Neighborhood Kitchens Visits Oleana

By Margarita Martinez

There are so many amazing restaurants and different neighborhoods in Cambridge that it is no wonder we returned for more inspiration. Just as Muqueca is a bit off of the beaten track, so is our last restaurant of the season: Oleana.  Located on a quiet street in the neighborhood, just a ten-minute walk from the Central Square T-stop, Oleana is a haven for great dining inspired by the flavors of the Middle East and Mediterranean.

Executive chef and owner Ana Sortun started Oleana in 2001 and Chef de Cuisine Cassie Piuma began working there two years later, after falling in love with Ana's food as a customer. The excitement of Ana and Cassie is palpable when they talk about the flavors of Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Armenia. It's as if they found a new creative freedom working with the spices and herbs of the Eastern Mediterranean. They now take trips together to discover inspiration for their dishes. These trips also influence what Ana’s husband, Chris Kurth, plants at his farm, Siena Farms.
 

Ana Sortun, Margarita and Chris Kurth at Siena Farm (Patricia Alvarado/WGBH)

Siena Farms in the Sudbury River Valley supplies almost all of the produce served at Oleana – it is very unique for an urban restaurant to source its own farm for its produce. It was such a treat to visit with Chris and Ana on their lovely organic farm. Siena Farms, named after their daughter, began as a family farm on which Chris was raised. The farm has grown to fifty-acres and is entirely organic. Their produce supplies farmers' markets, restaurants, and CSA communities. Chris and Ana plant what they want to eat themselves and think others will enjoy. They grow a large variety of vegetables with several types of peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and lettuces, to name a few. While there, Ana and Chris introduced me to an off-the-vine Persian cucumber. I never knew that cucumbers could be so sweet and flavorful! I went home with sungold cherry tomatoes, which taste like candy, and two different kinds of eggplant.
 
After visiting the farm, we returned to the Oleana kitchen to cook with the farm-fresh ingredients. Oleana's kitchen is run by women, a rare occurrence in restaurants. Clad in cut-off pants and polka-dotted socks, Chef Cassie guided me through some of Oleana's signature plates. Vegetables and herbs take center stage at Oleana. The meat, fish, and seafood are almost an accompaniment to the vegetable dishes. One dish we made was Cacik, a perfect yogurt dish for summer that gets its flavor and texture from some of the same fresh vegetables and herbs I enjoyed at Siena Farms. We also prepared a tasty carrot and fennel saganaki with a delicate grilled octopus.  Also, I love spicy peppers, so imagine my delight in learning how to fry up the Turkish street food of fried mussels and tarator sauce (if my husband is reading this, please note that I want a Vitamix blender for my birthday!). Desserts did not make our episode, but when we took breaks I got to feast on the scraps of cake used in Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick's famous Baked Alaska while the pastry chefs were preparing for the evening.
Working on this episode made me intrigued and excited to cook at home with flavors from the Eastern Mediterranean, a region whose cuisine I'm not as familiar with as the others we have featured on Neighborhood Kitchens. While I loved the food at Oleana, I left most inspired by Ana's farm-to-table vision, using the flavors of far-away countries while sourcing ingredients found close to home. Hasta pronto!! 

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Watch Neighborhood Kitchens online to find out more about Oleana, Siena Farms and Cambridge.


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