One of Trevor’s Christmas presents this year was a subscription to Walden Local Meat, a Boston-based company that delivers locally raised, high quality beef, pork, lamb, and chicken on a monthly basis. Our first delivery was in February and I was thrilled to find a boneless leg of lamb included in our share, along with fresh chorizo, pork for braising, and a nice flat iron steak. We don’t eat a ton of meat so it was exciting (especially for Trevor!) to have a freezer stocked with fancy cuts just waiting for inspiration to strike.

Sometimes constraints are the best driver of creativity, and this proved true with the lamb. I knew I wanted to make something special with it, something that highlighted the quality of the meat and was full of spring flavors. I found a recipe for leg of lamb with preserved lemon and cumin butter that was intriguing, but perhaps more Middle-Eastern then I wanted to go. But I loved the idea of using intense preserved Meyer lemon with the lamb, so I worked on the idea over a few days, and landed on a preserved lemon, harissa, and rosemary butter filling that I could slather all over the lamb.

As leg of lamb is a favorite choice for Easter, I decided to make the lamb the centerpiece of an Easter-themed Sunday Dinner post. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Sunday Dinner post, but they are still one of my favorite things to pull together. Of course, we didn’t actually eat it on Easter (or we wouldn’t have been able to share it with you in time!), but it made for a lovely Sunday evening meal in March. Alongside the lamb, we served Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Roast Potatoes with Garlic Creme Fraiche. For dessert, we each had a thick slice of this Blood Orange and Olive Oil Cake I posted a few weeks ago.

The Olive-Oil Braised Leeks were a surprise hit, and I ended up making them twice in one week. I often find leeks a bit rubbery when served in larger pieces, but these were tender and flavorful. Braised in olive oil and chicken stock, then mixed with barely-cooked English peas, dill, lemon zest, and mild feta, they make a really lovely spring side dish. The layers of delicate flavors harmonize wonderfully and evoke all the best bits of spring. It’s definitely a permanent addition to my repertoire.

I’m excited to be really moving into spring cooking, now that the last of yesterday’s snow has melted and the sun is shining with real warmth. Before we know it the trees will be bursting into blossoms, and we’ll be spending Sunday afternoons putzing in the garden and sipping chilled glasses of rosé (I genuinely cannot wait until the first rosé-worthy afternoon, and I’m only a little embarrassed about it). The arrival of spring will only make coming together at the end of the day for a meal to linger over that much sweeter, whether it’s Easter Sunday or a quiet day at home.

The Menu
Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Dill (recipe below, adapted from Simple)
Boneless Leg of Lamb with Preserved Lemon and Harissa (reicpe below)
Best-Ever Roast Potatoes (Serious Eats) served with Garlic Creme Fraiche (Food & Wine)
Blood Orange and Olive Oil Pound Cake

Past Sunday Dinners:

December 14, 2015: Roasted Root Vegetable Salad; Herb-Crusted Roast Beef; Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin

February 15, 2015: Blood Orange Mimosa; Endive and Blood Orange Salad; Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque; Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce; Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

August 31, 2014: Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini; Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons; Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

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Preserved Lemon and Harissa Boneless Leg of Lamb

Serves 4-5 as a main.

• 1/2 stick of salted butter, softened
• 1 TBS harissa paste
• 1/4 cup chopped preserved meyer lemon (about 1 lemon)
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3-4 lb. boneless leg of lamb

1. To prepare the rub, mix the softened butter, harissa paste, meyer lemon and rosemary leaves together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. Remove the netting from the lamb and unroll onto a cutting board. Carefully remove as much of the interior fat as you can, leaving the exterior fat intact, or partially trimming if desired (see this Serious Eats article for a good tutorial on preparing a boneless leg of lamb). Using about half of the seasoned butter, rub all over the interior of the lamb, pushing the butter into pockets between muscles and fat. Tightly roll the lamb up so that the butter is inside and tie in several places with butchers twine. Use a sharp knife to cut deep diagonal slits in the fat on the top of the lamb. Use the remaining half of the butter to rub all over the outside of the lamb, including into the slits in the fat. Sprinkle with salt (go easy on the salt – the preserved lemon will already be quite salty). Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature, or, preferably, for 8 hours in the fridge (bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking).
3. When you’re ready to cook the lamb, preheat the oven to 450°F. Cook the lamb at 450 just for 10-15 minutes, to brown the outside and crisp up the fat, then reduce the temperature to 300°F. Cook until the interior temperature of your lamb is 130°F for medium-rare lamb, which should take another 45-60 minutes for a small roast. Check the doneness of the lamb frequently using an instant-read thermometer to avoid overcooking it. Once it is cooked, remove from the oven, cover pan loosely with tin foil, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Dill

