Food

Adapted from White Asparagus and Green Garlic Soup

Makes Eight 2-cup servings
Note: all ingredients used are organic, and the stock suggestion assumes this as I suggest you put in a whole onion, carrots and celery, skin ends and all.. if not using organic, do peel things to get the chemicals off. All items used were rinsed to remove organic pesticides. Also.. this can be an expensive dish, or inexpensive.. I'd suggest a visit to a farmer's market because these ingredients are in season now. This soup cost about $10 to make because all the growers arw selling organic spring veggies so inexpensively.

* 2 lbs green asparagus
* 4 medium sized green garlic stalks, washed thoroughly and roughly chopped out as far as is fresh on the stems
* 3 smaller or 1 giant leek, washed and thinly sliced, out through the fresh part of the green
* 4 ounces whole butter
* 2 T olive oil
* 1 cup white wine
* 6 cups clear chicken stock (i made my own with a whole chicken carcass, green garlic ends from several bunches, 1 whole onion cut up with skin and ends, 2 carrots, 2 ribs celery, pepper corns, bay leaves and 5 Q water.. then simmer for 4 hours, and pull out 6 cups for this soup, minus the fat which I skimmed off -- or your can just buy broth at the store, either chicken or veggie)
* 2 cups heavy cream
* Finely chopped chives, about a 1/4 cup
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Optional: lemon oil

Sautè green garlic in butter and oil. Add leeks and continue cooking, until translucent. Be careful not to brown ingredients. Season lightly with salt and pepper (and remember that adding stock later, if it has salt, means you should add less now). Chop asparagus into 1/2 inch lengths, reserving about 12 tips for garnish. Meanwhile, add white wine to the leeks and garlic and reduce liquid significantly. Then add asparagus and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add stock. Simmer until all ingredients are tender, about 30 minutes. Add heavy cream, simmer for 10 more minutes. Purée soup (in batches if necessary). Return to saucepan.

You can leave the soup at this point, for a while on the stove to sit before dinner or all day in the fridge if you want to make it ahead of time. When ready to serve, heat the soup back to a light simmer, stirring frequently, and add asparagus tips sliced in half the long way. Check seasoning, add salt if necessary. When asparagus tips are tender, pour soup into bowl and garnish with chopped chives and a few dots of lemon oil.

Posted by Mary Hodder at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Note: we served this with a nice Parrano cheese melted onto a slice of baguette.

2 T EV olive oil
3 leeks, sliced, soaked to remove grit and drained
3 stalks celery, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh marjoram
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley chopped
2 medium kabocha squash, cut into quarters, roasted in oven on cookie sheet, cooled, peeled and chopped into chunks
1.5 quarts chicken or veggie broth
1/2 t pepper (white is better, but can use black)

Saute olive oil with leeks and celery until green color has turned. Add marjoram, parsley and bay leaves and stir a bit. Add squash chunks, broth and pepper. Simmer for 35 - 40 min. Cool and puree and return to the pot

1/2 cup dry sherry
1 1/4 t turmeric
3/4 cup heavy creme
1 T salt
2-3 pinches of saffron

Stir in the remaining ingredients and adjust salt and pepper to taste. When ready to serve, bring back to a simmer on the stove. You can garnish with creme fraiche or greek yoghurt, crisped leeks, chopped pecans, toasted seeds (squash or pumpkin), etc.

Posted by Mary Hodder at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night I decided to make Crab Bisque, something I haven't made in years. Doing a quick search on Google produced a gazillion recipes for things made with cans of things blended to make something that to me didn't bode well for all the fresh crab we had in stock.

I did find this fabulous recipe from Yankee Magazine, which I modified by removing about 1/3 of the fat, and adding crab stock instead of using chicken stock and using a bit more of it. I also added a bit more vegetables and used fresh ginger and lemon peel. It turned out absolutely beautifully.

I started by cracking and pulling out all the crab meat, after which I made a stock with the crab shells and an onion, a few pepper corns and a couple of fresh parley stocks (leaves removed for another dish). Then, follow the directions below.

Creamy Crab Bisque

Makes 6 side or 3 main servings

* 1 pound fresh crabmeat
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 scant teaspoon shredded ginger
* 2 celery stocks finely minced
* 1/2 cup finely minced green onion
* 2 carrots finely minced
* 1-1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
* 1/4 cup flour
* 2 cups light stock (suggest taking an onion with crab bones .. simmering 30 minutes, for stock, or use chicken)
* 1-1/4 cups 1% milk (or 2% or whole)
* 2 pinches cayenne pepper
* 2 pinches ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* pinch of white pepper
* 1 lemon's worth of finely grated peel
* 3/4 cups light cream
* 1/4 cup dry sherry

Pick over the crabmeat for cartilage and return to the refrigerator. Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan. Add the ginger, celery, green onion, carrot and garlic. Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Make sure ginger and garlic have mellowed before proceeding. Whisk in the flour. Gradually add the broth and milk, bringing the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. Add the cayenne, nutmeg, salt, white pepper, lemon peel, cream, and sherry. Heat thoroughly. Stir in the crabmeat and cook until it is heated through. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Posted by Mary Hodder at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)