Sweet potato, halloumi, chimichurri bowl
Sweet potato, halloumi, chimichurri bowl
It's 2016 and we're going to brunch in Echo Park.
There was once a restaurant in Echo Park called Ostrich Farm, situated on the North side of Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard.
It got tons of daylight, sometimes too much; we had to give parasols to customers waiting in the sun for morning brunch. The facade was painted white to reflect light, but it was useless; there were no trees outside, except for a palm tree that was eventually struck by lightning in 2015.
The rest of Echo Park sprawled out on either side with coffee shops, vegan donut shops, and health food stores, while color-blocked residential apartments climbed the hills like Machu Picchu.
Inside, the restaurant was open and airy, with Blockshop Textile wall hangings and bronze sconces, green banquets, and minimalist stoolss lined the marble-top bar.
I was a waitress there for nearly a year while getting my blogging business off the ground. We had to wear gray shirts and blue jeans while serving, I wore Vans and A.P.C. jeans. I resented the gray tees from American Apparel; they showed sweat and the V-neck was never my favorite cut.
It was certainly a hipster joint. Julian Casablancas came in most weekends with his (now ex) wife and their kid, who looked like a carbon copy of Julian. "Gentle parenting" was definitely a thing; toddlers would often climb the glass windows, and we'd have to ask celebrities to pay attention to their kids to avoid getting sued. I also served Ed Droste and Sia. It was a time to be in LA...
The restaurant is now closed, but I still dream of their brunch menu, which included a delectable section of breakfast bowls that were just the perfect balance of fresh and comforting. There was a feeling that your Mom cooked it for you, but mostly because every dish had a heavy hand of butter. Think warm chickpea bowls with kale, feta and poached eggs, a tri-colored lentil bowl with tomatillo salsa, sunnyside up eggs, and vinegar-y sweet peppers. Elsewhere on the menu fluffy ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote, lox tartines with crème fraîche.
Everything Ostrich Farm served was equally high-brow/low-brow, before it was cool. For instance, our most popular side dish was a plate of roasted farmer’s market vegetables—such as purple carrots and yellow cauliflower—served with a side of horseradish aioli. The tuna niçoise salad used fresh ahi ahi tuna. Everything had an extra touch of decadence. Their cinnamon rolls were out of control, too…
But their favorite thing on the menu that I ordered every week was their Sweet potato bowl with halloumi, quinoa, swiss chard and chimichurri.
I’d never tasted anything like it, and eight years later, I’m still thinking about it. It’s an irresistable mix of sweet and salty, with that acidic, herby punch from the chimichurri.
This month, I decided to make it at home, in accordance to my food philosophy where I aim to re-create famous and delicious dishes at home. It’s a good rotation in my current recipe box, so I figured you’d want to learn how to make it, too, so you can feel like it’s brunch in 2016 all over again.
The recipe is below for paid subscribers. Trust me, you’re gonna wanna make this, it’s a great dish for any time of year and it’s SO good as leftovers. Bon Appetit!
Sweet potato, halloumi, and chimichurri bowl with quinoa and kale
Serves 3-4