Shaved Raw Asparagus Salad

 So, here’s something you probably don’t know about me.  I’m obsessed with cults.  I once toured the Scientology mansion in DC just to get a look around and when the Texas Department of Child Services invaded that polygamist ranch, I was glued to CNN.  So when this article appeared in the East Bay Express a few months ago, linking a local raw food restaurant with a cult like organization, I was totally intrigued.  I still haven’t been to the restaurant yet and I’ve heard it’s very good, but I think I’d be too intrigued by watching out for cult things to care about the raw food.

If you don’t want your salad to come with a side of brainwashing, you can make your own.  Now, this has parmesan cheese, which probably isn’t raw.  But the asparagus is, which is unusual but totally delicious.  If you are used to roasted asparagus, this tastes nothing like that.  It’s fresh and mellow.  The cheese adds richness and the lemon makes it tangy and bright.

Grating the asparagus was a little tricky.  Don’t snap the ends off the asparagus before you grate.  I made that mistake and then had nothing to grip on to when I was using the vegetable peeler to shred it.  Either way, I imagine it will take a bit of time, but since it’s really the only thing you need to do, the recipe is fairly quick to throw together.   The recipe makes a ton – I made about a half a pound of asparagus and adjusted accordingly, since it was just my husband and me.

Shaved Raw Asparagus with Parmesan Dressing
Recipe by Mario Batali and adapted from the April 2010 Food & Wine

Ingredients
2 pounds large asparagus
1 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (3 ounces)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into long, thin strips and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix the Parmigiano-Reggiano with the lemon juice, water and olive oil. Add to the asparagus and toss to coat. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Read Full Post »

Sweet Lemon and Olive Wafers

I love olives.  I am one of those people who can’t leave Whole Foods without stocking up on some goodies at the olive bar.  So when I saw these cookies on Lottie and Doof, I was completely intrigued.  Like, obsessing over day and night until I had a lazy weekend afternoon to devote to them.

The recipe hails from David Leite’s The New Portuguese Table, a cookbook I’ve been lusting after but have yet to purchase.  See, I went on my honeymoon to Portugal and basically ate presunto, Serra da Estrella cheese, and pasteis de Belem for two weeks straight.  So, in addition to this recipe being awesome for having olives in it, it’s awesome because it reminds me of my lovely vacation.

The recipe is a little tricky but by no means difficult.  The dough is dry and crumbly so you’ve got to be patient.  Use good quality olives because you don’t want a really briny, tinny taste coming through.  These cookies would be lovely with some tart frozen yogurt or lemon sorbet, or with a nice glass of prosecco.  Or if you want to be super Portuguese, white port.

Sweet Lemon and Black Olive Wafers
recipe from David Leite

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mild oil-cured black olives, rinsed quickly if particularly salty, pitted, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg, beaten

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, olives, sugar, baking powder, zest, cinnamon, and salt.   In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil and egg.  I’ve never made mayonnaise before but it was easy for me to see how egg and oil do turn into mayo from this.

I digress.

Pour the oil-egg mixture into the dry ingredients.  Combine it together with your hands for a minute or two, until it holds together when squeezed.  It’s going to feel a little like pie crust or short bread – dry and crumbly and a little tricky to work with.  I had some crumbs that wouldn’t stick but I managed to get it about 95% there.

Fill a small bowl with sugar and set nearby. Pull out a small ball of dough, about a tablespoon worth, and roll it into a ball, then coat it in sugar.  Repeat this a few times and set the balls down on parchment.  You now need to flatten them out.  The recipe suggests covering them with more parchment, then using a rolling pin to flatten.  I had some difficulty with this so I just left out the top piece of parchment and flattened them out.  You want them to be about 3-4 inches around and 1/16 an inch thick.  None of mine resembled anything like a circle, which if you’ve seen my pie crust attempts, shouldn’t come as a surprise.  No worries, these are rustic cookies.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Since I had rolled off most of the sugar that I had rolled onto the cookies, I got a pinch of sugar and just sprinkled it lightly over the cookies on the sheet.  Bake until the wafers edges start to brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and store for up to a few days in an airtight container.

They tasted amazing.  Unlike any cookie I’ve ever had.  The olives mellow out and don’t taste olive-y… almost like the taste a date gets when it’s been cooked wrapped up in bacon – just rich, fatty, slightly salty, slightly sweet.  The lemon makes it fresh and the cinnamon is just perfect.  I feel prepared for an Iron Chef olive battle.  Now, I just need a dessert with arugula.

Read Full Post »

Shepherd’s Pie with Spring Vegetables

I’ve been neglecting my blog for the last few weeks, but I’m back.  The farmers’ market is in full swing with spring produce, so I’ve got a few good recipes lined up for the next couple weeks.  This weekend, my freezer was full of ground meat from Marin Sun Farms and I wanted to try something other than burgers.  I gathered up some good looking spring vegetables at the farmers market and set to work on a shepherd’s pie.  Or, apparently, it’s a cottage pie, since it’s made with beef and not lamb.  Whatever it is called, it was good.  I continued the spring theme with a simple spinach and strawberry salad and served it all up with a bottle of Sonoma zinfandel for a really great dinner.

I cooked the dish in a 8×10 casserole dish and it made about 4 large servings.  I think next time around, I might double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 so that it’s a little thicker and deeper.  Plus, it was good enough that we wanted more leftovers.

Shepherd’s Pie with Spring Vegetables
Loosely inspired by Elise’s version at Simply Recipes

Ingredients
1 lb of ground round beef
3 spring onions, finely minced
2-3 sprigs of green garlic, chopped
2 cups of chopped carrots and peas
About 2 pounds of potatoes – I used about 4 medium ones
A few springs of thyme and a few sage leaves, minced
1 teaspoon chives, finely minced
1/4 cup of milk or cream
Butter and olive oil
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Directions
Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

While the potatoes are cooking, heat up a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Saute the onions and carrots for 5-10 minutes, until the carrots start to soften.  Add the green garlic and mix together.

Add ground beef and herbs, sauteing until just about cooked.  Turn off the heat and add the peas, salt, and pepper, and stir together.

When the potatoes are finished, drain and return to the pot.  Mash them, incorporating the minced chives, salt and pepper, a splash of cream, and a couple pats of butter. 

Spread the beef and vegetable mixture at the bottom of the pan and gently spread the potatoes over it.  Bake at 400 degrees oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes), sticking under the broiler if necessary and serve. 

Strawberry Spinach Salad for Two

Ingredients
3 cups of spinach, washed and chopped up into ribbons
4-5 large strawberries, sliced
an ounce or two of crumbled goat cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used blood orange infused from Stonehouse)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
a drop of honey
salt and pepper

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and the honey until its emulsified.  Add salt and pepper.  Add the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.  Sprinkle on the goat cheese and serve.

 

Read Full Post »