At Olivero Restaurant, the heart of every dish is a celebration of local ingredients—each one thoughtfully sourced from North Carolina farms, markets, and artisans. Chef & Owner Sunny Gerhart and Co Executive Chef Lauren Krall-Ivey, are the creative masterminds behind the restaurant’s menu. They believe that the key to extraordinary dining lies in honoring the flavors of the season and the bounty of the land. We’re thrilled to share four of their favorite recipes, showcasing ingredients from North Carolina they cherish.
CROQUETAS, NC CRAB, MELTED LEEKS, BASIL PESTO
Jim Casey, who began Smiley's Seafood decades ago, has been working with local crabbers, fishermen and shrimpers to harvest in this area, and he's our go-to for NC crab. In this dish, we use his Jumbo Lump crab meat, and fold it into the bechamel, which adds to the texture and flavor, and ensures you taste crab in every bite.
Croquetas
½ lb + 2 T butter
1lb four
2 leeks
1/2lb NC lump crab meat
6 cup milk
Salt
Zest of 1-2 lemons
Breading
1 cup flour
4 eggs beaten and mixed with ¾ cup water
3-4 cups panko
Melt the 2 tbl butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook on low heat until they become very soft and translucent about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Melt ½ lb butter in a medium sauce pot. Slowly stir in 1lb flour and continue stirring vigorously until well combined. Cook for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy, golden in color, and has a nutty smell. Pour the milk into the mixture, stirring continuously until well incorporated. On low-medium heat, continue to cook for about 30 minutes or until you have a thick sauce and you can no longer taste raw flour. Season to taste with fine sea salt.
The mixture should be thick enough to form into a ball when cooled. Once it is fully cooked, add melted leeks, crab, and lemon zest to the pot. Taste for seasoning. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet to allow it to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, take a spoonful of the mixture and roll it in your hands to make a small ball (about 1T). Once all croqueta balls are formed, you can begin breading. (The breading may be easier if the balls are chilled or slightly frozen.)
Roll the balls in the breading flour, then in the egg/water mixture, and then in the breadcrumbs and set aside on another cookie sheet.
In a small deep frying pan or deep fryer, heat frying oil to 350 degrees. Working in batches, add the croquetas, ensuring they are entirely covered in oil. Fry until golden, about 1 minute, then transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to let drain. Be sure to allow the oil to return to 350 degrees on the thermometer between batches—season with salt. Serve hot with Basil Pesto.
Basil Pesto
When available, we get our basil from Red Beard Farms. It's a wonderful, small, independent family farm in Pender County. The basil has such a strong, beautiful flavor and is so fragrant.
Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Add all the remaining oil and pulse in the cheese.
SPAGHETTI, CHARRED ROMESCO, ZUCCHINI, BURRATA, BASIL
Siano Burrata is a really special cheese maker in Charlotte. Their family began on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, and they were the first and only producer of mozzarella in NC. We garnish this dish with their burrata, which is firm on the outside and has creamy curds in the center. We serve it halved on top of the pasta, so you can incorporate it easily into the dish, adding that rich mozzarella flavor to every bite.
Ingredients
1lb store-bought or homemade spaghetti
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Romesco
2 cup Zucchini Sauce
4 pieces Siano Burrata (cut in half)
8 T butter, cubed
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, cut in quarters, seeds removed
½ cup chopped basil
Instructions
Par cook spaghetti until el dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water. Toss spaghetti with evoo and set aside.
In a medium, high-wall saucepan, add zucchini sauce, romesco, and pasta water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Stir in butter and parmesan cheese, stirring constantly until melted and the sauce is creamy. Add spaghetti to the pan and heat through. Season with salt, lemon juice, and chopped basil to taste.
Divide pasta into 4 serving bowls. Top each bowl with a half-ball of burrata—season with cracked black pepper and olive oil.
Romesco
2 red bell peppers
¼ cup roasted tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2T chopped parsley
2T sherry vinegar
1tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
½ cup almonds
Instructions
Thoroughly char bell peppers and tomatoes on the grill or over open flame. Steam in a mixing bowl covered in plastic or a Ziplock. Peel the skin off the peppers, making sure to remove the pith and all the seeds. (You can also use store-bought roasted peppers and tomatoes.)
While the peppers are charring, toast the nuts and cool them. Once cool, chop the nuts in a food processor.
Remove the nuts from the food processor and set aside. Add peppers, tomato, garlic, sherry, parsley, and puree. Add the spices and salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until lightened in color and well emulsified. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Add almonds to the food processor and pulse until incorporated.
Zucchini Sauce
1 yellow onions, minced
¼ cup sliced garlic
¼ cup white wine
3 qts sliced zucchini
Sea salt
2 sprigs basil
Instructions
Sweat onions until very soft and starting to caramelize. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add spices and deglaze with white wine.
Fold in zucchini and basil. Season with sea salt. Cover with a lid and cook until squash is very tender.
VIDERI CHOCOLATE BUDINO, TOASTED MARSHMALLOW, COCOA NIB TOFFEE
We use this premium chocolate out of Raleigh for our budino. Videri Chocolate is sourced from sustainable cocoa bean farmers and produces really high-quality chocolate. Texturally, it's incredible in this dish! The pure cocoa in this chocolate works really well! Soon, we'll be introducing a cheesecake using Videri Chocolate. It's exceptional chocolate made here in NC.
Ingredients
Budino
447g cane sugar
4 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
317g chopped Videri 70-90% chocolate
12g salt
4 cup cream
3 cups milk
2 tsp cornstarch
1.5oz Montenegro
1.5oz mezcal
32g butter
15g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Whisk eggs, yolks, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Heat milk and cream in a medium saucepot. Keep warm on very low heat.
In a separate pot, caramelize sugar. (The color of a brown paper bag). Deglaze with alcohol. Stir in warm cream and milk. Remove from heat—temper in eggs.
Place the pot back on the heat and bring the mixture up to 180 degrees. Remove from heat. Whisk in oil and butter. Bring the temperature down to 140 degrees. Stir in chocolate. Whisk thoroughly. Strain. Cool completely, at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight, to set fully.
Cocoa Nib Toffee
2c sugar
1/2 c corn syrup
1/2t salt
1c Videri cocoa nibs
1t baking soda
2oz butter
Instructions.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Cook to 300°F, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in butter until homogeneous. Return to heat and cook until the mixture reaches a light brown-amber color.
Add cocoa nibs, salt, and baking soda and stir until the mixture is fragrant. Immediately dump the toffee onto a greased, silpat-lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with Maldon.
Let cool, then pulse gently in a robot coup. Sift.
Marshmallow
110 oz sugar
10g Karo syrup
4oz water
70g egg whites
5 sheets gelatin
Corn starch
Powdered sugar
Instructions
Bloom gelatin in water for 5 minutes.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan and cook to 240°F.
Whip egg whites on medium to full aeration (but still fluffy).
Turn the mixer to high and slowly pour in the hot syrup, avoiding the sides of the bowl and direct contact with the whisk.
Add the gelatin once the syrup is fully incorporated.
Line a small ⅛ sheet tray with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Line with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Pour the mixture in and swirl the top. Dust with 50/50.
Cool. Cut the marshmallows into 8-10 portions. Toast the marshmallows with a kitchen torch or hot, burning charcoal.
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