Farmer's markets across the country are filling up with summer produce.
Four times a week, just before 8 a.m., chef Manuel González Charles walks five blocks from Society Cafe to the Union Square Greenmarket where he will pick up orders from various vendors and find inspiration for his menu with local, seasonal produce.
"That's one of the things that I find the most fulfilling -- for me going the market and talking to the farmers it's actually one of my moments of zen," he said. "I talk to them to see what's perfect at the moment and what they have coming up, so that way it helps me to plan my menu for the future.
This and most summers, he said, he's captivated by corn and added it to his restaurant's latest rotation, sharing a full recipe with "GMA" below to recreate the dish at home.
"A lot of these items are they're just hitting the market right now," Charles said. "The market is bountiful -- corn as we all know hits its peak in the middle of the summer -- the Dutch runner beans I'm a big fan of and basically those are some of the main items that we're going to try and incorporate into our recipe and to the menu."
Two years after Charles moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico when he was 18 to attend veterinary school in Iowa, his passion for food and hospitality "grew and grew" from hosting parties and cooking for friends so he enrolled in The Institute of Culinary Education in New York. After graduation he worked for acclaimed chefs including Daniel Bolud and Marc Forgione before finding his now role at the helm of Society Cafe.
"I was lucky enough to work for some amazing chefs -- and that was basically where I got my first steps, where I learned a lot of the industry and how it was to work in New York and how much harder and competitive, it is," he said.
Recently, Charles and Cafe Society hosted a dinner to support Stand Up to Cancer -- a cause he said is near and dear to his heart.
"This is something that really touches me because I have lost people to cancer in my family -- to be part of something that could help this cause was incredibly fulfilling and very, very rewarding," he said. "I hope to immerse myself more into these type of events and charities [because] it's worth more than money and its creating more awareness."
After a tumultuous two years, he said this was also the "first event of this magnitude" to resume and enjoy interactions like before the pandemic, going out to tables and talking with guests.
"It was the first time that I felt like 'OK, the restaurant feels like it's back' -- it definitely got me really excited to do more events like this and got the creative juices flowing again," Charles said.
Ingredients
6-8 pc sea scallops
For the Jersey corn chowder
4-5 ears of corn, shucked
1 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup garlic, sliced
1 cup smoked bacon lardons
1 cup onions, large diced
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups corn stock
1 tablespoon Coriander
2 teaspoons black pepper
5 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs dill
4 cups heavy cream
1 pinch espelette (or paprika)
Salt to taste
Dutch runner bean succotash
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cups shucked corn
10-12 pieces Dutch runner beans, cut in 1-inch segments
1 cup red pearl onions, cut in half
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2-3 red peppers, medium diced
2 cups summer squash, medium diced
Garnish
6-8 pc thinly sliced prosciutto
For the corn stock: Shuck the corn cob and reserve corn for later. Roast the shucked cob at 350 F for 15-20 minutes.
Place in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for 20-30 min and strain.
For the Jersey chowder: In a medium saucepan add the bacon and cook at medium heat until most of the fat is rendered. Remove excess bacon fat and set bacon aside.
Add the celery, onion, corn and sweat for a few minutes. Add garlic and spices and sweat. Once the garlic is soft and the spices are aromatic add the bacon and herbs. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Once the alcohol is burned off, add corn stock and reduce by half.
Lastly, add in the heavy cream and reduce by a quarter. Add the chowder in the Vitamix blender and blend thoroughly. You may have to do this step in batches. To finish, strain through a fine mesh sieve and add salt to taste.
For the crispy prosciutto: Preheat oven at 300 degrees. Place prosciutto between two pieces of parchment paper on a baking tray. Place another baking tray on top so that the prosciutto cooks flat. Cook for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Cool down and crumble to garnish.
chowder.
For the Dutch runner bean succotash: In a sauté pan add vegetable oil and cook the pearl onions at medium heat. Rotate onions and cook until roasted. Deglaze the pan with red wine vinegar, add sugar. Once the vinegar is cooked off, add the butter to form a glaze. Save onions for later.
In a sauté pan add vegetable oil and cook the corn, beans, squash and peppers separately. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and season with salt and pepper.
Combine all ingredients and use it to garnish your corn chowder.
For the sea scallops: Place scallops on a towel and pat dry. Season with salt on both sides. In a large sauté pan add oil and cook scallops at high heat for 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium and press the scallops down to ensure an even sear for 1 minute. Flip the scallop, add butter and baste.
Once the scallops are done, they should look golden and have a springy texture when pressed.
To compose the dish, heat up the chowder and succotash. Combine in a shallow bowl and top with crumbled prosciutto. Add the scallops and finish with a pinch of Espelette.
Recipe courtesy fo Executive Chef Manuel González Charles.