A Taste of the Town: Fresh Food Generation

The Banner's weekly food column featuring local chefs!

Maux Morgan is our Executive Chef at Fresh Food Generation, a Farm to Plate Caribbean American food truck, catering and home delivery company. We are excited that Fresh Food Generation will open their first restaurant in the Codman Square neighborhood of Dorchester this Summer. Our Chef Maux brings years of culinary experience originating with her childhood growing up in Jamaica to working at Scottish, French and Italian kitchens across Boston. You can taste her cooking by ordering online at Fresh Food Generation and visit the restaurant with patio seating this summer.

—The Fresh Food Generation Team

We asked our Chef Maux a few questions about her Escovitch recipe and her culinary background.

What excites you about helping to open a farm-to-plate Caribbean restaurant?
I’m just excited to feed everyone, but particularly the Black and brown community — fresh and local produce because I know growing up it wasn’t always easy to get fresh local vegetables.

PHOTO: Fresh Food Generation

What are your food values?
Food should be fulfilling not only physically but emotionally. It should be made with love and care — you can taste when someone throws something together and you can really taste when time and care was put into it.

What do you like about Escovitch? First, what is it?
Its specifically a Jamaican pickled vegetable. The thing I love about Escovitch is its usually served with fish. You don’t have fish everyday so it’s usually for a special occasion, so it feels celebratory. I love the heat of it from the scotch bonnet pepper, the allspice, the fresh thyme, pimento. Ah, it’s amazing.

Jamaican Pickled Escovitch Vegetables

• 1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced
• ½ yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• ½ green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, julienne
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp. ginger, minced
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp. allspice

Add vinegar, sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce to a saucepan. Heat on low until sugar dissolves. Add the vinegar mixture to the vegetables in a jar or closed container. Allow it to sit for a minimum of 2 hours before enjoying. Add to your favorite dish. In Jamaica, Escovitch is typically made with fish but it works well with other meats.

CHEF’S TIP: Be very careful with the scotch bonnet. The spice isn’t always there at the beginning, but the longer you leave it in the spicier it’s going to get.

A hungry lunch crowd lines up at the truck. PHOTO: COURTESY FRESH FOOD GENERATION

SUPPORT LOCAL!

WHAT: Fresh Food Generation
WHERE: For menus, ordering, home delivery information and food truck location visit www.freshfoodgeneration.com
COMING SOON: Our restaurant opens in Codman Square, Dorchester this July. See you there!