This article is a companion piece to One Dish, our video series giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how NYC chefs create their best-known dishes, hosted by @consumingcouple on our Instagram page.
It was a stroll through the Union Square Greenmarket one summer day that inspired what abcV’s executive chef, Neal Harden, calls a “maximalist” dish.
“The muse is really the [Union Square Greenmarket],” Harden says, espousing the core philosophy of the plant-based abcV restaurant. “I always think of things in terms of color. Just seeing the table at the market overflowing with everything, you [wonder], ‘How do I create a dish where everything fits together in one?’”
With bold flavors like Szechuan pairing with equally bold colors, Harden invented a dish that is beloved by staff and diners alike: Sweet Corn Wontons, served in a tomato broth with summer squash and homemade chili oil.
“It’s just a testament to everything that’s good at the market all at once,” he says.
The Jean-Georges restaurant is the sister of the original flagship ABC Kitchen, and while both restaurants feature sustainable, farm-to-table and organic offerings, abcV is completely plant-based, and Harden wouldn’t have it any other way. The chef has spent his career at the forefront of plant-based fine dining, and his interest started early. Raised by parents who were into the “1960s health-food hippie stuff” and inspired by the nexus of where punk rock meets animal rights, Harden switched voluntarily to a plant-based diet when he was 14. “It just worked for me. I started eating a certain way and realized, ‘Oh, that’s what I always wanted. I just never knew it,’” he says.
Today, Harden continues to develop menus for Jean-Georges restaurants around the world like abcV, but his inspiration remains rooted in seasonal, produce-driven cooking, which includes a home garden in the 15 years he lived in Brooklyn and an affinity for foraging on Long Island.
“I almost feel the seasons internally at this point and feel really connected to the flora here.”
Read on to discover everything you need to know about abcV’s Sweet Corn Wontons, which will be featured as one of the restaurant’s menu items during this summer’s NYC Restaurant Week.
Why Sweet Corn Wontons?
“This dish has everything,” begins chef Harden. “Summer peppers, squash, corn, all the sweet, sunny flavors of summer in one plate.” Beyond the seasonality, the dish also works as a case study of how abcV’s mission comes to life. “It reflects the philosophy of the restaurant pretty well,” he explains. “Best of the market done through a global flavor lens, but always following our local market here.”
How they’re made
The wontons start with fresh corn, charred in a wok with peppercorns, salt, garlic, scallions and chiles. “We season it pretty heavily,” Harden says. “Then we wrap it in a wonton skin.”
The tomato broth is layered with fermented chili, star anise, black cardamom, kelp seaweed and more. “Too many things to mention,” he adds, though the foundation of the dish is the peak-season tomatoes that make up the broth. Sautéed peppers and squash, aromatic chili oil and fresh herbs bring the dish together.
“Sweet, spicy, floral, acidic—it hits so many different points on the palate. I think it’s exciting. It makes your palate wake up and feel alive.”
What the chef wants you to know
You won’t always see the Sweet Corn Wontons on the menu due to abcV’s seasonal nature, but if it’s summer, you’re in luck. “I’m waiting for the first corn at market,” Harden says. “Some of the best corn is happening in September, so we’ll probably have it through September once we get it on the menu.”
The beauty of this dish and all the others at abcV is the way they subtly evolve with the season.
“The food is alive, so it’s always changing. There’s really like 100 little seasons within summer,” he explains. “It’s never quite the same, but hopefully it’s always delicious. Every time there’s new produce at the market, we’re changing it. There are 10 or 15 different types of mint in the summertime!”
What to pair with Sweet Corn Wontons
Harden keeps it simple. “I would drink beer 100 percent,” he says. For a starter, “I would probably have our cucumber salad, because that’s the other best thing at the market in the summertime. Fresh, crisp, sweet cucumber.”
Just come try it
For Harden, the dish doesn’t need overexplaining. “It’s just a testament to everything that’s good at the market all at once,” he says.