This weekend I was overjoyed to find that what was just recently a barren wasteland of leftover winter tubers and cabbages had been magically transformed into a wonderland of color, hope and joy (at least for me). Spring had officially arrived, at least at the farmer's market here in NYC. It was a beautiful 85 degrees when I got there and the whole place was abuzz with springtime energy. Each stall overflowed with produce, some even providing a preview of what was to come in the summer months (tomatoes and bell peppers!). I woke up bright and early in hopes of getting the much sought after (and often mocked) springtime treat known as ramps. The last few years I'd missed my chance, with each delicious bunch bought-out by area restaurants (I hear the guys from Craft get there particularly early) and other early birds. Well, it was my turn to get the worm and this Saturday, I did. I'm not sure if my showing up downtown at 9 am versus my usual post noon shopping time made all the difference, but it seemed every other stand had a basket full of ramps (the asparagus, sadly, had all been sold out, AGAIN).
For those that are unfamiliar with them, ramps have grown exponentially in popularity in recent years, thanks to an increase in seasonal and local minded chefs. They are often called wild leaks, although they actually resemble a green onion/spinach hybrid. The bottom is a white bulb (like a green onion) that leads to a long, green, leaf-like top. They taste and smell of onion, and many people mistake them for onion grass, which smells exactly the same. If you live in the Northeast or mid-Atlantic you've probably seen them growing wild along the side of the road, if not smelled them when you rolled down the car window during a road trip. I find that they're quite versatile since you can actually split ramps into their two parts and cook them separately or use each piece in one dish. I like doing the latter, with the bulbs acting as the aromatic in place of onions, and the tops acting as greens. I knew that whatever dish I used these ramps in would have to be tasty and restrained so I could actually savor their much sought after flavor.
Ramps are most commonly used in three applications: eggs, pasta and pesto. I didn't really want eggs for dinner, or yet another pasta dish (my eternal easy way out), and I wanted to see and feel their texture before I pureed them to a pulp in a pesto. So in the end I decided to do a simple saute with some fellow springtime ingredients. What resulted was an odd but delicious festival of spring, and the only thing missing was the kitchen sink and a big fat artichoke. I ended up adding some super tasty and fresh fava beans, which only need a two minutes blanch in salted water, along with a few sliced shiitake mushrooms. I sauteed everything in good old extra virgin olive oil with the ramp bulbs acting as the aromatic instead of using onions or shallots. I didn't even bother with garlic since the ramps were so strongly flavored. I used younger, smaller ramps because I find those to be significantly more tender and more subtly flavored. I quickly wilted them (seriously, less than 5 minutes total) before adding in the blanched fava beans at the last minute. It all came together super fast, and was a really delicious taste of spring. I served mine with a nice piece of glazed salmon that I'll be posting about later in the week. In the mean time, get out there and enjoy all of the fresh spring produce we've all been waiting for!
Ramps With Shiitake Mushrooms And Fresh Fava Beans
1 lb ramps, well rinsed with roots trimmed
6-7 shiitake mushrooms, sliced, stems removed
1 cup fresh shelled fava beans
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
2. Meanwhile, cut white bulbs from ramps and finely chop, setting aside the greens for later. Add chopped bulbs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a non-stick skillet and cook over medium heat. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to wilt, add ramp leaves and cook until slightly wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. While waiting for ramps to cook, add fava beans to boiling water and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 2 minutes.
4. Remove fava beans from water with a slotted spoon and add to skillet with ramps and mushrooms. Toss to combine and plate. Enjoy!
-Laura
One of my favorite ways to come up with new recipes is to find inspiration at the farmer's market. I love taking food that's in season and using that as a jumping off point for creating an entire dish. Walking through the stalls is sometimes the best way to see what you should be making, and explains why so many restaurants are offering the same types of dishes based on the same seasonal ingredients. Unfortunately, I've been feeling a bit...well, blahhhh about the winter selection of fruits and veggies that I've been seeing at the greenmarket for the last few months. There's only so many days in a row that I can stand to bring home another form of root. I've already roasted them, sauteed them, pureed them into soup, added them to stews and shaved them into salad. Having pretty much reached my limit where winter vegetables are concerned, I decided that I deserved to splurge a little at the market and took a closer look at the game meats stall. 
