle butter and Maldon salt

Serve and enjoy

Citrus Challenge 12.30.14

Charleston’s best bars and restaurants are once again promoting sweet and savory citrus offerings as part of Limehouse Produce’s 2015 Citrus Celebration. Winter is citrus season and Limehouse is featuring a number of exciting varieties, including Navel Oranges, Oroblanco, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Kumquat, Satsuma Mandarin Oranges, Blood Oranges, Hamlin Oranges, Clementines, Limes, Pummelos and Meyer Lemons.

Limehouse Produce is excited to be sharing these featured dishes and drinks on their website along with recipes for people to download and try on their own. Patrons can also go and vote for their favorite dish and drink online until February 22. A panel of judges will visit the top five places from each category and select a winner as well. The votes from online and live judges will then be compiled and a winner for the Best Citrus Dish and Best Citrus Drink will be chosen. The winner in each category will be promoted on the website and social media and will receive a ½ page ad in The Local Palate to showcase their dish/drink.

The Recipes

O-Ku

The Macintosh

The Macintosh

Republic

Zero George Street

The Macintosh

Old Village Post House

Basico

Circa 1886

Zero George Street

Lee Lee’s Hot Kitchen

Edmund’s Oast

Indaco

High Cotton

The Cocktail Club

Cocktail Bandits

Oak and The Macintosh

S.N.O.B.

The Park Cafe

Calling all Chefs and Bartenders: 2015 Citrus Celebration 12.11.14

The holiday season is in full motion and it is the time of year for all the great citrus! After a successful first year, Limehouse Produce will once again organize their Citrus Celebration to give you a chance to really highlight the amazing offerings available. Products like grapefruit, tangerines, meyer lemons, blood oranges, satsumas and more are available for the promotion. We can also order specialty citrus items that you may want to test out and use on the menu.

This promotion is designed to showcase our amazing pastry chefs and bartenders and what they are doing creatively with citrus. However, anyone can submit a dish if interested in being a part of the campaign.

If interested in being a part of the 2014 Citrus Celebration, let us know by responding to the email with “sign me up”. We will then deliver a special Citrus Sampler of potential products to try out on Friday, December 12 or the following week. Dish and drink details, recipes and photos are due no later than Sunday, December 28 in order to have part of the website on the official kick-off on January 1.

For the Celebration, people can visit the Limehouse Produce website and vote on their favorite dish until February 20. There will also be a panel of judges that visit the top 5 drinks and dishes (as selected by the judges) to taste the items the week of February 23. The two votes will be compiled and one winner will be selected for Best Drink and Best Dessert. Each winner will be promoted on the website and social media outlets, to the media and featured in an ad in The Local Palate.

Interested restaurants can submit their photos and caption details to [email protected]. We hope to have you a part and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Culinary Institute of Charleston Students Shine during 2014 Heirloom Pumpkin Competition 11.29.14

 Showcasing the talents of the next generation of culinary professionals, Limehouse Produce recently partnered with the Culinary Institute of Charleston (CIC) to organize a Fall Harvest Cooking Competition with a focus on local heirloom pumpkins and squash.

Students were encouraged to submit recipes utilizing this produce. A panel of the school’s chef instructors, led by Chef Michael Carmel, Culinary Department Chair, selected the top submissions to be finalists in the competition. The finalists cooked their dishes for a panel of judges, which included Weston Fennell of Limehouse Produce, Kinsey Gidick of Charleston City Paper and Chef Trey Dutton of the Indigo Road Group, a CIC graduate. The judges watched the students in action as they prepared their dishes. They then tasted and judged the dishes on originality, creativity, best use of the heirloom products, taste and kitchen skills.

The end result was delicious and impressive. Yuri Kojima’s Hot and Sweet Miso Kabocha was the winning dish. Kojima paired kabocha squash with pork sauce that had been stir-fried with sweet miso, ginger, garlic and chile paste. She served it with sushi rice. Yuri is a second year at CIC and is studying sports and nutrition. 

