I headed to Kiddo in Center City, where veggies are the star of the show.
We're making a stunning summer salad with some of the season's most glorious produce.
"I would call our cuisine vegetable forward," says Chef and Owner Wyatt Piazza, "Although we do have two meat options on the menu for those that would like it."
Piazza opened Kiddo on the corner of 11th and Pine Streets back in October.
The salad starts with a stunning lettuce base.
"This is gem lettuce," he says. "It's a variety of lettuce with very small, compact heads. This salad is also going to have some fresh herbs, pickled green garlic, red radishes, toasted pumpkin seeds, and it's going to be tossed in a black raspberry vinaigrette."
For the vinaigrette, Piazza uses muddled berries that are left over from a drink Kiddo serves at the bar.
"This is something that would typically be waste," he says. "But, we take it and we make a vinaigrette out of it in order to reuse it and try to keep the waste down."
At home, you can use fresh or frozen blackberries, and add Dijon mustard, shallots and garlic to your food processor.
"Instead of sugar or honey, we also use Pennsylvania maple," Piazza says. "And the most important ingredients, which are going to be salt and pepper."
Now, blend, slowly adding extra virgin olive oil.
"If you rush this process, the sauce won't bind," Piazza says.
Before you serve it, strain the vinaigrette, to remove any blackberry seeds.
The next ingredient is green garlic.
"It's young garlic, before the bulbs are mature, so it's very potent," Piazza says.
Piazza pickles it, to take the edge off. To make the pickle brine he adds sugar, salt, white wine vinegar, and white wine to a small pot and brings that to a boil.
"You just want to cook it for a little bit, about a minute or two, and then you just pour it right over the green garlic," he says.
Let it cool, then refrigerate.
Now, it's time to build the salad.
The gem lettuce goes down first, then some arugula, and an herb mixture.
"We have bronze fennel, garlic chives, and parsley leaves," Piazza says.
Next, add your pickled green garlic, and some freshly sliced radish. Piazza also toasts some pumpkin seeds to add a crunch factor.
Drizzle on the vinaigrette and serve the salad on a cold plate. Piazza says that's the trick to keeping it all fresh and crisp - it elevates the dining experience.
Keeping Mother Earth in mind with every dish
Piazza says he's always been drawn to the kitchen.
"Ever since I was a little kid, I just liked cooking," he says.
Wyatt's wife, Elizabeth, works in the sustainability field.
Every decision they make at the restaurant has Mother Earth in mind.
"I think one of the reasons that I like to do this is because I think a chef should be more like a steward of the environment," Piazza says.
The name Kiddo was inspired by a kid he once met at a farm.
"The kid ran off to the tomato vines and grabbed a huge tomato right off the vine and just sunk his face like right into it," Piazza says. "I loved the look on his face and the experience he was having, because that's how I feel about food: genuinely excited."
And at Kiddo, nothing goes to waste.
"You can always, if you're creative, find a way to reuse stuff," he says.
Right now, Piazza is working with a local farm to raise his own guinea hens.
"We're partnering with a farmer who's going to be raising a flock of 300 of them for us," he says.
The materials they chose to build the space are all sustainable.
Summer Salad with Gem Lettuce Recipe from Kiddo:
Gem salad ingredients:
- 1 head Gem lettuce
- 1/4 cup Arugula
- 1 tablespoon bronze fennel
- 1 tablespoon chives
- 1 tablespoon Parsley leaves
- 1 thinly sliced small radish
- 1 tablespoon pickled green garlic (see ingredients list below)
- toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon black raspberry vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Pickled green garlic ingredients:
- 3 stalks green garlic
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup white wine
Pickled green garlic instructions:
1. Slice green garlic thinly with a knife and soak in water for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
2. Combine sugar, salt, vinegar, and wine in a sauce pot and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Take the green garlic out of the water and place in a metal container. Be cautious of sand in the bottom of the water
4. Pour hot pickling liquid over green garlic and allow to cool
Black raspberry vinaigrette ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons black raspberries (or fresh/frozen blackberries)
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon minced shallot
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Black raspberry vinaigrette instructions:
1. Blend the berries, maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, shallots and garlic on high until the mixture is smooth
2. Change the blender to low speed and slowly pour the oil into the blender, creating an emulsion
3. Strain through a thin mesh strainer and season with salt and pepper to taste