While I didn't quite feel like buying yet another gourmet sausage, or even a whole pheasant, I spotted a fridge full of amazing fresh duck breasts. I didn't have much experience cooking duck myself, but it's one of my favorite proteins, and it always seems easy when others make it, so I gave it a go. My initial plan was to cook the duck in Asian style spices and serve it over a bed of roasted winter root veggies. But after some thought, I realized that the fatty duck would best be paired with a slightly lighter bed of veggies, like some sauteed baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms (and it would help give the dish an entirely Asian theme). When researching how to make the duck itself, I took a few tips from my favorite Chinese chef, Kylie Kwong. Her recipe for chili-salt duck became the base for my recipe. She starts by steaming the duck until it's half-cooked, then dredges it in a chili-salt flour mixture before frying it. I took it a step further by making the flour mixture extra spiced with cayenne pepper, Chinese five spice, and ground sichuan peppercorn.
The flour-spice mix gave the duck breast a nice subtle spice and and crispy crust. I served it along with a few lemon wedges to help cut the grease (although it wasn't actually all that greasy in the end), and some ground sichuan pepper and salt for dipping and extra spice. The bed of veggies was great, and paired well with the duck. I diced the bok choy stems for crunch, and let the leaves wilt, and left the shiitakes in fairly large pieces for a little texture contrast. I would have preferred the duck to be a little bit more underdone (it's red meat, so you can serve it medium-rare), but all in all for my first duck breast attempt, I think it was good. Here's how to go about it for yourself, and tomorrow I'll tell you a little bit about the salad I made to start the whole meal off (baby arugula with pomegranate and clementines).
Crispy Spiced Duck Breast with Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms
2 duck breasts, skin on and scored in a diamond pattern
2 Tbsp flour
3 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground sichuan pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
vegetable, canola, or peanut oil
2 bunches baby bok choy, chopped
1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp malt or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Shao Hsing wine or sherry
1. (For the duck): Season duck breasts lightly with salt and steam in a bamboo or metal steamer until half cooked (about 12-15 minutes depending on their thickness). Remove to a plate and allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, combine flour and spices in a bowl and set aside. When the duck is cool to the touch, dredge it in the flour mixture. Heat enough oil to cover the duck halfway and add the duck. Fry on both sides until crispy and medium rare. Let rest 5-7 minutes for juices to redistribute.
3. (For the veggies): Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil and garlic in a non-stick skillet. Cook one minute until fragrant, then add bok choy. Add shiitake's and soy sauce when the bok choy is half wilted, and cook for another few minutes until they begin to soften. Add vinegar and wine and cook until greens and mushrooms are cooked through.
4. After it's rested, slice the duck breast thinly and serve over the bok choy and shiitakes. Serve with lemon wedges and extra sichuan pepper and salt. Enjoy!
-Laura
As I mentioned earlier in the week, I am forever on a quest to get people over their food fears. I happen to love most of the weird green veggies with bad reputations, but I can understand one's trepidation when faced with mountains of spinach, brussels sprouts and lima beans. One of my favorite not-so-popular veggies is asparagus, which works in several preparations from appetizers to main course, and even works extremely well on the grill. I will personally eat it any way I can get it, whether it's steamed and dipped in mayo, oven roasted with tons of fragrant spices, or grilled and drizzled with dressing.
Asparagus is in season now and incredibly delicious. When it's cooked just right there's a subtle sweetness and a wonderful crunch to it. When it's overcooked it's limp and disappointing, which is one of the worst food faux pas that I could imagine, and probably the root of many a child's distaste for it. I've always found that it pairs best with slightly salty ingredients that compliments its sweetness, and I'm sure this will surprise no one, but I usually go with pork products. For parties I often wrap asparagus in prosciutto and roast it, then shave some Parmesan cheese over it. It's quick to cook, easy to eat, and definitely a crowd pleaser. This time I decided to pair the asparagus with bacon and shiitake mushrooms. I kept the asparagus whole and sautéed it with the chopped bacon and mushrooms, but it could definitely be cut on the diagonal and tossed with pasta or folded into an omelet. Any type of bacon (pork, turkey, or fake bacon) will do so long as it has that smoky flavor and slight saltiness associated with traditional bacon. Any meaty mushroom would work as well, but I'd avoid button mushrooms since they lack texture and flavor. This would certainly work as a vegetarian dish as well, I'd just add a little extra seasoning if you'd like to leave bacon out altogether. Here's my recipe:
Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bacon
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
8 shiitake mushrooms, chopped, stems removed
3 strips bacon, chopped
1 small shallot (or half a large one) minced
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of half a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1. Cook asparagus in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Run under ice water to stop cooking. Dry and set aside.
2. Cook bacon in a medium sized skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside, leaving rendered bacon fat in skillet.
3. Add olive oil (about 3 Tbsp) to skillet, along with shallot and garlic. Cook for about a minute then add lemon juice.
4. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add bacon to skillet along with asparagus, tossing to coat. Remove from the heat and drizzle with a bit more extra virgin olive oil. Plate asparagus topped with bacon/mushroom mixture . Enjoy!
-Laura
