A tribute to Alex Roberts
In Minneapolis there is an amazing place to eat and it is called Restaurant Alma. The chef of this restaurant is Alex Roberts. I don’t know how to praise him with just a few words. Let’s just say if I still lived in Minneapolis I would want him to be my mentor. He is a brilliant chef, but more than that, his knowledge and passion for accessible healthy food is inspiring. My wife and I would often go to another restaurant of his called Brasa, a soul food joint with affordable prices and wildly good flavor. Sometimes when we ate at Brasa Alex would be there and we would engage in hour-long discussion on raw milk, grass-fed meat, sustainable growing practices, the works. It is rare to find someone with so intelligent and still incredibly humble.
At Restaurant Alma the menu is seasonal and only sources local foods grown/slaughtered/raised under sustainable methods. We only ate there once I think, for the food was a bit out of our price range. I remember the whole meal, and of all the dishes we had the dessert was especially memorable. This is because it was the one dish I think I could replicate – rosemary chocolate pudding.
Since he never gave me the recipe I can only share what I assumed to be the dessert. The original dish was rosemary chocolate pudding with olive oil and salt. I served it the first time with the oil and salt, but truth be told, I have no idea what kind he used as mine were of far lower qualities. In my version I also used too much rosemary. After the spoon is inserted into the mouth and your tongue first experiences the silky, rich texture of the pudding, the rosemary explodes on the senses. I think it explodes a little too much. Next time I will use a bit less. Otherwise, I think it turned out quite well. This is definitely a savory-sweet dessert as the rosemary flavor is unexpected and balances out the sweetness of the chocolate and sugar.
Since pudding is incredibly easy to make and adding the rosemary is not difficult at all, I highly recommend trying this. Consider this ‘the next level of chocolate pudding.’
This recipe is taken from The Gourmet Cookbook (except for the infused milk part):
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
- 2 T cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 2 c whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 4 oz good semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
- 2 T fresh rosemary (this addition is to recreate Alex’s dish)
- Bring the milk to a simmer with 2 T fresh rosemary; you can use dried rosemary, the ratio is 1:3 dried to fresh. I used 3 T when I made it this time and the rosemary was too strong that is why I suggest 2 T. Know that this version is a work in process.
- Let milk simmer for 10 minutes, whisking frequently; don’t let the milk scald!
- The aroma of hot milk and rosemary will fill the kitchen. After the infusion, pour the milk through a sieve and discard the milky rosemary.
- (The rest of the recipe is taken from the cookbook.) Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking until pudding is thick, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Immediately beat egg lightly in a medium heatproof bowl, then very gradually add hot pudding to egg, whisking constantly. Whisk in chocolate until smooth.
- Pour pudding into ramekins (or cups, mugs, bowls, or don’t pour and keep it in the bowl.) If you do not want a skin to form (which I happen to like), you can cover the surface of the pudding with a piece of wax paper.
- Refrigerate covered until cold, at least 2 hours.
To serve you can definitely consider whipped cream. If you want to emulate the Alma experience, try serving the pudding with olive oil and salt. And viola. This is an easy dessert to do, very much worth the 30 minutes (at most) to make. If you serve it to a friend you will definitely get credit for some fancy pudding!
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