Nina Compton
Comfort food is always king, and in today’s global village, that stretches way beyond meatloaf and fried chicken. For Nina Compton, Chef/Owner of Compère Lapin, comfort food means curried goat. A native of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, she’s brought her take on comfort to her adopted home of New Orleans, infusing the menu with a little Creole influence, too.
The result? Her Curried Goat with sweet potato gnocchi and cashews is the No. 1 seller on the menu. “A lot of people have never had goat before, and they are taking a leap of faith when they order it,” says Compton, a “Top Chef” alum. “The best part is the reaction and the love that our guests have for it.”
Her curry stars fresh turmeric, ginger, Scotch bonnet peppers and coconut milk. “The coconut milk adds creaminess and rounds out everything else. I combined the goat curry with sweet potato gnocchi that showcases my Italian cooking background from the Scarpetta days. And I add the cashews for that extra texture,” she says. “This dish show the influence from my Caribbean background. It really marries my favorite things into one dish.”
