The Dish: Chef Greg Vernick

Philadelphia chef Greg Vernick is celebrating some major recognition. He was one of this year's Best Chef winners at the prestigious James Beard Awards and Philadelphia's leading paper called his restaurant "the best in the city." 

Vernick joined "CBS This Morning: Saturday" to discuss which chefs influenced him and his culinary journey.

Here are some of Vernick's signature recipes: 

Mustard roasted bone-in leg of lamb with herbs and spices

Ingredients

7 lbs. bone-in leg of lamb 

1 cup olive oil

1 cup dijon musard

4 tbsp. Kosher salt

6 cloves of fresh garlic

6 ea. Anchovies

10 sprigs of rosemary, needles only, no stem

2 tsp. Ground black pepper

2 tsp. Chili powder

4 tbps. Honey

3 tbps. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Ground coriander

1 tsp. Ground fennel seed

1 tsp. Ground black pepper

1 tsp. Hot paprika

1 tsp. dried lavender

4 tsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients but lamb until smooth.  Rub all over lamb leg covering every surface. Place into a container and cover with plastic wrap. 

2. Pre-heat oven 400 degrees. After meat has had time to temper (approximately 1 hour), roast fat side up for about 45 min.-1 hour until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees.

3.  Place onto a cooling rack and while still warm, glaze with the spice glaze covering as much of the surface as possible.  Allow to rest approximately 30 minutes before serving.  Prior to slicing, dust over the chopped parsley so it adheres to the glaze. 

Tomato tart, whipped ricotta, basil

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. water

2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes

4 ea. vine ripe tomatoes, sliced ¼ -inch thick

1 tsp. kosher salt

¾ cup caramelized onions

¼ cup kalamata olives, petal'd off the pit

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry

10 or 12-inch cast iron pan

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven 375 degrees. Make a light caramel with the sugar and water.

2. Shingle the sliced vine ripe tomatoes down first against the caramel.  Season with salt Sprinkle the caramelized onions over the sliced tomatoes.

3. Add the cherry tomatoes next, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil.

4. Place the puff pastry on top and cut the dough to fit the top of pan. Gently tuck the dough down the sides of the pan.  Poke a few holes in the dough to allow to steam to escape. Otherwise the crust will end up soggy. 

5. Bake for about 1 hour or until crust is a deep color of golden brown. Allow to rest about 15 minutes before inverting the tart out.

6. Carefully invert the tart.  Allow to come to room temperature before cutting. Serve with ricotta cheese that has been food processed with a little salt until creamy and smooth. Garnish with fresh basil and sea salt.

Grilled romaine lettuce with stone fruits & buttermilk dressing

Ingredients

1 bag of hearts of romaine, split in half long ways

1 each peach, sliced thin

1 each plum, seeded, sliced thin

6 each bing cherries, seeded, cut in half

1 cup buttermilk vinaigrette

8-16 slices of good cheddar cheese, sliced thin

Parsley

Tarragon

Mint

Chervil

Chives

Kosher salt

Pepper

Olive oil

260 g buttermilk

90 g dijon

12 g honey

300 g grapeseed

13 g salt

1/2 g cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Season the romaine with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill cut side down until it's charred but still keeping the lettuce raw and crunchy. 

2. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the vinaigrette making sure to get some dressing inside the crevices of the lettuce. 

3. Arrange stone fruit on top of romaine (cut and grilled side). About 2 to 3 pieces of fruit spreading over the face of the lettuce. 

4. Place 1 or 2 thin slices of cheese over the lettuce and fruit.  Lightly torch the cheese just so it begins to melt over the fruit and lettuce. 

5. Garnish with a simple picked and torn herb salad. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Corn and quinoa salad with blue cheese

Ingredients

2 cups of quinoa, (i prefer red or black) washed drained

10 cups water

2 tbps. Salt

1 tbsp. Olive oil

6 ears of corn, peeled, grilled and removed from the cob.

1 cup of red seedless grapes, washed and cut in half

½ cup kalamata olives, cut in half long ways

½ cup parsley, washed and chopped

1 cup of good blue cheese (i recommend fourme d'ambert)

1/3 cup of red wine vinaigrette

Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Bring water, salt and olive oil to a boil in a medium sauce pot.

2. Add quinoa and simmer for about 15 minutes or until it's tender to the taste.

3. Drain from water and cool down.

Vinaigrette ingredients

95 g red wine vinegar

190 g olive oil

5 g chili flakes

6 g salt

2 g garlic

2 g smoked paprika

Directions

1. Blend well.  Does not need to be emulsified.

2. In a large mixing bowl: add quinoa, corn, grapes, olives and parsley. Dress with the vinaigrette and a pinch of salt.  

3. Taste and adjust to your preference. Scoop into a bowl and crumble the blue cheese on top. Sprinkle a little more parsley on top to garnish.