Tomato + Basil + Mozzarella

Put it on crust, it's pizza margherita.
Put it on pasta, it's pugno chiuso.
Put it on a pole, it's Italy.

In its purest form, the three come together for a salad named for a sun-kissed island where all three ingredients are available at the doorstep. L'insalata caprese is about timing. Each element--tomato, basil, mozz--must be at its prime. "It's simplicity," Chris says. "So it's all about the quality of the ingredients."

Finally, after a strange, cold summer, the prime has arrived in Indiana. "This is not the dish to eat in January," Chris says. "It's only perfect right now." Stop by the Goose to pick up the best of caprese fixings, fresh from the Hoosier fields.


Tomatoes: Mother Nature (along with some talented Hoosier farmers) has finally blessed us with vine-ripened, sun-polished, sweet, sweet tomatoes. The collection now available at the Goose includes the funky colors and complex flavors of heirlooms, spunky romas, and, of course, the juicy garden variety. These beauties are fresh from the vines of Seldom Seen Farm, Good Life Farms, and Big City Farms.

Basil: Matt Jose is an urban farmer with a rural green thumb. His fields are verdant wedges of unused city blocks, and from healthy, safe soil, he's culled some bright green leaves. Layer some flavors in your caprese with Thai, Lemon, or Sweet Italian Basil freshly cut from the rows at Big City Farms, just blocks away from the Goose.

Mozzarella: Oozing between the layers of green and red should be some slices of the best mozzarella on earth. For the traditionalists, there's Mozzarella di Bufala, a D.O.P. fresh water buffalo's milk cheese that oozes just a bit of sweet and sour buttermilk when sliced. But for true fans of the summer's best, there's Burrata, a cow's milk mozzarella balloon filled with a rich, fresh cream. For a truly Hoosier twang, a lucky few can snag the summer-only organic mozzarella from Traders Point Creamery.

Gilding the lilly? Hardly. A few, subtle additions to the caprese's basics bring the flavors together and frames summer on a plate. Head to the Goose's cellar to look for Santa Chiara extra virgin olive oil in the bottle wrapped in gold foil. Don't let the flash and dazzle fool you. This serious, Italian evoo has the tamed bite and balanced flavor to blend the caprese's sweet-tart flavors.

A sprinkling of salt enhances. Black lava or pure French fleur de sel are behind the counter at the Goose (just ask!), but for even more Hoosier goodness, try the hickory-smoked sea salt from Hickoryworks in Brown County.

The purists will note that veri italiani rarely splash a caprese with balsamic, but then again, their trains are never on time. The triune salad is an excellent palette on which to enjoy a three-year-old, thick and sweet balsamic vinegar from Modena. The dark syrup makes a crescendo of the salad, adding complexity and depth to the simple perfection.

"It doesn't get much better than this," says Chris, and he's a bacon eater. Here's to the Hoosier summer.

Introducing Kevin

The Goose is happy to welcome Kevin, the latest addition to our gaggle.

Along with Batali-making skills, he's also learning his way around Indy. Two weeks ago, Kevin was working as a garde manger and pastry chef just over the river in Cincinnati.

A native of Pittsburgh, the Midwest has claimed Kevin since he graduated from Ohio State with degrees in International Business and French. The kitchen is where he's happiest, though, especially when tending to stocks and soups. "They're my favorite things to prepare," he says. "I love fussing over them all day, layering the flavors."

For Kevin, settling into Indy means getting to know our local producers and nibbling his way through the Goose's cheese & charcuterie selection -- a guided tour for a good appetite.

Stop in and say hello to Kevin, the newest addition to the Goose Gang!

How does the Goose Garden grow?

We knew Chris was a chef, butcher, and salumaio, but this summer he's added farmer to his curriculum goosae...Urban Farmer, that is.

Visitors to the Goose may have noticed the new bit of green on the building's south side. With help from Laura and Tyler Henderson, Chris transformed this bit of unused earth into a kitchen garden.

"Reduce, reuse, recycle, and reap" is the rule of (green) thumb in the Goose Garden. Wooden slats from old shipping crates became a long, narrow raised bed for peas and herbs. Recovered roofing material forms the raised rings for kohlrabi, three kinds of radish, rapini, arugula, fennel, parsnips, and more. Compost from the Goose's own vegetable scraps and water from the rain barrel under the Goose's gutter keeps everything green. Reclaimed mulch keeps the weeds down between the beds, and a layer of cardboard (cut from boxes delivered to the Goose) is the base for what the Hendersons like to call "lasagna gardening."

