All photos courtesy of Ceibo

Dish By DishWashington D.C.

Seven Dishes to Try at Ceibo, D.C.’s Love Letter to Uruguayan Cuisine

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When Uruguayan brothers Juan and Manuel Olivera opened Ceibo in Adams Morgan, they knew they were taking a risk by building their menu around a cuisine less familiar to D.C. diners. But after working in the food industry for over a decade in senior positions at restaurants like El Secreto de Rosita and Lupo Verde, they were determined to have their first joint venture be a marriage between the modern cooking skills they had acquired along the way, and the regional fare they had enjoyed from their childhood.

Born in Uruguay and still very much in love with their home country, the Oliveras have brought their culinary expertise and experience to Ceibo, where they offer food and drinks from across the South American continent, with many dishes similar to those one would find in restaurants in their motherland. Juan helms the kitchen while Manual runs the cocktail program and front of house. Together, they let their passion for food and their heritage shine through in each element of the restaurant, named after the gorgeous coral flower tree native to Uruguay.

“We had been working in the industry for ten years and we were really just ready to open our own place where we could bring to life our vision of hospitality, which celebrates the culture and history of Uruguay and the South American region more broadly. In this part of the world, dinner with family and friends is the most important part of life, and dining is more than just a meal; it’s a time to relax with snacks and drinks and engage in an experience where everyone takes part in the cooking process,” says Manuel.

Many South American countries, such as Uruguay and Argentina, intertwine their own culinary concepts with the cuisines of neighboring countries as well as the traditions of Europe, notably Italy, Spain, and Portugal. As such, guests have the opportunity to experience the food of the kitchens of Uruguay and neighboring Argentina at Ceibo, which highlights earthy cheeses, sweet and savory pastries, local meats, sauces like pil pil and romesco, and cooking techniques like escabeche (marinating and serving proteins and vegetables in vinegar sauce, which lends an unmistakable flavor).

Through Olivera’s thoughtful and creative cooking, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the South American ingredients and flavors showcased at Ceibo, as he uses modern techniques to honor the dishes he grew up eating. The quiet, cozy site provides the perfect space for intimate dinners, where food and wine are the stars. Come for dinner, Sunday lunch or the occasional Tuesday tasting menu experience, which features five surprise courses.

Whenever you choose to dine, the brothers’ pride for their homeland shines through. We asked Juan to take us through their current menu, and what to order, in their own words.

Plums

“We change the menu at Ceibo every season, but this dish is a permanent fixture because it’s so popular. We have changed the presentation to keep it fresh, but the ingredients are the same. We decided to serve a dish that is a play on fruit with cheese, a well-known combination in South America. The dish features plums that are compressed with lemon verbena syrup until they become very soft and sweet. Lemon verbena is a flowering plant native to Uruguay. The plums are then charred on top to add a smoky note, and topped with creamy ricotta cheese, peanuts that are candied in house with sugar and vanilla, and a drizzle of truffle honey.

Candied peanuts are a common street snack in Uruguay. And the lemon verbena syrup was actually created for a cocktail, but that’s one of the hallmarks of our restaurant – certain ingredients start in the kitchen and others in the bar, but we find ways to use them in both places.”

Leek Tart

“This dish has an important personal story behind it. Growing up, our mother made several dishes that featured the various elements of this dish. One was a leek pie, where leeks were baked into a crumbly crust, and another was a leek and chicken dish. This dish includes leeks, a puff pastry vessel for the leeks, and a béchamel sauce that is reminiscent of the leek and cream sauce our mother made for her leek and chicken dish. The dish is also an elevated version of a leek and cheese empanada, another popular street food in South America. The buttery puff pastry, fragrant leeks, rich sauce, and taleggio foam all come together to form a decadent dish that reminds us so much of our childhood.”

Mushrooms

“This dish is a new addition for the fall and winter seasons. We sampled various mushrooms and landed on lobster mushrooms, which have a delightfully chewy and meaty texture. We braise the lobster mushrooms in a white wine, garlic, and rosemary Provençal-kind of sauce for 45 minutes and then, when the mushrooms are super tender, sear them in butter. The mushrooms are paired with faina, a chickpea-flour flatbread that’s well-known in Uruguay, similar to its Italian counterpart, farinata.

The addition of pesto, another nod to the Italian influences in Uruguayan fare, as well as squash, walnut foam, and Périgord truffle shavings imported from Uruguay make this a sensational vegetarian option that’s also gluten-free. Our father is gluten-free and you will see many gluten-free items on the menu, so that we can be sure to accommodate him when he visits from Uruguay!”

Rice Pudding

“The concept of this dish is to show the various international influences in Latin American cuisine. We use Italian rice and cook it almost like a paella, making it very soft and velvety, to create a rice and cream-of-shrimp dish commonly eaten in Brazil. We found a way to cook the rice in a way that makes it creamy but dairy-free, because we also seek to always have dishes on our menu that accommodate diners who may have different preferences, such as vegetarian, dairy-free or gluten-free. Next, we add pil pil, a Spanish olive-oil sauce, and sofrito, a garlicky onion and pepper sauce to the dish, as well as some crunchy rice, parsley, and lemon to add even more flavor and texture.”

Chorizo Dumplings

“This dish draws upon Italian influences, but again with twists from our kitchen. It’s sort of like a stuffed gnocchi but here, instead of potato and flour, we make a ricotta and flour dough that enrobes a sausage and cabbage filling. The sausage is baked in the oven with white wine, a rustic way of cooking sausages that our  grandmother used to do. Since the dumplings themselves are heavy we wanted to do something light for the sauce, so we have a gentle broth made with dashi that adds lots of umami. We top the dish with crunchy seared mushrooms, which provide the perfect contrast to the soft and chewy dumplings.”

Martin Fierro

“Martin Fierro is Uruguay’s national dessert, named after the famous gaucho Martin Fierro, a fictional character devised by José Hernández, an Argentine artist and activist. Gauchos are South American cowboys, known for being brave and wild. Jose was an activist for gauchos, and his favorite dessert, membrillo, or quince paste with cheese, was named after his beloved Martin Fierro character. Our version of this dish makes it a bit lighter and fluffier. We feature a cheese mousse in a cookie tart shell, which is smeared with a membrillo gel, and topped with a snowy mound of pecorino sardo, which is a spicy, salty cheese. The dish has salty, sweet, crunchy, and creamy elements that our guests love. It’s a classic dish but modernized, and it truly represents all things Uruguay – culture, history, and cuisine.”

Chocolate Cake

“This dessert is a crowd-pleaser that never leaves the menu. The chocolate cake is decadent (and happens to be gluten-free!), and it comes doused in a foamy chocolate mousse, dulce de leche, and a sprinkling of salt. We don’t have a separate pastry chef at Ceibo, but everyone in the kitchen is passionate about our cuisine, has worked together before, and weighs in on the flavors and textures of all of our dishes. And this is one we all love.”

 

Priya Konings is a food and travel writer and photographer residing in the Washington DC area. Her passions include writing and photography, traveling the world, and eating delicious vegetarian fare both locally and globally. Her work has been published in Resy, Northern Virginia Magazine, Washington City Paper, The Dining Traveler, District Fray, and Brightest Young Things in addition to other publications. You can follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.