Leek and Asparagus Risotto with Tarragon

What grows together goes together. Vegetables and herbs that are in season at the same time often make great companions. I especially like fresh French tarragon from my garden paired with asparagus or leeks. This risotto – put together quickly on a rainy Friday night – combined stock from last weekend’s roast chicken with fat end-of-winter leeks from the farmer’s market and fresh spring asparagus that I picked myself at a local farm.  It was a satisfying meal that offered the warm comfort still needed in mid-spring and introduced the fresh vegetables and herbs of the season.

Leek and Asparagus Risotto with Tarragon

1 leek

Olive oil and/or butter (about 1 tbsp combined)

1 c Arborio rice

¼ c white wine

4-5 c chicken or vegetable stock

8 stalks asparagus

2 large sprigs tarragon, chopped, a few whole leaves reserved

¼ c grated Parmesan cheese (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Warm the stock or broth. Thoroughly clean the leek and cut the white and light green part lengthwise, then crosswise into slivers, Sauté the leek in the oil and/or butter over medium-low heat until it starts to turn translucent but do not let it brown. Add the rice and stir to coat, cooking until the surface of the grains turns white. Add the wine and stir to allow it to evaporate and also instill the ingredients with flavor. Add 1/3 cup of warm liquid, adjusting the heat to so that the liquid just simmers and stir until it is absorbed. When the liquid is absorbed, add another 1/3 cup, wait until it’s absorbed, stirring occasionally, and then repeat until the rice is tender but still al dente. This process will take about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the asparagus in boiling water until al dente. Drain and cut into 1-inch lengths. Add a little salt and a few sprinkles of olive oil

When the risotto is cooked, add the chopped tarragon and the asparagus and let it sit for a minute or so. Add the grated cheese, taste for salt and adjust as needed. Garnish with reserved tarragon leaves.

Serves 3-4.

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The Garden in Winter: Thyme and Fennel Pollen Salt

I believe in year-round gardening and farming, fingers crossed. Even though I live in a climate on the east coast of the U.S. where we get hard freezes and snow, I am always optimistic about the possibilities. In previous years, when winters were mild, I was able to keep kale and sometimes chard going all year round in the ground, in good enough shape for an occasional harvest. This year, they’re out there but buried under a foot of frozen leaves, hoping for a head start in early spring. So now I am relying on pots, some inside and some outside in a protected area. (Maybe we’ll try low tunnels next year.)

Before we dug up the only partially sunny part of our lawn to make a potager or kitchen garden, I grew food exclusively in pots. Mostly herbs, but also hot peppers, and climbing peas and beans. This is the first year that I brought the pepper plants indoors and they’re loving their sunny window, producing flowers and more hot peppers than we can use fresh. (Canning and pickling from indoor plants would be a novel idea.) The potted ginger came in too and I’ve been digging out little hunks of ginger root all winter.

But then there are the perennial woody herbs that stayed outside and became freeze-dried: rosemary, several varieties of thyme, sage, and an oregano-like herb called zaatar (not to be confused with the spice mix), among the most hardy. Some of the thyme turned bronze and is beautiful, especially when it snows.  As soon as the weather warms, I will trim them all to spur new growth but I’m already betting the rosemary’s done. Our local NPR garden talk show host is always pessimistic about winter hardiness of rosemary in our area, so I use it liberally even in winter. 

What can you do with these woody herbs besides tossing them into soups and stews? How about making herb salts? I usually make rosemary-sage salt with garlic, but this year I branched out to make rosemary salt with lavender, and thyme salt with fennel pollen, both winners. I know they sound like something to bathe in, but trust me, they’re make amazing transformations to ordinary dishes.

To make salts with woody herbs, strip the herb leaves and toss them with coarse salt and dry them before adding the “special” flavorings. Illustrated here is Celtic grey sea salt, which is pretty large-grained. The other salt I like is flaky Malden sea salt, which has a slightly better texture. Since I used whole rosemary leaves in that salt, I ground the Celtic grey salt, rosemary and lavender in a small food processor to achieve a more versatile texture. To make the salts, I mixed the thyme (or rosemary) with salt and spread it on rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dried it for a day in my gas oven. You can start the oven, but not let it get up to 150-degree heat, shut it off and let it cool a little before placing the tray in the oven. If you use higher heat, the herbs could become brittle and of poor texture. When done (meaning thoroughly dry since you don’t want to encourage mold), add the flavoring herb, in this case fennel pollen for the thyme and lavender flowers for the rosemary.

