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Arts & Entertainment

Ortine: Homemade, Lovely, and So Local It's Astonishing

Chef Sarah Peck spins local kale into seriously tasty sauce.

Sarah Peck and her husband Steve Guidi live a few blocks away from Ortine, the eclectic, homey restaurant they opened in 2008 on Washington Avenue near Pacific Street. Why there? Peck had always admired the little space just off the European-feeling Triangle Park where Washington and Underhill Avenues merge into Atlantic. And then one day it popped up on Craigslist. Peck, a former restaurant manager who was looking to open her own place, expressed interest right away. Soon after, supported by a cast of people mostly related to the couple by blood, she found herself chef-owner of one of Prospect Height’s most personal, least ostentatious little eateries.

The vibe at Ortine is homemade, lovely, and so local it’s astonishing. Yes, Sarah grows most of her herbs in the sweet little city backyard. Yes the food is sourced locally, and the mostly Mediterranean-leaning menu is devoutly seasonal. Yes, they make their own mozzarella, pickle whatever’s in season, excel at luxurious vegetarian cooking (Steve is a vegetarian), occasionally serve eggs from hens raised by relatives upstate and always feature sustainable meat, but that’s not what I mean.

I mean local in the sense of the word before it became a food movement, when locals were folks you recognized from the block, when local meant staying within your community, and when it meant that something was so particular to a spot that it just couldn’t be anywhere else. That’s Ortine: local.

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The restaurant, with its neon pizza sign and flower-decorated chalkboard out front, is a big part of the charm of this little Prospect Heights outpost, an area that condo developers clearly had high hopes for a few years ago. A stone’s throw from Clinton Hill and surrounded by residential areas, the intersection still feels like a frontier, thanks to the roar of nearby Atlantic Avenue and the many uninhabited condos. This means that lines for one of the few tables are rare and its very possible to leave a meal at Ortine feeling like you’ve developed a relationship with the staff there. It also makes Ortine a fitting place for the first New York drop-off location of the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative CSA.

A Pennsylvania farming coop that has long provided Ortine with dairy, eggs and produce, this promises to be a significant CSA: 6 months of vegetables delivered pre-packed, with add-ons that include not only fruit and flower shares but also herbal medicine and the option to pre-order dairy, meat and eggs. The first share arrives at Ortine in May, and the sign-up deadline April 15th, so check out lancasterfarmfresh.com if you’re interested.

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Lately, Peck has been turning Lancaster Farm kale into a vibrant green, vegan pesto that she uses on her pizzas and pastas. Fittingly, the recipe—full of the sweet flavor of kale and the richness of well-toasted almonds—could not be simpler. And unless you’re growing your own kale under a cold frame in your backyard, it’s about as local as green things get right now. Then again, you might prefer to patronize a local business instead of cooking, in which case: stop by Ortine for their Local Squash, Kale Pesto and Ricotta Pizza instead.

Kale Pesto
Makes 2 cups

2 bunches kale, tough stems removed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of your favorite nuts (Peck uses almonds and also recommends walnuts)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  1. To roast the nuts, preheat the oven to 375˚. Roast the nuts on a baking sheet until fragrant and slightly brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool.
  2. In a large pot, season 2 quarts of water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the kale and boil just until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and let cool, then squeeze out the excess liquid.
  3. Transfer the drained kale and roasted nuts to a food processor, add the oil and garlic and process to the desired texture (a rougher or smoother pesto). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use on pizza or over pasta, or freeze for up to a month.
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