By Pat Tanner, Special Writer
On Sunday, Sept. 21, the 35 sprawling, stunningly beautiful acres of Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton will be the setting for the eighth annual culinary extravaganza called Epicurean Palette. What keeps me and hundreds like me returning each year beyond reveling in the beautiful setting and sampling a wide selection of impressive wines (not to mention Rogue beers) is the vibrant mix of 20-plus of the area’s finest restaurants, food artisans, and high-end caterers.
Each year sees the return of favorites like Hopewell’s Brothers Moon and Blue Bottle Café; Cranbury’s Hannah & Masons; Princeton’s Mediterra, Main Street, Bent Spoon, and Chez Alice, and acclaimed restaurants from around the state, including the Pluckemin Inn and Piccola Italia of Ocean.
What keeps the Palette fresh is the addition of new vendors to the roster. Guests this year will enjoy for the first time: oysters from Princeton’s Blue Point Grill; handcrafted, raw milk cheeses of Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrence, and crispy whole fish courtesy of Szechuan House in Hamilton, as well as similarly appealing offerings from One 53 in Rocky Hill, The Metuchen Inn, and the Palace of Asia’s four locations. (For the full restaurant lineup, visit www.epicureanpalette.org.)
The recipes below represent the fare of two of this year’s participants. Peter Nowakoski, executive chef at Rat’s restaurant and host of the event, shares a typically precise, thoughtful, pristine and trendy recipe for crudo the Italian take on raw/cured fish. A flavor-amped, seasonal grilled Caesar salad embodies the breezy bistro style that keeps Restaurant One 53 a local favorite.
Epicurean Palette takes place Sept. 21 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Grounds for Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Rd., Hamilton. Tickets are $109 per person. Advance tickets are necessary and may be purchased online at www.epicureanpalette.org or by calling 609-584-7760.
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
Restaurant One 53
For the dressing:
1½ cups olive oil
½ cup other vegetable oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
12 anchovy fillets
2 ounces (¼ cup) lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper, or to taste
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 egg yolk (you can use liquid pasteurized eggs if you wish)
Hearts of romaine lettuce (one heart per two servings)
Olive oil for brushing
Salt and pepper, to taste
Croutons, preferably homemade
Shaved Pecorino Romano for garnish
1. Make the dressing: In a food processor place the egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, anchovies, mustard and garlic and pulse until blended well and looking like a paste. With the motor running, add the oils in a slow stream until the mixture resembles mayonnaise. Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in the grated Pecorino Romano and black pepper.
2. Make the salad: Cut the romaine hearts lengthwise into halves or, if large, quarters; brush the cut side(s) with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a hot grill and grill for 3 to 5 minutes, until marked. Place grilled heads on individual plates, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with croutons and shaved Pecorino Romano.
FLUKE CRUDO
ON BEEFSTEAK LEAVES
WITH PICKLED APPLES AND ONIONS
Peter Nowakoski, Rat’s Restaurant
Note: This recipe makes more pickling liquid than a home cook will likely use, but the amounts can be scaled down proportionally.
For the pickling liquid:
1 quart cider vinegar
2 quarts water
4 cups sugar
¼ cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon each coriander seed, allspice, and mustard seed
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons red pepper flake (optional)
12 firm, tart apples (Granny Smith are the most common, but Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Calville Blancs, or other varieties might even be better suited)
4 medium red onions
Freshly caught fluke, i.e. dayboat or fished yourself – gutted, skinned, and filleted
*Fresh beefsteak leaves (see note)
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Fleur du sel or Maldon salt
Freshly cracked mixed peppercorns
1. Make the pickling liquid: bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices to a rolling boil in a generous saucepan. While you are waiting for the mix to boil, peel and slice the red onion into crescents. You may peel the apples if you like, but the skin does add color to the final dish. In any event, dice the apples into 1/4-inch dice and put them into a container large enough to hold all the ingredients. When the pickling mix comes to a boil, add the onions and let them cook for a brief minute or two, then pour the mixture over the apples. Check for flavor: You may prefer more salt, vinegar, or sugar. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. The mixture can be stored for a week or more in the refrigerator.
2. Rinse the fluke briefly in cold water and blot dry. (If preparing in advance, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and hold either in ice or in the coldest part of the refrigerator.) Wash the beefsteak leaves and spin or blot them dry.
3. Assemble the crudo: Lay 1 or 2 beefsteak leaves out at a jaunty angle. Using a long, thin-bladed, very sharp knife, slice the fluke into translucent sheets on a slight bias with the knife at a 20-degree angle. Lay 3 to 5 slices of fluke (or more, depending on your appetite and whether the dish is a stand-alone appetizer) in an overlapping pattern on top of the leaves. Drain a few crescents of onion and a spoonful of apples from their liquid and scatter them on top of the fish. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Garnish, if desired, with micro greens (mustard or wasabi is nice) or a julienne of radishes. Serve immediately.
*Note: Beefsteak plant goes by several names perilla, obi, shiso and is a member of the same family as mint and basil, with a similarly aromatic flavor reminiscent of coriander and cumin. If you can’t find it but enjoy the flavor, it grows like a weed around here so much so that you should plant it in containers, like mint. Trust me. Peter Nowakoski.

