Izaak Morhaim takes executive chef reins at Harvest Oro Valley (Menu Highlights)

Izaak Morhaim, previously executive chef at Jackson Bar + Eatery, has taken on the role of executive chef at Harvest Oro Valley.

This isn’t Morhaim’s first time in the restaurant, however. At age 17, he landed a job at Harvest with a different staff and ownership.

Since then, he’s worked at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, Jax Kitchen, Maynards Market & Kitchen, Prep & Pastry, Acacia Real Food & Cocktails, Skyline Country Club, and Lodge on the Desert. Most recently, he was executive chef at the Jackson Bar + Eatery.

We swung by his new digs at Harvest to sample a wide variety of dishes — while the house-made policy and quality-sourced ingredients were apparent in all the dishes, here were our absolute favorites.

Short Rib Nachos

Harvest’s Short Rib Nachos features house-made potato chips, braised short rib, fresh jalapeños, green and red onion, pepper-asiago cheese, and house-made BBQ sauce. The dish tasted surprisingly light — the cheese sauce wasn’t cloying, while the fresh jalapeños provided a light grassy note. The chips were a touch on the darker side of being fried, but we enjoyed the deeper savory notes it provided along with the succulent chunks of short rib. We wish the onions were pickled — this would have easily pushed it up to one of our favorite nacho interpretations.

Steak Salad

It’s kind of cheating to have the steak as the star of the salad, but we won’t complain here. The supremely beefy flap steak was tender enough for effortless chewing with the properly-dressed field greens.

Saffron Turmeric Pasta

The house-made saffron-turmeric pasta is the star here — the strands of saffron are still visible in the pasta, adding to the visual appeal. Sauteed mushrooms, leeks, sun-dried figs, goat cheese, and a light sherry cream sauce play a balanced supporting role with a deep meatiness and richness balanced with a light sweetness and acidity. Sausage and chicken are available as add-ons, but this dish was superb as-is.

Braised Short Rib

Yes, another short rib dish is redundant, but this was the star of dinner. The short rib was as tender and juicy as you could hope for, yielding easily to the weight of the fork. The twice-reduced short rib jus had intense, concentrated flavor that could have made anything taste appealing — but it didn’t hide the freshness of the seasonal vegetables.

Harvest Oro Valley is located at 10355 N. La Cañada Dr., Oro Valley, AZ 85737. For more information, visit harvestov.com.