Fast and Easy Passover Cooking: Asparagus with Parmesan Butter

Asparagus with Parmesan Butter, outside on our terrace

For those who celebrate, happy Easter! For us Jews, it's still Passover. And, at least here in New York, the weather is finally fully spring. Ozzy and I wandered about, playing in a park for a time, before coming home for lunch. Asparagus is one of the ultimate spring foods. And, lucky me, I had a bunch of it feeling neglected in my vegetable drawer. That decided lunch!


But what to do with it? For seders, we often roast asparagus with matzoh crumbs. But that was far more complicated than what I was after. Also, the vegetarian (who isn't especially fond of asparagus) is in Albany, having a third seder with his family (I couldn't go due to a performance last night) so I was only cooking for one. A quick internet search produced the idea to broil them with some old Parmigiano-Reggiano and butter. I had these alone, but they'd also be delicious alongside some chicken (if you're not kosher, of course). And, if you don't like (or don't have) any asparagus, the butter was like the richest, most delightful garlic butters I've ever tasted. It would be delightful on any other vegetable, matzoh or even pasta or bread. Enjoy!


Update: Jaden at Steamy Kitchen is hosting a Spring Fling whose theme is asparagus! So get your asparagus noshes over to her and celebrate the spring bounty!


Asparagus with Parmesan Butter
adapted from a recipe at Epicurious

• 1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• leaves from 1 stalk fresh basil, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for salting water
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper, ground

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus and cook 3 minutes. Remove and drain very well.


Meanwhile, cream together (I did this in the food processor because I'm lazy) butter, Parmigian-Reggiano, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Turn broiler on high. Spread asparagus out on a broiler-safe pan and spread butter mixture over them as evenly as possible. Broil 3 minutes. Serve warm. Bon appetit!


Links to other asparagus parmesan butter noshes:

• Sauteed Asparagus with Butter and Parmesan from RecipeGirl
• Purple/Pink Asparagus with Butter & Parmesan from thepassionatecook
• Vermicelli with Butter, Parmesan, and Asparagus Tips from What Did You Eat?
• Slow Butter Braised Asparagus from Steamy Kitchen
• Creamy Orzo with Asparagus & Parmesan from Sugar & Spice by Celeste
• Asparagus with Fried Egg and Parmesan Cheese from Steamy Kitchen
• Asparagus with Garlic Butter and Parmesan from Dancing on My Table
• Asparagus Risotto from Simply Recipes
• Spring Asparagus and Pancetta Fettucine from Guilty Kitchen
• Pan Fried Asparagus with Parmesan, and Asparagus Ribbons from food52
• Rosemary & Parmesan Crusted Asparagus from eat make read

Broiled Edamame with Fennel and Lemon

Edamame with Fennel and Lemon

Last night, the vegetarian and I were able to enjoy a rare mutual night off. Rather than going out, we decided to stay in and cook together! And yesterday was one of those days where you can sense spring trying so very hard to push winter away and fly free. While spring hasn't quite settle down, my cravings for spring produce and lighter, pale green foods certainly have!

Edamame, ready for the oven

This meant, that, after having eaten lots of pastas, composed salads and tea this past (exceptionally busy) week, what I wanted last night was vegetable-based, fresh and easy to make. What I wanted was fava beans. I first encountered fava beans two summers ago when I belonged to a CSA. Never having made them before, I cooked them very simply the first time -- with garlic and oil, if I remember correctly -- and waited patiently, collecting recipes all the while, until I could have them again.


I rediscovered the recipe treasure trove last week and was most 
inspired by two recipes: Grilled Fava Bean Pods on Food & Wine and Potato Salad with Fava Beans and Fennel on Kitchen Konfidence. Of course, I live in an apartment without a grill (although we do have some outside space...) so I devised a way to "grill" using a preheated iron pan and a broiler instead.

