For our August ‘In the Kitchen’ series, I met with Darya Hryniuk Shelby, who was born in Belarus, and has been on the Island since 2015: “I started coming here because my sister lived here for a while. I was going back and forth for about four years, but when you’re six months here, and six months there, you can’t have a home, a pet, or a relationship. Eventually you have to choose: ‘Where do you want to start your new life?’”
Though Shelby had gone to school for journalism, then graphic design, her first job on the Island was making fudge at Murdick’s Fudge. “Like many people, I worked many jobs. If you come from a different country, it’s good to work in restaurants,” Shelby said. “You learn a lot.” Shelby has worked as a server at Offshore Ale in Oak Bluffs, and says she also learned a lot from Alex and Debbie Cohen at Pawnee House. “They showed me hope — that you can be small and mighty. Debbie had never worked in a kitchen in her life. And she created the menu and continued to upgrade the dishes that not only looked good, but every bite was delicious,” Shelby said.
Inspired, Shelby started her own catering business called Soiree: “I was so worried that I’d never be able to do this, but I’ve worked with other chefs whom I’ve learned from — we learn from each other. You create a beautiful network this way. And my confidence started growing.”
Soiree focuses on catering meals for small groups. “‘Soiree’ is a French word meaning a small gathering — a beautiful party or gathering. I love making meals for a family or a group of friends, just sitting together, laughing, and enjoying beautiful food. My job is to help them have that,” Shelby noted.
Shelby’s goals are to stick to her roots and what she knows best. “I love grains — barley, buckwheat, and sea buckthorn [orange-yellow berries, which have been used as food, medicine and skin treatment in Europe and Asia], which grow in Belarus and Poland, not here. I didn’t know how to bring them over, but I found a few farms close to Alaska, and they shipped me fresh frozen berries, which I use for desserts and sauces. I love when people say, What is this? I like to introduce new foods, new flavors, and some surprises. And I’ve found that many of my clients are really interested in trying new things.”
For our meal, Shelby prepared Gnocchi Sardi, with roasted tomatoes from North Tisbury Farm and shrimp from John’s Fish Market. “This is very easy. This pasta requires only two ingredients: semolina flour and water,” Shelby said. “It’s gluten-free and eggless as well, so if people have gluten issues or alpha-gal, you can still have pasta. You can also substitute the shrimp with chicken, if you’re allergic to shellfish. We’re also going to make a pistachio pesto sauce. I chose pistachios because pine nuts are expensive, so if someone can’t afford them, they can use pistachios instead.”
To make the pasta, Shelby poured semolina flour into a bowl with water, and mixed it until it formed a ball of dough, and then used a small wooden gnocchi board that you can purchase at LeRoux to shape the pasta on. “I also chose this recipe because I wanted to make something that families can do together. Kids can roll the dough and make different shapes out of it,” she said.
When all was ready, she spooned a little pesto onto a plate, added the pasta, then the roasted tomatoes, finishing with the pan-seared shrimp. I couldn’t believe how straightforward it was, and when I indulged, it tasted like a meal that might take a very long time to prepare — delicious, rich, satisfying.
“For me, it’s important to keep developing taste — maybe I’ll make some sauce with wine, but maybe I’ll add some rhubarb and crazy berries — why not?” she said. “Little things like this push you to become who you are.”
Gnocchi Sardi with Roasted Tomatoes and Shrimp
Serves four adults.
1 lb. of shrimp, deveined and cleaned
grape tomatoes
grated Parmesan cheese
food processor
pasta board
Basil pesto
½ cup toasted pine nuts
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
¼ tsp. sea salt and pepper
2 cups basil leaves
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for a smoother pesto
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
In a food processor, combine ingredients, and pulse until combined. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil, and pulse until combined. Add the Parmesan cheese, if using, and pulse to briefly combine. For a smoother pesto, add more olive oil.
Pasta
280 grams semolina flour
130 grams lukewarm water
In a bowl, mix flour and water. Mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Form into a ball, flatten it out into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare basil pesto, and roast the tomatoes in a 400° oven by coating them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Take the dough out of the fridge. Cut a small piece from it (make sure the rest of the dough is covered to prevent it from drying out). Have a pan sheet with sprinkles of semolina flour to place formed pasta on when you’re ready to cook it.
Roll a small piece of dough with your hands into a long string (but keep it thick), and cut it into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Use a pasta board and a butter knife, or pastry cutter, and start rolling out each piece. You can use your imagination, and make any pasta shapes you want! Once all dough is gone, you can either cook pasta immediately or freeze it. If you freeze pasta, make sure you leave it in the pan for 30 minutes, then you can put it in an airtight container.
Boil water, salt it and add your pasta. Since it is an eggless pasta, you will only need four minutes of boiling. Drain it and serve with pesto sauce. While pasta is resting or cooking, pan-sear your shrimp with salt, pepper, and a couple of pinches of lemon zest.
Put a tablespoon of pesto on the bottom of each plate, add pasta, and mix. Then add 4 or 5 roasted tomatoes, shrimp, top it all with a bit more pesto, pine nuts, and grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
