Category: Edible Landscapes

Minted Peas with Radishes

4/5/2021

Serves 6 as a side dish

1 pound bag frozen Petite Peas (these are the sweetest), thawed
4-6 radishes, sliced thinly (about 1 cup)-if the radishes are small use about 2-3 per person, cut them into quarters
2 Tbs butter
2-3 scallions, sliced thinly on the bias
3 Tbs fresh mint, chopped
Kosher salt and Pepper

Heat a sauté pan with the butter and the radishes over medium-low heat. Cook until the radishes are soft and lightly pink about 3-5 minutes.
Add the peas and heat until the peas are warmed through, about 3 minutes.
Add the mint and the scallions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, room temperature, or cold.

Variations:
Add: Sugar snap peas, asparagus-sliced thinly, pea tendrils-cook with the peas.
Top With: Feta cheese, or shaved parmesan cheese.
Serve:
As a salad with cooked new potatoes, rice, or other cooked whole grain.
On toast with ricotta cheese or mascarpone cheese.

0 Comments

Spring Pea, Leek + Herb Soup

3/24/2021

0 Comments

Recipe from the wonderful cookbook Small Victories by Julia Turshen

Serves 4-6

2 large leeks, split in half lengthwise and washed
A handful of fresh Italian parsley sprigs, stems and leaves separated
A handful of fresh mint sprigs, stems and leaves separated
A handful of fresh basil sprigs, stems and leaves separated
6 cups cold water
Kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups frozen peas
Crème fraiche or sour cream for serving
Chives, chopped for serving

Roughly chop the dark green tops, root ends, and tough outer layers of the leeks and put them in a large pot. Roughly chop the remaining leeks(the white and light green parts), wash them, and set aside.
Add the stems from the parsley, mint, and basil to the pot along with the water and 1 ½ tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and let the stock cook quietly for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl and set aside. Discard the contents of the strainer.
Wipe the pot dry and put it over medium heat. Add the butter, the reserved chopped and washed leeks, and a large pinch of salt and cook stirring, until the leeks are softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
Add the peas. Slowly pour in the warm stock, leaving any grit on the bottom of the bowl behind. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool to room temperature (the residual heat will cook the peas).
Once the soup has cooled, add the leaves from the parsley, mint, and basil to the pot. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or with a regular blender. Season with salt and pepper.
Reheat the soup and serve warm, or chill it thoroughly. Serve with crème fraiche and sprinkle with chives.

Variations:

Puree or not! I love this soup partially pureed with lots of texture.
Add a protein-cooked chicken, shrimp, scallops, or even white beans. Puree the soup first, then add to the pureed soup and heat through.
Add diced potatoes to the soup while it is cooking. Add 5 minutes to the soup cooking time.
Instead of soup, make a side dish. Add just enough stock (start with 1/2 cup) to the sautéed leeks and peas to warm the peas through. Turn off the heat and gently stir in 2 tablespoons of very cold butter to create a creamy finish.
Serve the soup cold on a hot day!

0 Comments

Kale-Sauce Pasta by Joshua McFadden

9/21/2020

0 Comments

I enjoy creating delicious recipes to share with my students, but when I discover a recipe by another chef I never hesitate to share it. And, when that chef has cookbook that I love, you know I'm going to share that too. Joshua McFadden's book Six Seasons-A New Way with Vegetables has become a favorite, seasonal cookbook for me. You MUST get this book! McFadden has opened my mind and my pallet to so many new flavor combinations and wonderful ways to prepare vegetables seasonally. This recipe is a wonderful example of an easy, beautiful, and delicious recipe I use often. Enjoy!

Makes 4 cups
Kosher salt, to taste
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 cloves garlic, smashed flat and peeled
1 pound kale, thick ribs removed (dark green, curly kale)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ pound pasta, like pappardelle or rigatoni
¾ cup coarsely grated Parmigiano- Reggiano

Put a large pot of generously salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil.
In a small skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, and cook very gently until garlic is soft and begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
When water is boiling, add kale leaves, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Pull out the hot, dripping kale leaves with tongs, and put directly into a blender. (Don’t drain the pot; you’ll use that same boiling water to cook the pasta.)
Add garlic and its oil to the blender, along with a splash of hot water from the pot if you need some more liquid to get the blender going. Blend into a fine, thick green purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, then blend again.
Add the pasta to the still-boiling water, and cook according to directions on the package. Ladle out about a cup of the water to save for finishing the dish, then drain the pasta and return it to the dry pot. Add the half of the kale purée, about 3/4 of the grated cheese and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until all the pasta is well coated and bright green, adding another splash of pasta water and more kale sauce if needed so that the sauce is loose and almost creamy in texture. Serve in bowls right away, and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the grated cheese. Any leftover kale sauce can be frozen.

Additions:
1-pound U26-30 shrimp, peeled and deveined-5 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the shrimp to the pasta and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Continue with recipe as written.

More uses for this Kale Sauce

add to any soup
add to any pasta sauce
add cream to the kale sauce and drizzle over pasta, chicken, steak, pork, seafood
spread on sandwiches or wraps
stir into eggs to make kale scrambled eggs
combine with homemade stock to make a soup
add to Asian noodle bowl

0 Comments

Minted Peas with Radishes

Spring Pea, Leek + Herb Soup

Kale-Sauce Pasta by Joshua McFadden

Recipe Categories

Liz's Cookbook

Liz's Gardens

Liz's Kitchen

Archives

CONTACT US

Email

Telephone

Location