Busa Farms and Scutra - sharing common ground
By Ingrid Gallagher/ Live from the Field
Thursday, September 2, 2004

Didier Baugniet stands up to his knees in acres of beans and lettuces and tomato vines, all dazzling with droplets from the previous night's rain. His arms are full of vegetables that moments ago were growing in bright rows spread out at his feet.
     He sighs and says in a voice that bears a slight Belgian accent: "This is just like home. It reminds me of the farm where I grew up." But we're in Lexington - not Brussels.
     Busa Farms lies at the Arlington-Lexington border near the Arlington Reservoir and is one of the last remaining family-run produce farms that once dotted the landscape in the early 1900s. Fran and Dennis Busa, sons of the Sicilian immigrant who started the farm in 1920, continue their father's legacy of stewardship of the land and passion for growing good, fresh food.
     Busa Farms sells its pesticide-free produce directly from the farm stand on Lowell Street, as well as area farmers' markets, including Wednesday's Arlington market.
     On this August morning, Fran Busa has met Didier Baugniet in the field as he does at least four mornings a week to help Baugniet select produce for his Arlington restaurant, Scutra. Scutra buys about 90 percent of the produce for its inventive European menu from Busa Farms.
     Each of these men takes great pride in his vocation and in knowing what he does is important to the success of the other. I was lucky enough to spend a morning with them in the field and then in the Scutra kitchen watching (and tasting) how this symbiotic relationship works.
     Baugniet selected a number of items: summer squashes, rhubarb (red) chard, herbs, onions and red cabbages. Fran Busa, with a machete-like lettuce knife in his back pocket, did the harvesting and advised on what vegetables were especially good at the moment.
     Minutes later, when he emerged from his laden car back at the Scutra kitchen, Baugniet was smiling.
     "That's one of the best things. The car always smells so good on the road back from Busa," he said unloading boxes of fragrant arugula, herbs and vegetables.
     "What Busa does is a gift," the chef said holding up a bunch of onions, earth still clinging to their roots. As the chopped onions simmer on his restaurant stove, he smiles and added, "Fran's onions smell different, better. They are so fresh."
     Chef Baugniet tells a story of one harvest day in the field with Fran. It had been a hard day and the pressures of raising six kids, running a family farm and maintaining profitability on a small, seasonal business had taken their toll on Busa's morale. Then he picked up a handful of earth from his field and inhaled deeply.
     "Smell this dirt. This is what makes it all worthwhile. This is why I keep doing what I do."
     Busa recalled the moment with a smile     "I remember that smell from when I was little. It was a beautiful time; I had a beautiful childhood."  "It's sometimes difficult to keep development at bay, but we're here out of respect for my mother and father and the people that came before them. We love what we do. I'm not pushing my kids to follow in my footsteps, but I hope they do. I think the interest is there."
     Chef Baugniet made a number of vegetable dishes with his morning's haul, including a summer squash caponata, braised red chard and a jewel-toned red cabbage slaw. As he cooked, he talked about his own children, who are already helping in the family restaurant and his hopes for the future.
     In their mutual dedication to work and family and in the pride they take in their contributions to a good community, Fran Busa and Didier Baugniet share important ground. It's ground that yields a rich harvest.
      Didier Baugniet's Red Cabbage Slaw
     At Scutra, Baugniet tops this slaw with homemade halibut gravlax and garnishes it with blood orange oil. For simpler presentations, it would be a fine side dish to anything grilled or as a sprightly change from your usual slaw. The morning I spent in the Scutra kitchen it was my breakfast and it tasted wonderful.
     1/2 large red cabbage, cored and sliced as thinly as possible
     1/2 large red onion, diced
     2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
     1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
     1/2 cup rice vinegar
     1/4 teaspoon lime oil (available in specialty stores)
     1/2 cup olive oil
     2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion
     In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, ginger, garlic, vinegar and oils. Knead the ingredients together to work the vinegar into the cabbage. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Just before serving, add the sliced scallion.

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