Today, eating locally is a trend. But with the global supply of fossil fuels diminishing, and the widespread use of destructive agricultural practices increasing, our future depends on the availability of regional foods. At Tabellas Restaurant we are committed to participating in Western Massachusetts' long and continuing history as a nexus for social change. —Menu, Tabellas Restaurant, Amherst
At Bramble Hill in Amherst, animals, produce, fruit and flowers share over 100 acres of what some consider the best soil in the country if not the world. Sheep graze, chickens hatch, pigs scramble about on a typical day in summer. Presiding over this Shangri-La of sustainability and cultivation of the terroir are a chef, a farmer, a nonprofit and the state.
On a visit a couple of weeks ago, the chef was making a deal with his pig breeder and making plans for a couple of ewes. He has a look at the salad greens in the fields and continues on his rounds at the farm, just minutes from his restaurant in Amherst. This is where Adrian d'Errico gets most of the food that graces the plates at Tabellas.
Deals between farmer and chef are old-world and new-world at the same time: old-world because the circle of growing, selling and eating is a closed one, new-world because the state has stepped in to make all this possible. This property is valuable. It could easily be developed into housing but because of something called the APR program (agricultural preservation restriction), instituted in the early '70s, Bramble Hill and some other farms in Western Mass. have enjoyed a certain amount of state largess. The kind of farm-to-table eating that is possible in this region is rare in the rest of the country.
D'Errico is passionate about fatback pork and passionate about working with food that he can nurture and nudge into something exquisite while taking whatever nature throws at him. Take tomatoes, for example. Chef d'Errico is buying them local—the ones that were planted in hoop houses in spring—and roasting them to get some flavor going. It's been a tough summer on tomatoes due to rain.
"Without sunshine you get no flavor," he says with a shrug, but adds that diners always want tomatoes. D'Errico's solution is to roast them and get the flavor out by carmelization. He makes a ketchup to go with his chickpea fries, and part of his "crostini of the day" will be "roasted organic heirloom tomatoes."
He buys his pork at Green Horn Farm from owner Mark Cesario, who keeps his pigs at Bramble Hill. While putting in an order for a 120-pound hog, d'Errico is visualizing a main course as well as something yummy to do with fatback. D'Ericco uses a wet rendering process for lard that is "better than butter. Better than olive oil. You can't believe the flavor that cold rendering provides," he says. This is the kind of benefit one enjoys from access to all cuts from the animal. Currently on the menu is "Pan-seared Green Horn Farm pork loin with Old Yellow House Farm organic currant reduction and savory mashed potatoes." But that doesn't mean that head cheese won't show up on that same menu some day when d'Errico thinks his guests are ready for it.
Cesario of GreenHorn believes that the local farm-to-table scene is growing. "It's not a fad or a trend. It's part of Obama's reclamation act, an extension of the infrastructure plans," he says. Mark raises and slaughters 100 chickens a month as well as hogs and cattle. He is selling 10-to-14-inch pork tenderloin cuts to Tabellas and to Brookfield Farm in Amherst. In addition, the chickens go to Brookfield, Tabellas and Wheatberry Bakery and Cafe, also in Amherst.
Bramble Hill is the vision of Gordon Thorne, who began leasing plots to farmers, producers and growers in South Amherst on Route 116 in 2002. Now his nonprofit is an educational center and farming program with state-of-the art outbuildings. Thorne, also the developer of Thorne's Market in Northampton, realized his vision for Bramble Hill with financing from the state through the APR program. He acquired the former dairy farm, which had been in the same family for generations. "If the Jacque farm had not been in the APR program, I would not have been able or interested in buying it, since I wanted to keep it open and working as productive land rather than watching it be subdivided into house lots," says Thorne.
APR is designed to preserve farmland by selling it for the value of the growing land, not for what it could fetch from developers. "It gets land value at least into the ball park for a farmer," Thorne says, "but the capital costs of infrastructure and equipment also have to be addressed, which is in part what the creation of the Open Field Foundation was about." The Open Field Foundation is the nonprofit that runs Bramble Hill.
Speaking of d'Errico's restaurant, Thorne said, "I think Tabellas is a very important enterprise. It is complex, what they are trying to do on many levels, but they are doing it, and the more food scares we have (and they will be increasing), the more they will be an oasis." Other farmers and growers leasing space at Bramble Hill include Old Friends Farm (flowers and greens) and Crescent Moon Farm (grass-fed lamb).
As of 2008, the APR program has protected about 725 farms and more than 61,000 acres statewide from development, he said. In Hadley alone, over 2,400 acres of farmland are subsidized with APR funds. This Sunday (July 26), free tours of four Hadley farms will take place. With the exception of Hartsbrook, all have some form of APR support. The farms are the Joe Czajkowski Farm, Hartsbrook Farm, Plainville Farm and Twin Oaks Farm. More information about the tours and Hadley's 350th anniversary can be found at www.hadley350.org.
In Season: Garlic
Allium Sativum is part of the onion family. This time of year it is very young, very soft and has a nice, delicate flavor. It's not easy to come by since most garlic stays in the ground until fall, when it gets harvested for drying. If you happen to run across it at a farmer's market or your CSA, pick up several stalks. Its delicacy is perfect for dishes that call for a kinder, gentler garlic flavor.
Light Garlic Spread for Crusty Bread
From the Vineyard, here is a suggestion from a chef who knows her way around the allium family:
Peel around 7 cloves of garlic and poach in olive oil until softened. Remove from oil and mash together, adding sea salt for flavor. Serve in a ramekin with crusty bread. Reserve garlic-flavored oil for dressing.—Christine Napolitan, "Locavore Lunchlady"