Recipe adapted slightly from Simple. Serves 4 as a side dish.

• 4-5 large leeks
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup English peas, fresh or frozn
• finely zest from one lemon
• 2 TBS coarsely chopped dill fronds
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Remove the dark green tops from the leeks and discard. Remove about 1/4 inch from the root ends as well, if the roots are still attached. Cut a long slit along one edge of each leek and rinse the leeks very well in cold running water. If the leeks are especially dirty, you may need to cut another slit on the opposite edge to rinse them very well. Once clean, cut the leeks into 1 inch pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil over low heat in a large frying pan. Add the leeks and saute until they are beginning to get tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir leeks frequently and try not to let them brown. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring the leeks to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook until leeks are tender when poked with a knife, about 10 minutes. (Stir the leeks occasionally while they are cooking to make sure they don’t burn).
3. Remove the lid and add the English peas, lemon zest, and chopped dill to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes longer, until the peas are just tender. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve warm.

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The Book: Despite the title, Frenchie is not about French food in the classic sense, so anyone looking for a great Boeuf Bourginon or Chocolate Mousse recipe will likely be disappointed. Rather, it’s a collection of recipes from Marchand’s restaurant Frenchie, which with main ingredients like mussels, duck breast, and quince, are certainly influenced by French cuisine, but are not in and of themselves particularly French. Many of the recipes have ingredient combinations that push the envelope even for today’s creative restaurant norms – pairings like blood sausage, burrata, and apple; beef, beets, and horseradish; and quince, chestnut, and chocolate. Certainly not classics, and perhaps a bit unusual sounding at first, but definitely intriguing. There’s lots of page space devoted to the evocative photography, with most recipes getting at least 3 pages dedicated to pictures. Like the recipes, the pictures are not traditional, and are more oriented to the process than glossy shots of the finished dishes. To be honest, some of the appeal of restaurant cookbooks is lost on me when I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the restaurant itself. Frenchie doesn’t have me rushing to the kitchen, but the recipes are solid, creative, and impressive while still being relatively easy to execute at home. It’s not a huge investment in today’s cookbook market, so if you’re a fan of the restaurant, you’ll likely be happy to snag a copy of this little book. Since it’s a slim book, with only 32 recipes in total, if you’re not familiar with Marchand, take a glance at some of the recipes first, to make you see a few things that catch your eye.

The Food: Since we’ve been giving our new grill a pretty good workout since we purchased it a few weeks ago, we decided to continue putting it through its paces with the grilled lamb recipe from Frenchie. It’s a very spring-appropriate dish, with lamb, peas, favas, mint, and tiny new potatoes all on the ingredient list. Most of the preparation is fairly straightforward – a lemon and rosemary marinade for the lamb, a quick blanch for the new potatoes and favas, a butter sauce for the veggies – but the twist comes in the mint chutney used to dress everything. The chutney has faint Indian accents from the toasted cumin seeds and green mango, and really elevates the otherwise staid pairing of lamb and mint to something unique, not to mention delicious. We loved the meal, and also loved how quickly and easily a very balanced dinner came together. I was pleasantly surprised by both the ease and flavor of this recipe, and would certainly make it again, especially for company or a special occasion.

