Chef, owner of Asheville James Beard Award semifinalist restaurant releases cookbook
ASHEVILLE - Cooking dishes like Whole Stuffed Rainbow Trout with Lemon Butter and Grilled Ramps at home is accessible thanks to a new cookbook full of Appalachian and Southern flavors and techniques.
On April 2, William Dissen, chef and owner of The Market Place restaurant, will release his debut cookbook, "Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New South," geared toward advanced beginner to intermediate home cooks and using simple but impactful practices.
Dissen, a culinary diplomat, restaurateur and food and ocean systems advocate, has pioneered the farm-to-table and sustainability movements in Western North Carolina. “Thoughtful Cooking” invites cooks to adopt the practices at home in preparing dishes and drinks from Dissen’s repertoire of recipes.
The cookbook contains 80 recipes with “thoughtful tips” for preparation, preservation methods, stories about Dissen’s life and career, and his philosophies on food. Dissen also celebrates the “New South,” which he said has emerged as Southern communities become more culturally diverse to create a new food culture that is a "melting pot for flavors."
Chef William Dissen spoke to the Citizen Times about the inspiration and recipes in the book. Also, he shared the "easy" and "flavorful" recipe for the Asparagus and Rice Middlin’ Risotto featured in the “Spring” section of the cookbook as ingredients like asparagus and radishes come in season.
Asheville Citizen Times: How does it feel to have the cookbook released in the same year The Market Place is named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant?
William Dissen: It’s super exciting. The restaurant’s turning 45 years old and it’s my 15th year being the chef and owner. Being able to put pen to paper and get your thoughts down and tell your story is not necessarily an easy thing to do. This proposal to get my book out is something I’ve been working on for seven years and finally had the opportunity for a publisher to sign me on to write the book. I’m excited to tell my story.
ACT: What is the idea and inspiration behind the title and theme, “Thoughtful Cooking”?
WD: While this book isn’t The Market Place cookbook, the idea, the ideals and the ethos come from the philosophy of The Market Place ― sourcing local, being present in the community, taking time to acknowledge the change of seasons and the world changing around you and to be a little more connected all around.
We live in this world with smartphones and we’re scrolling all day and getting caught up in the minutia of technology. I think we take for granted the world around us and the connection to nature and the change of seasons. That was the idea of being more thoughtful ― how we’re being connected to our world and the community ― and food is the great median that brings us all together.
ACT: Are any of the dishes in the book on the menu at The Market Place or your other NC restaurant concepts, Billy D’s Fried Chicken or Little Gem?
WD: My fried chicken recipe from Billy D’s and a few other things. The mac and cheese is the same one we do at The Market Place and Billy D’s Fried Chicken. There’s some crossover with ingredients but I tried to make it unique, as well. There’s some tried and true recipes from the past. Also, the creative process of what are my favorite things to eat.
ACT: Why add cocktail recipes, like the Pickled Ramp Dirty Martini?
WD: With good food, there needs to be good drink. I wanted to put some fun, easy cocktails in for the readers. These are not super hyper mixology cocktails, but they are fun and crushable drinks I think go hand-in-hand with the food and give a little joy hopefully while you’re cooking, too.
ACT: What was the motivation behind categorizing the recipes by seasons?
WD: For my entire career, I’ve always cooked seasonally. I come from a family ― my mom’s side ― that were farmers, and they always cooked seasonally. There was this idea of preservation of food, as well, which I think is a uniquely Southern thing, especially Appalachian in that when the earth provides you “put it up” for the year ― fermenting, pickling, curing, canning, dehydrating ― doing these things so you can preserve the unique flavors of that time of year and being able to use them throughout the year.
ACT: What does sustainability mean to you and why is it important for others to practice?
WD: I learned about sustainability early on from my grandparents. They were meager folks who lived in very rural West Virginia and lived off the land, they grew a garden, had a farm and a few livestock, they foraged for food. ... I spent countless hours sitting on the front porch shucking corn and stringing beans and filling up canning jars full of vegetables. They were putting up gold for the rest of the year.
They were growing a sustainable, organic and regenerative garden because they knew that if they filled the garden with pesticides it would kill the topsoil and nutrients in the ground. Those are things I started to learn as I became a chef. I want to chase the best ingredients. Nine of 10 times the people who are growing sustainably are taking great care of the products they’re growing and, typically, they are better, tastier ingredients because the farmers are taking the time to take care of the earth, too.
Cookbook release parties
Dissen will host a book release party 5:30-7:30 p.m. On April 2 at The Market Place, 20 Wall St.
Tickets cost $50 per person, including a signed copy of the book, hors d’oeuvres inspired by recipes from the book and a signature cocktail.
Reservations are encouraged via OpenTable; drop-ins are welcome. Individual copies of “Thoughtful Cooking” will be available for $35.
On May 15, Dissen will host a book signing at Malaprop's Bookstore in downtown Asheville.
Asparagus and Rice Middlin’ Risotto
By Chef William Dissen, "Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted In the New South"
1 bunch asparagus, woodyends trimmed5 cups Vegetable Stock3 tablespoons unsalted butter4 small shallots, minced1 teaspoon minced garlic1 pinch red pepper flakes11?2 cups Carolina Gold Rice Grits3?4 cup Carpano Dry vermouth1 fresh bay leaf1 small bunch thyme, bundledwith kitchen twine3?4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1?2 teaspoon kosher salt,plus extra to taste1?4 teaspoon ground whitepepper, plus extra to taste3 radishes, thinly sliced3 tablespoons chiffonade basil4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and season with salt so it tastes like the ocean.
Add the asparagus and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.
Transfer the asparagus to the ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, drain andcut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Set aside until ready to use.
Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer in a small saucepan. Decrease the heat to lowto keep it warm.
Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butterbegins to foam, add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.Cook until the shallots are translucent and aromatic, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, until the grains are coated with butter.
Add the vermouth and stir to combine. Cook until the vermouth has reduced bythree-fourths. Reduce the heat to medium-low and ladle in 1 cup of vegetable stock.Add the bay leaf, thyme, salt, and white pepper and stir to combine.
Cook the rice at a low simmer, until the liquid is beginning to evaporate and the ricebegins to look dry. Add another cup of vegetable stock and stir to fully incorporate.
Repeat again once the liquid begins to evaporate and the rice begins to look dry.Stir repeatedly to keep the rice from sticking.
Continue to cook the rice like this, adding stock as needed, until the rice is fullycooked and tender to the tooth when chewed, about 20 minutes.
Add the Parmesan and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt andwhite pepper. Add the asparagus and fold to combine.
Evenly divide the risotto into bowls and top with the radishes, basil, and olive oil.
Stories you may have missed:
2024 James Beard Award semifinalists announced with 4 from WNC
Where to find the best mushrooms in the Appalachians, plus a recipe from The Market Place
Asheville chef William Dissen selected as U.S. culinary diplomat, travels to Qatar
The Market Place: Owner-chef sells one restaurant, shares plans for others
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville chef William Dissen releases 'Thoughtful Cooking' cookbook
