American author Thomas Wolfe suggests, wistfully, that you can never go home again. He says that the experiences that serve as brick and mortar to our memories are sometimes best to leave in the past.
Think then about the faces and lives in a restaurant kitchen. About a chef who came alive to the food world through endless prep work, marathon doubles, and an avalanche of brunch rushes. Consider that those repetitive acts led to jobs in esteemed restaurants across the country, appearances in national cooking shows, ownership of a restaurant empire across California, as well as accolades too numerous to count.
Dakota Weiss and Her Grilled Asaparagus with Hatch Green Chile Ricotta
Think about Dakota Weiss, executive chef at Coyote Café, the storied Santa Fe restaurant where she then staged after culinary school and now leads through its latest iteration of Southwestern cuisine. Just this once, Thomas Wolfe may have it wrong. She is home again––with fresh, imaginative and palate-tingling results.
Because Dakota’s signature voice brings worldly nuance to our local food scene, we asked her to choose local ingredients and present us with three recipes. On one recent early morning, we watched her in the calm and quiet of Coyote’s kitchen as she brought these ingredients to life in ways that are as grounded in memories as they are alive as well as relevant in the present. Hence, her recipe for Grilled Asparagus with Hatch Green Chile Ricotta.
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Grilled Asparagus with Hatch Green Chile Ricotta
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Vegetables don’t have to be served in a boring way!
Ingredients
For the grilled asparagus:
- 1 bunch extra-large asparagus
- Pinch sea salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 tbsp EVOO
For the hatch green chile ricotta cheese:
- 1 gallon whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp distilled vinegar
- 2 cups hatch green chile, roasted, peeled, and diced½ tbsp kosher salt
For the truffled mustard vinaigrette:
- 2 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup EVOO
- ½ cup white truffle oil
- Kosher salt to taste
For the brioche croutons:
- 1 cup brioche, cut into micro-small dices
- ¼ cup EVOO
- Kosher salt to taste
For the salad:
- 2 red endives
- 2 yellow endives
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the grilled asparagus:
- Cut the bottoms of the asparagus to get rid of the woody stems.
- Toss the asparagus with the salt, pepper, and olive oil
- Grill on high heat until lightly charred. The asparagus should still be crunchy.
For the hatch green chile ricotta cheese:
- Add the milk and cream into a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and vinegar.
- Stir a few times until you see the milk start to curdle.
- Slowly pour the contents of the pot into a bowl that is lined with cheesecloth.
- Let the whey completely drain out of the curds.
- Gently scrape the curds off the cheesecloth and put into a bowl.
- Chop the green chile finely and stir into the curds. Season the cheese with salt to taste.
For the truffled mustard vinaigrette:
- Using a hand blender, add the shallots, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and rice vinegar into a large jar and mix well.
- Slowly add the two oils to emulsify and then season with salt.
For the brioche croutons:
- Sauté the brioche in the oil until golden brown and season with salt.
- Pour onto a sheet tray lined with paper towels to soak up extra oil.
Building the plate:
- Toss the endives with the truffled vinaigrette, chives, salt, and pepper.
- Pipe the Hatch Green Chile Ricotta Cheese into a long rectangular shape.
- Carefully place the endive, alternating the red and yellow, into the ricotta at an angle.
- Place about 5 grilled asparagus lying next to the endive.
- Sprinkle the croutons all over.
- Drizzle a little of the truffled vinaigrette over the whole dish.
Recipe by Chef Dakota Weiss
Story by Gabe Gomez
Styling by Keith Recker
Photography Gabriella Marks
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