Recipe Shortlist: Wild Garlic Broth with Fresh Crabmeat; Grilled Mackerel with Cauliflower Farrotto and Trout Roe; Smoked Trout with Avocado Puree and Marinated Cucumbers; Bittersweet Chocolate and Wild Strawberry Tart; Spanish Ham, Corn, Bell Peppers, and Kaffir Lime; Pork Braised in Milk with Marinated Fennel; Poached Quinces with Chestnut Cream and Chocolate Shavings; Blood Sausage with  Burrata and Apple Chutney

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Frenchie from Artisan, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Grilled Lamb with Fava Beans, Sweet Peas, and Mint Chutney

Excerpted from Frenchie by Greg Marchand (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Serves 4.

For the lamb:

• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 pieces boneless lamb leg or loin (about 8 ounces/225 grams each)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the vegetable garnish:

• 16 tiny new potatoes
• Coarse sea salt
• Olive oil
• 1¼ pounds (600 grams) sweet peas in the pod (about 1 cup/160 grams shelled peas)
• 1¼ pounds (600 grams) fava beans in the pod (about 1 cup/160 grams shelled favas)

For the mint chutney:

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small green mango
• 1 bunch mint
• ½ bunch cilantro
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
• Piment d’Espelette
• Salt
• Fleur de sel
• Crushed black pepper 

The lamb marinade:

1. Combine the rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, crushed pepper, and olive oil in a baking dish. Add the lamb, turning to coat and rubbing the marinade into the meat. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

The vegetable garnish:

1. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water, bring to a boil, and cook for about 15 minutes, until tender: the tip of a knife should enter the flesh without resistance. Drain the potatoes thoroughly, transfer to a bowl, and add a drizzle of olive oil. Set aside at room temperature.
2.  Shell the peas and refrigerate. Shell the fava beans.
3. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the fava beans in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain again and peel off the outer skin.
4.  Refrigerate.

The mint chutney:

1. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes; be careful not to burn them.
2.  Peel and pit the mango and cut enough of the flesh into 1⁄2-inch dice to make 1⁄3 cup (the green mango will bring acidity to the chutney without darkening its bright green color); reserve the remaining mango for another use. Remove the leaves from the mint and cilantro stems.
3.  Combine the cumin, mango, and herbs in a blender and blend until finely chopped, while drizzling in about 2 ½  tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and refrigerate.

Cooking the lamb:

1. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking. Fire up an outdoor grill.
2.  Season the lamb with salt and pepper and grill it for about 5 minutes or so on each side, depending on the thickness: when blood starts to bead up on the surface, the lamb will be cooked to medium-rare. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.

Finishing touches:

1. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the peas and cook for 1 minute, then add the potatoes and favas and heat, stirring and tossing the vegetables, until the potatoes are warmed through. Remove from the heat and toss with 1 tablespoon of the chutney. Add a pinch of piment d’Espelette and season with salt to taste.
2. For the most tender meat, slice the lamb crosswise against the grain.
3. Divide the vegetables among four plates and add a spoonful of mint chutney to each plate. Arrange the meat alongside and season it with fleur de sel and crushed black pepper.

The post Book Club: Frenchie // Grilled Lamb with Fava Beans, Sweet Peas, and Mint Chutney appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m writing this after a particularly frustrating run because I need to give myself some perspective. It’s a cold Tuesday night at the end of March, and I’ve been cranky since my miserable WWE-fan filled train ride back into the city from Andover. I really don’t want to go for a run but I still have 10 miles left to meet my March goal, and only five days to complete them in, so I talk myself into going with the old “I promise you can stop after two miles” trick, which works every time, surprisingly. I start out, and I feel OK, if a little cold, and at about a quarter mile shy of my two mile mark, I realize that I’m going fast enough that I’m within striking distance of my 5K PR, and I pick up the pace and go for it. Eight minutes later, I stop, wheezing like I haven’t since high school cross country races, and look at my iPod. Ten seconds short of my 5K PR. Eight seconds short of my 1 mile PR. I’m incredibly frustrated, in pain, and in an even worse mood than when I started. The wine is poured as soon as I walk in the door.

