That, says Abra Berens in her new cookbook, is the single best question you can ask a farmers market vendor—or a restaurant server, or even a grocery store stockist—and is your surest path to a delicious discovery. These people are skilled workers with the most intimate and recent knowledge of your food, she explains: “Put yourself in our capable, dirt-nailed hands.”
Championing the country’s farmers and food workers, and their hard labor hidden behind our plates—this lies at the heart of Berens’s work. As the chef at Granor Farm, a certified organic farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, she hosts limited private dinners with produce harvested the same day. As a cookbook author, she brings her knowledge to home cooks; her third and most recent book is “Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking With Fruit.”
Berens's new cookbook highlights the versatility of fruit. (EE Berger)
Here, she talks about her culinary background, how she stays focused, and what she’s been cooking lately.
The Epoch Times: You did a brief stint as a farmer. What was your biggest takeaway?
Mrs. Berens: Just how much work goes into food production. I didn’t know that it takes nine months to grow a head of garlic. Garlic! Something I use every day takes as long to grow as a baby!
The Epoch Times: Tell us about your path to cooking professionally.
Mrs. Berens: It started at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor. I always loved cooking, but that was the first time I saw it in a professional kitchen. I went to culinary school on a bit of a whim because I wanted to learn more about food in hopes of writing about it someday; then I realized that I wanted it to be central to my day-to-day. The most pivotal moment came when I realized that, as a farm kid, I could use food to help connect people to agriculture. That gave me a lot of focus and kept me from chasing shiny pennies.
The Epoch Times: What is your cooking mantra?
Ginger-poached apricots pair unexpectedly well with bok choy and chile oil. (EE Berger)
Mrs. Berens: Taste it! How do you know if a fruit is sweet or tart without tasting it? If a berry is perfect, I don’t do very much to it—maybe throw it on some ice cream. If it is less than perfect, I feel encouraged to cook with it or add some other elements of flavor.
The Epoch Times: What spring produce are you most excited about?
Mrs. Berens: I love rhubarb so much. I’ve been poaching it and serving it savory with pork chops or grilled salmon, or in a spinach salad. It also makes a great filling for a cream puff or topping for ice cream.
Rhubarb, a spring favorite, shines in an easy upside-down cake. (EE Berger)
The Epoch Times: What cooking technique have you been loving?
Mrs. Berens: I’ve been pickling fruit a lot. When pickling berries, I make what is technically a gastrique—a dark caramel deglazed with vinegar—and then pour that liquid over the berries. It adds sweetness and acidity and makes for a perfect component to savory items like richer meats or cheeses.
The Epoch Times: What has been inspiring you lately?
Mrs. Berens: Woods walks. I’ve been inspired seeing all the new plants popping up—ramps, ferns, flowers—but it also gives me time to clear my head and allow ideas for new dishes to flow freely.
A beet and strawberry carpaccio with candied fennel seeds flexes Berens's cheffy pedigree. (EE Berger)
I’ve also been finding a lot of inspiration in classic dishes and thinking about how to update them. Last night, we made a play on chicken vesuvio for dinner. Instead of searing the chicken, I poached it in the liquid that cooks the potatoes, and finished it with a dill-lemon-chile flake oil that was super delicious.
The Epoch Times: What do people not know or understand about your work?
Mrs. Berens: That we truly are cooking from the farm. There are so many “farm-to-table” places that most folks think the farm is for show, but it isn’t. We couldn’t create these dishes without the hard work of our farming colleagues.
Abra Berens, cookbook author and chef at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Mich. (EE Berger)
Meet the Chef
Age: 41
Born in: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Lives in: Galien, Mich.
Comfort Food: Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Drink of Choice: Black coffee in the morning, dry sherry for cocktail hour.
Favorite Way to Unwind: I have a toddler and he loves to be tickled. His laughter can unwind the fiercest tension.
