In the Kitchen With Andrew Carmellini at Little Park

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“I’ve been thinking a lot about consciously healthy cuisine,” Andrew Carmellini says from the kitchen of his next restaurant, Little Park. Located in the former Plein Sud space in the Smyth TriBeCa hotel, the 85-seat corner restaurant is sure to be a departure from his other New York dining institutions like the Dutch, where honey-butter biscuits pair with crispy fried chicken, or the newer Bar Primi, where silky linguine is coated with golden breadcrumbs and generous amounts of garlic.

In fact, Carmellini, who worked on the project with partners Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom, says it will be his first to focus wholly on “the origins and specificity” of simple ingredients. Everything will be sourced locally and seasonally from small producers, and even the wines will be cool climate, domestic and Mediterranean. And the ale? It gave rise to the bread: “I will be taking the grains from the beer-making process,” Carmellini says in reference to the special boutique beer he’s brewing at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company. To make the loaves, he’ll mix them with organic rye flour grown and milled in upstate New York.

Little Park opens on Nov. 6 and may be the first farm-to-fork eatery to open in recent months without a kale salad on the menu. “I’m a fan of kale in moderation, but there’s too much of it,” says Carmellini, who reduced kale’s presence at Little Park to an agnolotti filling. “Recently, I saw a kale martini.”

The night before Little Park officially opens, the chef will host Prada and the Lunchbox Fund’s fall benefit dinner there. And earlier this week, he let T into the kitchen while he tested recipes for the event, one of which follows below.

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Little Park’s Beetroot Tartar with Horseradish Cream & Rye Crumble

YIELD: 4 servings

For the Rye Crumble:

½ cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground caraway seeds
2 teaspoons salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a food processor and turn it on. Drizzle in the melted butter until large pebbles form.
3. Pour the mixture out onto a floured surface and roll it to ¼” thickness.
4. Line a sheet pan with wax paper, place the dough on the paper and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
5. Bake the chilled sheet of dough for 10 minutes.
6. Flip the dough (don’t worry about breakage) and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until golden.
7. When it cools, break it into small crumbs.

For the Horseradish Sauce:

1 cup sour cream
¼ cup freshly grated horseradish
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate.
*Chef’s tip: Best to make this the day before, so all the flavors meld together.

For the Beets:

4 medium-size red beets
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Set the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash the beets and wrap them individually in aluminum foil.
3. Place the beets on a baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes, until soft when poked with a cake tester or sharp paring knife. Allow them to cool completely.
4. Prepare a workstation with plastic surfaces to avoid staining. With gloves on, peel the beets by rubbing them with your hands under cold running water to remove the skin. Discard the skin.
5. Chop the beets finely and place them in a bowl.
6. Dress the chopped beets with the olive oil, vinegar and chives and season with salt and pepper.

To Assemble:

Fresh dill
2 hard-boiled egg yolks, chopped

1. Place a heaping spoonful of the horseradish cream sauce onto a plate and spread it evenly in a circle.
2. Spoon a fourth of the beats into a circular ring mold, or just heap them on top of the sauce.
3. Garnish with a teaspoon of the rye crumble on each side, fresh dill and some chopped hard-boiled egg yolk.