It’s time for the (slightly belated) final post for fava bean week. It’s another recipe inspired by Italy – homemade ravioli filled with a fava bean, mascarpone, and ricotta mixture and served in a two-ingredient truffle butter sauce. Because it turns out that when one of your ingredients is truffle butter, you don’t need much else.

While fava beans are abundant in Italy and Portugal, they aren’t particularly common in the US, even at the height of their season. They occasionally make an appearance at Wholefoods, and some people have found them frozen at Trader Joe’s, but I couldn’t find any near me. We are growing a long row of them, but they won’t be ready until late June, about the same time that Bostonians will be able to find them at local farmer’s markets.

So what’s a fava bean lover to do? I’ve basically been rabid for them in anticipation of the series, knowing it would be difficult to get my hands on enough for several recipes. I’ve started harassing the staff at Wholefoods, begging for them to go back into the stock room and bring me a few pounds. I made my friend Veronika walk through all of the Wholefoods in Cambridge with me – surprisingly, the little Wholefoods had some and the big one didn’t. It doesn’t help that you need about 1 pound of pods for every cup of beans, so what may look like a lot of beans disappears surprisingly quickly.

And then, unexpectedly, I found fava bean nirvana – Eataly. While out shopping for  wedding shoes with my mom, we stopped in at the new Eataly in Boston. I needed truffle butter for this recipe, and figured it made more sense to pay a little more at a store that I knew would carry it than to schlep all over looking for it. If you’ve never been, Eataly is like the Ikea of Italian food, except everything is expensive. You have to wind your way through the massive store in a certain order.  You’ll pass the gelato and pastry counters, a case full of beautiful seafood, a deli counter with dozens of prosciuttos, and rows of dry and canned goods. After weaving my way through the tempting rows filled with jars of fancy tomatoes and olive oils and capers,I found the produce section. There, next to a beautiful basket of morel mushrooms, were all the fava beans I could want. So now I know. And if you’re in Boston, New York, or Chicago, you know too.

Back to the ravioli. Every once in a while Trevor and I break out the pasta machine and make a batch of homemade pasta. I find it quite therapeutic to make, although our pasta is never quite as tender as I want. It’s fun to customize, though, and this filling is really lovely. The sweet mascarpone and ricotta really mellow out the fava flavor. We tossed the ravioli with a quick burro fuso – truffle butter melted and whisked with a bit of warm water. Simple, elegant, and springlike, a homemade pasta worth the effort.

More Fava Bean Recipes…

Spanish Fava Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Prosciutto

Avocado Toast with Fava Beans and Pecorino

Fava Bean Soup with Mascarpone, Mint, and Pancetta

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Fava Bean and Mascarpone Ravioli with Truffle Butter Sauce

Homemade Ravioli with a Fava Bean, Mascarpone and Ricotta Filling. Served in a simple Truffle Butter burro fuso sauce.

Adapted from SPQR. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup blanched, peeled fava beans (from 1 pound of fresh beans)
• 1 TBS chopped fresh mint (from 10–12 leaves)
• 1/4 cup mascarpone
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 recipe homemade pasta dough
• 2 oz. truffle butter
• 3 TBS warm water (preferably the pasta cooking water).
• grated pecorino cheese, for serving

Instructions

1. Add the fava beans, mint, mascarpone, and ricotta to a food processor. Process until smooth and fluffy. Season to taste with sea salt. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
2. Use a pasta machine to roll out the pasta dough in thin sheets. Target the third or fourth thinnest setting as your ultimate thickness of the pasta.
3. Lay the pasta sheets flat on a lightly floured surface, covering the sheets you aren’t using with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a knife to score the pasta sheets into 2 inch squares. Place 2 teaspoons of the chilled filling in the center of half the squares. Wet your finger with water and run it along the edge of each square, then cover the squares with filling with another sheet of the pasta. Press the sheets firmly together around the edges of each filled square, forming ravioli. Use a ravioli cutter or knife to cut the ravioli apart, then firmly press the edges together again to ensure there are no air bubbles. Repeat until you have used all of the pasta dough, re-rolling any dough scraps as needed.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Gently place the ravioli in the boiling water and cook just until al dente, about 2-3 minutes. They should be floating at the surface of the water when they are ready. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and place them on a large plate. Drizzle the ravioli with just a little olive oil to keep them from sticking.
5. Add the 3 TBS of the pasta cooking water to a small frying pan, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Whisk in the truffle butter one piece at a time, allowing the butter to melt between additions. When you have incorporated all of the truffle butter, add the cooked ravioli to the frying pan and toss gently to coat with the butter sauce. Divide between plates, sprinkle with the grated pecorino, and serve immediately.

