Wild Spring!

WILD SPRING: FORAGING SPRING'S FIRST ARRIVALS

When you work in a kitchen and the season changes from winter to spring, there is nothing more exciting than seeing all of the spring (green!) produce coming in. The beginning of spring is all about edibles foraged in the wild, and these are not your every day vegetables that you see year-round in the grocery store. For me, they are the most delicious part of the season. I've only seen a few of these at the market this week, but keep an eye out! They will all pop up soon and have pretty short seasons (less than 2 months).

RAMPS

Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are probably my favorite of the spring foraged greens. They have a big leafy top and a skinny bottom with a little bulb and a bold garlicky-onion flavor. The leaves are great sautéed in olive oil with salt and pepper or marinated in olive oil and thrown on the grill. The bottoms are delicious pickled with a simple pickling liquid. I recently came across a recipe to use both the stem and greens in a compound butter; what a genius idea to savor the flavor for months to come!

FIDDLEHEAD FERNS

Fiddlehead ferns are another early spring, short season veg. These cute little pinwheels are the beginning of a fern plant. They are delicious when cooked, but unlike other veggies, you can’t eat them raw. Treat them as you would asparagus when it comes to eating them on their own (blanching, sautéing, steaming). They are also great in pasta and rice dishes and are even perfect as a curry.

GARLIC SCAPES

Garlic scapes are the top of the garlic plant that is above ground. They are harvested from the plant in order to focus all of its energy on the bulb below the surface to produce flavorful garlic. Scapes have a very mild, garlicky flavor to them and are delicious raw or cooked. You can substitute them in dishes for scallions or even pickle them like ramps - there are endless ways to cook them.

STINGING NETTLE

Have you ever touched a plant and had a crazy, stinging pain in your hand as if you had been stung by about 20 fire ants? I have, while on vacation in England, and it was not fun. And now this plant, the stinging nettle, has been popping up in menus everywhere making me have flashbacks! Luckily, the stinging goes away once the plant is cooked, and nettles are delicious (and healthy) when cooked! Nettles make a great substitute for spinach, are delicious in omelettes and work really well in a pesto!

SPRING ONIONS

Spring onions are very young onions that are picked before they mature. They look like scallions but have a more rounded bottom to them. These onions have a much milder flavor and are delicious eaten both raw or cooked. They are great tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and thrown straight on the grill or sauté and add them to any recipe that calls for onions ( think soups, tarts, breads!)

MORELS

The only non-green edibles on this list are morels, gorgeous mushrooms with a deep earthy and umami flavor. You want to find ones that are on the firmer side, and deep-cleaning these is a must! Their crevices hide more dirt than you can imagine, so soaking them in cold, salted water helps draw everything out. After that, they don't need much though they shouldn't be consumed raw - a little butter-poaching is always delicious or even a quick sauté with some ramps or spring onions. Butter and cream seem to bring out what's best in this mushroom; this pan butter-fry method is amazing, and I love them in a pasta.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb, Cucumber & Mint Salsa

Increasingly, I’m realizing that every culture has its form of “salsa.” When I was down in St. Lucia a few weeks back, I found out they have their version called souscaille. In South Asian cuisines, it’s called kachumber, and in African cuisines, kachumbari. At all points, it’s a fresh salad, often with onions or shallots, with acidity in the form of the juice or segments of citrus or vinegar. I wanted to inject a little seasonality into my salsa this week, and spring’s tart rhubarb was the perfect add.

Rhubarb, contrary to popular belief, is a vegetable, and it has a crisp, fresh texture that’s somewhere between jicama and celery with a sourness that’s reminiscent of green apples. I’ve played with it before in a dessert, a granita, but here I wanted to see what it could do from a savoury point of view.

The cucumber and rhubarb meld together beautifully. You have the cooling, soothing, watery cucumber contrasted with the tart bite of the rhubarb. The shallots add mellow onion flavor and the fresh mint a bright finish. It would be perfect on fish or shrimp tacos or a simply grilled chicken breast. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 ½ cups

2 mini seedless cucumbers, cut into a small dice

1 stalk rhubarb, cut into small dice

1 shallot, finely chopped

juice of half a lime

½ tsp kosher salt

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch white sugar

small handful fresh mint, finely chopped

Procedure

In a small bowl, toss together the cucumbers, rhubarb and shallot. Add the lime juice, salt, cayenne, sugar and mint mix thoroughly.

Crispy Asparagus with Fenugreek Aioli

Asparagus can be polarizing, lovers and haters – I happen to be a lover. I’m a huge fan of throwing asparagus in an oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper (and maybe a pat or two of butter…) and letting it roast to perfection while I’m making the rest of my meal. With the abundance of beautiful, thick and luscious asparagus in the greenmarket, I’ve found myself going beyond simple roasting and grilling techniques to figure out ways to single it out and highlight its taste at this time of year. This recipe is one lovely variation.

