A sprinkle of salt finishes the duck carnitas at Clyde’s Fine Diner.
Writer: Mathany Ahmed
Photos: Duane Tinkey
How do chefs cook up a new idea?
For local chefs like Diego Rodriguez-Negrete from Clyde’s Fine Diner and Centro’s Michael Kolodzej, it’s less about starting from scratch and more about reworking what already exists in fresh, unexpected ways.
“We like to take a lowbrow idea and present it in a highbrow setting, without forgetting where it came from,” Rodriguez-Negrete said of Clyde’s.
To see this thinking in action, we took a closer look at two reimagined dishes:
DUCK CARNITAS AT CLYDE’S FINE DINER (pictured above)
The duck carnitas shareable plate began as a taco from sous chef Mauricio Rodriguez, first served during Clyde’s weekly taco nights. Great recipes like this are often born through collaboration in what head chef Rodriguez-Negrete calls the “kindest kitchen in Des Moines.”
“We took an idea that was once a hand-held taco and asked ourselves how we could serve it in a more refined way,” Rodriguez-Negrete said.
Cook the duck: Instead of crisping the duck on a griddle, Rodriguez-Negrete makes a rillette, slowly cooking and preserving the meat in its own fat. The carnitas are then rolled into a cylindrical loaf, sliced into circular pucks and seared on each side.
Cut the richness: The dish is topped with curtido, a kind of fermented slaw from El Salvador made from pickled carrot, pepper, onion and cauliflower, which brightens and balances the dish. “Duck is really fatty, it’s rich, it’s unctuous,” Rodriguez- Negrete said. “What goes well with that? Acid.”
Build the sauce: “Most dishes need a sauce, not just for palate, but for presentation,” Rodriguez-Negrete said. He created this one using chamoy, a pickled fruit sauce used in traditional Mexican candy, and a Jimmy Nardello pepper jam.
Add some crunch: “We decided to make our lives really hard with these tiny tostadas,” Rodriguez-Negrete joked. Corn-based masa is rolled, baked, chilled, cut and fried until it’s crispy and flaky, then topped with cilantro.
Not your nonna’s naan: Centro’s butter chicken calzone makes a compelling case for globalization.
BUTTER CHICKEN CALZONE AT CENTRO
This Indian-inspired twist on Centro’s calzone was inspired by a wine pairing during one of the restaurant’s pop-up wine dinners. For Kolodzej, special events are an opportunity to experiment beyond what he calls the restaurant’s “red sauce Italian joint” identity.
It’s part of his broader approach to creating new dishes. “How do I take this thing that is inherently not Italian and twist it a little bit so that it works in our space?” he said.
Marinate the chicken: The process starts with marinating chicken breasts overnight in yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and Indian spices. The chicken is grilled, then simmered in a sauce made of crushed tomatoes and heavy cream.
Stuff the calzone: Made to order, the saucy chicken is folded into Centro’s beloved pizza dough along with fresh mozzarella, hand-pulled in house. “We want to make it exciting for us to make and for our customers to eat,” Kolodzej said.
Bake and finish: To top it off, the calzone is brushed with herb garlic butter, just like Indian naan. Served with raita, an Indian dip made from yogurt, herbs, spices and vegetables, the multicultural calzone is perfect to share as an appetizer or main.
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