But, you're thinking, isn't today's recipe for edamame, Lady A? So why on earth are you going on and on

Fennel et al., awaiting the Edamame

about fava beans? Because, darlings, The best laid schemes of mice and men/go oft awry. Which is to say that, spring having begun only astronomically and not meteorologically, fava beans are certainly not in season. So I defrosted the frozen edamame we received this month from Winter Sun Farms and made them instead.


Broiled Edamame with Fennel and Lemon
adapted from Food and Wine's Grilled Fava Bean Pods with Chile and Lemon

• 1 pound edamame pods, defrosted if frozen and spun dry in a salad spinner
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Ozzy, looking longingly up at our dinner

Raise oven rack as high as possible, place an iron pan on rack and preheat oven (with pan inside) to 550F. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss edamame with olive oil. When oven is heated. remove pan and turn on broiler. Add edamame to hot pan and place under broiler. Broil 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.

Meanwhile, in the same bowl, mix together fennel, green onion, red pepper flakes and kosher salt. when edamame is cooked, add to bowl and toss well to combine. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Make it a Meal: As an alternative to your standard grain, try this with some savory oatmeal, prepared like

Edamame, Fennel, Oatmeal and Wine

rice by cooking it in water with olive oil, red pepper flakes and 
kosher salt. Stir in some Bulgarian feta as well, or just have the feta later for dessert. And to drink? I recommend a clean Sauvignon Blanc (ours was from Channing Daughters, of whose Wine CSA we're proud members). Bon appetit!

Links to fennel noshes:

• Roasted Fennel from Simply Recipes
• Carrot and Fennel Soup from 101 Cookbooks
• Braised Fennel from Simply Recipes

Tomato-Fennel Soup

News! News and revelations! In July, the Vegetarian, Ozzy and I moved in together to a spacious one-bedroom in the Lincoln Center area of Manhattan. Moving in during the summer certainly made me more eager to cook (that and discovering the adorable Tucker Square Greenmarket only a few blocks away) but focusing on creating healthy vegetarian meals made me far less adventurous. So I invested in a few new vegetarian cookbooks, revisited ones I already owned and decided to let my kitchen creativity come out in other ways--meal planning, substitutions, etc. and let writing and creating my own recipes disappear.

Then I got busy. From October through December I've been working on no fewer than 3 projects at a time, which left very little time for cooking and even less energy. We began ordering in frequently, buying prepared foods, etc. Getting frustrated with our complacency, we joined a wine CSA. And when the wines began arriving, I started recipe planning again. Each new wine created a new list of delightful-sounding recipes culled from cookbooks and the internet. Of course, there are many more recipes than we can realistically have with one bottle of wine! But that was enough to get me back into the kitchen, tasting, experimenting and playing. Now, when we have free time, cooking together has become one of the Vegetarian and my favorite activities!

So, without further ado, here is the most recent creation: Tomato-Fennel Soup. With the recent cold spell, we needed something warming but, wanting to remain healthy, trim and energetic, I've been craving lighter, more summery flavors. Obviously fresh tomatoes are no good this time of year. But canned tomatoes can be cooked down into a delicious soup. And, with the addition of some fresh fennel and a bit of cumin, this turned into a lovely dish. Served alongside a Fresh Tofu Salad and a bottle of Sardinian Vermentino, it became a complete meal.

Tomato-Fennel Soup

Adapted from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
• 4 shallots, chopped finely
• 2 baby carrots, chopped finely
• 1 28-ounce can whole sauce tomatoes
• 1/2 cup mushroom broth
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons fennel leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in a medium stockpot over medium-low heat. Add fennel bulb, shallots and carrots and cook, stirring, 15 minutes.

Add tomatoes, broth, salt, cumin and pepper. Raise heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Still covered, return heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with your spoon. Remove from heat and blend, using an immersion blender. You can leave the soup as chunky or as smooth as you desire. Ours was somewhere in between. Serve hot, sprinkled with fennel leaves and cilantro. Enjoy!