I know. The old adage that frying makes everything taste better is a bit overused, but, in this case, it is so true! This requires basic breading, but I like to spice up the flour for dredging a bit and use panko to form the crispy crust. The asparagus are then shallow-fried until they just yield under the bite.

Homemade aioli is the perfect accompaniment. It’s cheaper and easier to make your own mayo, and this one is scented with a bit of fenugreek powder. Fenugreek is one of the key spices in curry. I actually love it on its own, without the rest of the spices that comprise curry. It definitely has a bitter edge to it though, so a little goes a long way. Some garlic, a touch of mustard, and you have a deliciously creamy sauce. The crisp asparagus dipped into the garlicky aioli with hints of curry are the perfect summer side. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

For the asparagus:

¼ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

black pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cups panko breadcrumbs

1 bunch of asparagus (approximately 1 lb)

oil for frying

For the fenugreek aioli:

2 or 3 garlic cloves

large pinch salt

1 egg yolk, room temperature

2 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp + a small pinch finely ground fenugreek

½ cup oil*

Procedure

For the asparagus, using three trays or bowls, set up a breading station. Whisk together the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper into one. Set up another with the beaten eggs, and a third with the panko. If you like, pulse the panko in the food processor to make it a bit finer before using.

Dredge the asparagus in the flour mixture, tapping off any excess. Dip into the beaten eggs, and, finally, coat with the panko. Transfer to a rack over a baking sheet and work in batches to bread all of the asparagus.

Heat ¼” to a ½” of oil in a large skillet to medium heat. You don’t want the oil to be too hot or the breading will brown (and burn) before the asparagus cooks through. I like to shallow-fry about 2 to 3 minutes per side on a medium heat to get that golden brown crust and perfectly-cooked asparagus.

Transfer back to the rack over the baking sheet and sprinkle with additional salt if you like. If you aren’t serving immediately, keep warm in a 200° F oven.

For the aioli, place the garlic and salt in a food processor and pulse until chopped as finely as possible. Conversely, you can do this by hand and chop the garlic finely and make a paste with the salt. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard and fenugreek and pulse or whisk until blended and uniform. Start the processor or continue whisking and add in the oil in a thin stream until all is completely incorporated.

Serve the asparagus warm with a side of the aioli.

*To save a bit, I like to use a combination of regular olive oil (extra virgin can turn bitter) and canola or other vegetable oil.

Fava Purée Topped with Sumac Onions

The terms spring and vegetables really go hand-in-hand – earthy artichokes, thick, luscious asparagus, comical fiddleheads and, one of my personal favorites, fava beans. Yes, they are a bit labor-intensive as they have to be shelled from their pods and then each individual fava has to be peeled…but the taste, the creamy butteriness, makes all of that work worthwhile.

Fava beans, or broad beans as they are sometimes called, are actually very popular in the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean regions. In fact, ful medames, a dish consisted of slow-cooked favas with garlic, lemon and spices, is a typical breakfast dish in Egypt often served with eggs and pita. Seasonally, fresh favas may be available, but year-round, dried favas are a staple in the Egyptian diet.

Fava purée is a great way to enjoy the seasonally abundant, fresh favas at the greenmarkets. I like to add similar ingredients to the Egyptian dish – garlic, lemon, spices, but I also add potato to give the purée a bit of body. For a silky mouthfeel, I gently stir in extra virgin olive oil at the end; blending too vigorously with the rest of the ingredients can make the oil bitter. To top this puree, I soften sweet onions in a pan with tart spice sumac. The result is a beautiful side dish or starter that’s creamy, luscious, and bright. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 1 ½ cups of puree

Fava Puree:

2 cups shelled fresh favas (from about 2 lbs unshelled)

3 tbsp butter (1 tbsp is optional, melted)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 yukon gold potato, peeled and shredded

¾ tsp ground cumin

pinch of chili powder

5 garlic cloves, minced

juice of half a lemon

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Sumac Onions:

3 tbsps butter or olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp ground sumac

Procedure

For the fava purée, bring a medium pot of salted water up to a boil over high heat. Add favas and cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes (they should be bright green). Drain and shock in an ice bath or run under cold water to stop cooking. Peel outer layer of skin from favas – they should slip out pretty easily. Discard skins and set peeled favas aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, potato, cumin, chili and favas (and a pinch or two of salt) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until potatoes and favas are softened. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Add lemon juice and chicken stock and bring up to a simmer.

Transfer fava mixture to a blender and purée to desired texture. Add a bit more stock if necessary to achieve a smoother texture. Remove to a bowl and stir in extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of melted butter to get a creamy, mouthfeel. I like to stir in the oil, rather than blend, so that it doesn’t get bitter from overprocessing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the sumac onions, heat butter or oil over medium heat. Add onion and sumac and cook until softened.

Serve fava purée warm, topped with sumac onions and a side of pita or toast points.

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Rhubarb, Cucumber & Mint Salsa

Crispy Asparagus with Fenugreek Aioli

Fava Purée Topped with Sumac Onions