Edible Blue Ridge Spring 2013 : Page 8

What’s going on in the Central Virginia food scene. edible NOTES ROASTED TROUT WITH LEMON, THYME, AND ROSEMARY Ask your fi shmonger to gut and clean the fi sh for you. Serves 4 4 whole trout, rinsed and patted dry 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 bunch thyme 1 bunch rosemary 2 lemons, sliced into rounds 1 tsp. coarse salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground pepper Preheat oven to 450°F. Rub fi sh all over with olive oil, including in the cavity, and place on a baking sheet. Finely chop half of the thyme leaves and half of the rosemary leaves (no twigs), and sprinkle all over fish. Place two slices lemon inside each fish, plus 2 slices on top. Divide remaining herbs among fi sh, tucking them inside the cavity. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, until skin is crispy and pulls away easily from fl esh. RECIPE of the SEASON PHOTO BY NATALIE ERMANN RUSSELL

Edible Notes

What's going on in the Central Virginia food scene. BARBECUE AIRSTREAM "There's no short-cut to great barbecue," says Evan Miller, who opened up his True Q mobile barbecue joint in a converted 1961 Airstream trailer in Lynchburg just last year. Miller offers a variety of meats – beef, pork, salmon – but the most popular is the pork shoulder, which he coats in a Memphis-style dry rub and then slow-roasts for about 10 hours over hickory. It's finished with a tangy, smoky, vinegar-based sauce in the tradition of North Carolina, where he grew up. Miller's slaws and other sides (green and potato salads, grilled asparagus) incorporate ingredients from the organic urban farm and nonprofit Lynchburg Grows, in front of which the silvery True Q trailer sets up shop on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (the rest of the time Miller is focused on catering). The location is no accident. Miller and fiancée Anne Reddy began volunteering at Lynchburg Grows – which reaches out to at-risk youth and people with special needs through its gardening programs – after she suffered a brain injury in a car wreck. "I ended up cooking a lot more," says Miller. "That was when I fell in love with creating great food. And now we're starting to sell out almost every week." Go to trueqbbq.com or find True Q on Facebook for updates on the Airstream's schedule. – Angel Sands Gunn WINE CULTURE When Jim Boyle and Kim Denning, bakers at Charlottesville's BreadWorks, visited their friend and winemaker Gabriele Rausse in autumn of 2000, they had an idea. Why not use the yeast naturally present in the winery's air to make their bread? After all, yeast seems to have an affinity for wineries and vineyards, where it's been known to produce a more robust starter culture. "Because bakers are really scientists, we wanted to see if and how it would work," says Boyle. So they mixed together flour and water in a stainless-steel bowl, and stirred it to a soupy consistency. Then they covered it with cheesecloth, secured with a rubber band, and left it in Rausse's wine fermentation room. After a week, the mixture was bubbling and alive. Boyle and Denning added more flour and water, waited another week, then brought the starter to BreadWorks for continued feeding – and for use still today in the bakery's open-crumb, rectangular ciabatta loaves. "It gives the bread a creaminess in texture, a richness, and a depth of flavor," says Denning. "And when you smell the culture, it smells like wine." breadworks.org BEHOLD THE ROE Everyone has his own favorite harbinger of spring. For several generations of Virginians, it's the sign out front at Anderson's Carriage Food House in Charlottesville announcing that shad roe is in. The largest herring on the East Coast, the female American shad runs up rivers like the James from early March until mid April to spawn. They're caught, and the eggs are harvested as a spring delicacy with a cult-like following. The six-week season is fleeting, but for the devoted shad-roe lover, it's the time to cook up the briny, organ-meat-esque sacs of fish eggs – with a texture akin to grits. "Raw, they look a little bloody, which some people have a problem with," says Anderson's seafood manager John Brown. "But I love shad roe." Brown recommends frying the lobes (intact) using egg wash and a seafood batter, and serving alongside scrambled eggs and coffee. But it can be haute cuisine too: poached or basted in butter with capers, or whipped into mousse. Still, its roots are much more humble, having been a staple among Native Americans and, as legend has it, saving George Washington's troops at Valley Forge from starvation. Prices range from $9 to $13 for a pair of lobes, depending on time of season and demand. PARTY LIKE IT'S 1783 Just because the Lynchburg Community Market is a couple of centuries old doesn't mean it doesn't enjoy a good party. Hence the Old as Dirt 230th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, June 1, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., to honor that major milestone with plenty of special (and tasty) activities. Founded in 1783 as a farmers' market, LCM is the third oldest in the country. It has expanded several times, serving for generations as a convenient source for fresh produce and meat (and maybe some fresh community gossip too). These days, the market hosts two large weekly farmers' markets, plus a permanent collection of craft artisans and food purveyors