So what do you do with these salts? Sprinkle them on all kinds of dishes.  Here I used them on cooked scallops and shrimp (tossed with salad for her and with pasta for him). I’ve also used them on fish, chicken, pork and eggs. And on potatoes and squash. They’re a welcome change from ordinary salt and pepper and impart an unexpected spark of flavor that is great in the winter and a reminder of what lies ahead in the garden.

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Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Bacon, and Herbed Croutons with Rosemary-sage Salt

Call this wheat on wheat. Comfort food after days in the yard and basement, still cleaning up after the recent hurricane. Go for it while the gluten-frees are away. Truthfully, the wheat-dominated ingredients are just vehicles: cauliflower, bacon and herbs are the predominate flavors. The pasta and whole wheat bread crumbs are background ingredients.

I still have abundant cauliflower from recent gleaning days at our CSA. So many of the plants were dislodged – gone sideways – during Superstorm Sandy. The cauliflowers were therefore never harvested despite being superb, and we found them abundant once we got into the rhythm of finding them. Sliced cauliflower florets roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt is a norm. Combining them with whole-wheat pasta is pretty normal too. Even the addition of chunks of thick bacon. What made this version special were the flavor and crunch of the seedy whole-wheat breadcrumbs flavored with a very special rosemary and sage rub. 

I’ve written about this rub before, in a series on preserving herbs, a task that I start in the summer and conclude around now as I clean out my pot garden. Although the recent mild winters here allow me to use my herb garden year-round, I always cut back the rosemary and sage, trying to do it before the weather becomes too cold. (Otherwise, the pruning will stimulate growth and the plant will freeze to death.)  

To preserve rosemary and sage, I use an excellent recipe from David Lebovitz, who learned it from a friend. (He called it Italian herb rub.) Rosemary and sage leaves are finely chopped and combined with garlic finely chopped with sea salt (my own twist on his technique). The mixture is dried on pans for a few days in a non-drafty room or in an unlit gas oven (another twist of mine since my house is sometimes humid). The heat from the pilot light creates a great environment for slow drying.  This is a great combination. I use it on pork and poultry, on roasted roots and nuts, and on breadcrumbs and croutons. 

Here I tore whole wheat bread into coarse chunks, sprinkled them with olive oil and the rosemary-sage rub, and baked them, turning occasionally, in a 400-degree oven along with the cauliflower.  The bread took under 5 minutes and the cauliflower closer to 10.  Tossed with pasta and cauliflower, the toasted bread (and the bacon of course) added a textural contrast and a burst of flavor that are most welcome on a late fall day.

Rosemary-Sage Salt adapted from David Lebovitz

1½ c sage leaves (removed from stems)

1 c rosemary leaves (removed from stems)

1 tbsp salt (I used gray sea salt, slightly coarse)

3 large cloves garlic

Finely chop the sage and rosemary (by hand or pulsed in a food processor). Chop the garlic with the salt, until fine but do not turn into a paste. Combine all ingredients and spread them out on baking sheets. Either air-dry them indoors, away from sunlight and drafts for 2-3 days, or in a gas oven (with only the heat of the pilot light) for a day or so, until the mixture is completely dry. Store in a dark place in an airtight container.

Makes about 1 cup.

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Fig Jam with Fennel Pollen and Bay Leaves

What the fig? Another fig jam? I was actually intending to make fig jam with chipotle chili powder when I remembered that fig and fennel would be a good pairing. I recently discovered fennel pollen (yes, it’s really pollen and can you imagine what that’s like to harvest?). It is intensely aromatic, sweet, a beautiful yellow color like saffron, which is also pollen. And it imparts an anise-like flavor with a haunting aftertaste. I made my standard microwave version of fig jam, adding lemon juice and fennel pollen at the end. I thought both would fade if I incorporated them earlier. I wasn’t sure how much fennel pollen to add, so I started with a teaspoonful, waited a few minutes, tasted the jam and increased it slightly. The small batch that I didn’t can but rather set aside to taste developed a more distinctive fennel flavor as it cooled and mellowed.  I used black mission figs, but the green ones would be fine.

