Lord have mercy. Those exact words came out of my mouth after tasting a meal prepared by Chef Kevin Murphy. Murphy works his culinary magic at the Edgartown Yacht Club. Originally from New Hampshire, Murphy caught the foodie bug young. “I started busing tables when I was 16. I loved being around food,” he said. “I don’t like to sit still. I like being in the kitchen with a good crew to hang out with, around good food, and I love to eat.”
In high school, Murphy went through the culinary program his school offered, and then on to the New England Culinary Institute. “I did some internships around the country — Colorado, Texas, New York — but I always came back to New England,” he said.
Murphy moved to the Island in 2020. “What I like about it here is that we’re very community-driven. Everyone is pretty supportive of local Islanders and of farms and fishermen. And everyone knows everyone here. It’s a small Island, so you’ll get a good or bad rep real quick,” Murphy laughed. “I love the small Island feel of it.”
For our “In the Kitchen with … “ Murphy made Pumpkin Risotto with salsa verde and smoked pork belly. “This recipe is inspired by the ‘Fork to Pork’ program,” Murphy said. According to forktopork.com, Fork to Pork was created by Islander Jo Douglas to help address food waste while simultaneously humanely caring for animals. “Jo goes to different restaurants around the Island and collects scraps to bring to her pigs, so the scraps don’t just wind up in a landfill. We also regularly work with Gray Barn and Morning Glory Farm, and many local fishermen,” Murphy said.
The commercial kitchen of the Edgartown Yacht Club was bustling with the talented kitchen staff, including pastry chef Katie Stengel, “morning” sous chef Steve Kowalczyk, and galley grill cooks Noah Mazzio and Lee McCall. “Our evening sous chef is Pedro Martinez, just to name a few of the cooks and chefs we work with,” Murphy said. Murphy has about 15 people who work with him at any given time.
Murphy started with the risotto. “I’m just adding in some aromatics first,” he said. I had no idea what aromatics were, but Murphy explained that they are herbs, vegetables — anything that builds a foundation. “For risotto, you add liquid a cup at a time to make it creamy,” he explained. He used vegetable stock to add to the risotto, and kept moving the pan around and stirring it. “You agitate it — keep moving it to get the starch out,” he said. “Keep adding stock until it’s cooked.” I asked him how to tell if it’s cooked. “By tasting it,” he said. Which was not only obvious, I suppose, but enjoyable, because we both got to keep tasting it throughout the cooking journey. “Cook the risotto until it’s about 90 percent done, then spread it on a pan to let it cool.”
Next he made the salsa, which was a heavenly mix of herbs, pumpkin seeds, garlic, lemon zest, preserved lemons, anchovy paste, sherry vinaigrette, extra-virgin olive oil, a little water as needed, and hot sauce. “Always!” Murphy said — a self-proclaimed lover of spice.
Once the salsa was done, Murphy grabbed the risotto out of the fridge and put it back in a pan. Next, he placed pork slices into a separate frying pan. “Start with a cold pan for the bacon. I like to use slab bacon — a thicker bacon,” he said.
He added pumpkin purée and vegetable stock into the risotto as well as mascarpone, Parmesan cheese, and more. Last, he added some cauliflower florets to a pan with some other delectables and cooked till al dente. Finally came the part I was waiting for — the tasting! I’ll repeat it: Lord have mercy. Each bite was a flavor burst. Rich, but not heavy, fresh, bright, slightly sweet, a touch of heat, a hit of refreshing herbs. I could taste nearly every ingredient, but somehow they weren’t separate, which is true culinary art — the ability to capture textures and flavors in a way that allows each ingredient to shine but not overwhelm one another. I took the rest home and ate it all afternoon — each bite as delicious as the last.
Pumpkin Risotto
2 small shallots, minced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
½ lb. carnaroli or arborio rice
1 cup white wine: Chablis, or whatever you’re drinking while cooking
vegetable stock or base
2 qts. vegetable stock or base
To finish:
¼ cup mascarpone
1 Tbsp. butter
¼ cup pumpkin purée
Parmesan cheese, to taste; I recommend about ½ Tbsp. per person
Sweat the shallots, garlic, and bay leaf until translucent and fragrant. Add rice and begin to toast until the rice becomes sticky and absorbs the oil. Cook on low heat so you don’t color the rice.
Add the white wine and cook with the rice, stirring pretty consistently to draw out starches. Cook until dry. Add the stock 1 to 2 cups at a time, and stir until the stock is absorbed. Add more stock until rice is just about tender.
To finish the risotto, add mascarpone cheese, butter, pumpkin purée, and Parmesan cheese.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Option to garnish the risotto
4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into 2-in. pieces
½ head of radicchio, cut into 1-in. pieces
4 small cauliflower florets, roasted with oil, salt and pepper
1 sweet potato, medium, diced, roasted with oil, salt, and pepper
1 tsp. pomegranate seeds
1 tsp. toasted pumpkin seeds
Cook the bacon on low and slow heat until it becomes crispy but chewy. Remove the bacon from the pan, and remove ¾ of the bacon grease. Add the radicchio and sauté for 30 to 60 seconds on low. Add cauliflower and sweet potato and heat up with radicchio.
Garnish with bacon, radicchio, sweet potatoes, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pomegranate.
Salsa Verde
1 bunch parsley, picked through lightly; skinny stems are fine, but no tough, woody stems
¼ cup dill, picked through lightly; skinny stems are fine, but no tough, woody stems
8 basil leaves
4 mint leaves
1 Tbsp. tarragon leaves
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp. whole capers
1 Tbsp. anchovies, chopped
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard or Dijon
½ cup pepitas, toasted
4 oz. sherry vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Blend everything but the oil together until smooth in a blender. If there isn’t a blender, chop everything as fine as you can, and put it into a mixing bowl.
While the blender is running, slowly drizzle in the oil, making an emulsification. Taste and adjust with more oil, if it’s too sour, or water if it’s too thick. Should be dressing consistency.
