Category Archives: Ingredient of the Month

Strawberry Mania

Summer's strawberry bounty

Summer’s strawberry bounty in its many forms.

Strawberry season is getting off to a slow start in our corner of the world, but now the big grocery stores are full of them and with a little sunshine the farmers markets will soon be exploding with the good stuff. Of course, you’re not going to go wrong by simply washing them and letting everyone inhale them by the pint, but let’s go over just a few easy, yummy ways to use them.

Ready? Here we go…

First, a word on hulling strawberries. The frugal among us get torqued at wasting half a strawberry because SOME PEOPLE grab the stem, take one big bite and leave the rest for the compost bin. So we the frugal rush to hull all the strawberries and thereby enable maximum use of the fruit. The best way to do this of course is with a strawberry huller, and if you have one you are my culinary niche tool hero. If you don’t, here are two solutions to maximize each berry:

First, the most basic and humble vegetable peeler has a built in “potato-eye remover” at the end, which can just as well take on strawberry stems. You will quickly discover that you can’t manhandle a strawberry like a potato, but get as close as you can to the stem, plunge the tip of the peeler right in and dig out the stem. It takes about three strawberries to master this.

If that still sounds too much labor go ahead and chop off the tops, then use them to make your own shmancy strawberry water that will make you the envy of any yoga class:

Strawberry Water

After rinsing your strawberries, slice off their tops and dump them into a large jar. Fill it with water, let it sit for an hour or so and… Voila! Strawberry infused water. Drink deeply. Feel beautiful. Namaste

Worlds Easiest Strawberry Dessert

Ingredients:

  • Strawberries
  • Sour cream
  • Brown sugar

Method:

Grab a strawberry. Dip it first in sour cream, then in brown sugar. Eat. Repeat.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote:

This comes from the Bitten Word with inspiration from farmer Carrie at their CSA It is certified easy, very quick, kid pleasing, totally portable AND a great way to use up the rhubarb that might be taking over your garden. The guys at BW advise us not to get hung up on the amounts listed in this recipe. Depending on the amount of rhubarb and strawberries you have, the method is easily adapted. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced into half-inch pieces
  • 1 cup strawberries, capped and halved (if using larger strawberries, you can quarter them)
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Method:

Place rhubarb in a saucepan. Sprinkle with sugar. Cook over medium heat until rhubarb begins to soften and fall apart (20 minutes). In the last 5 minutes of cooking, toss in the strawberries. Add a little lemon zest at this point for extra credit.

Remove from heat and let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve over good vanilla ice cream or yogurt, top with whipped cream or just put it on a spoon.

 Some Savory and Sweet Goodness

Balsamic vinegar and strawberries are a classic Italian-inspired combination. They can be served as a dessert, like in Ina Garten’s recipe below, in a salad with goat cheese and peppery greens (pepper is key to the strawberry/balsamic alchemy) like arugula or as an appetizer like on the bruschetta further down. I’ve even seen them on a pizza with bacon, but we’re not going there today.

 Balsamic Strawberries à la Ina Garten

 As with the compote, no need to be too particular on quantities. Just aim to get the proportions close:

Ingredients:

  • 4 pints (8 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced thick
  • 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pints vanilla ice cream, for serving
  • Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving

Method:

Thirty minutes to an hour before serving, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

Place a serving of the strawberries in a bowl with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream on top and dust lightly with lemon zest.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta

These are gooooood, kid approved and somewhat impressive to guests. Substitute whipped cream cheese if you’re not a goat cheese fan, but do try the goat cheese on your picky eaters. You might be surprised. This recipe makes 12 big slices which can easily be cut in half for easier eating. Remember the napkins!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 12 slices Italian bread
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound strawberries, washed and diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
  • 1 cup goat cheese, room temperature
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 Method:

  1. Heat vinegar in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Simmer until reduced by about half, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. Prepare a grill for high heat. Place bread slices on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. (alternatively, assemble bread in a baking sheet, brush slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 350 until toasted to your liking.)
  3. Combine strawberries and thyme in a small bowl and set aside. (If your strawberries aren’t farm fresh and super sweet sprinkle them with a little sugar when nobody is looking.)
  4. Grill bread on the preheated grill until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
  5. Spread goat cheese on toasted bread. Add black pepper, salt, and reduced vinegar to the strawberry mixture. Spoon over the goat cheese topped bruschetta. Garnish with additional thyme.

