Heartland Cookbook enters the Urban Roots Kitchen
Tri-Colored Ukrainian Borscht Soup was simmering away in the Urban Roots kitchen this Monday afternoon. The vibrant, savory recipe was from Lenny Russo’s cookbook, Heartland: Farm Forward Dishes from the Great Midwest. The gorgeous new cookbook features artwork from Minnesota Ojibwe artist, George Morrison and food photos by Tom Thulen, as presented by Heartland’s former sous chef Alan Bergo. Lenny Russo, chef/owner at Heartland is generously donating proceeds to from the book to Urban Roots! Look for us at Costco later this spring when we join Lenny at the signing for this stunning cookbook!
Our youth interns were excited to attempt the tricky tri-colored presentation. Two teams began peeling and chopping root vegetables for the heart of the dish, the Red and Golden Borscht, while two teams diced herbs for the two garnishes, the Green Borscht and Dill Crème Fresh. Our food processor was well used as “Team Green” first blended spinach, basil, onion, and garlic for the Green Borscht, later pureeing the Red and Golden Borscht. Youth learned that food presentation is a true art and gained much respect for skilled chefs! After photos and clean-up, youth enjoyed the perfect blend of earthy, buttery, and tangy soups in our taste test. Thank you Heartland!
Throughout this month Urban Roots youth interns will continue to explore the Twin Cities’ culinary scene by recreating recipes from more of our fantastic local restaurant partners including Birchwood and Spoon River. Look for more cookbook posts and get your copy of Heartland’s scrumptious cookbook soon! To hear more about Heartland and other great cookbooks check out this link on epicurious: 4 New Cookbooks to Spring Clean Your Routine.
