Garnish with Micro Greens

Garnish with Micro Greens

How many times have you eaten out at a restaurant and found a half-slice of lemon on the edge of your plate? Or a cantaloupe half-moon?

Garnishes are an effective way to spruce up meals, whether it be an elegant gourmet dinner or a more casual lunch. Even scrambled eggs can look elegant with a zigzag of ketchup over them. Sauces, fruits, herbs and vegetables are the major choices for chefs who come up with new ideas in food presentation. Meanwhile, they keep on rummaging. Some filament-thin, delicate plants, the smallest possible incarnation of salad greens, herbs, edible flowers and leafy vegetables are targeted. Generally, they are called micro greens – diminutive versions of herbs and vegetables that bring something special to the table.

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How did the trend begin? "California is the only place where truck drivers eat fresh salads without fear of being considered effete," wrote food historian Jonathan Leonard 30 years ago. Two early inventions in the salad category—crab Louis and green goddess dressing—were the inspirations of San Francisco restaurants Solari's and the Palace Hotel, while Hollywood's Brown Derby takes credit for assembling the first Cobb salad in 1926. The rest of the country seemed content with the ubiquitous, yawn-provoking chunk of iceberg, with opportunities for variety confined to the choice of dressing.

Meanwhile, Californians were busy discovering that there were many other salad greens out there and that they possessed a startling attribute: flavor. Beginning in the 1970s, words like arugula, mesclun, radicchio, and lamb's lettuce slipped into the language, and the insistence on fresh, local produce became a hallmark of California cuisine.

Considering this heritage, it's only natural that California would pioneer the latest trend in the food world—micro greens. As a careful reading of trendy menus reveals, micro is huge: Micro fennel, micro arugula, micro spinach, micro chrysanthemums and others appear as garnishes, as toppings, or as explosive bursts of flavor. The following discussion reveals how chefs—and not just in California—look at and cherish micro greens, and how creative garnishes can be with the presence of micro greens. Their recipes convey that micro greens are more than just eye candy, they are also palate-pleasers.

Micro Greens Q & A

ARN: Do you use micro greens in your dishes?

Susanna Foo, chef-owner Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine: Yes we use a lot from our local farmer. One special mix that they make for our restaurants is Asian Micro Green Mix.

Pichet Ong, chef-owner of P*ONG: Yes, I use micro greens. The varieties I use are baby cilantro, amaranth, arugula, shiso, peashoots, and chrysanthemum.

Dr. Jacqueline Newman, editor of Flavor and Fortune: As a homeowner, sure do! Love their colors (the deep ones) and their textures.

Carol Wallack, executive chef of Sola Restaurant: Of course. We have a new dish on the spring – summer menu with wasabi and shiso micro greens. We use red and green shiso and wasabi greens mixed with fava beans, sugar snap peas, and blood orange segments with an avocado and blood orange oil vinaigrette. This salad is served with wasabi crusted scallops. It’s is delicious and speaks of spring!

ARN: When did you first come to know about micro greens? When did you begin to use it officially on the menus?

Jeffrey Stout, executive chef of Alexander’s Steakhouse: I first learned of micro greens, around seven years ago, but working in restaurants owned by corporations with food cost as job number one left micro greens a bit taboo to work with. I started using micro greens to add accent to items in small quantities around five years ago. Now, I always have a good supply of fresh varied greens on hand to play to whatever I may be doing at the time.

Tammy Huynh, executive chef of Bong Su Restaurant & Lounge: About 10 years ago when it was just sold by small farmers on the back of their pick-up truck. I’ve used them since the first time I was introduced to them.

Corey Lee, Chef de Cuisine of The French Laundry: I came into contact with the McNamara’s of Honey Locust Farms at my first restaurant job in NY twelve years ago. They were my personal and first introduction to micro greens. I’m not really certain when they were first used nationally but we’ve always had it on the menu at The French Laundry.

ARN: With the presence of micro greens, the salad bowl has become even more like a culinary playground. Which greens are your favorites to play with? Any Asian-originated in particular?

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Susanna: Baby bok choy, Chinese mustard, Chinese celery and others.

Jeffrey: Well, to use micro greens in a salad would be a bit expensive as a primary green. However I do use them as garnish and accents to many things. Many which can be spotted on my personal Web site at http://web.mac.com/cheffrey88. Even desserts can be garnished with a strategic green or two. My favorite is cilantro as it tastes like cilantro. Celery and wasabi are also ones that I favor for flavor. Cinnamon basil is also very nice for desserts. I tend to stay away from micro greens that simply taste green without any pronounced flavor.

Tammy: I think it depends on the type of dish that I’m creating and how I want it to play a role in the overall flavors of the dish. I definitely like the micro daikon leaves and the micro cilantro.

Corey : I think using micro greens needs a lot of forethought in that you have to think of them from a flavor standpoint and how they stand in contrast to the dish. Micro greens are very small yet have a great flavor impact. They are very intense and their use really depends on the dish so I don’t really have any favorites --I like them all!

ARN: What kind of role do you chose for micro greens to play? Which role do you think is best for micro greens?

Susanna: We use on garnish and salad mix.

Pichet: I use it for garnishing dishes, but also to enhance flavor of dishes. For instance, shiso. For that, include shiso and one of the key flavors of the dish. It is a particularly great addition to cold dishes that are non-salads because they add a touch of vibrant and crisp green taste to the dish.