These are easy to bring if you pre-bake/toast the bread. Simply bring goat cheese, strawberry/balsamic mixture and bread in separate containers and assemble on site.

Now let’s hope the sun shines on those strawberry fields so the berry fest can begin!

 

 

 

Asparagus Panzanella

Spring fever in Doug and Kelley's asparagus patch.

Spring fever in Doug and Kelley’s asparagus patch. Arm yourself with a sharp knife and a healthy appetite.

As we come up on the one year anniversary of Bring It! we’re shaking it up a little (just a little, I promise) with the Ingredient of the Month. We pick something seasonal and feature it in a few posts that month. It’s not rocket science, but it’s progress. May’s ingredient is asparagus. We’re already getting to the end of the month but the tenacious winter kept those spears in hiding for quite some time. Now they’re out and those lucky enough (and smart enough) to have their own asparagus patch quite literally have their hands full.

Doug and Kelley Lewis are among the lucky/smart ones. Doug affirms that asparagus is indeed hard to start/plant, “but after two years of waiting for the roots to properly build, the harvests every spring are awesome. We got over 100 stalks just today!!!” Their typical spring dinner is grilled asparagus (preferably a bit scorched and black) with rice and cut veggies or grilled sweet potatoes as sides. Preferred cooking method is to lightly oil the spears with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and throw them naked on the grill. “Steaming is easy, fast and inside,” says Doug. “Just sprinkle with a bit of salt and/or a squeeze of lemon. And they are yummy in scrambled eggs.”

Too much asparagus is a good problem to have, especially when you know about Asparagus Panzanella. Panzanella is one of those genius dishes that almost makes you feels like you’re cheating by calling it a meal—like eating cereal for dinner but way better. It’s basically a salad of toasted bread and whatever combination of fresh herbs and vegetables makes you happy. Pharrell Williams dancing-in-the-kitchen happy.

Naked Guns—pure, clean asparagus ready to grill.

Naked Guns—pure, clean asparagus ready to grill.

The Holy Grail of Panzanella’s is Ina Garten’s classic, so I used her method for toasting up the bread. Whereas hers uses cucumbers, tomatoes and basil, this one uses asparagus,  ricotta salata and spicy greens. You can go peas, mint and parm, or cilantro, corn and avocados. You get the picture.  

Taste-wise ricotta salata is sort of a mild feta with good structural integrity. Look at this as a way not only to eat bread for dinner but also to use whatever fresh stuff you have on hand. You can boil, roast or grill the asparagus.

Asparagus Panzanella

Adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

Asparagus Panzanella

The Food and Wine version of this feast. Let’s just double the bread shall we? Now we’re talking!

4 large eggs
2 pounds fat asparagus, peeled (if using thinner asparagus just trim or snap off the tough ends)
3 Tbsp good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups packed young mustard greens or chicory (or arugula)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lb ricotta salata, thinly sliced or crumbled
1 watermelon radish or 2 large red radishes, very thinly sliced

For the Vinaigrette

1 Garlic clove (minced)
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Put the eggs in a saucepan of water and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. Drain the saucepan and fill it with cold water. Crack the eggs all over and let stand in the water for 1 minute. Peel and thickly slice the eggs; the yolks will be barely cooked but not runny.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed. (Bread cubes can be toasted earlier in the day and left a room temp, and covered for God’s sake so nobody scarfs them down.)

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil; prepare an ice bath. Cook asparagus until bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer immediately to ice bath. Drain; place on a clean kitchen towel. (alternatively toss asparagus in olive oil and grill or roast). Cut stalks into fork-friendly pieces.

In a small bowl, whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together.
In a large bowl, toss the asparagus, toasted bread, greens, onion and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing, toss, taste, and adjust to desired dressy-ness. Let sit a few minutes for bread to absorb dressing. Garnish with the eggs and radish and serve.

Bring It!

This is a genius option to bring to a friend’s house, a picnic or a Drive-In. All the elements—toasted bread, veggies, dressing and cheese—can be prepped in advance, packaged separately and assembled on site.

Please do note that this is more method than recipe. Experiment with combinations that you like in other dishes or whatever fresh veggies and cheese you like and have on hand. Again, it’s toasted garlic bread for dinner. Don’t fight this. It’s all good!