In a sun-drenched dining room in Brooklyn, I once ate at a stellar wine bar called Coast and Valley (unfortunately now shuttered). This experience was one that singularly shaped a newfound adoration for all things chilled.
The dish that caused this awakening consisted of poached chicken with cucumber, charred avocado and a ginger-buttermilk sauce, with tiny drops of verdant olive oil dotting the plate.
It was, to say the least, stunning: the dish was shaped in a geometric pattern, with pristinely poached chicken, masterfully handled vegetables and a milky, creamy sauce with that familiar zing of ginger. It provided such (literally) cool, refreshing flavors, textures and consistencies.
I ate it voraciously and have since fantasized over how I might replicate it at home, especially during the summertime — but I've yet to come close. However, my grasp and knowledge of chilled foods has since grown, so I have Coast and Valley to thank for that.
Exploring chilled foods
There's a thoughtfulness and a subtle sophistication to a chilled dish: it’s curated, it’s careful, it’s precise. You need to make sure you have the necessary time ready — especially when it comes to a dish with a component that is at first cooked, before being chilled and served. When someone serves you a chilled dish, you know intentionality went into it. Chilled foods also encompass a certain timelessness.
One of my favorite recent bites is a very, very cold lobster salad that I ate mere feet from the ocean down the Jersey shore — there was a touch of chives and a bit of lemon, but the dish was lobster personified, with nothing to gild the lily but the crustacean itself. And it was perfectly prepared.
Oftentimes — especially during a scorching hot day — these cold dishes are beyond refreshing and welcome.
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The intentionality of chilled dishes
When it comes to soup, think of beet-centric borscht, ice-cold gazpacho with lump crab meat on top, fruit or yogurt-based soups. As far as salads go, there’s toothsome grain salads, decadent pasta salads and bright panzanellas. Lastly, you can’t beat a chilled sandwich, with dense, chewy bread that provides more resistance than a room temperature sandwich, often with crunchy lettuce and mayonnaise-laced fillings.
Furthermore, there's also dishes that must be served cold — like, icy cold: ceviche, poke, crudo, raw oysters, clams on the half-shell and the like. Massara, an Italian restaurant in New York City, even serves a cold pasta: a chilled spaghetti with red prawn and briny, decadent sea urchin.
The (un)intentional delight of chilled dishes
Some adore chilled foods that were once decisively un-chilled, however. Think of how people love cold fried chicken, leftover Thanksgiving turkey on a sandwich, cold pizza or a slice of meatloaf, straight out of the refrigerator, sandwiched between slices of bread. Some also swear by cold meats like cold roast beef, chilled or cured salmon and marinated or pickled raw vegetables.
The key to chilled foods
One enormous consideration is temperature, of course. If someone is anticipating a chilled dish, make sure that that is met.
There's a special balance to chilled food. Make sure you respect it.
A chef's insight
Katianna Hong, a standout on this season of "Top Chef" and a chef based in Los Angeles, is a proponent of chilled dishes. During the competition, she won a cold food challenge when she made a dish of chilled chicken with licorice-forward soba, cucumber and daikon. It was an absolute hit with the judges (and — if I'm any indication — viewers, too).
I recently connected with Hong, who told me that “It’s important that dishes served cold still have a punch to them and are aggressively seasoned. When I think cold, I often think of refreshing and mild, but I like to pleasantly surprise guests with a refreshing dish that also packs a flavor punch."
Hong also notes that beyond temperature, it's also important to consider texture. Hong adds, “A chewy element such as noodles, combined with a crisp and crunchy element such as salted cucumbers or pickles enhances the savory cold broth."
A seasonal call to action
Seasonality-wise, there's never been a better time than now to appreciate all that they have to offer. So why not experiment with them even more this summer?
It's not only delicious — it'll help keep the house cold and you’ll avoid having to turn the oven on, too. Maybe you'll even be able to give your air conditioning a quick break? It’s a real win-win.
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