On a recent morning at the , a man clad in black stood rapt at a display of free melon samples, the fruit as bright and colorful as his clothing was not.
The man was dressed like Johnny Cash, and it turned out he was no less an artist. This was Mike McKillop, a chef at in rural Roxborough who is part of this summer’s series in .
McKillop’s task: Pick out some farm ingredients from local purveyors, then return to his restaurant’s kitchen to turn them into a meal.
Which is what brought him to the produce stand and its array of melons. There were standard cantaloupes and watermelons, but so much more. The names were evocative: Juan Canary, Dove, Moon Glow, Rocky Sweet, Sugar Baby.
McKillop had his eye on a yellow watermelon, its flesh the color of a lemon, but with the same flavor as the red melons of your childhood picnics.
“We do a watermelon caprese salad with feta cheese and basil at the restaurant, and this would be a great variation for it,” Mc Killop said after a couple of bites of the melon. “We try to use as many Colorado products as we can. It’s that time of the season.”
Ed Mumm appreciated the sentiment. Mumm lives in Ordway and has farm acreage in Rocky Ford, where melons have made the community’s name for more than a century. Mumm entered the family business in 1983, helping his dad.
“The weather this summer has been ideal, though this spring was rough,” he said of heavy rains that spurred replantings. “The melons definitely have the sugar content. We tested last week and it was running at 14 percent, which is exceptionally high.”
No kidding. Ten percent sugar content is considered prime, and some growers ship at 7 percent sugar content.
McKillop was knocked out by the sweetness. “Wow, this is really something,” said the Florida native, whose family ran restaurants during his childhood.
He had done some homework before arriving at the Littleton market, which operates Wednesdays through Oct. 28 in the Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center just off Santa Fe Boulevard.
McKillop had heard good things about Snow Creek Ranch, a family operation that raises cattle in Kansas, but processes them in its Larkspur packing house. He sought a tri-tip, a cut from the bottom part of the loin. Although a muscle cut, it does not require a long braise like brisket. This means it can be served rare or medium-rare, which is McKillop’s preference.
“Tri-tip is a great cut,” he said, cradling a two-pound hunk of beef. “I’m just going to do a simple rub: salt, pepper and garlic. Then I’m going to do a salsa of roasted poblanos and tomatoes.”
He would wind up backtracking to the Mumms Farm tent for those ingredients, but his next stop was at the stand run by Mazzotti Farms of Hudson. There he picked up four Palisade peaches. He had spent the morning thinking about a peach panna cotta.
Thirty minutes and about $45 later — the tri-tip cost $32 — he was heading southwest through rolling countryside towards the restaurant.
Angel’s Share Kitchen & Pub is named after the term for the amount of wine that evaporates during the barrel aging. It sits in a small shopping center at 8361 N. Rampart Range Road. Kurt Weaver, the chef-owner who is McKillop’s running mate in the kitchen, opened it in April 2013.
Thanks to a creative menu and a customer base in nearby developments such as Ken Caryl Ranch, it has come into its own.
“We consider ourselves duck-centric and pig-centric,” McKillop said of the restaurant. Lunch features items such as duck confit sloppy joes with gouda cheese; dinner entrees include a Berkshire pork tenderloin with Michigan cherries (Weaver’s home state) and a cherry-smoked Tender Belly bacon-potato hash.
On this Wednesday morning, Weaver took over the lunch service while McKillop prepped his meal.
First up: That watermelon salad. A variation on the traditional caprese, a summer showcase for tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, McKillop’s version was simple.
He first halved the watermelon and removed the rind. Inside, it looked for all the world like pineapple. McKillop sliced the watermelon with a 10-inch chef’s knife, then did a precise chop on the flesh, rendering it into small cubes. It all went into a bowl, followed by crumbled feta cheese and an herbal wild card that the chef decided on the spot: mint instead of basil.
After a quick toss with salt and pepper, the dish was plated and dressed with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a balsamic reduction. The salad was as bright in the mouth as it was on the plate.
Next up, the dessert. The panna cotta, a light, pudding-like concoction of cream, milk, sugar and gelatin, would need to be cooked, cooled and refrigerated so it would set up properly.
“Panna cotta is so simple,” McKillop said as he loaded the ingredients into a pot. “You can use a lot of different ingredients in it, like hazelnut and chocolate. We’re going to use Madagascar vanilla bean. It’s got good flavor but won’t dominate, because we want the peaches to be the star.”
When the mixture hit the stove on its way to a rolling boil, Mc Killop began paring peaches, which would be diced and sauteéd with a bit of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. They would top the panna cotta after it was loaded into martini glasses and chilled.
