Fall’s Don’t-Miss Dish
Chef Chris Joslyn sources all the vegetables from local farmers and changes the mix seasonally. Fall will feature local vegetables served with smoked mozzarella, arugula and house-made tapenade.
Chef Joslyn roasts the vegetables on separate pans at 400°-450°, to get the exact amount of softness and caramelization for each one. This can take 25–45 minutes; you’ll need to taste them to make sure each pan is done.
He then heats a skillet or cast-iron pan, places smoked mozzarella in the middle and piles on the veggies, adding a dollop of tapenade and a smattering of arugula.
Chef Joslyn uses Rancho Olivos extra-virgin olive oil from Santa Ynez in this and other dishes at the Café. Since the first harvest, owner Shannon Casey has invited folks to visit the farm and taste the oils right next to the olive trees that produce them.
The Caseys farm the trees sustainably, tend the orchards themselves, handpick the olives during harvest and have them sent to be milled within a few hours of picking. To make the oils, the Caseys blend olives from two varietals: Frantoio and Leccino.
Farmer Jacob Grant of Los Olivos Roots Organic Farm and Santa Ynez farmer Steve Loyal supply almost all the vegetables in the dish. Joslyn knows he can rely on Grant’s famously sweet carrots, even if Grant isn’t so consistent: “Jacob never looks the same; you never know what you’ll get when he walks in.”
Joslyn also says Steve Loyal is a great storyteller and gives him advice on his own garden. “I grow vegetables at home, things like kale, lettuce, radishes, which I also bring in to the restaurant. Steve loves to talk shop, and my garden is a happy recipient.”
