Black garlic
Up in West Harlem at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club (2751 Broadway), chef Patricia Williams jazzes up her sheep’s milk ricotta, fava beans and truffle oil crostini with pitch-black garlic. “It has a wonderful taste and the aroma of mushrooms,” Williams says of the vegetable, which turns black thanks to a fermentation process.
The $12 appetizer will stay on the dinner menu throughout the summer, but Williams is already obsessing about another inky ingredient for the fall: “I’m using black rice for a fish dish,” she says.
Black trumpet mushrooms
The lobster and sweet corn bisque at the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel (10 Central Park South) gets an extra dollop of deliciousness thanks to black trumpet mushrooms, which are similar to chanterelles and come from local specialty food purveyors.
The fungi are added to a plate of lobster meat and sautéed fresh corn, then dressed tableside with lobster broth ($16 as a lunchtime appetizer, and featured on the prix-fixe dinner menu).
“They have a sweet succulence,” says chef Eric Hara, who put the bisque on the menu four weeks ago. “But they’re only available until the end of summer, so the dish won’t be around forever.”
PHOTOS: DISHES FEATURING BLACK INGREDIENTS
Black walnuts
Best-known for his high-tech cooking methods and resulting highfalutin food, chef Daniel Angerer of Klee Brasserie (200 Ninth Ave.) dresses his muscovy duck paté with black walnuts poached in milk and sweet pickles, bay leaf and coriander ($14).
“Black walnuts are more delicious, more nutty and mild compared to ordinary walnuts, and have a sharpness that lingers on the tongue,” says the Austrian chef, who also uses black walnuts in a walnut cake with cream cheese ganache. “It’s a completely addictive combination.”
Black chickpeas
Chef Bill Oliva of Delmonico’s (56 Beaver St.) uses Italian chickpeas, which are smaller than regular chickpeas and common in Indian cuisine, as part of his double-cut Colorado grilled lamb chop dish, served with broccoli rabe, sunchokes and ricotta salata ($43).
“They have a slightly different taste, but are used more for the presentation,” says Oliva, who soaks the them overnight before cooking them in vegetable broth. “I like the contrast on the plate.”
He’s no stranger to dark ingredients, either: “We’ve had delicious black codfish on the menu, and I also love cooking with black garlic. It has a unique, earthy and sweet flavor,” says the chef.