Farm-grown goodness is available year-round if you look for it in a jar! Many farm stores in Western Pennsylvania offer jams, jellies, pickles, and other preserved foods to help us get through the bleaker seasons. As a part of our Buy Fresh, Buy Local series, sponsored by Farm to Table Buy Local, Filipino chef and food stylist Rafe Vencio, creator of still-incubating restaurant Amboy Filipino Food, pops open six kinds of locally-made preserved foods from Sambok Korean Grocery, Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, The Farm at Emerald Valley, The Pickled Chef, Maple Street Jam, as well as Eat This YUM! and turns them into some truly great plates.

Using Western Pennsylvania Jarred Ingredients in Six Delicious Recipes

Kimchi Butter

Made with Sambok Kimchi, Sambok Korean Grocery, 1735 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh

First of all: did someone say butter? Yum. Second: kimchi is delicious! Traditionally made from lacto-fermented cabbage seasoned with salt and gochujang pepper, it is available at many Asian grocers. Once you have enjoyed the “mother” version, branch out to other types of kimchi made from a wide range of vegetables and spices. Make them all into kimchi butter, which you can slather on to slices of steak, toss into a dish of potato noodles or a seaweed salad, or drizzle over roasted pork or fish. Once you get started, you won’t be able to stop! This could also be your “gateway” to other compound butters, all of which up the lusciousness quotient at the wintertime dinner table.

Spicy Giardiniera Pimento Cheese

Made with Portogallo Spicy Giardiniera, Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, 2010-2012 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh

This riff on pimento cheese takes a crowd-pleasing favorite to a new level. The spice and vinegar of Italian giardiniera add a note of acidity that the traditional version lacks, making it a delicious condiment for a cocktail-hour board of seafood. Vencio serves up steamed prawns, clams, mussels, and squid with Spicy Giardiniera Pimento Cheese, accompanied by red beans and rice garnished with fresh chopped herbs, lemon, and rockweed. We recommend you pair this delectable menu with a pitcher of dry, ice-cold martinis. The combination will make for a very happy Happy Hour.

Filipino White Adobo Seafood Bouillabaisse

Made with Primrose Farm Pickled Garlic, The Farm at Emerald Valley, 166 Fava Farm Rd, Scenery Hill, PA

Simple to make, but complex on the palate, this Filipino White Adobo is a puree of pickled garlic, cooked white rice, olive oil, and pickling liquid. It serves as a flavorful bed for sauteed scallops, prawns, clams, and mussels. Garnish with chopped scallions, dill, and fennel. Sprinkle with black pepper and perhaps a touch of sugarcane vinegar. Serve with slices of warm, buttered baguette and a fresh green salad. Pair with Louis Jadot Steel Chardonnay, or another crisp and classically clean white.

Smokey Chipotle Pepper Jelly Ceviche on Tostada

Made with Smokey Chipotle Pepper Jelly, The Pickled Chef, Available at select Market Districts, Local Provisions, East End Food Co-op, and other retail locations

Start this quick and easy recipe by procuring fresh red snapper filets from your favorite local fishmonger. Then whisk together freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice with The Pickled Chef’s delicious Smokey Chipotle Pepper Jelly. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate the fish in the mixture for 30 minutes. Voila: you have ceviche! The rest is even easier: chop a handful of cilantro. Slice tomatoes, red onions, avocados, radishes, and any other delicious fresh veggies you enjoy. Creatively pile it all on tostadas. Bon appetit!

HoneyRum Strawberry Jam Semifreddo Tart

Made with HoneyRum Strawberry Jam, Maple Street Jam, Available at Mediterra Café locations around Pittsburgh, and the gift shop at Phipps Conservatory

Does making a semifreddo feel intimidating? Chef Vencio makes it easy. Whisk together Maple Street Jam’s HoneyRum Strawberry Jam in a double boiler with egg yolks and salt. Fold in some whipped cream. Fill a graham cracker crust. Freeze it. Voila! This show stopping dessert requires no special technical skills and does not require a lot of prep time. Making it the day before you plan to serve it gives the dessert plenty of time to set in the freezer. You will enjoy the compliments of friends and family…as well as the delicious taste of a slice or two for yourself.

Tomato Jalapeño Marmalade and Pineapple Granita

Made with Tomato Jalapeno Marmalade from Eat This YUM!

Filipino cuisine is gorgeously unique in the ways in which it can balance sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors all in one dish. This dessert pairs the natural sweetness of fresh pineapple and local honey with the savory spice of Eat This YUM! Tomato Jalapeño Marmalade and the palate-pleasing sourness of fresh lemon. Frozen into a granita, the flavors are intriguing! The dessert is also beautiful to behold. Spooned into a hollowed-out pineapple and garnished liberally with whipped cream, fresh fruits, chocolate-covered pocky and other Asian cookies, chocolate chips, and mint leaves, its appearance is impressive. For a final touch of sweet-meets savory, add sprinkles of salt and black pepper. Pair the granita with tiny glasses of chilled grappa or eau de vie.

Learn more about Chef Rafe Vencio here!

Recipes and styling by Rafe Vencio, @amboy_pittsburgh
Story by Keith Recker
Photography by Dave Bryce

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