Fresh Tart

Asparagus Soup with Pecans & Brown Butter

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:49:12 PDT

Asparagus is of course one of spring's best treats. Whether steamed, roasted, or sauteed, everyone adores asparagus snuggled up to eggs or salty ham or even better, both! But my personal favorite is butttery asparagus, especially showered with toasted nuts. This soup puts a good amount of asparagus to creamy use, with brown butter and pecans to gild the lily. A squeeze of lemon and fresh chives keep the gilding in check.

A soup this silky smooth and pretty seems fussy or even fancy, but it's really quite simple to pull together, 30 minutes from start to finish. Given that temps are reaching 90 degrees today, you could eat it chilled with a dollop of Greek yogurt or creme fraiche, with a crisp salad (that includes salty ham and/or a soft-cooked egg!) and welcome spring in style.

Recipe for Asparagus Soup with Pecans & Brown Butter at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Thai-Style Fried Not-Rice (Grain-free, Gluten-free)

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:18:55 PDT

If you, like I, set strange challenges for yourself like to eat vegetables for three meals a day as often as possible, you will adore this recipe. It's a flavor- and color-packed way to start a day, but of course would make a terrific lunch or dinner. In my mind it exists in the realm of fried rice, but without the rice, so the focus stays on all of those lovely vegetables. (That said, feel free to add rice!)

Do you cook with coconut oil? It's so delicious, and so good for you, you'll find yourself reaching for it again and again when sauteeing vegetables or making breakfast treats like pancakes. I love that it adds a Thai-inspired fragrance for zero effort - build on that with Thai curry paste, fish sauce, fresh lime, and basil and you'll have a pan full of magic in just a few minutes. Assuming that CSA boxes and farmers markets will not be bereft of produce all season long, this is a terrific dish for plowing through a load of vegetables - mix and match with whatever is showing up.

If you don't eat eggs, you could easily make this dish vegan by substituting soft tofu for the eggs. Scramble away! If you aren't vegan and have leftover chicken or pork or steak from dinner the night before, add it! And certainly substitute whatever nuts you like best. Very adaptable.

Recipe for Thai-Style Fried Not-Rice at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Grain-free Gluten-free "Bread"

FreshTartSteph — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:29:11 PDT

I saw a recipe for this bread on the terrific blog Against All Grain. As I've noted before, I find eating even gluten-free grains inflammatory (and with a bigger carbohydrate punch than I can get away with, unless I want to gain weight and feel exhausted...). You could call this way of eating Paleo, but I do fear that people have come to believe that a Paleo style of eating means gnawing on huge amounts of bacon, which isn't true at all. Paleo really just refers to eating the whole, unprocessed foods that humans evolved healthfully to eat for most of our existence - greens, roots, nuts, fruits, eggs, and free-range animals. Grains, sugar, and dairy are avoided (some people tolerate dairy better than others, although it's worth noting that when one gives it up for a month and then reintroduces it, it's common to notice low energy and congestion and perhaps even stomach cramps). I do eat legumes in small quantities (per my quinoa cake recipe below). Healthy, naturally occurring fats - olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, grassfed animal fat, nuts/nut oils (not vegetable oils/margarines or transfats) - are not limited but in fact make up the primary source of calories. (Even though I try not to eat loads of cheese, I do still eat butter and ghee/clarified butter).

I find it an incredibly delicious and satisfying way to eat and it has certainly done wonders for my health. Eating carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, nuts, and small amounts of fruit (particularly fresh berries) instead of processed grains and sugars is the path to appetite control, glowing skin, and steady energy.

I'll take all of those, straight up, thank you.

That's a long introduction for how I came to make this bread! So here it is: I follow Against All Grain on Facebook so when Danielle (the blog's lovely author, with a compelling story of how she manages ulceritive colitis with a grain-free diet) posted photos of a grain-free bread that looked like BREAD I had to give it a go. The bread is primarily raw cashew butter, eggs, and a bit of coconut flour. I'm tempted to call this a cake - a pound cake in particular - more than a bread, but I must say that it makes AMAZING French toast, the way that challah or brioche does. I could easily imagine adding citrus zest to the mix or icing a warm loaf with the cinnamon butter glaze from Roost blog's (another terrific grain-free site) pumpkin donut recipe. Needless to say, I think this is a clever recipe that can be adapted any number of sweet or savory ways. That makes it a winner in my book! (Find Danielle's recipe here.)

