Spring Greens with Easter Egg Radish Rounds
This refreshing salad boasts a delightful crunch courtesy of spring-fresh radish slices.
Ingredients:
1 pound mixed frilly mustard greens and Oak Leaf arugula
1 bunch Easter Egg radishes, sliced into thin rounds
Farm & Larder creamy balsamic dressing
Grana-style cheese, for grating
Fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. In a large bowl, combine greens and radish slices. Drizzle with Farm & Larder balsamic dressing, toss to coat, and season to taste with fresh ground pepper. Grate a few tablespoons of Grana over the salad if desired.
Chilled Pea Soup
Cooking the peas briefly retains their vibrant color, while the addition of fresh herbs keeps the finished soup tasting bright.
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
6 cups shelled fresh peas
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
¼ cup crème fraîche or sour cream
2 tablespoons heavy cream or water
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Chopped fresh chives (for serving)
Method:
1. Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat, and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove pot from heat. Add parsley, mint, and remaining 2 cups broth to pot. Purée soup in a blender or with an immersion blender, thinning with water if soup is too thick, until smooth. Season soup with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
3. Whisk crème fraîche and cream in a small bowl to blend. Serve chilled soup topped with chives, passing crème fraîche mixture alongside for spooning over.
Spaetzle with Fresh Parsley
Simply dressed in butter and parsley, these little dumplings are supremely comforting.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup milk
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch ground pepper
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Method:
1. Mix together flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
2. Transfer dough to a large plastic bag, cutting off one corner to leave an opening the size of a dime. Squeeze out small bits of dough through the open corner, pressing dough through a large holed sieve to create bite-sized dumplings.*
3. Once finished creating the spaetzle, it is time to quickly boil them. Drop a few at a time into a pot of simmering salted water. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
4. Sauté cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.
*We’ve had good luck crafting spaetzle by squeezing the dough either through the larger holes of a cheese grater or a metal colander. For either approach, spread out a large piece of parchment paper on a work surface, then, over the parchment, feed the dough through your selected sieve by squeezing it through the cut-corner of a gallon-sized plastic bag. Using a pair of kitchen shears, trim the dumplings into small, 1-inch pieces as they are fed through, letting them drop onto the parchment.
Gemelli Pasta with Shelled Peas, Lemon & Mint
Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, this light and lovely pasta recipe sings of spring.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh gemelli pasta
2 cups fresh shelled peas (from about 1 lb. in the pod)
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to package instructions. Add peas to cook during the last 30 seconds of pasta cooking time. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, set aside. Drain the pasta and the peas together.
2. Dry out the pasta pot, and pour in the heavy cream. Bring the cream to a simmer, and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the butter, and stir it until it has melted. Generously season the sauce with black pepper, add a pinch of salt as well as the lemon zest. Add ¾ cup Parmesan, and stir it until the sauce is smooth; then toss in the drained pasta & peas.
3. Cook the pasta in the sauce for 2 minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the reserved pasta water by the spoonful if needed to loosen up the sauce. Garnish with remaining Parmesan, chopped parsley and mint and serve immediately.
Sautéed Spring Greens with Garlic
Kissed with garlic and red pepper flakes, these greens add fresh, flavorful appeal to this week’s polenta.
Ingredients:
2 large bunches of your choice greens (Swiss chard, collard greens or any other spring greens)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Pinch red pepper flakes
Sea salt
Method:
1. Rinse greens well. Tear or cut leaves away from stems and discard stems. Coarsely chop.
2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Cook garlic and pepper flakes in oil briefly, then add greens, a few handfuls at a time, stirring in between.
3. Stir in vinegar and salt. Cover. Cook until just tender, 3-10 minutes, depending on the type of greens and your preference.
Cauliflower Purée
This creamy side dish from Martha Stewart is an excellent alternative to traditional mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, stem and tough stalks trimmed, florets roughly chopped
1 cup water or chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Combine cauliflower and water or chicken stock in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until cauliflower is very tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cauliflower to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, adding 1-2 tablespoons cooking liquid, 15-20 seconds. Add the mascarpone and butter, and process 5-10 seconds more. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
White Polenta with Wild Mushroom Confit
This creamy dish is deeply-flavorful, accented with truffles, wild mushrooms and spring greens.
Ingredients:
White polenta mix
Farm & Larder mushroom confit
Sautéed greens with garlic (see recipe)
4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup water
Grated Vecchio cheese
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Bring chicken stock and ¼ cup water to a simmer in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Add polenta mix in a slow stream, whisking until incorporated. Simmer, stirring frequently with a long-handled whisk or wooden spoon, until liquid is absorbed and polenta is thick and soft, about 10 minutes.
2. While polenta simmers, transfer mushroom confit to a non-stick skillet and gently re-warm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. (The re-warmed mushrooms may release a little excess butter. Try mixing it into the polenta, or with roasted vegetables, to provide extra depth of flavor.)
3. Remove polenta from heat and stir in Vecchio cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Top with warm mushroom confit and sautéed greens. Serve immediately.
Honey-Lemon Dressing
This bright and light dressing is wonderful tossed with spring spinach greens, or even with roasted veggies for an unexpected touch!
Ingredients:
½ cup crème fraîche
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and honey. Taste for seasoning and add sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper as necessary. Can be used immediately or refrigerate for a later use.
Roasted Broccolini with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette
Accented with our lemon vinaigrette, this bright dish is wonderful topped with a grating of our Vecchio cheese.
Ingredients:
1 pound broccolini
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Farm & Larder preserved lemon vinaigrette
Grated Vecchio cheese (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Wash and trim broccolini.
2. In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the broccolini, salt and a few grindings of pepper. Cook, stirring often, just until the color of the broccolini deepens, about 1 minute more.
3. Scrape the contents of the pan into a baking dish, add the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil and turn to coat. Transfer to the oven and roast until the broccolini is tender-crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with preserved lemon vinaigrette and top with cheese if desired.
Sautéed Swiss Chard with Grana
Nutty Grana cheese and rich butter add nuanced flavor to Swiss chard in this easy stovetop recipe from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
Ingredients:
1½ pounds fresh Swiss chard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup grated Grana-style cheese
Sea salt
Method:
1. Pull chard leaves from the ribs; tear leaves into large chunks. Wash the leaves and cook until tender in a large pot of well-salted water, about 4 minutes or so.
2. Drain the leaves and cool, then squeeze out most of the water out and coarsely chop.
3. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped chard and salt to taste. Heat through and add a generous amount of Grana-style cheese. Serve warm.