What's Good Now? Early Spring Ideas

Springtime, Allium, and other Seasonal Vegetables

            Although our region’s peak growing season is still a few months in the future, early to mid-spring brings several in-season treats. The delicious fennel bulb does best after hard freezes but before the heat of summer, and now is the perfect time for local onions and other plants in the Allium family – leeks, shallots, ramps, garlic, scallions and chives. Nutritionists consider all of these vegetables great sources of fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals.

            Onions, of course, are grown all over the world and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), are the second most commonly cultivated vegetable worldwide after tomatoes. According to the website www.vegetarian-nutrition.info, onions and onion extracts can relieve asthma, bronchitis, and cold symptoms, and the WHO “supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and to prevent atherosclerosis.” 

            Onions, leeks and fennel form the basis of the following vegetarian recipe. It makes a good entrée for two people, perhaps served with rice or noodles; we enjoyed it recently as a side dish with pan-fried crabcakes.

           

Tastes way better than it looks here!

Recipe: Braised Fennel and Leeks

Serves 4 (side, or two as a main dish)

Ingredients:

1 ½ c chicken or vegetable broth

½ c white wine

½ c water

4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half

½ c chopped onion

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried tarragon

2 T butter (optional)

Salt and freshly ground or cracked black pepper, to taste

3 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise

2 fennel bulbs, cored and cut into quarters lengthwise

2 c sliced mushrooms, any type

3 T olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the braising liquid in a large, deep sided frying pan: add the liquids along with the garlic, chopped onions, herbs, butter (if using) and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil.

Arrange leeks and quartered fennel in the pan. Bring liquid back to boiling, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a smaller frying pan, heat olive oil over medium and add mushrooms. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, add salt and pepper and remove from heat.

To serve, carefully remove fennel and leeks to a platter; top with sautéed mushrooms.

Note: Strain the braising liquid to remove solids and store broth in the refrigerator for another use—it will be quite flavorful.

Fresh, seasonal ingredients + careful cooking = Great dish

Asparagus is my husband's favorite veggie, and while I like it less frequently than he does, in the springtime it's easier to work into our diet on a regular basis, because it's available from local farms and could not be fresher.
The other nice ingredient we've had on hand a lot lately is fresh fennel bulb, which we both like in many preparations (roasted, grilled, raw, etc.). He said, how about combining the two into a dish?
This is what I came up with -- the top photo is in the pan, the bottom one on the plate with shaved Parmesan. It was pretty darn delish!

Recipe: Bow-Tie Pasta with Asparagus and Fennel
(Serves 2, can be doubled)
Ingredients:
2 T olive or canola oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
12 ounces fresh asparagus, bottoms trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup (or more) prepared pesto, preferably homemade
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups bowtie pasta, preferably whole wheat, cooked according to package directions
Shaved Parmesan cheese, to taste

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced fennel and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in garlic, stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add broth and wine (if using), cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high, uncover and add asparagus. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until asparagus is just tender. Be careful not to overcook. Stir in remaining ingredients -- pesto, seasonings and pasta -- cover, and reduce heat to medium.
Remove from heat as soon as the mixture is heated through, no more than another 3 minutes.
Spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle with the cheese, or pass cheese at the table.

Wine recommendation: Go with a rich white wine such as a buttery chardonnay or a golden-hued viognier or viognier blend (we popped open a white Cotes-du-Rhone, a viognier blend).

Fennel with beans and tomato over polenta -- yum

Here's an easy and delicious vegetarian one-dish dinner, so full of flavor that I can't imagine anyone missing meat. For protein, white beans and a sprinkling of your favorite cheese does the trick. The combo of ingredients makes for a nice pairing with either red or white wines. All you need is some crusty whole-grain bread and you've got a healthy, complete meal.
This recipe is for two, but can be doubled. I use the log style of polenta, slicing it about 1 1/2 inch thick and pan-frying it in a non-stick skillet with just a thin coat of olive or canola oil.

