Living organic: Nora

Vegetarian Times, August, 2002 by Alexandra Greeley

Where policy wonks dine in the nation's capital often makes the local news. And among their favorite Washington, DC, watering holes is Restaurant Nora, long a notable city destination and America's first certified organic restaurant.

The founder and guiding spirit of Restaurant Nora and its sister restaurant, Asia Nora, Nora Pouillon has for more than two decades set forth a simple principle: Wholesome, seasonal foods, when well prepared and presented, nourish and delight. And for Pouillon, wholesome means "organic."

Although an organics trendsetter, Pouillon has pursued a healthful--and organic and seasonal--lifestyle since her childhood in Austria, where she grew up on a diet of seasonal fruits and vegetables, yogurt, salads, whole-grain breads and wholesome ingredients. But when she moved to the United States more than 30 years ago, she found the American diet very different--most produce was available year-round. She felt that this focus on quantity rather than quality often yielded produce with little flavor.

Inspired to research how foods were raised in the United States, Pouillon was distressed to discover the extensive use of pesticides, antibiotics, additives and processing that affect much of the nation's food supply. "We have food that is really inedible, that shouldn't be eaten," she says, believing that many diseases may be linked to poor food, air and water quality. She wanted, instead, unadulterated products full of life. "For me, we are what we eat, not what we don't eat," she says.

Because many diseases may be linked to an inferior diet, Pouillon reasoned she could help educate consumers about healthful eating by opening a restaurant that served the wholesome kinds of foods she'd eaten since childhood. She also wanted a setting that opposed the fast-food notions of limited menu selections and eating on the run. Her solution: establishing Nora, her namesake restaurant.

That it has become an elegant restaurant derives from Pouillon's classy menu. Four-star entrees include a Wild and Exotic Mushroom Risotto with seasonal vegetables; a filo bundle filled with tofu and lentils with a red pepper vinaigrette; and hot, homemade fettuccine with an heirloom tomato salad, fresh buffalo mozzarella and a basil vinaigrette-startling to those who think organic eating means a menu of beans and wheat grass. As Pouillon notes, "My restaurant proves the opposite."

Pairing seasonal organic products, organic wines and filtered water with creative cooking techniques has resulted in outstanding fare, inspired both by international and American regional cooking. Her Asia Nora restaurant, also an organic establishment, though not certified as such, specializes in inventive pan-Asian cooking.

Detail-oriented--and very determined to promote an organic and sustainable lifestyle--Nora Pouillon grows as many of her own herbs as possible, buys her produce from certified organic growers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, custom-blends organic beans from an organic coffee company and dresses her staff in uniform shirts made of 100-percent organic Peruvian cotton. But remaining strictly organic is both time-consuming and costly, she says. Not only must she keep abreast of organic food and nutritional and seasonal factors, she must also seek out appropriate sources. In the summer, she can rely on her local growers for quality produce, but she must still track down qualified purveyors for the balance of her inventory. It's easier for a chef to pick up the phone and order from a genera] source, she admits, but adds that conventional foods may be 30-to 50-percent less nutritious. "If the soil is full of microorganisms and nutrient values, then the food grown in that soil gives us life and energy," she says.

Despite little support or response from local restaurant critics, Pouillon has become a major local and national success story, still counting her 23-year-old restaurant as a major achievement of her life. But she wants its success to educate both chefs and Consumers about how to follow an organic lifestyle.

Pouillon ranks high as a model of organic living. But the real proof of her achievement lies within the confines of her kitchen: Her cooking is creative and delicious--and best of all, it supports good health.

Charred Eggplant Soup

SERVES 6 TO 8

A variety of herbs and wholesome vegetables underscores the lush flavor of freshly grilled eggplant, which transforms a simple vegetable soup into something unique. Broiling the eggplant is simpler, but grilling it adds a distinctive taste.

4 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/8 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. eggplant, whole and
unpeeled
2 1/2 to 3 lbs. fresh tomatoes,
skinned and coarsely chopped
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Tomato juice or water, to thin soup
as needed

1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium heat and saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add herbs and fennel seeds and cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.