 Fig Jam with Rosemary and Lemon

1½ dry pint fresh Black Mission figs, rinsed and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1¼ lb or 3 c)

1 c sugar

1 bay leaf

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1½ tsp fennel pollen

Place the figs, sugar, bay leaf ,and salt in a heatproof bowl that fits in the microwave oven and stir to combine. Let the mixture macerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare jars for water bath canning. Place a saucer in the freezer for testing the gel.

Microwave the mixture at high speed for 6-8 minutes or until boiling. Remove and stir. Put the bowl back in the microwave and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring and checking the gel. Continue to cook for another few minutes until the gel has set.

Remove the bowl from the microwave oven and fish out the bay leaf (watching out for little pieces if it hasn’t stayed intact). Add the lemon juice and fennel pollen. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Spoon the jam into warm prepared jars. Check for air bubbles.

Seal the jars and process them in a water bath canner for 10 minutes after the water comes to a boil. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid and let sit for 5 minutes before removing the jars to a counter to sit undisturbed until cool.

Makes 3 eight-ounce jars or 6 four-ounce jars, which I prefer.

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Chive Blossom Vinegar

A long row of magenta blossoms gently swaying in the breeze welcomes us back to the CSA in springtime. Like so many puffy prom dresses or an infinite supply of pom-poms, the blossoms have a kind of festive air, dominating the thin reedy stalks of the chive plant. 

Pick a bunch for a bud vase, or better yet, use them to flavor vinegar that will be used all summer for salads of potatoes, cucumbers, greens.  This has become an annual ritual for me.

First, detach the blossom heads from the green stems and lightly clean them. I shake them in a sieve to remove light dust and then spray them with water, continuing to shake the sieve. Let them dry so that the water doesn’t dilute the vinegar.

Choose a very clean jar with a screw-on lid. Mine’s a pint jar since that’s about how much of this vinegar I would use in a season. Fill the jar about halfway with the chive blossoms and pour in light white wine vinegar, such as champagne vinegar, which pairs well with the oniony taste of the chive blossoms.

Let the vinegar sit for about a week before decanting into a clean bottle. I store mine in the refrigerator and use within a few months.  Its color doesn’t become as saturated as the violet vinegar I made earlier this spring, but the flavor is much more intense. 

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Seasonal Tart: Spinach, Dill and Ricotta

I love an excess of a single ingredient that allows me to experiment. Watch what you wish for! Opening day of our CSA season brought 4 pounds of spinach and 8 large heads of lettuce into the kitchen, not to mention a pound of baby bok choy and ½ pound of arugula. All those greens were too voluminous for my fridge. So we started with the easy task: eating spinach right away and wilting the rest to reduce the volume.

I had made delicious homemade ricotta for a big party last weekend, and combined it with lemon zest and herbs. I used the leftovers for this dilly spinach tart, which we ate alongside a lettuce and arugula salad with plenty of snipped herbs and a sprinkling of feta cheese. The combination of young herbs and the season’s first lettuces is magical. A suitably spring-like supper.

Spinach and Dill Ricotta Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

3 eggs

1 c ricotta cheese

¼ – 1/3 c milk or cream if needed

1 c cooked spinach, squeezed dry and chopped

1 tsp lemon zest

2-3 tbsp chopped dill

Optional: ½ tsp salt

Optional: 1 tbsp mixed chopped herbs (lovage, tarragon, chives)

Thaw the puff pastry for about ½ hour. Roll it out slightly and place it in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, Run the rolling pin over the top of the rim to cut the dough neatly and save the scraps for another use.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta, combining well. Add milk or cream to thin the mixture if it seems too thick. The amount will depend on the consistency of your ricotta.

Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine well, and pour the mixture into the prepared tart shell, smoothing the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the tart is puffed and golden. (It will fall as it cools.) Let the tart cool for 10 minutes before unmolding and serving.