Links to other tomato fennel soup noshes:

• Tomato Fennel Soup from Kitchenography
• Tomato & Fennel Soup from Just Cook It
• Tomato-Fennel Soup from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
• Roasted Cauliflower, Roma's and Fennel Soup from Cucina Panzano
• Spicy Tomato and Fennel Soup from Fairy Cake Heaven
• Tomato and Fennel Soup from Clivia's Cuisine
• Fennel & Tomato Soup with Basil & Haloumi Croutons from Sophies Foodiefiles
• Golden Tomato Soup with Fennel from The Wednesday Chef

Cannette rotie aux fraises et rhubarbe

Because of moving and traveling, my entry for Blog Appetit is late. Also, because Blog Appetit is a French blogging event, this entry will be in French. If you don’t speak French and want the recipe anyway, I'll e-mail or post the translation.

Quand j'ai vu que le theme de ce Blog Appetit etait fraises et rhubarbe, j'etais un peu decue. Je ne suis pas tres forte avec les desserts et cette combinaison me semblait etre vraiment parfait pour un dessert. Neanmoins, j'ai reflechi et j'ai cree cette sauce des fraises et de la rhubarbe pour une cannette rotie. C'etait vraiment delicieux !

Cannette Rotie aux fraises et rhubarbe

Cannette

1 Cannette entiere
2 gousses d'Ail + 2 gousses d'Ail
1 tige de Basilique + feuilles d'une autre
Sel et Poivre Noir
1 brin Romarin + feuilles d'un autre
6 + 6 brins Thym
250 g Pommes de Terre, coupees en des

Faire chauffer le four au 180 C. Vider la Cannette et la nettoyer. Avec vos doigts, arracher autant du gras que vous pouviez. Creer un espace entre la peau et la viande. Ecraser ensemble 2 gousses d'Ail, feuilles d'une tige de Basilique, Sel, Poivre Noir, feuilles d'un brin de Romarin et feuilles de 6 brins de Thym. Mettre ce melange dans l'espace cree entre la peau et la viande de la Cannette. Mettre le reste des Herbes, Sel, Poivre et 2 gousses d'Ail dans le creux [cavity] de la Cannette. Mettre la Cannette dans un plat de verre qui va dans le four. Le plat doit etre assez large pour la Cannette et les Pommes de Terre. Mettre la Cannette dans le four pour 1 heure.

Apres 1 heure, mettre les Pommes de Terre dans le plat avec la Cannette et cuisiner le tout pour encore 30 minutes, jusqu'a ce que le jus de la Cannette soit presque clair.

Quand la Cannette cuisine, faire la sauce :

Sauce
1 Oignon, coupe en des
4 Clous de Girofle
2 gousses d'Ail
10 Baies Roses
1 brin Romarin Sel
1 + 1/2 tasses Jus de Fraises
2 tiges Rhubarbe, coupees en morceaux
1 barquette Fraises, coupes en moitie

Mettre l'Oignon, les Clous de Girofle, les Gousses d'Ail, les Baies Roses, le Romarin, le Sel, 1 tasse du Jus de Fraises et le Rhubarbe dans une casserole au feu moyen. Le mijoter pour environ 20 minutes, jusqu'a ce que le Rhubarbe soit tendre. Ajouter la 1/2 tasse de Jus de Fraises et les Fraises et laisser le tout mijoter pour encore 5 minutes. Si vous voulez que la sauce soit plus epaisse, la mettre dans un Cuisinart [blender en anglais].

Pour servir :

Mettre la sauce au-dessous de la Cannette. Enjoy !

