1 RENAISSANCE SQUARE
WHITE PLAINS, NY 10601
(914) 761-4242
CHEF/OWNER: ANTHONY GONCALVES
It’s a tough word to use with a straight face, but we’re going to go ahead and call Chef Anthony Goncalves a maverick. He stepped into his first professional kitchen at Trotters Tavern in White Plains in 2001 when it was (for the previous four years) what Goncalves calls a “rock and roll place” with live music, chicken wings, and burgers. Up until 2001 Goncalves had been strictly front-of-house personnel, but he was forced into the kitchen after four chefs left Trotters Tavern in quick succession. “After working with these guys and being in the kitchen—you know, trying to make it happen—I came to a place where I really knew what I wanted Trotters to be about.” Goncalves had neither culinary school nor professional cooking experience, but he did have innate talent and an idiosyncratic understanding of food. It helped that Goncalves had grown up with a rich culinary tradition given to him by his close Portuguese-American family. Trotters dropped the word Tavern, and with Goncalves at the helm it became a Westchester sensation known for its virtually unclassifiable cooking that blended elite ingredients, Portuguese flavors, and American classics.
Chef Goncalves could have had an excellent career at Trotters. After all, the restaurant was conveniently located near the county seat, plus it was firmly entrenched as the watering hole for Westchester’s movers and shakers. But in 2008 Goncalves teamed up with real estate developer Louis Cappelli to debut 42 the Restaurant on the 42nd floor of the new Ritz-Carlton Westchester towers. This stunning, glass-wrapped penthouse offers staggering views from the Hudson River to Long Island Sound. On clear days, diners can look through floor-to-ceiling windows and see both the twinkling lights of Manhattan and the dense, verdant canopy of northern Westchester.
At 42 (and its attached tapas bar, Bellota), Chef Goncalves dazzles with a unique brand of cooking that manages, like its setting, to keep an eye on multiple worlds. Having begun in American comfort food at Trotters Tavern, Goncalves spent several years at 42 working in the high-flying molecular gastronomy then popular at Spain’s Arzak, El Bulli, and Berasetegui. Currently Goncalves has dialed back from the chemicals and potions of molecular gastronomy, but he’s not regretful of where he’s been. “Look, I needed to go through all that to get to where I am now. It takes a lot of work to get to a point of confidence. Now, if I’m making something and I start to smile, that’s when I know this dish is going on the menu. It takes a long time to get to that point.”
(SERVES 6 AS AN APPETIZER)
For the clams:
2 pounds razor clams
Juice of half a lemon
6 ounces lemon olive oil, divided
For the sea lettuce vinaigrette:
4 ounces Moscato vinegar
8 ounces sea lettuce
For the shaving cream:
1½ cups clam juice
1½ cups white wine
2 sheets gelatin
Special equipment:
Whipped cream maker (see Note)
To clean and marinate the clams: Set up an ice bath and rest the razor clams in the bath placed in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Repeat three more times, changing the ice each time, in order to purge the clams of impurities. Shuck and trim the razor clams, retaining broth and shells. Vacuum seal the clean razor clams in a bag with a squeeze of lemon and 2 ounces of lemon olive oil. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, place the oil and clams in a zip bag and press out all the air. Immediately refrigerate the clams.
To make the vinaigrette: In a blender add the Moscato vinegar, sea lettuce, and remaining 4 ounces of lemon olive oil. Blend until emulsified, pour into a bowl, and refrigerate until needed.
To make the “shaving cream”: In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the clam juice and white wine until it is reduced by half. Meanwhile, bloom the gelatin sheets in 2 cups cold water. When clam juice/wine mixture is reduced, remove from the heat and strain it through a fine sieve. Return the strained mixture to a clean saucepan, add the softened gelatin sheets (discarding the water), and bring the mixture to a simmer. When the mixture is beginning to boil, remove the pan from the heat and place directly in an ice bath to cool the mixture quickly. Pour the chilled clam juice/wine mixture into the whipped cream maker and charge the canister according to the manufacturer’s directions. Refrigerate the filled and charged canister until you’re ready to plate.
To plate: Remove the razor clams from the bag and cut into a tartare-size dice. Place clams in a mixing bowl, add sea lettuce vinaigrette, and toss to combine. Plate the clams and use the ISI charger to gently add “shaving cream” to the razor clams.
Note: For this recipe you will need a CO2-powered whipped cream maker. Chef Goncalves recommends those manufactured by iSi, available at Amazon.com.