Jeffrey: They are the last item to go on the plate. They are garnishes or to add freshness, make things come to life or to add a delicate touch to a plate. Best in my opinion is a finishing role – such as garnish or to add a bit of interest.

Jacqueline: Like them best in salads, and as garnishes ... they are lovely toppings on stir-fry dishes.

Tammy: I definitely think that depending on the flavors and textures of the dish the micro greens will definitely be more of component of the dish not the common or main ingredient. The main reason is that the delicate flavors of the greens are too subtle alone but be come very explosive when paired or dressed with oils and vinegar and salts.

Corey: I think micro greens are just like any other ingredient. You have to really analyze what you are using them for, and take into consideration both their flavor and visual impact. In the past, the tendency has been to take a huge handful of micro greens and place them on top of the dish. The result was almost overwhelming. You need to find out the balance of what fits right and more importantly, what eats right.

ARN: Which micro green do you think is most versatile? In what way its flavor and texture can be fully released?

Pichet: The micro green that is most versatile, I would say, are baby mesclun. They look great and have no particularly strong taste except for that of fresh lettuce greens.

Jeffrey: I would say micro cilantro as cilantro can lend towards many cuisines such as Moroccan, South American or Asian. Used in right proportion, the flavor is realized. I do hamachi shots in which I place in a shot glass – hamachi, frizzled ginger and scallion, jalapeno, black sesame and a bit of micro wasabi greens with ponzu and truffle oil. Here in the shot glass, they are the last item which makes the glass appear alive like a litter terrarium while adding flavor.

Jacqueline: They all are!

Tammy: I would have to say that micro basil would be the ideal (most common) for flavor paring with meats and seafood.

Corey: All micro greens are useful. As I mentioned, it really depends on the flavor and visual impact you are trying to achieve.

ARN: What’s the most important thing in handling micro greens?

Jeffrey: Pull them from the refrigerator in small amounts and always keep covered to preserve freshness. Also, remember a little goes a long way – 3- 4 pieces can be more effective than 20 in most applications.

Tammy: I keep them dry and out of direct sunlight or else they tend to get rancid and change colors.

Corey: Micro greens are very delicate. Most of them should really be used in their raw state only as they cannot take oil and vinegar. However, sorrel and nasturtium are a little bit sturdier so they can take oils, heat and more handling. The most important thing to remember is temperature--they need to be kept cool until they are ready to use.

Most micro greens are packaged but in that small package are hundred and hundreds of (for example, parsley shoots) in a small area--equivalent to a big box of herbs. Because they are extremely perishable, it is important to pick through the box everyday for any signs of wilting as these could affect the rest of the healthy greens very quickly.

ARN: Some people doubt the culinary value of micro green, since it has less flavor than the mature, while the micro is much more expensive.What is your opinion?

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Susanna: It is beautiful, delicate, and very tasty. It is expensive, but it is worth every penny you spend.

Pichet: I think that micro greens are expensive but they do enhance the visual appearance of a dish by a great deal. I recommend that chefs who are concerned with its value use it in moderation, as opposed to piling it on the plate. The whole idea is similar to that of icing on a cake. Just a little bit of micro greens can go a long way.

Jeffrey: True – if the items is one of generic, some like bulls blood, have little flavor and are just a little organic green on the plate. To me, this adds little but visual, in which is the least important thought about a dish. IN THIS CASE, as mentioned, I like to use micro greens that are full in flavor such as fennel, celery, cilantro, wasabi, cinnamon and basil. These little powerhouses pack the punch of the mature variety while staying whimsical. It is all about selection to application.

Jacqueline: Yes, they are costly; so is great food made by great chefs ... but what better way to indulge oneself than with fine food.

Tammy: It all comes down to the perceived value of the product. A lot of farms will try to make them seem unique (in the beginning) but it was out of maximizing their fields and growing seasons that the greens have been so popular. Another reason that I believe is that about a decade ago farms were very lean in terms of production in the type of crops that they were growing (corn, tomatoes, garlic, etc.), which was pretty much all the basic produce. The competition from farms was very fierce and the Government had to step in and subsidize the farms because no one was making any money grow corn or it wasn’t worth their time to grown it. Thus, the farmers started to experiment and grow all sorts of heirloom vegetables to sell to all these restaurants and chefs that wanted to create something new. Fast forward to today’s market, farms are differentiating themselves by being organic, being local and branding their own name into the basic crops that they grow. Hence, the high price is primarily the branding and uniqueness that consumers perceived them to be, not because they hold some kind of palatial value when being compared to foie gras or truffles.

Corey: First of all, I don’t think that the mature leaves are always necessarily more intense in flavor than micro greens. In fact in many ways, I find the opposite. Take the cilantro shoot micro green for example. You are eating the plant in its entirety. If you were to measure out an exact amount of mature cilantro leaves and do a taste comparison, I don’t think you will have the same flavor impact as you would from the micro green. It is definitely more expensive but I don’t think it should be looked at from a strictly monetary point of view. For example, if you paid $20 for a clam shell of micro greens and paired it with a fish that was incredible and had a flavor impact that a guest still remembers. Was it worth the money? I would have to say yes. If you were to use the micro greens for aesthetic reasons only or to make it an easy garnish and they did not reach their full potential, then yes, you paid too much. It’s not really so much about the cost but how they are being used.