Blanched and Shocked

From Mollie Berliss, our public class registrar . . .

Last week, NGI founder Annemarie Colbin and Natural Gourmet staff attended the 4th Annual Taste of Greenmarket in New York City. Held at the swanky Studio 450, the event was a benefit for the Greenmarket’s Youth Education Project and supported in part by NGI.

The Youth Education Project links New York City kids with farmers through Greenmarket trips, farming activities, and cooking classes to teach them where food comes from and how to prepare nutritious meals using local and seasonal ingredients. Having run a culinary arts training program myself for homeless kids in the city, I can appreciate the dire need for programs like this and was proud to represent NGI at the event.

Featured chefs used a variety of local, organic, and market-inspired ingredients to create a variety of delicious dishes. A large selection of local wines and spirits was also available.

My favorite dish – the one that ended my 20-year reign as a vegetarian – was Chef Marco Canora’s Smoked Sea Trout with Freekeh, Sugar Snap Peas and Mint.

Other favorites included:

Ricotta Pizza with Marinated Tomato, Chilis, and Arugula (Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Butter, The Darby)

House Made Ricotta with Greenmarket Salad (Chef Justin Smillie, Il Buco)

Beet Salad with Pickled Beets and Buttermilk (Chef Bill Telepan, Telepan)

Asparagus with Pea Ravioli (Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, Wallse, Cafe Sabarsky, Blaue Gans, Cafe Kristal)

Sheep’s Milk Panna Cotta with Strawberries and Lavender (Chef Lauren Hischberg, Craftbar)

NGI President Jenny Matthau and Director of Admissions Merle Brown were among those in attendance.

For more information on the Greenmarket’s Youth Education Project, please visit their website.