Everything that comes out Chef Dan Kluger’s well-lit, orderly kitchen tastes brighter, fresher and more nuanced than you’d expect. Top-notch, impeccably sourced product is important, for sure, but it is Kluger’s palate and technique, as unerring as his boss Jean-George Vongerichten’s, that make those elements sing. In this dish, Kluger orchestrates a chorus of umami with roasted kabocha squash, caramelized onion, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, then amps it up a few notches with the addition of peppers and chilis. A layer of cooling fresh ricotta on toast below the kabocha makes a nice fresh foil, and the mint garnish provides the herbal top note for this richly satisfying dish conjured from humble ingredients.