Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/648009
W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 | 8 1 Merrill Shindler: It's a wonderful sounding dish—Anson Mills bianco perla polenta, a mélange of roasted mushrooms, red pearl onions, a coddled egg and Burgundy truffles. It sits at the bottom of the mains, right after the Long Island duck chicarron. What's it doing there? Samuel Kim: I am not a chef who cooks without meat. But I had to come up with a vegetarian main course for those who ask. And it was very difficult, especially since our menu changes depending on what purveyors say is available. This dish changes, especially the mushrooms. It really is based on foraging. MS: Is there that much of a need for a vegetarian main course? SK: Absolutely. In many restaurants, the vegetar- ian dish is an afterthought, a hodgepodge of what- ever vegetables are sitting around. Vegetarians should not be treated like that. I came up with a squash gateau, which was like a pie with a lattice of green and yellow summer squash. And then, the seasons changed, and Forager's Bounty was born. MS: Traditionally, foragers gather what's on the ground. Your sources are a bit more. . . elegant? SK: It's the way [handmade mill goods producer] Anson Mills was born, foraging for ancient grains that died out after the Civil War. They went into the wild, searching them out. Some of the grains, like the bianco perla—white corn—are very difficult to grow, and more expensive. But they have a completely different flavor, a wonderful flavor. They're cold-ground, not hot-ground. Foraging brought them back. MS: And the mushrooms, of course, are dependent on foragers. SK: It's a fine art—and it can get a little spotty. Right now, the mélange includes chanterelles, porcinis, matsutakes, maitakes, fried chicken mushrooms, chicken of the woods mushrooms, lobster mushrooms, black trumpet mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms. Our main forager is in the Pacific Northwest. The woods there are full of mushrooms. I get accused of using too many mushrooms. But I love them. MS: And how has the dish been received? SK: The biggest compliment is when a non- vegetarian orders, perhaps as an appetizer. MS: And what wine goes best with a meal of foraged vegetables? SK: I'd say a red with character, with a good amount of terroir, and from the same region as the ingredients. As the saying goes, "If it grows together . . . it pairs well together." Chef Samuel Kim's vegetarian dish, Forager's Bounty, at 1789 Restaurant in Washington, D.C. ■cr