Gather Provisions chef offers recipes authentic eating experience.

Gather Provisions by Erin Anderson is a new business in Northborough that has secured customer loyalty since its debut in April. Sourcing local ingredients is a way chef/owner Anderson differentiates her menus and creates an authentic eating experience.

Located in space formerly occupied by Paired, Poured & Plated, 290 West Main St., the casual café and catering business offers good variety in soups, salads, grab-and-go meals, signature and made-to-order sandwiches and vegetarian and vegan options that constantly change. Condiments, sauces and dressings are made in the café’s scratch kitchen and all meats are roasted in-house.

The Dining In column features Anderson’s recipes for Curry Cauliflower Soup with Coconut Milk and Herb Garlic Roasted Pork Loin with Fig Red Wine Sauce. Pumpkin Seed Granola and Maple Yogurt top the roasted pork. Delicious, the dish just screams fall. There are suggested wine pairings for both dishes.

Anderson has spent more than 15 years in the industry and has worked as a private chef, caterer and GM for a gourmet food and wine shop. “I became passionate about food when I lived in California,” said Anderson. With a degree in film production, she lived in the Golden State to pursue a career, she said, and it was there she fell in love with the local food scene and year-round access to fresh, local produce. When she left “the biz” she returned to New England to follow her “food dreams.”

Anderson through a business connection met David A. Tiberii, who with his wife, Jean F. Killeen, owned Paired, Poured & Plate. At the time, Tiberii was a wine importer. “I call it fate that I was looking for a place and Jean and David were ready to semiretire,” said Anderson, who remains a friend of the couple. Tiberii is a Worcester attorney and Jean Killeen works a couple of days a week at Gather Provisions, assisting Anderson with wine selections and providing wine and food pairings at customers’ requests. She has years of experience in the industry having been a chef at Worcester’s Struck Catering, owner of The Inside Scoop in Paxton and co-owner of the former Thymes Square on Hudson in Worcester.

Anderson is the daughter of Tom and Kathy Forrest of Northborough. She and her husband, Chris, reside in Lancaster with Billy, their “loving, spoiled” black cat. In Lancaster, Anderson ran a business that catered to dinner parties and featured ready-to-go picnic boxes.

“I believe Northborough needed a spot like Gather Provisions,” said Anderson. “The café offers something different and the community is very supportive. I love what I do, and I’m living my dream. As a personal chef, I cooked food that clients requested, and as a chef/owner I am able to create and prepare food that I not only personally enjoy, but also food that I know my customers will love. I take great pride and care in what I do.”

Anderson’s support of other local businesses shows up on the café’s shelves stocked with products from companies, such as American Vinegar Works in Worcester, Hudson Hives (raw honey and products) in Hudson and Kitchen Sink Candle Co. in Bolton. Packages of custom-made Moeshmallows by Maureen (Moe) Young of Holden are within easy reach at the register. Strawberry Champagne is a popular flavor, and personally, I can’t eat just one of these Moeshmallows. Note: The café also sells imported items, wine and beer.

Anderson to date has co-hosted dinners at the Phineas Wright House in Bolton and looks forward to more in-house events this fall, including a candle making class with Kitchen Sink Candle Co. on Oct. 6. She uses Instagram and other social media for announcements about menus, in-store happenings, charcuterie workshops, etc.

Gather Provisions (www.gatherprovisions.com) seats 25. There are several seasonal tables outside the entrance. Current hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. Call (508) 466-7786 about catering, private parties and made-tor order charcuterie boards FYI: In season, the business buys from Yellick’s Farm in Northborough, Applefield Farm in Stow and Harper’s Farm in Lancaster.

Food aside, Anderson said she has an amazing, hardworking staff. “We genuinely like each other and have so much fun while we’re working,” she said.

When asked about personal food preferences, Anderson said she loves good, hand-cut fries, eggs Benedict with a classic Hollandaise sauce and tacos. Inside scoop: A jewel of a place for hand-cut fries is Kith and Kin in Hudson, according to Anderson, who said they’re fried in duck fat.

When I first met Anderson in the spring of 2023, she told me about a catering gig, a five-day women writers’ retreat on a Maine island. The day of this magazine interview two writers from that retreat popped into the café, driving a distance to surprise Anderson. “We love Erin and her food is fabulous,” they said.  “She's a great person.” At the register, several café customers shared the same sentiment about their favorite go-to meeting spot. “Great food and service,” they said.