Other dishes in the competition included second place winner Paul San Luis’ “squashed crab” tortellini and third place winner Sarah Hassell’s  pumpkin and cream crepes. Very creative dishes were also offered by the finalists:  Candice Hunsucker’s Thanksgiving stuffing in a pumpkin, Russell William’s butternut squash gnocchi with Calvados cream sauce, and Arlette Park’s pumpkin eggnog soup. All students received prizes and Yuri will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Local Palate.

Yuri Kojima’s Hot and Sweet Miso Kabocha 

Serves 4

• Canola oil
• 1 kabocha squash, about 1 pound
• 1/2 pound lean ground pork, crumbled
• 1 Tbs. tenmenjan (sweet miso paste available at H & L)
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. sambal oelek chili paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce,
• 1 Tbs. sake
• 2 tsp. sugar            
• Pinch black pepper   
• 1 Tbs. water
• 1 Tbs. potato starch
• 1 tsp. rice vinegar 
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• Japanese sushi rice

Heat canola oil in a fryer or deep pot.

Peel the squash, cut it in half, and remove the strings and seeds. Cut the squash into 1¼-inch pieces. Working in batches if necessary not to crowd the fryer, deep-fry the squash until it is tender when pierced with a toothpick. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the pork and cook it, separating it with a fork, until the juice renders clear. Add the tenmenjan and combine it well. Add the ginger and garlic and cook them until you can smell their aroma. Add the sambal oelek and combine well.

Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, sake, sugar, and pepper and bring to a boil. Place the squash on top of the sauce and let the squash absorb the juice from the sauce, about 3 minutes.

Place the water in a small dish and stir in the potato starch to dissolve. Add the dissolved potato starch to the skillet. Add the rice vinegar.

Sprinkles the scallions on top and serve accompanied  with Japanese sushi rice.

南瓜

ショウガ

ニンニク

ネギ

豚ひき肉

甜麺醤

豆板醤

鶏スープ

＊醤油、酒

＊砂糖

＊胡椒

水溶き片栗粉

油、酢

Paul San LuisTortellini with Squashed Crab and Sage Cream Sauce

Serves 4

Filling

• 1 Kabocha squash, about 3 pounds
• Kosher salt
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. minced shallot
• 8 ounces lump crab
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 pinch cardamom
• 1/2 pinch nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Peel the squash, cut it in half, and remove the stings and seeds. Cut the squash into

1-inch pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and stir until the salt dissolves.

Add the squash and cook it until pierced easily with a fork. Drain. Pass the squash through a food mill or mash it with a potato masher. Cool to room temperature. You will have some purée left over after the recipe, which will keep covered in a refrigerator for up to a week.

Heat the butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 30 seconds. Add 1½ cups of the squash purée and combine well. Gently fold in lump crab. Add the heavy cream in small increments until squash/crab filling holds together in a ball, but is still moist and pliable. You may not need the whole ¼-cup, or you may need more. Fold in the cardamom, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and one teaspoon of salt. Transfer to a container and refrigerate.

Tortellini

• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups semolina flour

Whisk the eggs, olive oil, and 1/2-teaspoon of the salt together. Combine them with the flour, folding and kneading until the dough is smooth in consistency. Add a few drops of water if the dough is too dry to come together. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. In manageable increments, roll out the dough through the #1 setting on a pasta roller. Lay the rolled dough on baking sheet as you go  and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent drying.

Cut the dough into 3-inch rounds. Knead dough scraps together and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 10 minutes and pass it through the roller again. You should have around 40 to 50 tortellini rounds.

Place 1/2-teaspoon of chilled squash filling in the center of each round. Fold the sides together to form a half-moon and pinch to seal. (I don’t use any egg wash or adhesive, but if the tortellini aren’t staying closed, lightly brush the edges of the pasta round before forming the half-moons to seal.) Bring the corners together and pinch to adhere. Dust with flour if necessary, place on a baking sheet, and cover with towel.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Working in batches, carefully add tortellini, stirring gently occasionally to prevent sticking. Check for doneness at 5 minutes, or when they start to bob to the surface. Drain. Serve immediately.

