Restaurants across Central Florida are celebrating “Eat Local” week, a celebration of local artisans and farmers that provide sustainable, fresh products that not only create great flavors but help improve the strength of our local community. Slow Food Orlando is the sponsor of this week’s events and is a local non-profit that was founded to promote the Slow Food movement in our community.
So what is the “slow food” movement? According to the groups website, the philosophy that is taking over the nation is that “the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work, and that all people should have access to this good and clean food.” Slow food is essentially the opposite of fast food, it’s about slowing down and enjoying what’s in our back yards and taking time to appreciate our local craftsmen.
The goal of Eat Local week is to emphasize that eating local can be delicious, strengthen the relationship between restaurants, farmers, and artisans, and raise awareness about the importance of a local food economy to keep money in our community.
Harmoni Market in College Park is one of the participating restaurants in this week’s event and has been a champion of eating local since it’s opening in 2006. Harmoni is a Mediterranean style bistro, wine bar, and gourmet market featuring a number of local artisanal products for sale, including Old Hearth Bakery Bread, coffee beans from Z Coffee, and micro brewed beers from Orlando Brewing Company.
I had the pleasure of dining there for lunch this week to take advantage of their special Eat Local two course pre-fixe menu and left with a new found appreciation for the difference fresh ingredients make.
For only $12 I munched on house made tomato and bean salsa with Aladdin Bakery’s Toasted Pita Crisps, and enjoyed their Rockin Goat Flatbread made with Cape Canaveral rock shrimp, Harmoni tomato ragu and goat cheese on top of a crispy whole wheat flatbread from Olde Hearth Bakery.
Both dishes were full of flavor and left me feeling satisfied, but oddly enough, I didn’t walk away wanting to crawl into bed to sleep off my lunch coma. The purpose of eating local, fresh ingredients is to make us healthier and feel better and there is really something to be said for that.
I was so impressed with the quality of the dishes I and my fellow diners enjoyed during our visit that I reached out to general manager Jaime Niemann to see if I could score the recipes for some of their top lunch dishes. She gladly obliged and I’m excited to not only share these, but try them out at home.
Rockin Goat Flat Bread
Ingredients (use as much or as little based on serving size)
- Flax Seed or White Flatbread from Olde Hearth Bakery (available for purchase in the Harmoni Market)
- Roasted Tomato Spread (Divina tomatoes blended with olive oil)
- Goat cheese
- Shredded mozzarella
- Cape Canaveral Rock Shrimp
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Butter
- Garlic, minced
- Fresh baby arugula
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
- Cover flatbread with blended Divina Tomato Spread, crumbled goat cheese and mozzarella and bake in oven at for 6-8 minutes or until crispy and cheese is melted.
- While the flatbread bakes, heat olive oil and butter in a saute pan and when hot, add the shrimp and garlic (feel free to add crushed red pepper for a kick) and sauté until pink.
- Place rock shrimp on top of your crispy flatbread and top with cold baby arugula.
- Cut into small slices for sharing! Perfect for entertaining and impressing!
**For an extra crispy flatbread – before adding your toppings, place the
flatbread by itself in the oven at 350 for about 4 minutes and then add your
toppings!!***
Visit my Orlando Cooking Examiner page next week for Harmoni’s recipe for Truffle Egg Salad!
Be sure to check out fellow Orlando Food Examiner Rachel Joyce’s guide to Eat Local Week.
Eat Local week goes until January 31 so there is still time to partake in this great event. Visit Slow Food Orlando for restaurant and vendor listings.
For more information on Harmoni Market, local food and the Slow Food movement, visit Harmoni’s website.
Tara O'Keeffe