I made the French toast pictured with eggs and hemp seed milk and topped it with crushed blackberries (quite terrific right now) sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, courtesy of my friend Kathy Yerich's maple trees. My belly is pleasantly full of grain-free French toast, it's going to be more than 70 degrees today, and I'm off to judge a butchering competition at Whole Foods Lake Calhoun.

Yes.

Happy spring-y weekend! xoxo

Grilled Lamb Chops with Gremolata

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:40:00 PDT

I know, I know, I should have posted this before Easter, but lamb with gremolata is lovely all spring (year) long, so make it this week instead! I had let gremolata - a relish of minced lemon zest, garlic, and parsley - slip out of my rotation but it's back with a vengeance, thanks to helping out at a Cooking the Market class at Kitchen in the Market last week.

Have you ever taken a Cooking the Market class? Led by co-owner chef Molly Herrmann, the classes are pure improvisation, cooking with imagination and instinct, the perfect cooking class in my mind because it captures exactly the joy (and reality!) of cooking at home. Molly leads the class through a tour of Midtown Global Market, pointing out potential ingredients from The Salty Tart, Holy Land Market, Grassroots Gourmet, Produce Exchange, and El Burrito Mercado. The goal is to step out of your comfort zone and experiment with new ingredients while a chef provides guidance and assistance. Add music and wine and you've got a winning evening out with friends, coworkers, or family.

Last week's gremolata topped a dish our group named Mediterranean Tacos: socca (chickpea flour pancakes) topped with harissa, crispy Brussels sprouts, fried haloumi cheese, and preserved lemon gremolata. So lovely! And a pretty terrific Meatless Monday dinner if you need ideas...

You may have had gremolata atop osso bucco, where its bright, fresh zing is a traditional contrast to silky braised meat. But you don't have to think hard to imagine that it is just fabulous tossed with warm (or cold) new potatoes with olive oil, or spooned over a pan of sauteed peas, or swirled into soup, or sprinkled over seared fish...on and on. Add mint if you like - terrific with lamb, of course - or shallots instead of garlic. Some recipes call for adding anchovies which would probably make the best egg salad sandwich ever (still have Easter eggs to use up?) For me, when spring is frustratingly near but not yet quite here, punches of color and zest are not just welcome, but essential.

Recipe for Grilled Lamb Chops with Gremolata at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Chile-Tomato "Harissa"

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:01:42 PST

Is there anything more fun than conjuring something delicious from nothing but your imagination and leftovers? Don't answer that, but instead consider the primal satisfaction that comes from being both resourceful and frugal. I may have read a few too many Laura Ingalls Wilder stories as a young girl, but preparing meals from a perfect recipe with perfect ingredients is neither as fun nor as tasty as making things up as I go from whatever I have on hand. Urban pioneering. Or something.

Anyhow, that's all a long explanation for how I arrived at making this harissa, the of-the-moment condiment that is making its way into every meal at our house. Not only was the harissa itself arrived at in my attempt to not waste lovely ingredients leftover from other recipes, but in turn I'm using the harissa to make up an endless number of flavorful dishes on the fly.

I'm calling this harissa although it's really a deliciously ubiquitous chile-tomato paste, relevant to put a Middle Eastern spin on a dish, but also at home in Tex-Mex and Asian dishes as well. The depth of flavor comes from toasting the chiles and spices as well as roasting the tomatoes. I lean on the grocery-store versions of harissa and chile pastes as much as the next person, but you really can't beat the intensity and freshness of flavor achieved by making harissa yourself. Harissa typically doesn't include tomatoes, but I do love how the tomatoes temper the paste's heat, and add a level of acidity, that I think widens harissa's horizons. Scrape the finished, cooled paste into a jar and enjoy for several weeks, in any way you can think of.