Recipe: Fennel with White Beans and Tomatoes over Polenta

Ingredients:
1 roll of polenta, sliced and sauteed in a nonstick pan (set aside and keep warm)
2 T olive or canola oil
1 large bulb fennel: half of it cut into wedges, the other half coarsely diced
1 cup chopped celery and onion
2 T chopped garlic
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
2 cups diced tomatoes, preferably with no salt added
Pinch of saffron (optional)
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups pre-washed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup grated cheese, or more if you want

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large, deep sided skillet over medium heat. Add chopped celery and onion along with the diced fennel. Stir frequently as the veggies soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in fennel, cover the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove cover, add garlic and broth or water and stir-fry for another couple of minutes until the fennel wedges have softened.
Add tomatoes and seasoning (saffron, if using, thyme, salt and pepper), stirring well. Cover again and let the flavors blend for about 2-3 more minutes. Add beans and spinach, cover pan and let spinach wilt, about 3 minutes.
Place polenta slices on plates, spoon bean mixture over the polenta and sprinkle with cheese. Pass more cheese at table, if desired.
Enjoy!

Best. Veggie Combo. Ever.

Best. Veggie Combo. Ever.
I'm not sure why this particular combination of vegetables (with pasta) tastes so delicious, but I think it's something about the mixture of fennel and eggplant. Or maybe it's just everything, including the peppers, garlic, and zucchini. Whatever the explanation, I love this dish, and the feedback I've gotten from readers has been uniformly positive.

Try it and see what you think, but don't substitute or leave out anything or you probably won't get the full effect. (Photo at left is of the veggies before you add the pasta)

Recipe: Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Fennel
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into one-inch cubes
1 large (or two medium) zucchini, sliced lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 T olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I make it with chicken stock, which is part of the magical whole flavor impact, but vegetable stock makes it a vegetarian dish, if you wish)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups uncooked pasta shapes, preferably multigrain or whole grain
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss eggplant, fennel, zucchini and pepper with 2 T of the olive oil. Spread vegetables evenly on a rimmed cookie sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
2. About 10 minutes before veggies are done, heat salted water in a large saucepan and cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and keep warm.
3. Heat remaining 2 T of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 90 seconds. Stir in stock. Remove veggies from oven and add to frying pan.
4. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in pasta and heat through.
5. Spoon into serving bowl and pass cheese at the table.

Reposted from last fall/winter.

What are your "magic ingredients?" Here are two of mine!

I've always felt that if a dish contains quality ingredients, it's going to taste good.
Of course, a cook can mess up almost anything, but as a rule of thumb when I'm creating a new concoction, I try not to worry about the outcome if the basic components are solid.
Which brings me to MAGIC INGREDIENTS: things you can add to a variety of dishes for an instant punch of yumminess.
Fresh figs and avocado almost qualify, but the former is only available a few months per year at most, and avocado isn't all that versatile because (in my experience at least) it's only good raw. Garlic doesn't count because every cook on earth knows that it's crucial to so many cuisines' tastiness.

Do you have any foods that are "magic" in your cooking (or dining, even if someone else cooks)?

Here are my two faves:
FENNEL (cooked especially, but also fine raw) and...SAFFRON.
Readers of this blog know that fennel is a recurring ingredient in my cooking. For a wider view of wonderful ways this veggie can enhance many different recipes, click here for some great ones.

I use saffron much less frequently, but when I do, it's a sure-fire way to give a dish a marvelous complexity and depth of flavor.
For a variety of recipes that use saffron, check out "Sarah Saffron's" website.

The following is my favorite, go-to recipe that has both fennel and saffron as key ingredients. (You actually can make it without those golden threads -- but why?) Halibut would make an excellent substitute for the sea bass -- in fact, I often prefer it. This scrumptious dish definitely is good enough for company.

Recipe: Sea Bass in Orange-Fennel Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 six-ounce sea bass filets
3 T canola or olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion or shallot
2 T minced garlic
1/2 C thinly sliced celery
1/2 fennel bulb, cored, sliced thin, with 2 T chopped fennel fronds reserved
1/2 C dry white wine
1 tsp. saffron threads
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C orange juice
1 T orange zest (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil on stovetop in a deep, 12" skillet on medium-high heat.

