Karen Akunowicz is paying homage to the Italian town of Modena — she’s just doing it her way - most popular side dishes in restaurants

At Fox and knife, a 75-
At the Italian restaurant in South Boston, you will find a bread called tigelle on the menu.
Also known as crescentina Modena, disk
The shaped appetizer is native to Modena Town, Italy, where the chef and boss Karen akhonoviz lived and worked for a year ten years ago.
"This is an ancient recipe specifically from the area," Akunowicz recently explained that just as the time for the aperitif began, she sat in velvet, tufted at the back of the restaurant
"If I had to compare it to something, I had to say it was a bit like a British muffin.
Between crispy and English muffins.
"Tigelle is rarely seen on the menu in the United States.
Traditionally, it was baked on a flame with a molded waffle iron, and Akunowicz says you can only find it from one or two places in the US.
The New Jersey native who works at the southern tip of Asia
Before leaving alone, she inspired hot miles and Ms. Zhang for seven years and brought back an iron from Modena.
It only baked 7 tigelle at a time, so the kitchen kept stirring them out.
Akunowicz said: "It's one of the very special dishes here for me because it's not fancy and simple (
Although she admitted that in order to perfect the recipe, the kitchen changed the recipe within eight months).
"I think they are beautiful. [
I met tigelle]
When I lived in Modena 10 years ago, I knew I would put it on the menu one day.
"Akunowicz's menu at Fox & the Knife was open on February.
2, both a love letter for the time spent in Italy by James Beard Award winners, and a dish she learned when cooking in Modena's little inotika and pasciferis or an Italian noodle shop
"Pair this intelligence or change [while]
It is very important to maintain the foundation of tradition . "
"When people ask about the menu, I say it is very rooted in the tradition of modern lenses.
Take tortelli di pastinaca as an example, the rotation of tortelli di zucca, one of Modena's signature dishes.
Tortelli di zucca is made of pumpkinor squash-
Tory-
The shape is similar to that of Italian dumplings or dumplings-
St. brown butter and almond cookie crumbs.
The texture of this dish is very sweet, not what Akunowicz usually likes
At least in the traditional form.
Instead, she fills her tortelli with pastinaca (parsnips)
The blue cheese, not the pumpkin, cuts the richness with an acidic creamy brown butter.
Use raddichio salad instead of amareto cookie crumbs for texture tightening.
It was a tribute to Modena, she explained, but it was her way.
Although Akunowicz has been immersed in Asian cuisine for the past seven years, Italy has never left her.
When she lived in Modena, she still kept in touch with the chefs she worked with, and in September 2018 she traveled to Rome and Sicily.
Later this year, Akunowicz plans to visit northern Italy and return to her beloved country for more inspiration.
When Akunowicz worked, the recipe development did not take into account her schedule.
Between replying to emails, managing staff, writing checks, and actually cooking, she said that her creativity is often motivated when she leaves the restaurant: in the car;
At home with her spouse and Fox and knife.
LJ Johnson, boss;
At the grocery store.
Before bringing her thoughts to the kitchen, she wrote everything down and rearranged the steps and ingredients.
She then began to make dishes that transformed dishes such as marfardini Ala Anantara into dishes that were far away from their original concept.
"I 've been taking things out of it all the time," she said of the dish, which features olives, ancient anci beer, and chiropractic faldin noodles that are in Savoy
"It's like when you get dressed, you take something off.
With that dish I pulled back and the rest I gave Lydia [Shilland]
Our assistant general manager said the taste was the best part of chicken soup.
So it ended up leaving something incredibly warm and satisfying.
"Other dishes bring a pleasant cooperation:-
Each day there are aperitif hours to produce a large amount of the remaining whey, which is then used for the restaurant's most popular dish, the tarantel meat sauce. (
"Someone ordered two last night! ”)
Akunowicz's childhood also had an impact.
One afternoon last summer, Akunowicz, a fan of Caesar's salad, stood shopping at the Whole Foods supermarket when the concept of Caesar's Broccoli suddenly appeared in her mind.
She tried to explain to her staff but failed
"Well, it's broccoli," they said . "
Until they took a bite and fell hard for the dish.
Bake broccoli in olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper at Fox & the Knife restaurant and pour it on the house-
Made with Caesar dressing, fried bread with butter and pimenton.
That dish is not from Modena.
That's straight. up Jersey.
Fox and knife; 28 W.
Boston Broadway;
Sunday-Thursday starting at 4m. –10 p. m.
From 4 p on Friday and Saturday. m. to 11 p. m.
Fox and knife.