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Welcome to The Greenmarket Challenge. Each month, Time Out takes to the iconic Union Square Greenmarket in search of unique ingredients. We then deliver the goods to one of our talented chefs at Time Out Market New York, Union Square, who will be given one hour to create a one-of-a-kind dish. If it passes our Food and Drink Editor's taste test, the mystery dish will be served at the Market for a limited time.
We recently went back to Union Square Greenmarket with our friends at GrowNYC, searching for the season’s freshest finds. Our summer visit yielded squash blossoms from Lani’s Farms, pesto and roasted red pepper goat cheese from Lynnhaven Goat Milk Cheese and chives from Willow Wisp Organic Farms. But we weren’t just shopping. The purpose was to take our stash to Time Out Market New York, Union Square, to challenge one of our chefs to a one-hour cook-off. We also added on one wild card ingredient: horseradish jelly from Berkshire Berries.
Up for the challenge is Fredy Cetina, a chef who knows his way around the market as he mans Smashed Express and Rotisserie Haus at the Union Square outpost. He took the challenge in stride, tackling the horseradish jelly first by incorporating it into a lightly spicy aioli. After prepping the squash blossoms, chef Cetina filled them with the red pepper coat cheese and a mix of chopped chives, before coating them in a tempura mix for a gentle fry. Hit with a secret blend of spices from Smashed, Cetina finished the dish with a swipe of aioli and chives for garnish.
So did the dish pass the taste test? With flying colors! Watch the full episode below and give the secret menu item a try this July.
Watch The Greenmarket Challenge with chef Fredy Cetina here.