At first glance, you'd think that customers outside chef Marco Canora's new outpost,Brodo, were just sipping coffee. But the steady stream of customers huddling in the cold outside the annex to Canora's East Village restaurant,Hearth, are actually sipping rich, flavorful broth out of those paper cups.
And Canora couldn't be happier with the switch. The chef believes that broth's benefits are far superior to the superficial stimulant of caffeine. In fact, by all accounts the soup is having a restorative effect on the eating public—and restoring one chef's faith in mankind.
"Working the window these past two weeks has been one of the most inspiring experiences of my career," said Canora as we stole a rare quiet moment at a corner table at Hearth. "We can't keep up with demand." Equal parts exhausted and invigorated, Canora is taking a gamble that the much-touted benefits of an inti-inflammatory diet will lead people to what he calls "the world's first comfort food."
Rich in gelatin and other nutritive properties derived from the bones that enrich Canora's stock, the soups are believed to ease joint pain and contribute to overall health--and Canora should know.
自己成为一个成功的厨师的受害者,Canora说that 85 percent of his calories were being consumed in the form of bread and butter. "I was bloated and depressed," said Canora, "I was beside myself," said Canora. "Food was and is the most meaningful thing to me, and all of a sudden I was like, what the fuck am I going to eat? It was basically down to radishes and sardines." His own research led him back to broth, a liquid with curative powers that had deep roots in his family.
Canora realized that one of the keys to improving his health was one he'd already been enjoying for years. "I've been drinking Hearth broth my whole life," said Canora, referring to the intense elixir that was at the base of many of the recipes served by the women in his large Italian brood: Pasta in brodo, Italian wedding soup—they all had the same delicious base. It's that base that is the inspiration for his three flavors: a rich classic chicken broth, a hybrid broth with turkey, beef shin, and stewing fowl, and a gingery beef version.
Eventually, Canora became so focused on his new way of eating (and broth-sipping) that he wroteA Good Food Day: Reboot Your Health With Food That Tastes Great—and decided to start cooking up massive amounts of broth to serve to the masses.
Canora makes what he calls one "rig" per night, filling a 120-gallon cauldron filled with vegetables, meat and, of course, bones. Lots and lots of bones. He covers the bones with water, brings the bones up to a boil covered with water, skims fastidiously, adds the meat and vegetables, and cooks for a good, long time. The soup emerges from a spout in the bottom, clear, comforting, and flavorful. "It's really not that difficult," said Canora, sounding a bit like an Italian grandmother who keeps her trade secrets close to the vest. Luckily, he shared some tips for making great broth at home:
Sure, cooking broth with just bones and meat from just one type of animal provides clarity of flavor, but by all means throw in a combination of bones -- whatever's good quality will create a tasty broth. Even a combination of cooked and raw bones is fine. Use plenty of bones: "Save and freeze every scrap, ask your butcher for his throwaway bones--whatever you can get your hands on." You want to fill your stockpot halfway with bones. Anything less and you'll end up with a wan broth, Canora says.
"Use cheap, flavor-packed chicken wings for a chicken stock like you've never had before," Canora recommends. Chicken wings have plenty of gelatin in them, so they're also a great addition to other types of stocks since they'll add plenty of richness and body. Stick with the classic vegetables: Don't forget the mirepoix. The classic French trio of carrots, celery, and onions adds fresh-vegetable depth to the mix. Feel free to throw in a bay leaf and/or a branch of thyme, too. Keeping the broth simple means it'll be delicious to sip on its own or add to soups and stews.
For maximum umami impact, Canora recommends adding the one-two punch of tomato paste and whole peeled tomatoes. For a large pot of broth, a couple spoonfuls of tomato paste and 6 to 8 canned tomatoes should do the trick.