The post Ingredient of the Week: Fava Beans // Fava Bean and Mascarpone Ravioli with Truffle Butter appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It’s very clear to me what I should be eating and drinking in May. Perhaps more clear than any other month of the year. May is for fava beans, as many as I can get my hands on. It’s for ramps, garlicky and pungent, worth the splurge. It’s for chilled glasses of rosé, on both warm days and cold days. And finally, at the very end of the month, it’s for the first strawberries, tiny and bright red.

This year, on May 2nd, I found myself standing over a pile of fava beans, happily shucking the beans from their fuzzy-pods. (This is only a happy activity the first time. After that it’s a chore and a half but still worth it.) I had just opened the first bottle of rosé, a lovely Chilean blend. And then, I realized that I had lived this exact moment the previous year – the first fava beans, the first rosé, the apple blossoms just reaching their peak outside the window. What a beautiful moment! The world is better for its patterns.

In celebration of this particular moment in the year, I’m bringing back a series that’s been quiet for years: ingredient of the week. It’s been 3 years since I last did one, but it’s always at the back of my mind. What’s in season now that I can only get my hands on for a week or two? How can I make the most of it’s brief appearance before it’s gone for another year? After my Sunday Dinner series, it’s the series that best reflects why I write this blog – finding interesting recipes to celebrate seasonal ingredients. Of course, given my current blogging pace of 4 posts a month, putting together 5 posts in a week seems a bit Herculean. So much cooking and writing and photo editing, not to mention the fava bean shucking! But I’ve planned ahead, and I think we’ve got this.

Fava beans have a very distinct flavor, grassy and slightly bitter. This soup is the essence of that flavor, undistilled, unsweetened. It’s a good recipe to kick off this week, a pure celebration of spring flavors. It’s all about the toppings – don’t skip them. The soup needs the saltiness of the pancetta and the crunch of the croutons and the subtle sweetness of the mascarpone. It even needs the mint, that little bit of herbality humming in the background. Without all of those flavors to highlight and offset the grassy fava beans, the soup is a bit one dimensional and overwhelmingly green tasting. But all together, it’s the very essence of spring.

More Fava Bean Recipes…

Spanish Fava Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Prosciutto

Fava Bean and Mascarpone Ravioli with Truffle Butter Sauce

Avocado Toast with Fava Beans and Pecorino

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I first learned to make crepes in high school. During one French class our professor took us to his house for a simple French cooking lesson. It was a boarding school and most of the professors lived on campus, so this wasn’t particularly unusual. He taught us the ratio – 1:2:1 milk, eggs, flour – and pan-fried dozens of crepes. Like most of my classes in high school, I spent a good portion of it flirting, an activity that was only enhanced by speaking French and eating crepes. French – the language of ballet, patisserie, and love.

I’ve all but forgotten French, but I do remember how to make crepes. They are such a wonderful dessert. At their simplest, they require only 4 ingredients – milk, eggs, flour, and a pat of butter for the frying pan. From there, you can dress them up in seemingly infinite ways. You can stuff them with fruit and cream, stack them in layers with salted caramel to make a crepe cake, or flambée them with a bit of rum. You can make the batter chocolate-flavored or go the savory route and fill your crepes with ham and cheese. They are simple, economical, and delicious.

These Strawberry and Meyer Lemon Crepes are on the fancier end of the crepe spectrum.  The crepe batter itself has a splash of brandy, vanilla, sugar, and melted butter added to the base. After cooking, you spread each crepe with two different strawberry-based fillings. The first is a strawberry-mascarpone cream (it’s the loveliest shade of pink!) and the second is a jammy sauce made from strawberries, meyer lemon, and a splash of vodka. Folded and garnished with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar they make a spring dessert that’s both elegant and simple.

