The Obamas hosted their first official state dinner last night in the White House garden, and fresh vegetables were a key ingredient. The menu was created by First Lady Michelle Obama, White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, and NY celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson as a tribute to the best of American Cooking.
Some of the highlights included a potato and eggplant salad with arugula and onion seed vinaigrette; roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chickpeas, and okra; and green curry prawns with caramelized salsify, smoked collard greens, and coconut aged basmati rice.
Most of the ingredients were sourced from local farmers and purveyors. The White House garden provided fresh arugula for the salad as well as mint and lemon verbena for garnish. Chefs even used honey from the White House beehive to make some of the desserts.
Nutrition and healthy eating has been a top priority for First Lady Michelle Obama since the family moved into the White House, and one of her first projects was the creation of a vegetable garden on the South Lawn with the help of local school kids. The garden covers 1,100 square feet and features 55 different vegetables used by White House chefs to feed the first family or host official dinners.
Since ground was broken on the “first garden” in March, it has been applauded by proponents of sustainable agriculture by American farmers.
No word yet on whether the garden includes any garlic plantings, but we sure would be glad to run a truck up to Pennsylvania Avenue to deliver fresh, flavorful, and wholesome California-grown garlic!