The Importance of Sourcing Local and Seasonal Cooking

Matzo Ball Soup

In this episode of Chef AF, Pepe chats with Chef Kaytlin Dangaran about her unique path to becoming a Chef, her passion for Italian food and her commitment to using the freshest, local ingredients. 

When asked about her passion for cooking, Dangaran says, “I can't remember a time that I didn't want to cook.” She shares that even when she was very young she loved cooking and actually had the goal of attending culinary school following high school but instead she decided to follow her parent’s advice to attend college where she studied cultural anthropology. She shares that her studies led to her becoming even more passionate about food. She says, “That kind of reinforced my love of food, of how different cultures eat and how food is the central thing that brings people together.” 

Dangaran talks about her time working with a nonprofit in South America, and shares that she continuously felt another calling, the drive to cook, which led to her moving to New York, enrolling into culinary school and finding a mentor. She says, “I went to the French Culinary Institute in New York, and I found this wonderful Chef who taught me everything there was to know about Italian food which is my passion for sure.”

Pepe asks Dangaran how she ended up at Bistro in Sarasota, Florida, and Dangaran shares that after her time in New York she wanted to see different things, and considering she had always been on the East Coast, she decided to check out the West Coast and ended up in San Francisco. She talks about working at a few high end venues and finding an appreciation for fresh produce during her time there. She talks about missing New York and returning there for a short time before moving back home to Florida where she worked at Pérez Art Museum until joining the team at Bistro.

Dangaran talks about her experience working predominantly in Italian restaurants, her love for cooking and the importance of using fresh ingredients. She says, “That's what I love about Italian cooking is the honesty of the ingredients.” She adds, “I didn't realize that as much until I moved to San Francisco and I found that love for produce and ingredients and how important those things are in a dish.”

When asked about her culinary point of view, Dangaran shares that her focus is on staying hyper local and hyper seasonal. “In Sarasota, specifically at Bistro, I've probably had the most local ingredients that I've ever had at any of my restaurants.” She talks about sourcing ingredients like milk and honey locally and the excitement she feels when getting to use new ingredients as the produce changes seasonally. She adds, “I want to make beautiful dishes but I want the ingredients to be in season because nothing's better than when you're in season.”

To hear Dangaran talk more about seasonal ingredients, offering cooking classes and the importance of mentorship, check out this episode of Chef AF “It’s All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Stock

• 4 lb chicken bones

• 3qt water

• ½ lb onion, large dice

• ½ lb carrot, large dice

• ¼ lb celery, large dice

• 2ea bay leaf

• 1tbsp peppercorn whole

• ¼ bu thyme

• ¼ bu parsley

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• ½ lb chicken, cooked & pulled

• 4 oz celery, thin slice bias

• 1 oz celery, hearts only

• ¼ bu thyme, picked

THE SOUP

• 2 qt prepared or purchased chicken stock

• 1 cup matzo meal, Manischewitz Brand (preferred)

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 4ea eggs, whole

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

PREPARATION:

Chicken Stock

• Rinse the chicken bones and place in a large stockpot.

• Add the water to the chicken bones and bring to a boil over low heat.

• Skim the surface of the stock to remove any impurities as the stock cooks.

• Simmer the stock for approximately 4 hours.

• In a small piece cheesecloth, combine the bay leaf, peppercorn, thyme and parsley.

• Add the vegetables and herb sachet in the last hour of cooking

• Strain stock and use right away for soup or cool stock. Stock and be refrigerated or frozen at this point until needed.

• Cooks note: had roasted chicken the night before? Save the bones to use for stock preparation.

THE SOUP

• In a bowl whisk together the eggs and fat.

• In another bowl, combine the matzo meal, baking powder and salt. Add the egg mixture in one addition. Mix with fork until just combine. Don’t overmix.

• Wrap the matzo mix with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

• Bring 1.5 quarts of stock to a boil, scoop matzo ball mix into 1-2” balls and place in stock.

• Cook matzo ball for 30-40 minutes until double in size and cooked through.

• Add remainder stock, celery and thyme and simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes.

• Garnish with celery hearts.