Nature provides fleeting moments in spring.
Cherry blossom and magnolia trees put on a brief but memorable show, daffodils and grape hyacinth vibrantly pop out of the ground, and forsythia beckons to be cut and brought inside to brighten the home. Blink, and they are gone.
The same goes for a handful of seasonal ingredients, which Taylor Knapp, founder of the Cutchogue snail farm Peconic Escargot and chef at the pop-up multi-course dinner series PawPaw, embraces. Currently being held at The Lin Beach House (455 Route 25 in Greenport), the community-driven, hyper-local ingredient dining experience is celebrating its 10th year.
“The whole idea of PawPaw and where the name comes from is that these ingredients are just available for a blip in time at some moments,” explains Knapp, “and that’s kind of what PawPaw is all about.”
For those not familiar with or have even tasted the greenish-blackish fruit from the North American native pawpaw tree with deciduous forest origins, you’re not alone. If you want to taste them, one option is to grow or forage. “I have a long history of using this ingredient from back home in Indiana when I used to forage with my grandfather in the woods,” recounts Knapp. “When these things fall from the tree, like a regular banana, they have this very short window of ripeness, and it’s sometimes just a couple of days, which is why you can’t put these things on store shelves.”
Left, chef Taylor Knapp is also the founder of Peconic Escargot in Cutchogue. Right, PawPaw holds a pop-up restaurant inside the Lin Beach House in Greenport. (Photos by Doug Young)
With that in mind, Knapp bases his constantly changing menus on what local farmers have precisely at the moment, reaching out to his sources the week of the dinner to see what is available. “They’ve kind of been the backbone of what makes the dinners possible,” he explains. “The menu can end up being very experimental sometimes, and guests experience dishes that they’re never going to see again.”
While this template may appear challenging, Knapp is well aware of the opportunities in working with these fleeting ingredients, as well as the evolution of the pop-up format over the years to balance the desire for elaborate tasting menus with the need for more streamlined, accessible dining experiences. “In a four-night-a-week, 200-person seating restaurant setting, it would never work because these farms sometimes can’t supply enough,” says Knapp. “If I can get 10 pounds of lamb shoulder from 8 Hands Farm, that’s all they’ve got for the week.”
At a recent six-course dinner, Knapp’s menu showcased three unusual ingredients: foraged ramps (wild leeks), with their oniony, garlicky bite, tart sumac, a common Middle Eastern spice, and local razor clams that complemented each other in taste and aesthetics. Prepared as a crudo, the clam’s meat remains incredibly tender, artfully arranged back into the switch-blade-shaped shell. “They’ve got this creaminess to them when they’re raw,” says Knapp, “it’s really kind of surprising.”
Preparing razor clams is not as easy as steaming open little necks. “You have to cut away that internal viscera,” explains Knapp, so it’s a little more fabrication.” And while Knapp sourced the razor clams from Southold Fish Market, finding local, wild ramps for the kimchi may prove difficult. “You want to be careful to source sustainably harvested ramps,” cautions Knapp, who sourced them from foraged.com, an online marketplace for all things foraged. (Farm & Forage, located at 36 Hampton Road in Southampton, helmed by local farmer and — you guessed it — forager Jonny Bernard, usually has ’em!)
Easy-to-find ingredients are always an option for the home cook looking to experiment with this flavor profile. (South Forkers can find jarred ramps and house-made kimchi at L&W Market, located at 2493 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, 631-537-1123.)
“The combination of raw shellfish, sumac, and even store-bought kimchi would be something that people could enjoy,” insists the seasoned chef, “stripping it down to those three ingredients is a straightforward way to get a nice, springy appetizer.”
PawPaw pop-up series continues at The Lin Beach House in Greenport, with the next dinner on May 10. Make your reservation here.
Razor clam crudo with sumac and ramp kimchi
Ingredients
- 1 lb ramps (sustainably sourced — just the tops are ideal)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 5 tbsp chili flakes
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 12 fresh, live razor clams
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- sea salt, to taste
Directions
To make ramp kimchi
- Start by fermenting the ramp kimchi. Feel free to use a mix of ramp bulbs, tops, and even a little sliced cabbage for crunch and texture variation. The most important thing is the ratio of vegetable matter to salt. Make sure you have a pound of vegetable in total.
- In a food processor, combine salt, sugar and garlic – blend to form a paste. Add in chili flakes and fish sauce and blend to combine.
- Mix the ramps and kimchi paste until all the leaves are evenly coated. Pack the ramp mixture into a fermentation jar – add weight and water lock. Allow to ferment for 3 days at room temperature. Transfer the finished kimchi to a food safe container and refrigerate.
- To complete the dish, rinse the razor clams under cold running water to remove any sand or grit.
To make crudo
- Rinse the razor clams under cold running water to remove any sand or grit.
- Using a thin butter knife, or offset pallet knife, slice the blade along the open side of the clam, cutting the muscle and allowing the clam to open. Using the knife, or a small spoon, scrape the entire clam onto a cutting board.
- Remove the viscera from the clam and set aside – these can be rinsed well and used for a sauce if you want. Gently scrape any remaining viscera from where it connected to the foot of the clam. Put the cleaned clam into an ice bath to chill and repeat with remaining clams.
- Remove the clams from the ice bath and gently pat dry with a clean paper towel. Slice them into 1/4-inch slices.
- Add the clams to a small mixing bowl and dress with olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and sumac. Mix well and taste. Adjust lemon juice and salt if necessary.
- Arrange the clams in a chilled shallow dish (or the cleaned empty clam shells). Top with a few pieces of ramp kimchi. Enjoy as is, or serve with tortilla or plantain chips.
