June 10, 2016 | Bret Eckhardt & Peter Morenus

Taste of Storrs

Try making one of Chuck & Augie's delicious farm-to-table recipes for yourself.

Try making one of Chuck & Augie's delicious farm-to-table recipes for yourself. ()

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Named for UConn benefactors Charles and Augustus Storrs, Chuck & Augie’s is a popular hangout for faculty and staff and a favorite place for students to take their parents. In spring and summer when locally grown produce abounds, many of their menu items star local fare.

Sweet Potato Fries with Maple Dipping Sauce

To make the sweet potato fries
Chuck and Auggies' sweet potato fries on platter

  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Peel sweet potatoes and cut off ends. Slice potatoes into ¼-inch-thick planks. Then slice planks into ⅛-inch strips. Soak in water for 1 to 2 hours. Drain and pat fries dry with paper towels. Heat oil in pan and bring to 350 degrees. Carefully place fries in oil and fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove fries and place on paper towels to absorb excess grease. Sprinkle with salt and serve with maple dipping sauce.

To make the maple dipping sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Grade A maple syrup
  • 8 ounces confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Serve with sweet potato fries. Leftovers? Ice a cake!

Spicy Tuna Salad

To make the sriracha dressing
Chuck and Augies' tuna salad on a platter

  • ¼ cup mayo
  • 1 ½ teaspoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sriracha sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon gluten free soy sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk till well combined.

To make each salad

  • 4 ounces romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 ½ ounces spring salad mix
  • ¼ cup Sriracha dressing
  • ½ cucumber, sliced and halved
  • 2.5 ounces tuna loin
  • olive oil for pan
  • ¼ cup toasted panko breadcrumbs

Toss together the chopped romaine and spring mix lettuces and lay evenly on the plate. Drizzle the salad with the Sriracha dressing.

Shingle sliced cucumbers in opposite corners or edges of the plate.

Pat the tuna dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set tuna aside, heat your pan with oil. When the pan is hot turn the burner down to medium-high. Gently place the tuna in the pan and cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Rotate tuna to the next uncooked side and repeat this cooking process until the tuna has been cooked evenly on all four sides. You want to create an evenly cooked ring around the tuna.

Sprinkle the toasted panko over the salad and dressing. Slice the tuna into ¼” bite-size pieces and shingle down the middle of the salad. Serve.

Chuck and Augies' mediterranean salmon on a platter

Mediterranean Salmon Salad

To make the roasted tomato dressing

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic, chopped
  • Pinch of salt
  • ½ teaspoon whole grain mustard
  • 1 medium tomato, cut into 8 pieces

Combine first the 8 ingredients in a mixing bowl to make a sauce. Toss tomato pieces in sauce and transfer to a roasting pan. Roast tomatoes for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Strain tomatoes immediately — reserving the strained liquid — and place in fridge to cool. The strained liquid is your dressing.

To make the lime curd

  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp agar agar or cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons cold cubed butter

Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil so as not to cook the egg. Boil and whisk for 1 minute. Transfer to a blender and process at low speed, incorporating the cold butter cubes 2 at a time until combined. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and chill.

To make the salmon and assemble the dish

  • 2.5 ounce salmon filet
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 ounces tomato vinaigrette
  • 2 ounces cucumber, thinly sliced horizontally
  • 2 ounces red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 ounces arugula
  • 2 ounces chickpeas
  • ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • ½ avocado, diced
  • 1 ounce Lime Curd

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Pat the salmon dry and season it lightly with salt and pepper. Set salmon aside, heat the oil in a frying pan. When the pan is hot, turn the burner down to medium-high. Gently place the salmon in the pan skin-side-down and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, start to plate the first half of the salad by placing 2 roasted tomatoes in the middle of the plate. Place 2 more roasted tomatoes on either side of the tomatoes in the middle leaving a space. In that space you are going to place the cucumber ribbons.

To achieve the ribbon effect lay the horizontal cucumber slices down on the cutting board and gently take one end folding it past the other end then back again, folding it into thirds. Turn the cucumber ribbons on their sides and place on the plate in the open space between the tomatoes.

Check on the salmon; if it needs to be cooked longer on that side then continue to cook. If not then flip the salmon and place in the preheated oven for 4 to 5 minutes depending on thickness of the salmon. You want to achieve an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the rest of the salad, mix together the arugula, red onion, chickpeas, and avocado, and toss with the Roasted Tomato Dressing. Place the mixture directly between the cucumber ribbons and sprinkle with the feta. Finish the plating by placing 10 dots of the lime curd around the salad.

When the salmon is cooked evenly, turn the oven to broil. Spread the whole grain mustard evenly on the top of the salmon and place the salmon in the broiler for about 1 minute. Remove from the oven, place the salmon directly over the arugula mix, and serve.