A few ideas to get you started:

Spoon over leftover steak, pork, chicken, tofu, or any number of vegetables and roll into warm corn tortillas.
Smear on grilled flatbread and top with an egg fried in olive oil.
Stir into broth for cooking couscous or rice. Serve the cooked grains with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, olives, fresh herbs, a crumble of cheese, and toasted nuts. Top with a poached egg to gild the lily.
Swirl into a bowl of pretty much any soup to take it from just fine to truly incredible. Think Asian noodle soups, Italian-style broth soups, Mexican-style tortilla soups.
Whisk into vinaigrettes.
Add to pasta sauces, creamy or tomato, for lovely color and depth of flavor.
Mix into and onto meatloaf or meatballs.
Brush onto grilling or roasting chicken.
Spread on generously buttered bread before making your best grilled cheese sandwich ever. Ditto quesadillas.

Do not be surprised if you consider rubbing it into sore muscles!

Recipe for Chile-Tomato "Harissa" at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Coffee Pavlovas with Almond Whipped Cream

FreshTartSteph — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:34:32 PST

You don't have to eat chocolate on Valentine's Day. It's true! In fact, these bittersweet Pavlova meringues might better represent your romantic status. And even if not, even if you're blissfully, nauseatingly in love, the contrast of chewy-crisp meringue with fluffy whipped cream and crunchy, salty almonds will delight you.

For such a simple dessert, these have a lot of love going on.

If you haven't yet given them a go, Pavlova meringues are a worthy addition to your dessert repertoire. They're cheap, impressive, easy, beautiful, light on calories, adaptable, and...delicious! Of course they must be delicious. Fill them with whipped cream, or ice cream and chocolate sauce, or citrus curd and berries. Bake the meringue as one big torte, or make individual-sized shells. The basic egg-white-and-sugar mixture can be enhanced with various extracts or in this case, instant coffee. Consider them the pot pie of desserts, ready to be filled with whatever you have on hand.

And if you really, really need to...drizzle them with warm chocolate sauce, it's OK. Happy Valentine's Day!

Recipe for Coffee Pavlovas with Almond Whipped Cream at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

FreshTartSteph — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:50:41 PST

After a snackful weekend loaded with the usual Super Bowl suspects - raise your hand if you too had con queso with tortilla chips - today I was ready for a pile of fresh, tender-crisp vegetables. This is my go-to stir-fry, flavorful, light, and adaptable in every which way. Feel free to substitute or add pea pods, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, summer squash...basically any tender vegetable that loves a quick saute.

Ditto the protein, by the way. I love beef with broccoli, but chicken breast, pork, or tofu are all stir-fry classics. The trick for tender meat is to "velvet" it in a slurry of egg white, cornstarch, and wine while you chop vegetables. I add a generous pinch of Chinese five-spice powder to the mix because I crave the stuff. Typically a heady mixture of cloves, star anise, cinnamon, pepper, and fennel (variations abound, found in most grocery stores), it's an easy way to add a big punch of flavor to a quick stir-fry.

This is not a saucy dish, but there are definitely enough pan juices to enjoy spooned over rice or noodles. If you choose noodles, cook and drain them, then dump them into the wok with the meat and vegetables and toss. Lightly crushed peanuts or toasted almonds are a delicious garnish on pretty much anything, but particularly vegetables alongside a soft, chewy starch. Go for layers of flavor! Go for layers of texture! Go!

Recipe for Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Hash Browns

FreshTartSteph — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:56:42 PST

As I put together this post, I took a quick little poll on Facebook, asking for my friends' top three favorite foods. I was assuming that crispy potatoes in their various forms would solidly make the list. I can't be alone in my obsession with salty french fries, roasted potatoes, or potato chips...right?

Not right! Apparently I stand alone, like cheese (which did make the cut, big time, along with avocados, peanut butter, and bacon). Did no one else grow up pining for Taco John's potato oles (with extra seasoning)? Ah well. I'll share my hash browns recipe anyhow, for the days when a grilled cheese with avocado, peanut butter, and bacon just won't cut it.

Thanks to my Grandma Meyer, I set off for college with the ability to deliver a panful of these golden, buttery beauties to starving, post-party roommates. And boys. Perhaps not what she intended when she taught me to make them, but really, these are cheap eats of the highest order, face-stuffable on their own, or even rather elegant topped with sauteed vegetables and a poached egg.

