Puerto Rico A Farm To Table Paradise

Puerto Rico is a lush island, with a heritage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Surprisingly it's only now that island chefs are using this bounty. It  is a rich one, teeming with all sorts of varieties. Luckily there is a fresh food movement there that is using this chef's treasure trove.

Regular contributor , Jeff Gordonier , wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Mr. Gordomier was lucky enough to leave a cold New York  and visit Vieques, Puerto Rico a tiny island directly east of the main one. Vieques is known mostly for the US Navy's bombing ground and an off the beaten path vacation spot. However it is also the home of  el Blok,  a laid back beach hotel and farm to table restaurant. The 'owner Jose Enrique is also  a leader of a loosely knit band of  Puerto Rican cooks, activists and farmers  who came to the same idea that these islands are chock full of fresh fruits and veggies along with endless herbs .Many restaurants  such as Parcela Gastropub, Marmalade and the eatery with Mr. Enrique's name are pushing this tote bag to table thinking. This shouldn't be a new movement yet it is, thanks to the US's involvement in Puerto Rico' s farming industry . Thanks to Operation Bootstrap in the Post war 1940;s island farming was shut down and industry was encouraged..It did create a much needed middle class however it also meant a seismic shift away from the agrarian heritage that influenced Puerto Rican cuisine. Everything now was coming from farms in California and Ohio, as opposed to the gardens just in the neighborhood. Veggies and fruits were expensive too and did not always arrive fresh

Luckily this is all changing, as the world rediscovers locovore dining. El Departmento de la Comida was born four and a half years ago.Local organic produce are now being brought in from private pinprick gardens and farms to a warehouse in the main city.where it is resold to local restaurants and cafes.. Many may be surprised to learn that the island can yield up broccoli, carrots, okra and zucchini along with tarragon and dill. Puerto Rico is also known for coffee, in fact most of Europe drank coffee that came from the island's coffee farms. A new generation of chefs is discovering Puerto Rico's rich green bounty  and they are changing the oft dull and trite dishes such as tostones and mofungo. Fresh butterflied  snapper is on the menu at Mr. enriques where diners are often seated next to the fisherman who caught it. Oysters , normally not associated with island cuisine are now hot thanks to this movement Pork chops are drizzled in fresh sugar cane juice while dessert could be a ball of fresh made guava ice made with just picked fruit.It's different and much healthier than the usual fried fare sometimes associated with Puerto Rican cuisine.

The locovore movement is helping this bounteous island, known as the rich port to discover its' fruits and vegetables. The cuisine is going back to its agrarian roots where fresh veggies and fruits made up the menu.It's a refreshing embrace to the past and the future too.