Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/724773
1 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t TOOLS OF THE TRADE The Problem: Preserving heritage produce for use in farm-to-table cuisine. The Solution: Saved seeds. The Problem Solver: Farah Masani, Owner, Farah's Farm, Wilton, CT Farah Masani of Farah's Farm in Wilton, Connecticut, Is by Merrill Shindler The SEED Whisperer SHOULD YOU HAPPEN TO BE ON A FAR distant island in the Svalbard Archipelago, about halfway between Norway and the North Pole, you should track down the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where thousands of seed samples are stored deep within a wintry mountain—just in case the world comes to an end. In that case, future generations, should there be any, will be able to re-seed the Earth—and begin all over again. In the meantime, on a somewhat more modest scale, seeds are being preserved at Farah's Farm, in Wilton, Connecticut—where forager, farmer and seed sourcer Farah Masani plants, nurtures and replenishes what may be the most low-tech tool used in any farm-to-table restaurant kitchen—the seeds that give the food its very essence. Dine at any of the multi-location restaurants of the Barteca Restaurant Group (Bartaco and Barcelona Wine Bar), and you'll find yourself surrounded by the very essence of the season. There are chefs who love their knives, and those who adore their pans. For Farah Masani, the essential tool is the seed—and the clever root that sprouts and flourishes. Merrill Shindler: You grew up in a well-to-do family in India. Which does not seem like the road to a life of foraging and seed saving. Farah Masani: I grew up in Bombay. My family had homes in the countryside, where we would spend our weekends. Some of our workers were homesteaders who lived on the property raising rice, wheat, chicken, lentils. I loved to hang out with them. My family was appalled. My nanny would chase after me, but I hated living the proper way. I spent a lot of time getting my hands dirty. I was fascinated by how so much could grow from a seed. MS: And so, you were sent to America to get an education. And to get you out of the garden. FM: I wound up in Texas. And it was so sad to go to the grocery stores and see the food. I couldn't find good butter or good milk. This was the best country with the worst food. In the Third World, where I came from, people ate real food. And so, I decided I was going to grow my own. MS: And you found yourself in the midst of a culinary awakening—a realization that we could eat better—if we returned to our roots. FM: And one of those roots is saving seeds. It's what any farmer does. You practice it from day one. Once you have a garden, a farm, you don't have to buy seeds. All farmers save their seeds from the crop the year before. If you don't have seed money, you still have seeds. MS: Are there seeds that you're especially proud of? FM: One of our signature dishes are the Padrón peppers from Spain, which are lightly grilled in olive oil. The seeds found in America are cross-pollinated; they're a little spicier. Our chef brought back a packet of true Padrón peppers, with a real Spanish flavor. MS: There's something essentially noble about seed saving—in some cases, you're bringing a plant back from the edge of extinction . . . FM: There are so many varieties of plants, and of animals, that have come close to extinction because of lack of use, or because they demand too much care. Saving plants is what we do in the garden—look at all the types of tomatoes that have come back. But there are also animals, like the Mangalica pig. There were only 300 left—a Hungarian breed of pig that looks like a sheep, a wooly bear. A farmer in Spain worked to bring it back; now we serve it cured on the menu. It's delicious. MS: Is there anything high-tech about seed saving? FM: Not at all. We save seeds the old-fashioned way. Nothing dramatic—we dry them on the plant, clip the plant and store it in a brown bag. Then we separate the pod from the plant, and the seeds from the pod. We use whatever is at hand— coffee filters, paper towels, Mason jars. As long as the storefront is cool and dark and dry. MS: And does it always work? FM: It's what a seed wants to do. A plant wants to propagate. Give a seed the right conditions, and that's what it will do. Farah Masani sources seeds on her farm in Wilton, Connecticut that make their way onto the menus of the Barteca Restaurant Group. PHOTO: ASHLEY CAROLINE PHOTOGRAPHY "We save seeds the old- fashioned way. Nothing dramatic—we dry them on the plant, clip the plant and store it in a brown bag. Then we separate the pod from the plant, and the seeds from the pod." —Farah Masani ■cr