As he deftly held each peach and worked the knife around it, McKillop reflected on his 30 years in the business.
“I worked with some European old-guard chefs when I was younger,” he said. “These were the kind of guys that would throw pots and pans at you if you messed up. There aren’t too many of them left.
He cracked a grin. “They’ve kind of gone the way of the dodo bird.”
Finally, the tri-tip.
McKillop kept things simple. The tri-tip was rubbed with salt, black pepper and crushed garlic. Then it hit the grill. For the first few minutes it cooked with the fat cap up so the juices would run into meat and not flare up. It was then flipped for a nice char, and finished in the oven while McKillop made the accompanying salsa.
His salsa is a variation on Santa Maria salsa, a tomato-celery concoction used in Southern California, where tri-tip reigns at cookouts. McKillop substituted char-roasted poblanos for the celery.
The result was superb. Fresh red tomatoes were chopped with the poblanos and a bunch of scallions, and the salsa had just the right amount of heat.
It paired perfectly with the meat, which McKillop let rest for 10 minutes before carving against the grain.
Sitting on a plate, a perfect medium rare with salsa dolloped at the four compass points, it invited a knife and fork. McKillop obliged.
“Wow,” he said, taking a bite. He offered forks to two guests.
Wow and wow.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
Palisade Peach Panna Cotta
This light summery dessert is perfect for Palisade peaches. You’ll want ripe fruit, but not overripe, since the peaches will be sautéed. The gelatin packs are available in grocery store baking sections. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
½ Madagascar vanilla bean
1 standard packet gelatin powder
2 Palisade peaches, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons Grand Marnier
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Mint and blackberries, optional
Directions
Combine first three ingredients in a pot. Split the vanilla bean, lengthwise, using your knife to scrape the interior into the pot. (The flesh you extract will look like used coffee grounds.) Toss the pod into the pot along with the contents of the gelatin packet.
Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer for five minutes, stirring or whisking occasionally. Ladle into martini glasses or pudding dishes and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until the panna cotta sets up.
Meanwhile, melt the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a plain saucepan (not a non-stick variety). Add the peaches and stir. Add the Grand Marnier and flame to burn off the alcohol. Let chill.
Remove the panna cotta glasses from the refrigerator. Gently spoon the chilled peaches on top of the panna cotta. Garnish with 2-3 blackberries, if desired, and a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
Watermelon Caprese Salad
A delicious variation on the Italian caprese salad, this dish is served at Angel’s Share Kitchen & Pub in Roxborough. It substitutes melon, feta and mint for the traditional tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Serves 4.
Ingredients
4 cups watermelon, chopped into ½ -inch cubes
1 cup crumbled feta
½ cup mint, sliced into a chiffonade
Salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar reduction (available in stores)
Directions
Combine the watermelon, feta and mint. Toss gently. This is best done immediately before the salad is served, so the feta doesn’t break down and turn the red watermelon pink. (It will still taste fine but won’t be as visually appealing.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and divide on plates. Dress with a light touch of olive oil and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.
Tri-Tip Roast with Poblano-Tomato Salsa
The tri-tip is an excellent, well-grained cut of beef from the underside of the loin. The salsa has a punchy but not overwhelming amount of heat, and the raw tomatoes give a nice acidic note to the dish. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 -pound tri-tip cut of beef
Kosher salt and coarse-ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 poblano peppers, char-roasted, peeled and seeded
4 ripe tomatoes
6 scallions, diced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Wash the tri-tip and pat dry. Rub to taste with kosher salt and black pepper. Do the same with the garlic. If you like, rub some olive oil on the beef.
Place on a hot grill with the fat side up. This lets the fat drip into the meat and will reduce flare-ups when you flip the cut over. Cook for 6-8 minutes on each side to get a nice char and lock in the juices. Then move to a 400-degree oven and finish to desired doneness. (For medium rare, an instant-read meat thermometer should read about 135 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the roast.)
When done, remove from oven and let rest on a cutting board with a foil cover for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the charred skin from the blackened poblanos, seeding them as you go. (Some cooks prefer wearing gloves for this sequence.) Dice the tomatoes and combine with the chopped poblanos in a non-reactive bowl. Add diced scallions, garlic, lime juice and tablespoon of olive oil. Stir and add salt to taste.
Slice the roast against the grain and on the bias. Plate with the salsa, or serve the latter on the side in a serving bowl.
Freshly farmed
The chef: Mike McKillop of Angel’s Share Kitchen & Pub, 8361 N. Rampart Range Road, Roxborough.
The market: Littleton Farmers Market, 7301 S. Santa Fe Blvd., Littleton. Operating Wednesdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (or sellout) in the parking lot of the Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center. Runs until Oct. 28.
