Best Thing I Ever Ate … Healthy, Yummy Menu Selections in Westchester, NY

Oaxacan Chicken Burrito

To celebrate this season of abundant, fresh, delicious food, Natural Awakenings asked the owners of two local farm-to-table restaurants to name their favorite thing on the menu. Here’s what they said:

 

 

Tomatillo in Dobbs Ferry

“This is a tough question, since I love just about everything on both of my menus. But if I had to choose, I’d go with the item that I probably eat the most: our Oaxacan Chicken Burrito. I add guacamole to the burrito and just love the combination of the bright lime guacamole contrasting with the roasted, chocolaty taste of our mole negro. This mole is my own recipe with all of my favorite ingredients, including three types of dried chiles, almonds, prunes, plantains and, of course, some chocolate. Moles go great with our marinated chicken. Add some seasoned brown rice, creamy black beans and melted Monterey Jack cheese, and you are living large. It is my favorite burrito, hands down and mouths open, as we like to say here.”

– David Starkey, owner of Sweet Grass Grill and Tomatillo Restaurant.

 

Tomatillo

Mexchester.com

13 Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522

914.478.2300

 

Sweet Grass Grill

SweetgrassGrill.com

24 Main Street, Tarrytown, NY 10591

914.631.0000

 

 

Thyme in Yorktown Heights

“One of best things on the menu at Thyme is our gluten-free crab cakes. You wouldn’t even know that they’re void of gluten! We take juicy lump crabmeat and combine it with sautéed vegetables, gluten-free breadcrumbs and a gluten-free pale ale. Add some spice, form the patties and you’re good to go. It’s a simple recipe, yet full of flavor and much more health conscious than the average crab cake.”

– Tom Costello, Executive Chef and owner of Thyme, who shares his crab cake recipe with Natural Awakenings readers:

 Gluten-Free Crab Cakes

by Tom Costello, Executive Chef and owner of Thyme

Ingredients:

1 lb. lump crabmeat

1½ garlic cloves, diced

½ small red bell pepper, diced

½ small green bell pepper, diced

½ small orange bell pepper, diced

1 small shallot, diced

1 small Vidalia onion, diced

3 oz. Steadfast Sorghum Pale Ale (gluten-free)

½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs

4 eggs, beaten

4 oz. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

gluten-free flour for breading (such as Bob’s Red Mill brand)

salt and pepper
 

Directions:

Clean crabmeat, taking care to remove all shells

In a sauté pan on medium heat, sweat garlic, peppers, shallot and Vidalia onion in canola oil for about 6 minutes

Combine the breadcrumbs with Steadfast Sorghum Pale Ale to moisten

To breadcrumb mixture, add crab meat, garlic and vegetables along with 1 egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, garlic and onion powders

Use 2 oz. of the crab mixture to form crab cakes

Prepare 3 bowl dredging station. In bowl 1, place flour and add salt and pepper to taste; in bowl 2, place the beaten eggs; in bowl 3, place the bread crumbs

Dust each crab cake lightly in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and lastly the breadcrumbs

Fry in sauté pan with canola oil over medium high heat until golden brown on each side.

 

Thyme, 3605 Crompond Road,

Yorktown Heights, NY

914.788.8700, ThymeRestaurant.net