The trick for crispy potatoes of any variety is an adequate amount of hot fat. Once you accept that, and don't stress out about it, because you're not going to eat them every day, you're all good. I most often use a combination of high heat vegetable oil (safflower or sunflower) with butter. But if I have beef fat, or chicken fat, or bacon drippings, or duck fat, you can bet it goes into the pan. The hash browns in the photo are kissed by beef fat, because I'd just made stock with beef short ribs, and saved the fat I skimmed from the stock. (Always do that! Wrap it up and freeze it and there it is, a little present to yourself when you're craving crispy potatoes.)

Recipe for Hash Browns at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

PS If you, like I, love Taco John's potato oles, but can't eat gluten (they're coated in flour before frying), keep in mind that it's easy to whip up your own seasoned salt to sprinkle over hash browns. Combine sea salt, good chile powder, cumin, and garlic powder to taste in a coffee grinder, whir briefly to create a finely ground seasoning.

Baked Garlic with Rosemary & Blue Cheese

FreshTartSteph — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:31:23 PST

I'll confess, I meant to get this recipe to you before New Year's Eve. But in the crush of the holidays, and illness, it did not happen and...well, Happy New Year? The good news is that New Year's Eve is not the only winter night to invite friends for dinner, and this easy appetizer is meant to share with friends.

This is a pretty old school recipe at this point, given roasted garlic's heyday (perhaps even Kardashian-level overexposure?) around the turn of this century. I think it's fair to say that we all know that garlic becomes gorgeously sweet and spreadable when roasted; but add fresh herbs, tangy cheese, and a splash of broth and you create a rich swiping sauce that elevates the whole to party food that stands the test of time.

I first copied this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, onto a recipe card, as a newlywed party thrower and it quickly became a much-passed-around favorite. Forgive me the nostalgia of feeling like my mom, circa 1972, sharing her recipe for her creamy dried beef dip. Except that my mom had way cool hostess kimonos and I tend to entertain in jeans. (I definitely need a hostess kimono...)

You can roast the garlic ahead by a couple of hours and hold it at room temperature. Then, when your guests threaten imminent arrival, crumble on the cheese and set it in the oven to melt. You'll want to serve this warm, with good bread, and a glass of bubbles.

Recipe for Baked Garlic with Rosemary & Blue Cheese at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

FreshTartSteph — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:26:06 PST

I've written before about the beauty of braising a pork shoulder one day, then crafting several meals from it as the week wears on. This version is more basic than the Pork Braised with Chiles & Cinnamon, which means you can eat it even more ways. Seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, the finished roast can be eaten as is with its rich pan juices. (Mmmashed potatoes would be a perfect accompaniment.)

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with hoisin sauce and roll it in lettuce leaves with rice, scallions, pickled vegetables or kimchi, and a dab of chile sauce. Or ginger scallion sauce. Oh my goodness YES.

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with barbecue sauce, and spoon it into a crusty roll with a caraway-seed studded coleslaw. You could slather ginger scallion sauce on this too, because seriously, that stuff belongs on everything.

Then for the last batch, you can fry the pork into a gloriously crispy hash along with potatoes, peppers, and onions, moistening it with pan juices as you go, topping it with a poached egg, but of course.

What are your ideas?

Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

1 boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (sizes can vary greatly)
Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. high heat vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed & peeled
1 1/2 c. chicken broth or water
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Sprinkle pork shoulder on all sides with Kosher salt, rubbing it in a bit. Heat a Dutch oven (that can snugly hold the roast and has a fitted lid) over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the roast and brown thoroughly - to a deep golden brown - on that side. Flip the roast and brown thoroughly on the next side, continuing until all sides (including the ends) of the roast are evenly browned. Remove the roast to a plate and set aside.

With the pan still over heat, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Stir around for about 7-8 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften and look glassy. Add the chicken broth or water to the pan and top with the roast. Add a few turns of black pepper to the pan and bring liquid to a simmer. Cover pan and transfer to oven.

Bake for 3 hours, perhaps more, depending on the size of your shoulder. The pork is done when the meat is very, very tender and is easy to pull apart with a fork.

Transfer roast to a cutting board and let rest. Meanwhile, spoon fat from pan juices. Puree defatted pan juices with an immersion blender or by transferring to a stand-up blender (be careful when blending hot liquid). Return pan juices to the pan and season to taste.

Pull roast apart into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat, and stir into the pan juices. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, cover and chill.