Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Farm-Fresh Pie
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Stone Hearth Pizza’s head chef Michael Ehlenfeldt grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, where his family planted a two-acre garden, kept a root cellar and made meals from scratch. After earning a degree in biochemistry, he left it all behind to cook at a restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard, and then spent 14 years as chef de cuisine at Hamersley’s Bistro in Boston.
Now Ehlenfeldt’s farm-fresh sensibility, coupled with his precise chemist’s nature and fine dining background, have made Stone Hearth Pizza, his newest food venture, a cut above your average town pizza. Also a cut above is the company’s mission to use sustainable, organic and local ingredients when possible – a philosophy that manifests itself in everything from all-natural bacon to biodegradable drinking straws. So far the company, founded in 2005 by Jonathan Schwarz and Christopher Robbins, has opened in the Boston suburbs of Belmont, Sudbury and Needham. Additional locations are part of the long-term plan.
“We’re not ruling out urban centers, but we think it’s somewhat of a trend to bring good food out to where people are living,” says Robbins. “Our target customer is a little more educated and wants premium quality. Otherwise, we’d be like the 66,000 other pizzerias out there.”
Bright red tile, red plates and an open kitchen that affords a full view of workers loading pizzas into the oven give the newest location in Needham a casual, upbeat atmosphere. The menu ranges from classic cheese ($9) or pepperoni ($11) to the adventurous prosciutto and pineapple ($13). Patrons can also create their own pizza ($8+) from a sizeable list of toppings, including locally made Maple Brook Farms mozzarella, fresh garlic and all beef, nitrate-free pepperoni. For dessert there are Belmont-made gelati ($4) and house-made cookie assortments ($1.25-$5). Many of the beers come from local breweries, including Harpoon in Boston and Endurance in Ipswich.
The lanky, soft-spoken Ehlenfeldt might start his day by visiting Volante Farm in Needham or Verrill Farm in Concord. “We have to work out the seasonal items with farmers and this helps plan the menu,” he says.
Though the most popular pizza is the tomato and cheese classic (30 to 40 percent of sales), the culmination of Ehlenfeldt’s influence at Stone Hearth has to be the “Farm Fresh” pizza. The pizza is sprinkled with peppery garlic oil, dolloped with hand-stretched Vermont mozzarella, and accentuated with roasted peppers, pickled artichoke and Yukon Gold potatoes. The kicker? A salad of greens tossed with strips of local prosciutto is generously heaped in the middle. “I think it’s fairly unique – a salad on a pizza,” Ehlenfeldt says.
In the fall, the Harvest pizza featured another farm-fresh combination of roasted butternut squash, sautéed red onions, bacon, scallions, Fontina and goat cheeses. Later this year, Ehlenfeldt plans to try a topping of roasted pumpkin, pickled pumpkin, and pumpkin seeds.
True to his chemistry background, Ehlenfeldt loves numbers. When testing out a new possibility, a 14-inch pie (up from 11), it takes him about four tries to get it right. “I measured the ingredients on a scale; I knew the exact quantity,” he says. The chef also has a numerical handle on his limits. On the average restaurant menu, “roughly 80 percent is not for the chef’s ego – it’s for the customer. The 20 percent for play is where I get to have the excitement.”
Keeping close to Schwarz’s original vision that “pizza is the medium for delivering great toppings,” Stone Hearth puts an emphasis on doing the basics justice and keeping things simple. “Half of the people in the kitchen, it’s their first cooking job. This speaks volumes about how easy it is to make pizza,” says Ehlenfeldt.
Simplicity may seem like it strays far from Ehlenfeldt’s training in fine dining, but he says his background has helped him perfect the recipes for the basics, such as pizza dough. “I have an awareness of quality, and the balance of flavors.”
Stone Hearth is always looking for ways to be eco-friendly and still be able to put out an affordable product. “We talk to distributors of products, we look for competition and find small companies like us to do business with,” says Schwarz. Ehlenfeldt is even bringing home the compost from the Needham restaurant right now while the team searches for a company to do the job.
In the end, Stone Hearth’s “green” mandate has to balance what’s ecological with what’s practical. “You have to weigh the pros and cons of being organic. Is it better to eat a conventional apple or an organic Snickers bar? When you can do things that make sense, you do them,” says Ehlenfeldt.
Summer Bean, New Potato and Smoked Turkey Salad
With Lemon Thyme Dressing
Serves 4
For the dressing:
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
Several grinds of fresh black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil
For the salad:
2 heads Boston Bibb lettuce, washed and dried
1/4 pound blanched green and yellow beans
1/4 pound new potatoes, quartered and cooked until fork tender (see note)
6 red radishes, washed and quartered
1/4 pound smoked turkey breast, cut into 2-inch strips
2 tablespoons minced chives
1. To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, shallots, thyme, salt and pepper together. While whisking, slowly add both oils in a steady stream until all the ingredients are blended.
2. To make the salad, lightly dress the lettuce with some of the dressing and arrange 5-6 leaves on individual plates. Dress the beans, potatoes and radishes, and arrange on top of the lettuce. Use the remaining dressing to coat the turkey strips. Arrange the turkey on top of the vegetables, and sprinkle the top of the salad with the minced chives.
Note: To cook potatoes, place them in a pot. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside to cool before using in the salad.
Adapted from Michael Ehlenfeldt
Photos by Heath Robbins
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