Add onion/shallot, garlic, celery and fennel bulb and sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender and start to brown.

Meanwhile, heat orange juice in a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup for 1 minute on high heat. Remove from microwave and crumble saffron threads into juice. Set aside.

Add wine to skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and orange zest to skillet, stir in OJ/saffron mixture. Bring mixture to low boil. (Can be prepared to this point in advance; transfer mixture to large Tupperware bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat sauce in same skillet to low boil.)

Add fish filets and cover pan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until fish is opaque. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to serving platter or individual plates, and sprinkle reserved fennel fronds on top.

Tomato season, Part 3: Roasted with fennel and mixed with white beans

Here's a one-dish dinner -- we had it with the zucchini salad at right and toasted Italian bread -- that uses farm-fresh cherry tomatoes and delicious fennel (a.k. a. anise). Near the end, add a can of drained and rinsed white beans. I adapted the recipe from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. For wine, we opened a bottle of Sicilian red, a fruit-forward wine called Pinocchio (like the puppet).

Recipe: Roasted Tomatoes with Fennel and White Beans (Serves 2, can easily be doubled)
Ingredients:
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, cut in half vertically and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, any color
3 T oregano leaves (or 1 T dried oregano)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Dash of crushed red pepper
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 T chopped fennel fronds
Salt, if needed

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add fennel wedges and cook until fennel browns on one side. Turn carefully with tongs and brown the other side.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Stir in tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red pepper; add a little salt, if desired.
Place pan in oven and roast until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. Remove pan carefully, stir in beans and half the fennel fronds and return pan to oven to let the beans heat. (That should only be another 5 minutes or so.)
Take pan out of the oven and transfer contents to a large serving bowl, sprinkling remaining fennel fronds over the top.
The dish can be served warm or at room temperature.

Arugula, fennel and apricot salad

The current (June) issue of Bon Appetit included this marvelous recipe that uses several adored ingredients.
Arugula is available now at many farmers' markets -- it's a cooler-weather green. You can still find fresh fennel, even though its peak season is earlier in the year.
And fresh apricots are just starting to get good.

Yum!
Recipe: Arugula, Fennel and Apricot Salad
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 5-ounce container arugula leaves
• 1 large fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fronds
• 6 large apricots, pitted, sliced
• 1/4 cup unsalted natural pistachios (or walnuts, my preference)
  

Instructions: Whisk together vinegar, shallot and olive oil. Place arugula, fennel and apricots in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with nuts, and serve.

Sunshine on a plate -- a recipe to brighten the winter gloom

Last week while on my gym's treadmill I caught the Food Network's Nigella Lawson making a salad with peak-of-season grapefruit and orange along with another ingredient dear to my heart, fresh fennel (also in season). I rushed home and whipped up my own version, with only a couple of variations on Ms. Lawson's salad. (I added sugar and lime juice to the dressing, for instance, and increased the proportion of grapefruit to orange.)

We had it with grilled salmon and a green vegetable. It also would be nice over lettuce, perhaps sprinkled with a little blue cheese, for lunch.

Recipe: Citrus Salad with Fennel and Walnuts
(Serves 2-3; can be doubled)

Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 large orange, peeled (no white pith remaining) and sectioned
1 large or two small grapefruits, prepared the same as the orange
1/2 fennel bulb, stalks and outer layer discarded, cut into thin slices
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the dressing:
Juice from the orange and grapefruit (drain off as much as you can from the sections, and squeeze the remaining fruit well after you have sectioned them)
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped coarsely (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup when chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil, or a mixture of olive and walnut oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Instructions:

1. For the salad: Combine orange, grapefruit and fennel in a bowl. Stir well. Drain off as much juice as possible to add to the dressing. Stir in walnuts and set aside.
2. For the dressing: Put all ingredients except oil(s) in a food processor and pulse until basil is chopped. Add oil slowly with processor running. The dressing will be thin, not creamy.
3. Pour dressing over salad and stir well. Serve!