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Spring Spinach and Herb Gnocchi

The sweet spinach of spring heralds a growing season of bountiful greens. It is the time of year when the herbs are most tender too so the pleasing combination of spinach and herbs is a natural result. Chopped and stirred into risotto, or just rice, or here, made into plump gnocchi, the greens embody the freshness of spring and the way they’re prepared is comfort food for a transitional season. I served them simply, dressed with reduced cream infused with herbs.

Gnocchi are not hard to make. It takes a little courage not to add more flour when shaping the logs, but a light touch and the use of the refrigerator to firm them will result in a less doughy consistency. Also, since this recipe includes ricotta, the gnocchi tend to be lighter than the flour and potato variety. If you have leftover dough, you can cut it into slices and freeze the pieces singly on a plate or tray, storing them in a plastic bag when thoroughly frozen. Cook them from their frozen state.

Spinach and Herb Gnocchi

About 1½ lb spinach (a large bunch, yielding 1 c of chopped cooked leaves)

2 tsp finely snipped mint

1 tsp finely snipped chives

1 tsp finely snipped lovage

2 egg yolks

1/2 c ricotta cheese

½ c grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c flour plus more for rolling

Pinch of salt if needed (Parmesan is salty)

Sauce: 3 tbsp heavy cream and 1 tsp herbs, or just butter

Prepare the spinach. Wash the spinach well in abundant water to remove any sand or grit. Remove the stems. Wilt it in a large pan over medium-high heat, in the water that clings to the leaves. Remove the drain and cool. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible and chop finely.

Combine the spinach and herbs.

Lightly beat the egg yolks and add the grated cheese and ricotta, mixing well. Add the flour and the spinach-herb mixture, combining well. Roll into logs about ½-3/4 inch thick, coating with flour as you go. Place the gnocchi on a plate in the refrigerator to firm up for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to cook, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut the dough into 1-inch lengths, shaping them with a fork (this is traditional with potato gnocchi since you want the grooves to catch the sauce, but is not necessary here). Working in batches, place the gnocchi in the boiling water and let them cook until they rise to the surface. Remove to a warm bowl. Repeat.

Meanwhile, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small pan and let it reduce for a few minutes. Add the herbs and let it infuse for a few minutes. Spoon over the gnocchi to coat.

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Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Tarragon

This marmalade bridges winter and spring by combining the last citrus with the first fresh herbs.  Meyer lemons are sweeter and more delicate than standard lemons and therefore lend themselves to a lighter touch. And licorice-like tarragon imparts a grassy freshness that counteracts the sugar. My basic recipe for lemon marmalade is one of the most consulted recipes on this blog, yielding thousands of hits since I posted it in January 2010. In late fall and early winter, I favored the addition of ginger and/or rosemary. Here I am pleased to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Tarragon

6 Meyer lemons (to make 3 cups sliced: see prep steps below)

Approximately 1¾ c water

Approximately 2¼  cups sugar

A few sprigs of fresh tarragon, a few large leaves reserved

Prepare the lemons. Wash them and split them in half lengthwise. Slice a V-groove to remove the center core, and set aside the seeds. Slice each half lengthwise and then crosswise into thin (1/16 – 1/8”) pieces. Chip the end rind into 3/8” pieces. This yielded 3 cups of sliced lemon. Wrap the reserved seeds in cheesecloth tied with a string and set aside.

In a deep pot, combine the lemons and water barely to cover (approximately 1¾ cups of water), and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, cool, cover and set aside overnight in the refrigerator. (You can add the tarragon at this point to infuse the mixture or add it when cooking as I did.)

Return to the stove and simmer until the rind is cooked but not mushy, around 7 minutes. Place a saucer in the freezer for testing the gel. Prepare jars for water bath canning.

Measure the lemon mixture and add sugar in a ratio of 3:4, meaning ¾ cup sugar to 1 cup of fruit. Pour lemon mixture back into the pot, add the pouch of seeds and a large sprig or two of tarragon, and cook at a medium boil for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent a scorched bottom. Remove the seed pouch before the marmalade finishes, so that it doesn’t get too sticky, and discard. The marmalade is done when a droplet added to the frozen plate doesn’t run. I sometimes use a candy thermometer, which shows a gel point at 221 degrees Fahrenheit, but I find that cooking the marmalade that long makes it denser than I like. In any case, watch the pot carefully and stir the mix as progress accelerates toward the end.

