Chef's Spotlight > Kevin Katz of The Red Onion, Woodstock, NY
by Brian K. Mahoney; Photo by Keith Ferris

Sautéed Shrimp with Spicy Tomato Ragout

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Medium-Sized Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Head Garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3 Jalapeño Peppers
2 Red Bell Peppers
3 Pablano Peppers
2 Tbsp. Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. Anchovy Paste (or Canned Anchovies, chopped)
6 Roma Tomatoes
Salt
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ Cup Lemon Juice

1. Rinse and dry the shrimp.

2. Toss jalapeño, red bell, and pablano peppers lightly in oil and place on baking sheet.

3. Roast in a 500o oven, turning the peppers once or twice. After 12 minutes, check the peppers frequently as roasting times vary. The bell peppers should be blistered and soft but not completely charred. The pablanos should be roasted less than the red bells, otherwise they are impossible to peel. When cool enough to handle, peel, then carefully
de-seed them. The jalapeños need not be peeled and shouldn’t be seeded. Dice all the peppers into medium pieces.

4. Roughly chop the tomatoes into large chunks, toss in olive oil and salt and black pepper, and spread onto a baking sheet to be roasted, similarly
to the peppers. They should be cooked until they have plenty of color but are not burned. Remove and allow to cool.

5. Mix tomatoes with the chopped peppers.

6. Using your largest and heaviest-bottomed sauté pan, heat the remaining olive oil until it shimmers. (Katz notes that most home chefs do not use very high heat on their stoves. He counsels that the oil should be very hot in this case.) Add the garlic and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to evenly brown it until golden. Just before the garlic begins to caramelize, add the anchovies, remove from the heat and stir them in well, using your wooden spoon to help dissolve the anchovy into the oil and garlic.

7. Immediately add the shrimp and return to high heat, stirring constantly. Add the tomato/pepper mixture and cook on high heat until the ragout is bubbling. Add lemon juice to taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt if necessary. Add the parsley and stir to marry. Serve in a platter or large flat bowl with a firm country bread that has been brushed with
olive oil and broiled, grilled, or toasted.

Like many who make careers in the service industry, chef Kevin Katz has made the long rounds of a journeyman apprentice. Starting as a dishwasher at 16, he has worked in 31 different restaurants by his count (Katz is 38). Katz spent two years in Washington, DC, five years in San Francisco, opened a restaurant in Sonoma, and worked at a country club in East Hampton (are there any other kinds?). Katz also worked at the Woodstock institution The Bear Cafe from 1988-1990 and again as catering chef from 1997-2000. After Katz left the Bear Cafe, he went to Red Dot in Hudson, where he served as executive chef until just before he opened the Red Onion in June of last year.

What Katz liked about the Red Dot was its urbane style and laidback attitude—stylish without trying to be fancy—an atmosphere Katz has tried to recreate at the Red Onion. “There’s a lot of people who think that in putting together a restaurant there’s a formula for fine dining,” Katz said. “They put down the tablecloths, they have overwrought menu descriptions, they try to be too fancy.”

For Katz, food is first. He calls the food he serves at the Red Onion—everything from herb and shallot marinated lamb rib chops with bordelaise sauce and spicy Thai beef salad to shrimp ceviche and orrechiette with broccoli rabe, roasted garlic, oven-cured tomatoes, and parmesan cheese—international bistro cuisine (which perhaps could otherwise be termed “cosmopolitan comfort cuisine”). The portions are ample and the dishes are mostly straightforward renditions of French, Italian, and American standards. “The food you get on your plate is boldly flavored,” said Katz. “Things that are supposed to be rich are rich, things that are supposed to be bright and citrusy are bright and citrusy. There’s no confusion about what you’re eating.”

The Red Onion
1654 Route 212., Woodstock. (845) 679-1223.
Dinner: Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday, 5-10pm;
Friday & Saturday, 5-10:30pm; Sunday, 5-9pm.
Brunch: Sunday, 11am-3pm. Closed Wednesdays.