As frustrated as I am, I know in the back of my mind that I’ve made a ton of progress this month, and I need to take a minute to recognize that. My mile time tonight was 7:13, and my 5K time was 23:50. My fastest mile in February? 8:24. And 8:37 in January. Earlier this winter it was even slower. That’s a big improvement. Last Saturday I ran 5.3 miles, which is more than I’ve run in one go since my half-marathon training two years ago. I’ve really been pushing myself this month, in large part because of this 40 mile goal I’ve set, and it’s paying off. I’m faster and stronger, and (bonus!) I’ve lost 7 pounds since January, which feels like the first meaningful weight loss I’ve had in years. So despite nights like tonight, I’m sticking with these monthly goals!

Writing the above a few weeks ago was really empowering – it’s the kind of thing I need to write down so that I can go back to it as I encounter the inevitable fitness frustrations the future will bring. Later that week I did beat my 5K record, and I managed to run 43 miles in total in March. A big success, and a goal that really made me focus on what I wanted to achieve.

My goal for April is to take 8,000 steps a day, at least on all the days when I’m not traveling (you don’t really have full control over your activity levels when you spend an entire day on a plane). I’ve been using the Moves app as a pedometer in my phone since January, when I decided I wanted a FitBit but wasn’t sure which model. A few Google searches and I came across the free app which serves my purposes very adequately, negating the need to buy a new device. As I did my research, I also came across the “10,000 steps” goal that most pedometer users strive for – it was mentioned on almost every website I read. I consider myself a pretty active person, so I wasn’t expecting reaching 10,000 steps to be hard, but I was sort of shocked by the low numbers in my first few weeks of tracking. To be fair, I don’t bring it with me when I’m running, but still, I don’t run every day, and it was particularly eye-opening to see that on most weekend days, I barely take 1,000 steps out of the house. Since I’ve only gone above 10,000 a handful of times, I decided that 8,000 would be challenging enough to do every single day, and if I can hit that, I can move up from there.

This month is off to a bit of a rocky start, as I whiffed on the 8,000 number last Sunday, racing to the grocery store in the dark after a long day in the garden, trying to get those last 3,000 steps in before our friends came over. I only made it to 6,000 that day, but in a way, that means I’m setting goals that are hard enough. On weekdays it’s fairly straightforward to hit my goal – I just replace my subway transfer with a 15 minute walk through the park on either end of my commute, a pleasant addition to my day now that it’s finally warm. But those weekend days are hard! So wish me luck with the next few weeks.

As for this month’s healthy recipe, I’m celebrating the return of green to the world by packing as many green spring vegetables and herbs as I can into one bowl of couscous. I mentioned last week that I had caved and bought some of the not-local-at-all fava beans and asparagus I’ve been seeing at the grocery store, and my consumption of spring greens hasn’t slowed down at all since. This salad is mostly vegetables, dressed lightly with lemon, herbs, and salt. You can add as much or as little couscous as you want – just a cup or two and you’ll have something akin to a tabbouleh; the full amount listed below and it will be more like a pasta salad. The ingredients are good in almost any ratio, so feel free to interpret the recipe loosely and incorporate whatever spring greens are currently inspiring you.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites

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Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous

Serves 8-10.

• 1 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 c. couscous
• 2 TBS basil olive oil or regular olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• 2 c. shelled fresh fava beans (from about 2 lbs. in their pods)
• 1 c. shelled fresh English peas
• 1 c. very thinly sliced asparagus rounds, from about 1/3 lb. asparagus stalks
• 1/3 c. finely minced fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 c. finely minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1/3 c. finely minced fresh chives
• juice from 1 lemon

1. Bring chicken stock to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. As soon as it reaches a boil, add the couscous, cover with a lid, and remove from the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the basil olive oil and stir to coat the couscous, then season to taste with sea salt.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shelled fava beans and the peas, and blanch until peas are bright green, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans and peas in cold water, then drain again. Remove the skin from the fava beans by slitting one end with your thumb and popping the bright green bean out by squeezing the other end. Roughly chop the fava beans, and place in a large bowl with the peas.
3. Add the asparagus rounds, the basil, the parsley, the chives, and the lemon juice to the bowl with the favas and peas. Stir to mix. Add the couscous to the greens and stir to coat. Season to taste with sea salt. Serve room temperature or chilled.