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 Strawberry and Meyer Lemon Filled Crepes

Adapted from Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey. Serves 6.

• 1 lb. fresh strawberries, stems removed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup plus 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 2 TBS butter, room temperature
• zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon
• 1 TBS vodka
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3 TBS butter, melted (plus a bit more for coating the pan)
• 2 TBS brandy
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour

1. Toss the diced strawberries with the 1/3 cup of sugar in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let macerate for at lest one hour, or overnight in the fridge.
2. After macerating, spoon half of the strawberries out of the bowl and into a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add the mascarpone cheese and process again until smooth. Cover strawberry-mascarpone cream and chill until ready to use.
3. Place 2 TBS of the butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the remaining strawberries, the strawberry syrup that has collected in the bowl, the meyer lemon zest and meyer lemon juice to the pan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the strawberries are very soft and the sauce has become thick and syrupy. This should take about 10 minutes. At this stage, remove from the heat and stir in the vodka. Set aside.
4. To make the crepe batter, whisk the eggs, whole milk, melted butter, brandy, vanilla extract, and water together in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly until frothy. Add the flour and whisk until you have a thin and smooth batter. The batter should run freely when lifted from the bowl – the consistency should be that of heavy cream. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for one hour.
5. To assemble the crepes, melt a bit of butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan with butter. Using a measuring cup, add 1/3 cup of batter to the center of the pan. Immediately lift the pan from the heat and swirl so that the batter spreads out thinly and evenly to the edges of the pan. Set down over the hat. Cook for about 60-90 seconds per side, or until the edges of the crepe are lacy and there are spots of golden brown on the otherwise pale crepe. Once each crepe is cooked, lay it out flat on a cutting board. To fill the crepes, spread a large spoonful of the strawberry-mascarpone cream over one side of each crepe, then spread a little of the strawberry-lemon sauce on top. Fold into quarters and place on a plate. Drizzle with more strawberry sauce and serve.

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Yesterday, on the shortest day of the year, I was thinking about darkness, and about light. These past few weeks the dark has been so noticeable, dragging out the hours between when Trevor leaves for the restaurant and when it is reasonable to collapse into bed. I’m beginning to think that darkness, and not the cold and slush as I’ve always thought, is what makes this season so difficult, what pulls me close to apathy and lethargy and general lowness. The reason that, after that apocalyptic winter two years ago hit me so hard, I escape January as often as I can.

But darkness also makes room for us to celebrate light. Light is part of what makes Christmas feel magical. Standing in the cold, breath freezing in the air, watching the twinkling lights draped around the outside of homes. The stillness of a church full of candles, flames moving slowly, illuminating the faces of the people holding them. Sitting by the Christmas tree after the house is quiet, breathing in the sharp fragrance of pine, gazing at the reflection of the tiny lights on delicate glass ornaments. Light at Christmastime brings stillness and quiet and a certain sense of wonder. And it helps us get through the darkness, to remind us that, from today forward, the darkest day is behind us, that we are now spinning towards another summer.

Christmas is practically here, and I’m of two minds about it. Of course, I relish the chance to take a few days to relax with my family, and I love our traditions. On the other hand, I worry that a four day weekend of rushing between houses is not really the relaxation I need, and the need to “be ready for Christmas” (the presents! The baking! The decorations! We didn’t watch Elf yet!) feels like it’s coming from the wrong place, at times. I can say that I’m ready on at least one front and that’s the cookie front: we started baking early and we’ve been flush all month. I even ordered Dorie Greenspan’s new book, finding myself without a cookbook dedicated to cookies (hard to imagine, given the size of my cookbook collection).

The base of these Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches is a chocolate cookie from Dorie’s book called a Melody. The Melody cookies on their own are delicious – crisp, buttery, and chocolaty. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I decided to fill them with a simple peppermint-mascarpone buttercream and dip them in chocolate. This treatment makes them seriously decadent – definitely don’t have more than one! But really delicious, and beautiful to boot.