Tagliatelle aux petits pois, asperges et lardons

Tagliatelle with fresh peas, asparagus and lardons, smothered in freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Whenever I don't know what to make for dinner, I make pasta. It's usually a one-dish meal and, as long as I make sure to throw fresh veggies in, a reasonably healthy one at that. Asparagus has been beautiful lately and the fresh peas looked fresh as well. When I found out that Davey (a.k.a. Best Friend and Brother) had never shelled peas before, I knew he'd have fun doing so and that convinced me to buy some. He insisted on onions as peas and onions are a favorite combination of his. And we also added a package of lardons, one of his favorite French foods which apparently don't exist in the States. They're basically little strips of bacon, but they're full of flavor and, if heated up in a pan, add a delightful layer to an otherwise vegetarian meal. And if you're wondering why the bit of onion in the photo looks florescent, it's because of my favorite secret ingredient--saffron.

Tagliatelle aux petits pois, asperges et lardons

1 bunch Asparagus, ends removed
500 g Tagliatelle
.1 g powdered Saffron
3 tablespoons Butter
1 medium Onion
250 g shelled Garden Peas
1 package Lardons (substitute bacon bits or small pieces of ham)
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Salt, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Cut Asparagus into 1-inch chunks. Roughly chop Onion. Bring large pot of Salted water to a boil over high heat. Add Asparagus and cook 3 minutes. It should still be quite crisp. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out asparagus and set aside in a bowl. Add Tagliatelle to boiling water and cook according to package directions, approximately 7 minutes.

While Tagliatelle cooks, place medium skillet over medium heat. Add Saffron, then Butter. Cook until Butter melts, moving it around so the Saffron is evenly distributed. Add the Onion and cook until translucent. Stir in Peas and cook another 2 minutes. Add Lardons and cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add Chicken Stock and Asparagus, cook another 5 minutes, until Asparagus is heated through and peas and asparagus are tender. Add salt to taste.

When Tagliatelle is ready, drain it and toss with the Asparagus mixture. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges, avec pommes de terre nouvelles.

Sorry for the extended silence; my folks came out here for Passover, so most of the eating has been with them, which, while it was fantastic, I didn't end up posting. Also, it's still Passover, which means lots of dietary requirements, so I was having trouble coming up with exciting Kosher for Passover meals.

I also missed the orange-themed IMBB because of my visitors, but I decided to play around anyway. Sadly, this turned out more red than orange, so keep an eye out for more orange-colored food.

The sauce should be sweet-and-sour, a very Jewish flavor combination in my opinion. I like my sweet-and-sour sauces more sour than sweet, so feel free to increase the honey and decrease the lime juice.

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges

Sauce

3 Oranges
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 finely chopped Onions
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp + 2 tsp Thyme Honey
Salt and Black Pepper
4 stalks Rhubarb, poisonous leaves cut off as well as white bottom of the stalk, fibrous strings removed with a vegetable peeler
1 cup 100% Orange juice
Cinnamon to taste
1 can peeled plum Tomatoes, quartered and 1/2 cup liquid
Juice of 3/4 Lime

Using a vegetable peeler, take a long strip of zest from one of the Oranges. Place it in a small saucepan covered in cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and pat dry, then mince finely. Peel 2 Oranges, including white surrounding the flesh. Chop, removing all seeds. Set minced zest and chunks of Orange aside.

In a skillet, heat Olive oil over medium heat. Add Onions and cook, stirring every so often, for 5 minutes. Add orange zest, Ginger, 1 tsp Honey, Salt and Pepper. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring, for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the Rhubarb. Cut the stalks into chunks and place them in a pot. Add 1/2 cup of the Orange juice, 2 tsp Honey, Cinnamon and Salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer at medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes.

Once the onions are soft and sweet, add remaining 1/2 cup Orange juice and boil for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides to prevent burning. Stir in Tomatoes and juice and turn heat up to medium-high and cook about 10 minutes. Add Rhubarb mixture and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add orange chunks and simmer over low or medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add Lime juice and Salt and Pepper to taste.

Let sauce cool to room temperature, then place in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12.

Fish

4 fillets Cod
Water
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Place Cod in glass baking dish and cover with Water. Add Salt and Pepper. Cook about 9 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

Cover Cod in sauce and decorate with wedges of remaining Orange. Serve room temperature or even chilled.