The post Monthly Fitness Goals: April // Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It’s been ages since my last Sunday Dinner post. Five months to be exact. I’ve had a blog-color-coded Google Calendar event called “Sunday Dinner!” that I’ve been dutifully dragging forward from Sunday to Sunday, month after month, until finally, it found its resting place last week. Since we had just gotten back from two completely cooking-free weeks, I was fired up to be back in the kitchen, and looking ahead at the busyness of April, it didn’t seem like there would be another chance to do a Sunday Dinner for a while, so I went all out. Although it is decidedly still wintery in Boston, the fava beans, English peas, asparagus, and strawberries that are being flown in from California were too tempting to pass up, so I pretended that I lived somewhere where it was spring and bought a little bit of everything.

I haven’t cooked from Girl in the Kitchen in a while, so I decided to make it the theme of this dinner. Stephanie Izard is a wonderfully creative cook, and I’ve made some great spring recipes from her in the past (like this Asparagus Pasta with Almond-Parmesan Crumble and a Poached Rhubarb and Goat Cheese Salad). This time, I chose to make the Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique as an appetizer, followed by French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce as a main. Fried halloumi is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while, but the warm and gooey cheese ended up playing second fiddle to its toppings. The lightly dressed mixture of favas, peas, raw asparagus, and basil was fresh and lemony and very spring-like, and I would make just this component again to serve on its own, or perhaps to mix with couscous or scrambled eggs. The strawberry-basil gastrique was the polar opposite of the veggies – thicky, syrupy, sweet, and intense, paired with the fresh-tasting vegetables and the warm and mild cheese it was quite the flavor combination. The only challenge was finding an elegant way to eat them, as they’re not quite finger food but not really large enough for a fork and knife.

On to course two: we’ve made gnocchi a lot of different ways. We’ve made the traditional potato version (served with Argentinean-style beef short ribs), we’ve made sweet potato gnocchi, we’ve made ricotta gnocchi with corn and mushrooms (one of my all-time favorite recipes), and now, we’ve made “French” gnocchi. In the intro to this recipe, Stephanie explains that you can make a type of gnocchi by making a classic pate a choux dough, piping it into gnocchi-sized rounds, freezing them, and then cooking them still frozen. I was intrigued by this idea, as it’s quite different than traditional gnocchi recipes I’ve seen, so I decided to give it a try. Ten eggs and a stick of butter went into the dough, so I had high hopes for its flavor, but in the end, I was kind of disappointed. While it’s an interesting technique, my “gnocchi” spread out to the point that they looked more like little pancakes, and they kind of tasted like pancakes too. The simple watercress sauce they were served in was a beautiful color, but mostly just tasted like butter, in a sort of overwhelming way. I’m still sharing the recipe, as it has its strong points, but I wanted to give you my honest take on it, first.

As for dessert, I knew we would want something light after all that butter, and I wanted to use up at least a few of the 10 egg whites I had leftover from making the gnocchi. We also still have several pounds of rhubarb in our freezer from last spring, so it was high time that some of that got used up. With those constraints, I whipped up a sort of crustless strawberry-rhubarb meringue pie, baked in a casserole dish like a crisp or a crumble, and it ended up being my favorite course. I used a fair bit of cornstarch in the filling to make sure that the dessert would be semi-spoonable, then chilled it thoroughly before quickly broiling the meringue topping. With just a hint of vanilla, it was light, sweet, and just the right ending for a spring dinner.

The Menu

Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique – see recipe below
French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce – see recipe below
Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots – see recipe below

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

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Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique

Adapted from Girl in the Kitchen. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

For the Strawberry-Basil Gastrique:

• 1 c. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/4 c. packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1. Add the vinegar, strawberries, basil, sugar, and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce heat (keep an eye on it to prevent it from boiling over). Simmer to reduce the liquid by half, which should take 25-35 minutes. Strain, discard the solids, and allow the liquid to cool.

