This year marks Mark Kiffin’s 25th anniversary as owner of The Compound Restaurant. Throughout those two-and-a-half decades, the mission has remained constant: to serve the kind of classically inspired, high-end cooking you’d find in New York, Paris, or London but without the fuss, and in a
sophisticated yet relaxed setting. For Executive Chef Weston Ludeke, it’s about sourcing the very best ingredients, adding a touch of nostalgia, as well as always making you feel at home.
Fall Comfort Fare from The Compound Restaurant
Apple Cider Risotto
A humble goulash or hearty winter stew is the starting point for this risotto of Carnaroli rice – with its firm texture, high starch content, and long grain—lardons, roasted butternut squash, and then an apple cider reduction to finish it off. “You can take the idea of goulash and savvy it up into a risotto. It doesn’t necessarily need to be beef – it can be smoky pork, it can be butternut squash, it can be maple and cider and all of those things that sit on the stove all day long,” comments Ludeke. This is comfort food at its most comforting.
Grilled Bone-In Veal Chop for Two
It’s all about bounty with this grilled veal chop for two. And while the veal
might be the star, the sides aren’t slouches either, from the vibrant fall ratatouille to the playful baked chilaquiles with chimichurri for a hit of freshness and a veal demi-glace for richness. It’s like a classic steakhouse but with everything working in harmony, Ludeke says. “By focusing on the sides just as much as we do the sauces and the protein itself, it’s that same idea except you have the confidence that everything is going to be great together.”
Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad
For Chef Ludeke, the better the ingredients, the simpler a dish can be, like this winter salad that showcases seasonal stalwarts kale and Brussels sprouts, with Honeycrisp apples, Medjool dates, crumbled goat cheese, toasted pecans, and a zingy lemon vinaigrette. “If you put a lot of effort into sourcing your products, you don’t need to take so much effort in changing those products,” he says. “You can let them be themselves, let them speak for themselves.”
Pappardelle ai Funghi
This homage to mushrooms was inspired by one of the ultimate winter comfort foods: beef stroganoff. “It’s beef stroganoff but it’s vegetarian and it’s everything you want, from egg noodles by way of fresh pappardelle, which gives you a little more length, a little more softness, a little more chewiness,” Chef Ludeke says. “And you know what? You feel like you’re on the Amalfi Coast, except you’re warm because you’ve got Dijon mustard, and cognac, and Worcestershire and heavy, heavy DOP parmesan coming through the sauce notes.”
Story by Julia Platt Leonard
Photos by Tira Howard
Food by Executive Chef Weston Ludeke, The Compound
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.
