Here’s a chef who is in a real pickle. Actually, executive chef Ryan Morgan of Capitol Hill’s new Art and Soul Restaurant is a master pickle-maker, a preserving skill reminiscent of granny’s cooking of an earlier and cozier America.
That said, it’s not surprising to find that one of Morgan’s grandparents did play a major role in shaping his passion for everything to do with food, from growing and pickling veggies to dreaming up modern twists on the foods of his native Chesapeake Bay region.
“Pop-Pop did all the cooking,” he says. “Grandma wasn’t much of a cook, and he trained my mom, so mom and I worked together.”
Morgan also remembers fondly the trips out to Grandma’s house, where he would pick collards or corn from her gardens or friends’ farms, or make preserves and pickles.
By the time Morgan reached the third grade, the school had published his recipe for “Orange Delight,” a baked confection of crescent dough and oranges. In college, he worked in kitchens to earn money, but focused on athletics. However, when a knee injury from a sporting accident sidelined him, he turned his attention to cooking.
“I always enjoyed it. I associate cooking with good times, and enjoying friends and family,” he says. Luckily, Morgan attended a semester abroad in France at the Universite de Bourgogne, where he took cooking classes and volunteered in the university kitchen.
With that experience, it’s not surprising to note that after two years in college, Morgan left school to work in several Philadelphia kitchens, including George Perrier’s Le Bec Fin, before enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America. While still a student there, he studied under D.C.’s Bob Kinkead at Kinkead’s, and as a graduate, returned to D.C. to join Jeff Tunks’ Passion Food Hospitality Group.
At the tender age of 31, Morgan describes several characteristics that have come to define his cooking style: “I like everything home-made,” he says, gesturing to the nearby pickles at the bar, and noting that the kitchen now has more than 200 Mason jars filled with such pickled goodies as okra, beets, quail eggs and onions.
“We [Morgan and his staff] make pickles, cocktail onions, charcuterie, scrapple and sausages,” he says. “We have a smoker, and we smoke our own pork butts.”
Restaurant guests, therefore, should not be surprised to find such house-made goodies as plum jelly on the breakfast table. Morgan notes that he sends jars of apple butter made from his grandma’s recipe for Christmas presents.
While Morgan admits he is not the baker in the kitchen — Chef Art Smith, chef/owner of the restaurant does those honors — he appreciates the hominess of the selections — bread pudding, banana pudding, “baby cakes” (cupcakes), and chocolate pecan pie, for example.
“I like simple recipes,” he says. “Family recipes, no fancy garnishes or pulled sugar.”
Like most hip, young chefs, Morgan makes frequent forays to local farmers’ markets, not only to pick up what’s freshest but also to inspire his cooking energies.
“Sometimes I get a [recipe] epiphany while in the shower,” he says, “or I recite recipes in my sleep. And many come from the past. Uncle Dan used to make wonderful chow-chow pickles, and I used to put it on hot dogs. It’s what I like to eat.”
Q&A with Chef Ryan Morgan
Do you cook at home?
Yes, a lot of stuff. I have been working on baby food, and doing a lot of research. I love to make chili, braised meats, stews. I turn on some tunes, hang out, and it doesn’t feel like work.
What is your comfort food?
Breakfast. Eggs, good scrambled or fried eggs. I also eat more sandwiches … bologna, cream cheese, hot peppery jelly on Wonder bread.
What is your cooking philosophy?
It is simplicity, old-school with canning, preserves and pickles. A “rural” style, which is the majority of my food. Also braising and slow-cooking.
What’s in your fridge?
Different types of mustards, V8 juice, a ton of condiments, milk, a leftover pot of chili, bologna, cottage cheese, fresh fruit and lots of cheese.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
Pho 75, that’s my favorite meal. I still go to [any of] the Passion Foods restaurants. Outback Steakhouse. And the Old Ebbitt for drinks and oysters.
From the Chef’s Kitchen
Chef Ryan’s beef stroganoff
Serves 6
» 1⁄4 cup vegetable oil, or more as needed
» 1 1⁄2 pounds cubed beef (chuck or shoulder)
» 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
» 1 pound royal trumpet mushrooms, or portobellos or cremini
» 1⁄2 onion, sliced
» 3 cloves garlic, chopped
» 1 cup red wine
» 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
» 2 to 5 cups low-sodium beef broth, as needed
» 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
» 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
» 1 Tbsp. mascarpone
» 1⁄2 cup creme fraiche
» Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
» Cooked egg noodles, about 4 ounces per person
Season all of the cubed meat with salt and pepper very well. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Brown the meat, a few cubes at a time, until browned evenly on all sides. Set aside.
Add the butter, mushrooms, onion, and garlic and sauté for 7 to 10 minutes over medium heat. The mushrooms and onions should be slightly soft. Return the beef to the pan, and add the red wine and vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine reduces by half. Add 2 to 4 cups of beef stock to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook for 25 to 30 minutes; if the beef is not tender, add more broth and continue cooking.
Add the thyme, sage, mascarpone and creme fraiche; continue to cook, but do not boil the mixture. When heated through, season the dish and serve over the noodles.