For the veggies and cheese:

• 3/4 c. shelled fresh fava beans
• 1/2 c. shelled English peas
• 4 spears of fresh asparagus
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
• 1 lemon
• 2 TBS olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 c. shredded halloumi or oaxaca cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 TBS flour
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 or 2 pieces of lavash, torn into bite-sized pieces (10 to 12 pieces needed)

1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fava beans and English peas and boil just until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the beans and peas and plunge in ice water to cool. Pop the fava beans out of their paler shell by slitting with your thumb and pressing on the other end.
2. Slice the asparagus into very thin rounds. Add the asparagus rounds, fava beans, peas, and basil to a small bowl. Zest and juice the lemon, adding both to the bowl with the vegetables. Add olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to thoroughly mix, and set aside.
3. Just before serving, stir together the shredded cheese, egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place spoonfuls of the cheese mixture into the pan, forming small round pancakes, and pressing down lightly to compress the cheese. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side, then transfer to a paper towel. Repeat until all the cheese mixture is used up. Place the warm fried cheese on top of pieces of lavash, and top with a spoonful of the vegetables and a drizzle of the gastrique. Serve immediately.

French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce

Adapted from Girl in the Kitchen. Serves 4.

• 2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• salt
• 1/2 c. plus 2 TBS flour
• 8 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• 8 oz. fresh watercress, roots/stems removed
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Add 1 stick of butter, milk, pepper, and 1/2 tsp of salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot. Cook for 30-60 seconds longer, still stirring, then remove from heat and continue stirring until the dough has cooled to room temperature.
2. Beat in the egg yolks and eggs one at a time, mixing completely between additions. The dough should have the consistency of a tacky paste. If the dough seems runny, chill the dough in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before piping/forming the gnocchi.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Either use a pastry bag to pipe 1-inch dots of the dough onto the baking sheet, or use a tablespoon measure to scoop small rounds (I tried both and preferred scooping). Once the baking sheet is filled, freeze until gnocchi are solid, which should only take 10-15 minutes.
4. When ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the frozen gnocchi to the boiling water and cook them for about 4 minutes – they will float to the top when they are done. Remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a large bowl.
5. Add the watercress to the boiling pasta water and blanch until tender, about 2-3 minutes. In a small pot, melt 6 TBS of the remaining stick of butter. Add the melted butter to a blender, then use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the cooked watercress from the pot to the blender. Blend on high until smooth, then season with red pepper flakes and salt.
6. Place the remaining 2 TBS of butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi to the pan and saute until they are golden brown. Toss with the watercress sauce and serve.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

Serves 4.

• 2 c. sliced rhubarb, in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 c. sliced strawberries
• 3/4 c. plus 1/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 3 egg whites

1. Add rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 c. of the sugar, and cornstarch to a small saucepan, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick and fruit is broken down, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a small, oven proof casserole dish or ramekin. Refrigerate until chilled.
2. Beat the egg whites on high until frothy, then add sugar and continue to beat until whites are stiff and shiny. Spread meringue over the top of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture with a spatula, forming peaks as you do. Preheat the broiler. Broil on high until meringue is just beginning to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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Drinks

Rhubarb Prosecco Spritzer

Rhubarb is one of the first plants to poke out of the ground, and its small pink buds are certainly a welcome sight. This cocktail celebrates the return of color to the earth with a simple rhubarb syrup and a splash of bubbly, a pretty pink drink for early spring.

Green Pea Rum Cooler

A mix of fresh peas, cucumber, and tarragon muddled together with rum, this vibrant green cocktail is an unexpected departure from typical spring drinks. It’s vegetal yet still sweet, and great for mixing things up a little.

Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca

This non-acoholic drink is the ultimate refreshing drink for a hot day. When you see perfectly red, juicy sweet strawberries at the market, this is the thing to make with them. Sweet and citrusy, you’ll never go back to lemonade.

Salads and Mains

Cacio e Pepe with English Peas

This recipe was inspired by our trip to Italy last spring, where we had a wonderfully creative version of Cacio e Pepe served on a black bean puree at Il Santo Bevitore in Florence. Instead of black beans, we used fresh English peas to recreate the recipe and celebrate spring.

Green Pea and Wasabi Soup

A head-clearing recipe for early spring, this soup plays on the concept of wasabi peas, using fresh peas and wasabi to make the base and then topping the soup with the classic crunchy snack.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad with Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese

This salad should almost be in the dessert section, with its super-sweet strawberries, crunchy sugared pecans, and creamy soft goat cheese. But, if you promise to eat all the spinach, too, I’ll let you count it as a healthy meal instead.

Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini

These bright little appetizers are a little sweet, a little salty, a little lemony, and a little herbal. On a warm spring evening, you might find that these crostini and a glass of white wine make a perfect dinner all on their own.

Pea, Fava Bean, and Asparagus Risotto

Come April and May, I start throwing English peas, fava beans, and asparagus into pretty much every recipe I make. So why not risotto too? The fresh bite of the green vegetables is a perfect counterpoint to the creamy richness of the mascarpone-laced rice.

Fresh Snap Pea and Radish Salad

This salad uses three quintessential spring ingredients – snap peas, radishes, and mint – to create a nutritious and light dish that’s packed with freshness and flavor.

Asparagus and Arugula Pasta with Almond Parmesan Crumble

You should be warned – if you make this recipe, you’ll become addicted to the almond parmesan crumble that goes on top. It’s the most delicious. The buttery sauteed asparagus and wilted arugula don’t hurt either.

Desserts

Rhubarb-Ginger Bars

These tangy bars are a favorite of mine – with a peppery, gingery shortbread crust topped with tart pink custard, they’re basically dressed up lemon squares. I think these might be first on my list for rhubarb season this year.

Lilac and Blackberry Pavlovas

Did you know that lilacs are edible? While a bit painstaking to clean, infusing desserts with their delicate color and scent is totally worth it. These super light pavlovas with lilac blackberry syrup are a very elegant addition to the spring dessert table.

Strawberry Almond Cream Tart

A very traditional pastry, strawberry cream tarts are always sure to please a crowd. They’re at their prettiest when made with those perfect market strawberries, the ones that don’t need any sugaring, mashing, or macerating to be tasty.

The post 13 Recipes for Looking Forward to Spring appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I have one last pea recipe before I move on to other, less green things. A pea salad is perhaps not the most exciting recipe in the world, but it made an easy and satisfying dinner last night – and it helped me clean out the fridge before leaving for vacation. The basic blueprint for this recipe comes from Nigel Slater’s Tender. It’s a simple dish, as many of his are, made from hot crisped bacon, sliced fennel, peas, fried eggs, and the tenderest lettuce you can find (so far, lettuce is the crop we’ve harvested the most of). The original recipe also called for homemade croutons toasted in the bacon grease, but all my bread had gone moldy… so I skipped that.

I loved the combination of peas and fennel in this. Tarragon, anise, fennel… they all have that sweetish herbal quality that enhances the pure sweetness of the peas even more. I know I may sound like a bit of a broken record, given that 3 out of 4 recipes I posted this week had either tarragon or fennel in them, but it just works. Small, tender fennel bulbs are just hitting the farmer’s markets in Boston as the peas make their exit, so the timing is perfect, too.

And that’s all for peas. We don’t have a ton left in the garden, and it’s getting a little hot for them to keep flowering. Plus, I’m really tired of shelling them – I spent a good 45 minutes of my life this week shelling peas (and maybe drinking wine while doing it). Lessons learned from this edition of ingredient of the week? Peas taste great with fennel and tarragon, peas from the garden are a revelation, and for your own sake, find a friend to coerce into shelling them with you.

A Salad of Bacon, Peas, and Fennel

Adapted from Tender. Serves 2.

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 c. shelled English peas, from about 1 1/2 lb. pea pods
• 1 medium bulb of fennel, fronds trimmed
• several large handfuls of tender lettuce, such as butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp mustard
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 TBS olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, and let drain briefly on a paper-towel-lined plate before chopping into rough chunks.
2. Turn the heat under the pan with the bacon grease to low. Wait a minute or two, then add the shelled peas. Cook until bright green, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl.
3. Crack two eggs into the pan with the remaining bacon grease and fry sunny-side up.
4. Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Thinly slice the fennel and add to the lettuce. Add the cooked peas and the chopped bacon.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and olive oil until cohesive. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then dress the salad with it.
6. Split the salad between two plates, topping each with one of the fried eggs. Serve immediately.

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