|
|
|
It's a Small World After
All...
For Vegetables and Tools in Chris Parsons' Kitchen
For the warmer months, Chris Parsons is putting away the meat cleaver, mallet,
and cast iron skillet and picking up tweezers, small size melon-baller, and
mandolin in the kitchens of
Catch at The Terrace
on Martha's Vineyard
and Catch
in Winchester, Massachusetts, where his down-sized ingredients of Baby
Bananas, Baby Chioggia Beets, and Japanese Brown Beech Mushrooms
to Kumquats, Champagne Grapes, and Quail Eggs are the next BIG
trend but customary at
Catch at the Terrace
and Catch.
Ingredients show up in baby, petite, dwarf, and miniature varieties. Swedish
Peanut Fingerling Potatoes, tiny Heirloom Chickpeas, Petite
Gnocchi and Lobster Agnolotti add color, flavor, and texture to
Mediterranean-inspired plates without weighing the diner down. To keep that
small thought going, Potato Pearls (shaped with a mini-melon-baller) give that
added dainty, delicate, and light appeal to a dish.
Seafood-on-the-small-side, like Taylor Bay Scallops, Sweet Maine Shrimp,
and Rouget (red mullet) may be tidbit size, but they produce
delicious taste explosions on the tongue. The
satisfying crunch of tiny Breakfast Radishes and fragrance of
leaves hand-picked from herbs and Celery Hearts tossed in a salad and
presented in a tight package on the plate is a “little” indication that just
because something is small doesn’t mean it’s not big on flavor.
|