Paradox of the Heap
Presented by Zebra Room in Germantown, NY Paradox of the Heap was a communal meal centering polenta as form and historical artifact and examining its ecological and cultural significance, tracing and re-presenting polenta's entanglements pre and post Columbian exchange. Using polenta as a microcosm of vast relations of species, class, empire, ecologies, and tradition, the meal featured local, foraged, and seasonal ingredients intermingling with others from the Mediterranean. Beverages consisted of wine from la montañuela and beverages mixed with knotweed and rhubarb syrups. Ottofile polenta was combined with Taleggio cheese and local butter and topped with nettle puree, locally foraged ramps, agretti, and both fava beans and blossoms. Dessert consisted of a cardamaro zabaione, poached rhubarb, and fig leaf powder.