Note: If hand-making pasta is too labor intensive, store bought jumbo shells can be used instead

Sauce

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 ounce pancetta, cut in small dice
• 1 tsp. minced shallot
• 1 ounce sherry
• 1/2 ounce cognac
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 sprig of fresh sage, leaves attached
• 1/2 pinch nutmeg
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper

While the tortellini are resting, make the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in heavy medium-size sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté until the fat has rendered out and the pancetta is crisp. Remove pancetta to paper towels to drain. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the shallots. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from the heat and add sherry and cognac. Put the pan back on the burner and simmer the cognac for 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Add the cream, sprig of sage, and nutmeg. Reduce the heat to low and cook the sauce until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and remove the sprig of sage.

To serve: divide the tortellini between four warm plates. Spoon sauce over each portion and top with micro greens or chervil, and pumpkin caviar (if using). Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Caviar (optional)*

• 1 quart vegetable oil, well chilled
• 250 grams pumpkin purée or squash purée, made by same purée method as described above
• Water, as needed
• 15 grams unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, as needed
• 1.2 grams agar agar
•  

Simmer the pumpkin purée (loosened with a little water) with the butter and heavy cream. Off the heat, add the agar agar. Using an immersion blender, shear the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is thoroughly mixed and the agar agar is dissolved. Return to a low simmer, adding drops of water to maintain consistency. Test the agar mixture’s ability to set by placing a droplet on a cold plate; it should set within 20 to 30 seconds.

 Working in batches, use a medicine dropper to add droplets of pumpkin/agar mixture to the chilled oil to form spheres. Strain oil through chinois into another container to get pumpkin spheres out. Rinse the spheres and set aside.  Afterwards you may need to return oil to freezer or refrigerator to get it cold enough again for another batch.

*Note: this portion of the recipe is in metric units because the precise ratios necessary for spherification are extremely difficult to obtain using Imperial measurement units. 

Did You Know? 10.27.14

Download the 2014 Heirloom Tomato Trek Map 6.26.14

Heirloom Tomato Trek – Vote Now 6.12.14

As part of the campaign, patrons can get involved and vote on their favorite posted item here and the person whose dish/drink has the most votes in each category will receive a 100lbs of tomatoes from Limehouse Produce and a special tomato trophy to display proudly.

Diners are also encouraged to go to the participating restaurants during the campaign and order the featured dish or drink. Once they order, they can take a photo and submit it on Facebook or instagram using the hashtag #tomatotrek. One lucky patron will be randomly selected to receive two tickets to a special VIP invite-only pig roast by Chef Jeremiah Bacon of The Macintosh and Oak Steakhouse at High Wire Distilling Co. 

The types of local Heirloom Tomatoes showcased during the campaign are:

Regular: Mortgage Lifter, Pink Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Mr. Stripy, Pineapple

Cherry: Sungold Cherries, Chocolate Cherries, Yellow Pears, Sweet 100s

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EVO Celebrates the Summertime Bounty with a “Nightshade Summer Social” in Partnership with Limehouse Produce and Thackeray Farms 6.4.14

As a way to celebrate the summer and all the amazing produce available, Extra Virgin Oven or EVO as it’s called (1075 East Montague Ave, North Charleston) is partnering with Limehouse Produce and Thackeray Farms to host a special event entitled, “Nightshade Summer Social.” During the event on Monday, June 30, 2014 starting at 7:00PM, EVO’s Executive Chef Blake McCormick will offer a menu featuring heavy hors d’oeuvres and pizzas highlighting a variety of local summer produce from Thackeray Farms.

The event cost is $50 per person and includes bites, wine, two featured specialty beers by Holy City Brewing, and live entertainment. For more information, visit www.limehouseproduce.flywheelsites.com. For tickets, please visit http://charleston.strangertickets.com/events/15927261/evo-pizzeria-summer-produce-dinner

Tickets are $15 per person for those under 10 and $30 for those under 21 (or not drinking).  For those discounted tickets, call 843-225-1796.