food & dining
I Keri White
tagged along with my husband on a
recent boondoggle to Miami Beach.

While roaming, I stumbled upon Time
Out Market, a venue that brings the best
local culinary talent together under one
roof in a carefully curated — for lack of a
better term — food court.

But before you turn the page, envision-
ing a mall setting populated with Orange
Julius and Cinnabon, hear me out.

TimeOut Markets, the brainchild of
TimeOut Magazine, are located in trendy
areas, often in historic buildings, and
showcase everyone from Michelin-
starred chefs to up-and-coming culinary
innovators. They serve on real china,
generally contain a few festive bars and
you don’t bus your table.

Each chef runs a small kiosk (think a
higher Reading Terminal Market) and
patrons can sample dishes from a wide
variety. Launched in 2014 in Lisbon,
TimeOut Markets have subsequently
opened in Miami, New York, Boston and
Chicago. Should you find yourself in any of
those cities, I highly recommend a detour.

Needless to say, I spent most of my
time in Miami Beach sampling the goods
in TimeOut Miami. I had vegan Chinese
dumplings, Venezuelan arepas, Mexican
tacos, all-American chocolate chip
cookies, Cuban coffee and Spanish pan
tomate. I also had the good fortune to score
a reservation at Lur, the creation of
Michelin-starred chef Aitor Garate
Berasaluze. This eight-seat-only Friday
night special offers a multicourse meal
served at a counter
overlooking the bustling
kitchen. The activity was
staggering — chef and
his assistant delivered
world-class, beautifully
presented cuisine and
wine pairings, all while serving custom-
ers at the counter who ordered dishes
from the tapas menu.

The tasting menu showcased dishes
from Berasaluze’s native Basque Country
in Northeastern Spain. I did not have
sufficient chutzpah to ask for his recipes,
but the following are a decent approx-
imation of courses adapted for home
cooks. If you are squeamish about raw
egg, you can coddle it or poach it before
serving, or just give the mushrooms a
drizzle of best-quality olive oil instead.

Cauliflower Soup | Dairy
Serves 4
Chef served the soup with bonito
flakes, which are dried tuna flakes.

These are not for everyone; you can
skip the garnish entirely or add some
toasted garlic, toasted almond slivers,
a sprinkle of fresh parsley or a drizzle
of olive or truffle oil.

1 head cauliflower, cut into small
pieces 1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 potato, peeled if desired, and
chopped 1 teaspoon salt
White or black pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
Garnishes: toasted almonds,
chopped fresh parsley, truffle/
olive oil or toasted garlic slices
In a large pot, melt the butter and
sauté the onion until fragrant. Add the
salt, pepper, cauliflower and potatoes.

Stir to coat. Add vegetable broth, and
bring it to a boil. Lower the heat, cover
and simmer for 30 minutes until the
24 FEBRUARY 23, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Monika / AdobeStock
A Culinary Trip to Basque
Country Via Miami Beach
vegetables are totally soft.

Using an immersion blender, puree
the soup until very smooth. Add cream,
taste for seasoning and serve as desired.

Basque Seared Mushrooms |
Pareve Serves 4
The traditional way to serve this is
with a raw yolk in the middle of the
mushrooms — you break the yolk,
and stir it into the cooked mushrooms
before you dig in — the theory being
that the hot mushrooms “cook” the
egg. If you do go this route, be sure to
use a fresh, organic egg.

1 pound mushrooms (chanterelles,
king oyster, et cetera), sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh parsley
4 egg yolks (discard whites or use
for another purpose)
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil
and sear the mushrooms over medium
to medium-high. Add the salt and
pepper, and continue cooking for about
5 minutes, turning once. When the
mushrooms are nicely seared, lower
the heat to medium, add the garlic,
and continue cooking for another 3-5
minutes. Remove the skillet from the
heat and add fresh parsley and more
salt and pepper, if needed.

Divide the mushrooms among four
shallow bowls, leaving a space in the
center of each. Carefully place the yolk
in the center, and serve immediately. ■
Keri White is a Philadelphia-based
freelance food writer.