Remove the tarragon and the pouch of seeds. Spoon the marmalade into hot sterilized jars through a canning funnel. Add a fresh tarragon leaf to each jar, pushing it down into the marmalade. Clean the jar rims, top with new flat lids that have been dunked in just-boiled water, screw on the lids and process the jars in boiling water in your canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove, remove the lid and let sit for 5 minutes; then remove to the counter to cool, undisturbed, for a few hours.

Makes 2 ½ cups (two 8-oz jars and one 4-oz jar)

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Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies

A Table in the Tarn, written by Orlando Murrin, is the story of two guys who left London to take up residency in an old manor house in Southwest France, turning the stately building into a charming bed-and-breakfast that is apparently a gastronomic destination.  Part memoir and part how-to, the book contains numerous terrific recipes, including this one for rosemary pine nut cookies. I tweaked the recipe (and rewrote it) but the basics are all here. On another occasion, I will substitute lemon zest for the ground ginger. I will also use regular granulated sugar instead of superfine, which Murrin called for, since I thought the cookies didn’t need to be quite so sweet. What attracted me to the recipe was the possibility of developing a savory biscuit based on this, and I think it will eventually work. In the meanwhile, these are easy to make. I threw them together on a weeknight while I was preparing dinner on top of the stove to stop my husband from lamenting about the cookies that he accidentally left behind in the store.  

Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies adapted from A Table in the Tarn

2 tbsp pine buts plus extra for decorating the cookies

2 tsp chopped rosemary plus extra for decorating the cookies

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp ground ginger or ½ tsp grated lemon rind

1/3 c soft butter

½ c sugar plus addition for sprinkling on the cookies

1 tbsp olive oil

1 egg yolk

1½ tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Slowly toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan over low heat until light brown. Remove to a food processor. Add the rosemary, and lightly chop the mixture to the texture of coarse meal. Pour into a medium bowl. Soft the flour, baking soda and ground ginger into the rosemary pine nut mixture and mix well. (If using lemon zest, add it now.)

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and add the olive oil. Slowly add the flour, stirring to combine. Combine the cream and egg yolk and stir into the batter, mixing well.

Shape the dough into ¾-inch balls and place 1½ inches apart on the baking sheet (they will spread). Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 13 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove and decorate with pine nuts and rosemary sprigs, Makes 3 dozen.

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Winter Squash Risotto with Sage

Risotto is one of the ultimate comfort foods in our house. A little leftover winter squash and turkey stock from the Thanksgiving bird were transformed into a delicious dish, satisfying enough to constitute an entire meal with just a salad of bitter greens and pears on the side. 

My typical proportions for risotto are ¼ cup of rice per person for a main dish, a little less for a side, cooked with 1-1¼ cup of stock. I end up using a little less stock when I’m adding something that contributes to the liquid content, like squash. So for this I used ¾ c Arborio rice, 3 cups of turkey (or chicken) stock and 3/4 c pureed squash.

Needing something to spark up the dish, I made browned butter and sautéed a few sage leaves, which I stirred into the risotto and also sprinkled on top. This was an entirely local and organic meal with the exception of the rice. I used a hard local cheese instead of the usual Parmesan.

Winter Squash Risotto (for 3 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish)

1 small onion, finely chopped

Butter (or olive oil)

¾ c Arborio rice

¾ -1 c squash puree

3-4 c chicken or turkey stock, warmed

Salt and pepper

¼ c grated Parmesan cheese or other flavorful hard cheese

Lightly sauté the onion in a little butter until soft. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains. Start adding the stock, about ¼ c at a time, regulating the heat to keep the liquid at a simmer. Keep stirring and adding additional ¼ c of stock. The entire risotto should take about 20 minutes to cook. About half way through, start adding the pureed squash with the stock. When the risotto is just finished, adjust the seasonings and add the grated cheese. Serve immediately.

Optional garnishes: sage leaves browned in butter, parsley or other herbs, sautéed leaves of Brussels sprouts or other greens.

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