Garden to Table Excellence at 1906

It’s an exceptionally exciting time for us here at 1906. With our incredible new dining experience now open, we can share with you not only our beautiful new dining room, bar, and lounge, but also our new, imaginative menus that celebrate fresh, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients—many of which have been grown just steps away. One of the keys to our unparalleled dining experience is the strong partnership between our chefs and Longwood’s Ornamental Kitchen Garden horticulturists. Through this close connection, we’ve created a strong, and delicious, connection between garden and plate. From taking weekly garden walks together to see what’s growing, receiving garden-grown produce twice per week, and then holding weekly restaurant gatherings during which our chefs present to the horticulturists what we’ve created with the ingredients they’ve so expertly grown and harvested, we take pride in this beautiful partnership. Now, with 1906 open, we get to share those creations with you. Read on for a few of the many spectacular selections we’ve put together using seasonal Ornamental Kitchen Garden goodies—some of which we’re serving in 1906 right now!

As a chef, my focus is on sustainability and local foods. After serving as a 1906 line cook for six years, I took some time to start and manage my own homestead, complete with my own orchard, kitchen garden, and raising my own chickens and sheep. I returned to the 1906 team last year as a chef. Bolstered by my time on my homestead and all I learned, and with my interest in living history—and food’s historical influences—my background, my interests, and my passions are a perfect blend for being a part of the 1906 kitchen. In the year leading up to the opening, I’ve been immersed in how best to showcase the ingredients grown here in our Gardens; lately, we’ve been focused on creating bounty-preserving selections so that we can long prepare and appreciate what our horticulturists have grown.

Spicy Honey Bread and Butter Pickles

One such selection is our spicy honey bread and butter pickles, which you’ll find as a garnish served with the Green Circle Fried Chicken on the 1906 Bar & Lounge menu—and which features cucamelons and chili flakes grown in the Ornamental Kitchen Garden. I’m so pleased to share that recipe with you.

Ingredients 

• 3 pounds cucamelons
• 1 pound white onion
• 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons whole mustard seed
• 1 tablespoon celery seed
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cups apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Yield: About 3 pints 

Preparation

Clean and halve cucamelons. Peel onion, then quarter and julienne into short strips. In a non-reactive container, toss cucamelons and onions with salt. Cover and let stand overnight.

The next day, rinse well in cold water to remove excess salt. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and crushed red pepper to cucamelons. In a non-reactive pot, heat the vinegar, honey, and turmeric to boiling.

Pour the boiling brine over the cucamelon mixture, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cool in refrigerator before covering for storage. This will store well for one to two months in the refrigerator. 

Susanna’s Ketchup

Why settle for store-bought ketchup when you can make your own? This ketchup, which features a variety of tomatoes grown in our Gardens, can be enjoyed as part of the cocktail sauce in 1906’s shared seafood tower. 

Ingredients

• 4 quarts of tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice, whole
• 1 teaspoon clove, whole
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed, whole
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 1/2 cup white vinegar

Yield: About 5 pints

Preparation

Wash, core, and rough chop your tomatoes. In a non-reactive pot over high heat, cook until soft. Pass through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. Return to pot, reduce heat to medium, and reduce tomatoes by about one-half.

Make a sachet with the whole spices and add to sauce. Add remaining ingredients and continue to cook down until mixture is thick, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. When it’s reached the consistency you’d like, check seasonings and adjust if needed to taste.

When taste is to your liking, discard the spice sachet and pour ketchup into jars for storage in the refrigerator. This stores well for two to three months in the refrigerator. 

Herbed Salt

An excellent way to preserve the fresh flavor of your summer garden herbs is this scrumptious herbed salt, perfectly and easily used throughout the winter and spring in stocks, soups, roasts, dips, and more. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups kosher salt
• 1 cup parsley, fresh
• 1 cup sage, fresh
• 1/2 cup rosemary, fresh
• 1/2 cup thyme, fresh
• 2 cloves garlic

Yield: About 4 cups

Preparation

Wash herbs and shake off excess water. Remove stems and discard. Add all ingredients to food processor and blend until mixture is fine and bright green.

You can store this fresh salt in a jar in your refrigerator for months, or you can spread onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and dry either on the counter, in a low oven, or in a dehydrator and store in your cupboard in a tightly closed jar. It’s best to use the salt within a year of making it, as its flavor will diminish over time. 

Welsh Tea Cakes

One more recipe that’s near and dear to my heart is my Welsh tea cakes. While you won’t find them at 1906, you can make them at home! 

This recipe means a lot to me. Earlier this year, I was selected for Restaurant Associates’ APT (Aptitude, Potential, Training) program, a six-week endeavor designed for high-potential women in the culinary field and in preparation for management roles. Through this fantastic program, I took part in hands-on and online training in leadership development, menu creation, and more, all designed to provide program participants with culinary knowledge and career advancement opportunities. As part of the experience, I prepared a tasting menu for Restaurant Associates’ senior management in Boston—and this dessert was part of it. 

For the tasting menu, we were each asked to pick a personal theme that would weave all our dishes for the tasting into a cohesive story. I choose the theme of historical influences in my life and these cakes pay honor to my mother’s coal mining community heritage and my son’s Welsh heritage through his father’s side who introduced me to the Welsh community sings called ‘Cymanfa Ganu’. We went twice a year, and after the singing was finished, they would serve tea where these delightful tea cakes were always the featured item, piled high on heaping platters and filling the room with their spicy aroma. Tradition has it that these were taken by the Welsh miners down into the mines for their mid-day snacks. The high fat content makes them deeply satisfying and the sweetness and unctuous texture is irresistible.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mace, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 2 ounces lard, chilled
• 2 ounces butter, chilled
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup currants, dried
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• Sugar for dusting

Yield: About 16 2.5-inch-diameter cakes

Preparation

Castor sugar is crucial for this quick-cooking treat. If you don’t have any, you can easily pulse regular sugar in your blender until very fine. Please do not use confectioners’ sugar as it will not work properly.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add lard and work through until combined; this will help coat the flour and slow the gluten action, keeping your cake tender. Grate the chilled butter into the flour and lard mixture. Toss until butter shavings are spread throughout. Add currants and toss well.

Whip the egg separately and then work into the flour mixture, adding milk as needed to help the dough come together. It should not be sticky. Wrap well and chill 30 minutes or longer.

When ready to make, roll out dough to about one-quarter-inch thickness and cut out rounds. In a heated, thick-bottomed skillet with no grease, cook over medium-low heat on each side about 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Check the center of the first one and see if the heat needs lowered to cook through without over-browning.

Remove from skillet and quickly dredge in sugar before cooling on a rack. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, some jam and butter, or simply as they are—fresh and fragrant from the skillet. 

Editor’s note: Download a print-ready PDF of these recipes here … and enjoy more garden-to-table excellence at 1906! While reservations are filling quickly through A Longwood Christmas, you can make reservations through March.