To maximize plant production, minimize weeding, and help with water management, "lasagna gardening" means layering cardboard with dry leaves then straw. A mixture of compost and soil goes on top as the planting bed.


Thanks to the Hendersons' advice, the garden is prime for several seasonal harvests. When the spring's radishes were harvested, the bed was turned and new summer crops found a home. This fall, the beds will be turned again for heartier, cold-weather produce like winter greens and root vegetables.


Goose guests can taste the garden's produce in market salads and sandwiches. The garden is always changing and so is the menu. Last time Chris went out to harvest, he remembered the way the ground had looked just a few months earlier. "We wanted to do something with this plot. We could have landscaped with worthless plants, but a kitchen garden looks nice and it's useful and edible, too." Oui, Chef.

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Dad doesn't need another tie this year

Fried chicken, farm animals, and live bluegrass...
what more could your pops ask for?

Celebrate Father's Day

with Slow Food Indy at Skillington Farms

The Goose's own Chris Eley and friends will be on site,

frying chicken fresh from the farm!

The Hoedown

Fresh fried chicken

Live bands

Pitch-in picnic

Farm tour

The Throwdown

Your best side dish--Bring it!

Judges: local food experts

Prizes: meat, bacon, coupons



Here’s the Story

Bring the whole family for a fried chicken picnic and live music at Skillington Farms in Lebanon, Indiana, on Sunday, June 21st at 3pm.

Chris Eley of Goose the Market will be on site, frying chicken fresh from Skillington Farms. Each family should bring a dish to share for the pitch-in picnic to accompany the fried chicken. (Bring your own reusable dining ware, too!)

Enter your dish in the Side Dish Throwdown. A panel of local food experts will judge the entries for originality, use of local ingredients, and, of course, flavor. Three winners will receive a meat sampler from Skillington Farms, Bacon of the Month Club membership from Goose the Market, or a Green Savings Indy coupon book.

Tickets: purchase by June 19th!

Children 12 and younger: FREE
Adults: $14/Slow Food Members $20/non-members

Tickets are required and only available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69715 Tickets include farm tour, live music, and fried chicken. Remember to bring a side dish to share!

What to bring

A side dish to share
Picnic blanket and/or chairs
Sunscreen and bug spray
Walking shoes for the farm tour & your dancing shoes
Your own reusable dining ware (plates, cups, utensils, etc.) to reduce waste
BYOB

Live Local Bands

The Perennials 4pm: Come listen to the sweet, sweet tunes of the Goose's own Chris Benedyk!

Woodstove Flapjacks 5pm

Bring home the bacon for Mom this weekend

With moms it's always a give and take... Sure she showed your baby album to your significant other way too early in the relationship, but then again, she spent countless holidays welcoming both you and your car-load of dirty laundry. When you were thrilled to land the job that finally got your foot in the door, she said, "Hmm, but you could do better." Then again, she gave you a big hug and said the same thing when that loser left you single and hurt.

She used her magically antiseptic saliva to clean your face at the most inopportune moments, but then again, she performed so convincingly that you honestly believed she loved the macrame key chain/shrinky dink jewelry/decoupage ashtray you made and gave her on holidays past.

This year, give Mom something she'll truly enjoy for Mother's Day (that's Sunday, May 10). Time together--around the table, in the kitchen, between courses--is probably what she's really hoping for. And the Goose has some delicious treats to dress the table (or the picnic blanket) between the generations.

If Mom's a bit of a sea-lubber, think about surprising her with fresh soft shell crab, live Maine lobster, Washington Kumamoto and Beausoleil oysters, or wild Ivory King Salmon.

Make brunch a celebration with Newsom's country ham, bison rib roast, black truffle terrine, farm fresh eggs, bacon (like only the Goose can make it), and all the goodies for Tall's Bloody Mary Bar.

And just in time for Mom's day, the Goose Pignic Basket is back! Mom will be so proud of her little piggie when you take this spread al fresco:

• Bottle of Crios Rose: Gabe says it's an Argentian rose "with surprising structure. Think fresh strawberries and raspberries with balancing acidity and minerality."
• ¼ lb Farmstead Cheese
• House Olives
• Marcona Almonds
• Baguette
• 2 Shagbark Cookies
• ¼ lb Dodge City Salami: This rich house salami is cured with pink peppercorns and fennel pollen, just like mother used to make (you wish).

Call ahead and we'll have your Pignic Basket ($35) ready when you arrive, or walk-in with your order and we'll have it ready in less time than it takes to draw your mom a card.