that include a bakery, a cheese shop, and four locally owned restaurants. In addition to all of the regular merchants and farms who are participating, the anniversary event will feature a re-creation of a historical livestock market, carriage rides, heritage artisans (e.g., a leather worker), and a "memory walk" of stories from community members about how the market has played a part in their families' lives. And since it's a party, after all, expect live music throughout. Maybe the musicians can even lead a crowd sing-along of "Happy Birthday." Look for the Lynchburg Community Market on Facebook. FARM-FRESH COOKING CLASS There's no more gratifying place to learn about cooking with local ingredients than right on the local farms where they are grown. That's why the Happy Cook kitchen store in Charlottesville is teaming up with Brookville chef Harrison Keevil for a series of monthly cooking classes that make "farm to table" a very short journey. "I work with these farms' bounties regularly, and it's important that other people get to see firsthand what goes into raising this wonderful food," says Keevil. The classes typically include a tour of that month's featured farm, followed by an on-site demo in which Keevil discusses the ingredients with participants while preparing a group meal that would feel right at home on Brookville's seasonally driven menu. Bellair Farm, a bucolic spread in Albemarle County, will host the next class in May, and given Bellair's focus on beautiful produce, Keevil expects the fare to be vegetarian – or at least as close to it as the meat-loving chef can manage. The Happy Cook's Farm to Table classes can accommodate 20 to 40 people. To reserve a spot or for more information about the upcoming schedule, contact the Happy Cook at (434) 977-2665. CUISINE OF THE COMMONWEALTH "Virginia is America's first food region, without any doubt," says Patrick Evans-Hylton, whose new cookbook Dishing Up Virginia (April, Storey) captures the food and foodways of each part of the state – from Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley to the Chesapeake Bay region and southern Virginia. "So many dishes from our long history are still alive and well in our hearts, stomachs, and grandmothers' recipe boxes." In addition to sharing 145 modern and traditional Virginia recipes from both chefs and home cooks, Hampton Roads resident Evans-Hylton profiles the movers and shakers in Virginia's food (and drink) world of past and present: Starr Hill brewmaster Mark Thompson, cheese-lebrity Gail Hobbs-Page of Caromont Farm, Luca Paschina of Barboursville Vineyards, Sarah Cohen of Route 11 Potato Chips. Oh, and of course, the First Foodie himself, Thomas Jefferson. "I took care in the book to share not only recipes, but the stories behind the recipes," Evans-Hylton says. "Whether it's how the first country hams were cured, the first peanut crops were used, or why Virginia can claim the birthright of bourbon." Find more of the author's food writing at patrickevanshylton.com. IT'S IN SEASON What's locally available this spring. . . APRIL asparagus • English peas • fiddleheads • greens kale • lettuce • mushrooms • ramps • rhubarb shad roe • spinach • spring onions • sugar snap peas trout • turnips MAY asparagus • beets • carrots • chard • fiddleheads garlic scapes • greens • kale • lettuce • new potatoes radishes • scallions • spinach • spring onions • squash blossoms • peas • strawberries • trout • turnips JUNE (EARLY) asparagus • beets • carrots • chard • cherries cucumbers • garlic • green beans • greens • peas radishes • scallions • spinach • strawberries summer squash • trout • turnips JUNE (LATE) blueberries • cherries • cucumbers • eggplant • garlic green beans • green peppers • plums • raspberries summer squash ROASTED TROUT WITH LEMON, THYME, AND ROSEMARY Ask your fishmonger to gut and clean the fish for you. Serves 4 4 whole trout, rinsed and patted dry 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 bunch thyme 1 bunch rosemary 2 lemons, sliced into rounds 1 tsp. coarse salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground pepper Preheat oven to 450°F. Rub fish all over with olive oil, including in the cavity, and place on a baking sheet. Finely chop half of the thyme leaves and half of the rosemary leaves (no twigs), and sprinkle all over fish. Place two slices lemon inside each fish, plus 2 slices on top. Divide remaining herbs among fish, tucking them inside the cavity. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, until skin is crispy and pulls away easily from flesh.

Roasted Trout with Thyme, Rosemary and Lemon

Ask your fishmonger to gut and clean the fish for you. Serves 4 4 whole trout, rinsed and patted dry 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 bunch thyme 1 bunch rosemary 2 lemons, sliced into rounds 1 tsp. coarse salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground pepper Preheat oven to 450°F. Rub fish all over with olive oil, including in the cavity, and place on a baking sheet. Finely chop half of the thyme leaves and half of the rosemary leaves (no twigs), and sprinkle all over fish. Place two slices lemon inside each fish, plus 2 slices on top. Divide remaining herbs among fish, tucking them inside the cavity. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, until skin is crispy and pulls away easily from flesh.

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