The menu at Bib Gourmand restaurant Olmsted updates regularly, but chef Greg Baxtrom always tries to have something for everyone. The restaurant has been described by some as "if Alinea and Blue Hill at Stone Barns had a casual baby," Baxtrom proudly states.
We recently caught up with Baxtrom to discuss what's been happening at his popular Prospect Heights restaurant while he showed us how to make his fried delicata squash rings. The onion ring-inspired dish is currently available as a snack on the restaurant's menu. The aim was a finger friendly dish that's easily consumable in the restaurant's outdoor garden.
The beer battered delicata squash is deep-fried, coated in a green tomato ketchup and dipped in a fall-inspired furikake made of toasted pepitas, fried sage, nori, wild rice and nutmeg. "We try to use ingredients that people are familiar with—that even the flavor is readily recognizable," says Baxtrom. "This is an onion ring that's served with ketchup, essentially, but we want to exceed people's expectations without really challenging their taste buds."
He wants his guest to eat food that tastes good, an evolution in his way of thinking from cooking more cerebral fare earlier in his career. "Sometimes we get distracted with that kind of stuff."
Watch the full conversation above, and get the recipe for the fried delicata squash rings with green tomato ketchup and fall furikake below.
Fried Delicata Squash Rings
Recipe courtesy of Greg Baxtrom, OlmstedIngredients
Canola oil, for frying
2 delicata squash, cored and sliced into thin rings
1 cup all-purpose flour
Beer batter (recipe below)
Kosher salt, to taste
Green tomato ketchup (recipe below)
Fall furikake (recipe below)
Method
1. Heat the canola oil to 350˚F.
2. Dredge the squash rings in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip the dredged squash rings in the Beer Batter to evenly coat. Fry the squash for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through, so that it is golden brown on each side. Remove from the fryer and sprinkle with some salt. Let cool for 2 minutes.
3. Pipe some of the Green Tomato Ketchup onto one side of each ring. Dip the squash ring in the Fall Furikake so it adheres to the ketchup. Serve.
Beer Batter
Ingredients
8 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups cornstarch
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
3 eggs
5 ½ cups sparkling water
4 cups lager beer
Directions
Whisk all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl to combine. Whisk in the eggs, sparkling water, and beer.
Green Tomato Ketchup
Ingredients
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup distilled vinegar
¼ cup glucose
⅛ pound shallots, sliced
1 ½ allspice berries, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 pounds green tomatoes, puréed in a food processor
Kosher salt, to taste
Method
Make a gastrique with the sugar, vinegar, glucose, shallots, allspice and garlic. Add the green tomatoes and some salt. Cook to desired consistency, blend until smooth with a blender, and pass through a strainer.
Fall Furikake
Ingredients
1 cup wild rice
Kosher salt, to taste
3 cups pepitas
One 1-ounce pack nori, cut into small pieces
2 bunches sage leaves
1 piece nutmeg
Method
1. Fry the wild rice at 375˚F until puffed; drain on towels and season with salt.
2. Lightly oil the pepitas and toast pepitas in a 350˚F oven until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Add the toasted pepitas and puffed wild rice to a food processor and briefly pulse. Add the nori and continue pulsing until a relatively fine texture is achieved.
4. Fry the sage leaves at 300˚F until crisp; drain well and crumble into the pepita-rice-nori mixture. Grate in the nutmeg and adjust seasoning to taste.
Photo courtesy of Olmsted.
