Scratch Farm Kitchen Dishes Up Locally Grown Freshness

Story, photos and recipes by Cynthia Nobles 

At peak hours, there is almost always a line waiting out the door of the new location of Scratch Farm Kitchen, a laid-back breakfast and lunch restaurant in the middle of Lafayette. Scratch is known for its fresh, “from-scratch” casual dishes made from locally-grown ingredients. The menu also includes an interesting variety of coffees, lemonades, teas, beer, seasonal cocktails, and natural and organic wines. Many Acadiana diners claim it’s their favorite place to eat, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.
 
Scratch is owned and operated by Jamie Harson, who, at the age of 30, moved from Oregon to what was once her great-grandfather’s 18-acre farm in Duson. Harson, who was featured in a 2016 Farm & Ranch article, jumped headlong into farm life by raising chickens, meat birds, goats, and some 300 pigs.  

“So much has changed since then,” says Harson. “I began farming because I care about the quality of my food. But raising animals is hard work. So, I sold most of my livestock and veered off into the restaurant business.”

Her journey to restaurant fame began when she became a popup vendor at Lafayette’s Moncus Park. She later took the leap to operating a food truck. “For a year I sold food made from what I grew and from what I found at the farmers market,” she said. “My success in the food truck gave me the courage to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant.”

With the help of a business partner, in 2019, Harson opened the original Scratch Farm Kitchen in a 1,500-square-foot building on Garfield Street in Downtown Lafayette. Harson and her partner eventually parted ways, and within 4 years the restaurant outgrew its space. 

This past September Harson moved her staff to her new 2,600-square-foot restaurant on Johnston Street, right across the road from where her original odyssey into the restaurant business began, Moncus Park. Already, she is serving four times what she did at her old location.

Scratch’s freshly-made, constantly-changing menu prompts diners to customize their orders by choosing different elements of classic comfort foods. For instance, a “Comfort Bowl” includes seasonal choices of beans, rice, eggs, cheeses, vegetables, and proteins, such as chicken, beef patty, pulled pork, bacon, and tofu. The “Scratch Burger” can be made with beef or pork, or vegetarian or vegan. The popular “Pretty Plate” is a mosaic of choices of salad, a protein, and sides. Sides include familiar favorites such as hash browns, sweet potatoes, grilled broccoli, grits, lima beans, and pickled beets. 

Scratch’s kitchen gladly accommodates dietary restrictions. Many foods are vegetarian and vegan, as well as organic and gluten-free. Harson even offers a gluten-free gumbo made with a rice flour roux.
True to her restaurant’s name, none of what Harson serves comes out of a box or can. “The only thing I buy frozen,” she says, “is lima beans. I have to keep it on the menu year-round, and they’re impossible to get off-season.” 

Harson’s “no-processed” rule extends to condiments. “I make my own mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and jams” she says. “I buy bushels of hot peppers from a farmer right outside Lafayette and turn that into hot sauce. My hot sauce is so popular that customers come in and buy it by the jarful.”

Harson hopes to eventually bottle and sell her signature condiments. But right now, she’s busy setting menus, cooking, and sourcing as many Louisiana ingredients as possible. 

Her duck eggs come from St. Francisville. Pork comes from a farmer in Alexandria, and poultry is sourced from DeRidder. Naturally, she buys tons of produce from the Moncus Farmers Market. “And we thankfully now have JV Foods,” she says of the New Orleans-based wholesale food distributor and online farmers market, which offers local products to chefs and restaurants. 

And why does Harson think Scratch is so popular? “I think our restaurant is a cult,” she says with a laugh. “Or maybe it’s because I pride myself on honest food and creativity. I have a love for farming and farmers. I understand what they go through. I could talk to them all day long.”

After savoring my first bite of Scratch’s generously-sized “Boudini,” a griddle biscuit topped with boudin, cheese, egg, pesto, kimchi, and Harson’s fantastic mayonnaise, I understood why the restaurant’s line is always long. You can taste the freshness for yourself at Scratch Farm Kitchen, 2918 Johnston Street, Lafayette. Phone: 337-295-4769. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 8:00-2:00. They don’t take reservations, so get there early! 
 

Do you have a Louisiana agriculture story or a recipe you’d like to share? Contact me at [email protected].
 
Cynthia Nobles is the cookbook editor for LSU Press and the author/co-author of several historical cookbooks, including A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook, The Delta Queen Cookbook, and The Fonville Winans Cookbook.
 
 
 Savory Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Makes 6 servings
 
This dish is a good change from the traditional candied sweet potatoes usually served at Thanksgiving. I like to make it on the chunky side. 
 
3 pounds whole sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1-2 jalapeno peppers (depending on your preferred heat level), minced
1 tablespoon finely minced orange zest
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup minced cilantro or parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
⅓ cup chopped pecans
 
1. Prick sweet potatoes all over and bake at 375°F on a foil-lined cookie sheet until tender and juices run from the fork holes. Remove from the oven and peel when cool enough to handle. (Sweet potatoes can be baked a day ahead.)
2. Melt butter completely in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Toss in minced pepper and orange zest and cook 15 seconds. Vigorously stir in peeled sweet potatoes and orange juice. For smoother sweet potatoes, mash with a potato masher. For a puree, use a blender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, salt, and pepper. 
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle on the pecans. Serve warm.  
 
 
Beets with Mint and Onion
Makes 4 servings.
 
1½ pounds fresh beets, with 1 inch of stem attached to roots
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
 
1. Set a steamer basket in a saucepan with 2 inches simmering water. Add beets and cover and steam until tender when pierced with a fork, 30-45 minutes. Chop off stems and peel skins off roots. Cut roots into ¼-inch slices.
2. In a medium bowl, make dressing by whisking together vinegars, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Stir in onion.
3. Add warm beets and mint to dressing and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.
 
 
Goddess Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing
Makes 1 cup mayonnaise, or 1⅓ cups dressing
 
Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Harson of Scratch Farm Kitchen. Jamie uses whatever herbs are available, and so can you. She makes large batches in a food processor, but for this downsized recipe, an immersion blender in a glass jar is even easier.
 
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh green onion
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon minced fresh holy basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
⅓ teaspoon salt
Dash tamari or soy sauce
⅓ cup sour cream (if making salad dressing)
 
1. In a wide-mouthed pint glass jar, add the egg, then the lemon juice, mustard, and garlic. Pour on the oil and let it sit 15 seconds.
2. Slowly place an immersion blender into the jar and let the head touch the bottom. Without moving the blender stick or lifting it, turn the blender to high speed and process until mayonnaise forms, about 15 seconds. 
3. Slowly lift the blender and process until the oil has blended in and emulsified. Add the herbs, salt, and soy sauce and blend a few seconds.
4. If making salad dressing, stir in the sour cream. Put the lid on the top of the jar and refrigerate up to 1 week.
  
 
Refrigerator Berry Jam
Makes 2 pints
 
7 cups fresh or frozen mulberries, blackberries, blueberries, or coarsely chopped strawberries
5 cups sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 clean pint jars with lids
 
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together the berries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, the whole while mashing berries with a potato masher or a fork.
2. Continue cooking, uncovered and stirring often, until the mixture reads 220°F on a quick-read thermometer. For softer jam, cook to 217°F. You can also drop a dab of jam on a cold plate and see if the jam wiggles when shaken. Takes about 20 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook, or it will get hard when cold.)
4. Immediately remove the pot from the heat and spoon the jam into the jars and cover. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate up to 1 month.