Plated is a dynamic and ever-changing delivery service that helps people at home create chef-worthy recipes on their own. Their Head Chef and Culinary Co-founder, Elana Karp, reached out to tell us about how they keep up with other services and what’s new in their world.
She even shared a recipe from their awesome menus for us to try before subscribing (see below)!
Interview
How did you get involved with Plated and what appealed to you about the position?
I learned about Plated in 2012 when it first launched and joined the team as Plated’s founding chef in January 2013. Plated was so appealing to me because I quickly saw its potential for national impact.
After my teaching and food education experience, I saw Plated as great way to teach people across the country more about cooking, and enable them to cook more at home.
At Plated, I oversee the entire seasonal menu creation process each week and help bring distinctive, high-quality meals into homes across the country.
Tell me about Plated’s new test kitchen! What will Plated use the new kitchen for?
We just moved in June, and I’m thrilled to have an entirely new Test Kitchen + Studio with tons of space, light, and state-of-the-art equipment. Not only has our culinary team grown, but we’ve also expanded our menu to offer more recipes for our customers to choose from each week.
This new space sets us up well to create more recipes with our larger team. We use the Test Kitchen for testing and recipe development, as well as conducting photo shoots, creating video content, hosting Facebook Live cooking demos, and more.
What’s your favorite recipe at Plated?
It is so hard to pick just one, but our Pan Roasted Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables is among my favorites. I love it so much; in fact, it was the inspiration for The Plated Cookbook that came out last year!
The reason it’s so great is that it’s incredibly simple, only requires one pan (so minimal clean-up), has tons of great flavor from a white-wine and fresh herb sauce, and is endlessly customizable because you can use whatever vegetables are in season or whatever you’re in the mood for.
Do you know of any foodie news/trends that we should be aware of?
One trend we’re loving right now is applying Indian flavors and spices to a wide variety of dishes. We’ve visited a few new restaurants in NYC that are taking classic Indian flavors and lightening them up in new and interesting ways. We’ve translated some of these ideas to our menu and customers are loving it.
Do you have any hacks that everyone should know about?
When you’re cooking chicken, meat, fish, or vegetables, you’ll often end up with some stuff stuck to the bottom of your pan — this is actually the key to the most delicious sauce!
Instead of battling with it in the sink, add some wine and stock to the pan over medium heat, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits, and finish with a few pieces of cold butter.
It only takes a few minutes, and you’ll end up with the fanciest tasting sauce that will not only make your friends think you’re a professional chef, but will also make cleanup a whole lot easier.
If you could give yourself culinary advice when you were in your early twenties, what would it be?
Don’t take yourself too seriously in the kitchen! Cooking should be fun and creative, so don’t be afraid to mess up or combine flavors that don’t traditionally go together.
We also learned that Plated is going to be selling at Albertson’s sometime in the near future, making it the first omni-channel meal kit service- aka the first to sell in supermarkets rather than just mailing kits to you. Translation: less waiting, more cooking.
Check out Elana’s fave recipe below, and get your chef on by subscribing to Plated to try it out for yourself.
Pan-Roasted Chickenwith Zucchini, Carrots, and Shallot Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Rinse all produce.
Quarter carrots and zucchini
lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2-
inch pieces, discarding ends. Thinly slice
chives. Peel shallot and thinly slice into rings.
Pat chicken dry with paper towel and
season all over with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and
pepper as desired. Heat 1 tablespoon
olive oil in a medium ovenproof pan over
medium-high heat. When oil is
simmering, add chicken skin-side down
and sear, without moving, until skin
begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Flip
and brown on opposite side, about 1
minute more. Transfer chicken to a plate
skin-side up, leaving behind any juices in pan.
Return pan from chicken to medium-high
heat and add butter. When butter is
foamy, add whole garlic cloves, whole
thyme sprigs, carrots, and zucchini.
Season with 1⁄4 teaspoon salt and pepper
as desired. Sauté, stirring, until
vegetables begin to soften, about 3
minutes. Add white wine and cook until
liquid is reduced by half, 1-2 minutes
more. Remove pan from heat.
Return chicken to pan on top of
vegetables, skin-side up. Transfer to
oven and roast until vegetables are
browned and tender, and chicken is
cooked through and no longer pink, 10-12
minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon
olive oil in a small nonstick pan over
medium heat. When oil is shimmering,
add shallot and cook, stirring, until
softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
Add Champagne vinegar, Dijon
mustard, chives, 1⁄8 teaspoon salt, and
pepper as desired to bowl with shallot,
and whisk to combine. Whisking
continuously, slowly add 3 tablespoons
olive oil. Set aside until ready to serve.
Once roasted, transfer chicken to
serving plates. Remove and discard
garlic and thyme from pan. Divide vegetables between plates
with chicken, spoon over shallot vinaigrette, and dig in!