Gather Provisions is a customer-focused business and Anderson does a good job at building customer loyalty. Besides, she’s a terrific cook!

Enjoy the chef’s recipes.

CURRY CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets, leaves and core removed

⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

1½ teaspoons curry powder

½ cup carrots, diced

½ cup celery, diced

½ cup Spanish onion, diced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1½ tablespoons Mama Lam’s Vegan Medium Curry Paste, see note

3 cups water, chicken or veggie stock, plus 1 cup if needed

1 15-ounce can coconut milk

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

Golden raisins and toasted pumpkin seeds, garnish

Note: Mama Lam’s Vegan Medium Curry Paste is available online and at Gather Provisions.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss cauliflower florets with ⅓ cup extra virgin oil, curry powder, salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat remaining ⅓ cup extra virgin oil over medium heat. Add diced carrots, celery and onion and sauté, stirring often until onions are translucent and begin to brown. Add garlic and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Add curry paste and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant, stirring often. Add cauliflower, water or stock.  Simmer for about 20 minutes until vegetables are soft. Add coconut milk, lime juice and honey. Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend soup until completely smooth, adding more water or stock if needed. Chef’s note: Hot liquid will expand. Use towel to cover top and don’t fill the blender too much. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with golden raisins and toasted pumpkin seeds. Serves 6 to 8.

Wine pairing: Anderson likes a lively II Cavaliere di Bertiolo Pinot Grigio from Friuli, Italy. It’s fresh and crisp with notes of green apple and honey that pairs nicely with the slight spice of this soup.

HERB GARLIC CRUSTED PORK LOIN WITH FIG RED WINE SAUCE

1 3-pound pork loin

Herb Garlic Crust:

2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary

2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Zest of 2 lemons

3 cloves chopped garlic

Fig Red Wine Sauce:

1 cup pinot noir wine, see note

4 tablespoons fig jam, see note

4 tablespoons butter

Notes: For the Fig Red Wine Sauce, the chef used a Portillo Pinot Noir and Divina Fig Jam, both sold at Gather Provisions.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season pork with salt and pepper. Combine Herb Garlic Crust ingredients and rub over all sides of pork. Place meat on rack on a sheet pan, putting a little water in bottom of pan. Cook in oven for about an hour or until instant-read thermometer reads 140 degrees.

Fig Red Wine Sauce: Combine red wine and fig jam in a small saucepan and simmer until liquid is reduced by at least half. Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove fig seeds and any chunks. Turn off heat and return pan to warm burner. Slowly whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time until sauce is thick.

ROASTED CARROTS WITH PUMPKIN SEED GRANOLA AND MAPLE YOGURT

Pumpkin Seed Granola:

½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds

½ cup instant oats

2 tablespoons seasoning blend

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

Add pumpkin seeds to a dry skillet and toast, stirring often until starting to brown. Once the seeds begin to brown, add oats to pan and continue to brown, stirring constantly so they don’t burn. Once brown, make a well in the center of pan and add butter and let it melt. When butter is melted, add ⅓ of spice blend and mix. Then stir butter and spices together with oats and seeds until fully coated. Cook for a few minutes and then lay out on a cookie sheet and set aside. The mixture will crisp as it cools. Save the remaining spice mixture for your next batch of this recipe.

MAPLE YOGURT

½ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup real maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk ingredients together in a bowl. Season with a dash of salt

CARROTS

1 pound of carrots, peeled and cut into large wedges

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Spice Blend for Carrots and Granola:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

Note: Spice blend recipe makes two batches.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place carrots in pot covered with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until just barely tender. Transfer to a sheet pan. Coat carrots with olive oil, 2 tablespoons of spice blend and salt and pepper. Roast in oven until golden brown and fully cooked. Chef’s note: Don’t worry if edges crisp and turn dark brown, they will be delicious. Transfer carrots to a platter and top with a drizzle of the Maple Yogurt and Pumpkin Seed Granola. The pork dish serves 4.

Wine pairing: Serve the pork alongside the carrots for a gorgeous fall meal. Pair it with Feudo DiSisa Granmassenti featuring the Perricone red wine grape grown in Sicily. “Sheri Carl of Terrior Wines LLC of Greater Boston recommended the wine, and it is one of the most delicious red wines I have ever had,” said Anderson. “I am a big white wine fan but this red is a stunner. It’s luscious, full of dark fruit flavors, complex and smooth on the palate.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Dining In: Gather Provisions eyes local ingredients, wine pairings