Spotlight Feature: Missy Robbins

Where do I even begin? She is a culinary powerhouse, cookbook author, and successful restaurateur recognized for her delicious Italian cuisine as showcased by her two restaurants in Williamsburg, Lilia and Misi. If you haven’t had the chance to check out her restaurants, this is your SIGN. They are the best and my favorite spots to frequent. Missy is a James Beard award winner, and known for her approach to Italian cuisine by emphasizing high quality and seasonal ingredients. She is currently working on opening her retail boutique, selling Misi pasta products, Italian specialties, pastas and curated pantry items this summer, called Misi Pasta, which I personally cannot wait for. It’s going to be the SPOT.

Missy, who also happens to be a dear friend, is known in the food community for her dedication to her craft, and is always championing the next generation of chefs to express themselves through their love of food. I met Missy seven years ago when I was a corespondent on the Prince street podcast and we became instant friends. She is such a fiercely talented and incredibly accomplished friend who has followed her dream and made it a reality, and I am in constant awe of her.

I have been getting a ton of questions lately about my fave restaurants in NYC, which I promise I will get to, BUT a list from the culinary queen herself? I’ll take that, thank you very much. So without further ado, here are Missy’s top restaurants she swears by, and lucky us, she also shares one of her summer recipes from her book, Pasta.

Missy's top fave NYC restaurants

1 | Place des Fêtes

2 | Shukette

3 | The Four Horsemen

4 | King

5 | Razza

6 | Lucali

grilled summer beans and garlic vinaigrette

This dish has been a standard at Misi since we opened. I use runner beans there, but the vinaigrette is as good a partner to pretty much any summer beans- haricot vert to wax – or really any vegetable you have coming off the grill. If you don’t have access to a grill, you can do this on the stove top in a grill pan or even in a sauté pan over high heat. What you’re looking for is a healthy char and a bit of blistering on the exterior.

Photograph by Kelly Puleio

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Garlic Vinaigrette

25g / 1 small shallot, finely diced
150g / ⅔ cup olive oil
125g / 25 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6g / 2 Tbsp finely chopped marjoram
15g / 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
¼ tsp dried red chile flakes
55g / ¼ cup red wine vinegar

To Finish

794g / 1¾ Ib summer beans, trimmed
42g / 3 Tbsp olive oil
⅓ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried red chile flakes
Flaky sea salt, q.b.

Instructions

To make the vinaigrette, put the shallot and the olive oil in a small saucepan over very low heat and cook until the shallot starts to soften and becomes completely translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are totally softened and the garlic is softened but without color, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a heatproof bowl and let cool.
Once cooled, add the marjoram, parsley, and chile flakes. This is your vinaigrette base. Measure out 80g / ⅓ cup and set aside. Transfer the remainder to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days for another use.
To finish, preheat your grill to high or place a grill pan over high heat on the stove top.
Place the beans in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and salt and mix well. (You will finish with flaky sea salt, so you don’t need to go too heavy now.)
Use a grill topper or grill basket on the grill to prevent the beans from falling through the bars of the grate. Arrange the beans in an even layer on the topper or basket. If using a grill pan, cook in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Cook, turning once, until they begin to char and soften but still have some crunch, 2 to 4 minutes on each side.
While the beans are cooking, pour your vinaigrette base into a small measuring cup or bowl. Add the vinegar and stir to combine.
When the beans are ready, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and chile flakes and stir to combine.
Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with sea salt q.b.

Nota bene: You can add vinegar to the leftover vinaigrette base and use it as a salad dressing, marinade, or a warm vinaigrette for fish.

Follow Missy here:

Instagram: @missyarobbins

Restaurants

@lilianewyork

@misinewyork

@misipasta – coming soon