Have the most wonderful Christmas if you’re celebrating, and a relaxing long weekend if you’re not. As one of my lovely Colombian coworkers told me today, “I wish you not just presents, but love and health for the new year.” I thought that was the nicest sentiment, and I wanted to pass it on to you.

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Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Makes 13-15 large sandwich cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp peppermint oil
• 1 batch Melody Cookies, recipe below
• 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter and mascarpone together until smooth. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue beating until the consistency is light and smooth. Stir in the peppermint oil. Taste and add additional peppermint oil if desired.
2. Spread a large spoonful of frosting on the flat side of one of the Melody cookies, spreading it evenly out to the edges of the cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Place on a plate. Repeat until you have used all the cookies. Chill the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes before dipping in chocolate.
3. Place the chocolate chips in a metal bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a gentle simmer. Place the bowl with the chocolate chips on top of the pot. As the chips melt, stir them with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl. When the chips are just melted and smooth, remove them from the heat. Dip the cookies halfway into the melted chocolate one at a time, using a spatula to smooth the chocolate up the edges of the cookie as needed. Place the cookies on wax paper to dry. Place the chocolate back over the simmering water as needed for a few seconds to keep it melty. Once the chocolate is dry, serve the cookies or refrigerate them until ready to serve.

Melody Cookies

Recipe from Dorie’s Cookies. Makes about 30 large cookies.

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

1. Whisk the flour, sifted cocoa, and baking soda together in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until smooth and light, which should take a few minutes. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the egg white. Beat until smooth again and the egg white is fully blended into the butter. Add half the cocoa-flour mixture and stir just until there are no dry spots left. Add the remaining half of the cocoa-flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.
2. Split the dough in half and pat into two round disks. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out into a large rectangle with a thickness of ~1/8 inch. Stack the two slabs of dough (with the parchment paper separating the layers) on a large baking sheet and chill until firm, at least two hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and place on a work surface. Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter with a scalloped edge to cut circles out of the chilled dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle turbinado sugar generously on top of the cookies.  Bake the cookies until firm to the touch, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Reroll and chill any dough scraps before cutting out additional cookies.

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I have the perfect recipe for your last heirloom tomato – I hope you’ve been saving it. When all of our beautiful, Striped German tomatoes ripened seemingly simultaneously at the end of September, I was sort of at a loss for what to do with them all. I like tomatoes but I don’t love tomatoes, at least the way some people do. You will probably never catch me eating a tomato like an apple. I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit it but you might actually find me picking the tomato out of a sandwich now and then, if it’s a particularly bad tomato. So I was a bit stressed by the idea of using up 12 pounds of beautiful homegrown tomatoes before they went bad.

I was flipping through my favorite cookbooks, looking for tomato-inspiration, when I came across a recipe for Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil and Bottarga Breadcrumbs in Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which is my very favorite cookbook, at least currently (all of Suzanne’s recipes are so spot on, and seemingly timeless, given that the flavors still sound incredible over 10 years after the book was published). While I wasn’t looking for anything as complicated as making homemade breadcrumbs flavored with cured tuna roe on this particular evening, the other flavors in the recipe sounded just right, so I made a few quick modifications and tried it. It was good, but not mind-blowing. But I loved the idea of the dish, and there were elements that were really strong – I loved the mellow sweetness of the onions melding with the tangy-sweet tomato, the way the rosemary fried in olive oil seemed to perfume the whole dish, and the process of cooking the spaghetti in the sauce so it would soak it up. It just needed more body and more salt. So I kept trying the recipe, adding a spoonful of capers here, toning down the chile heat, and finally, the move that sealed the deal, stirring in a generous spoonful of mascarpone cheese, which transformed the sauce into something silky and luxurious that coated every noodle.

Now that it’s perfect, I want to eat this spaghetti every day. Which is why, although I considered it, I couldn’t wait until next tomato season to share this with you. I want you to be able to try it now, with those last tomatoes. And after this I promise that it’s going to be all soups and roasts and dumplings and pumpkin-y things around here.

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Heirloom Tomato and Sweet Onion Spaghetti

Inspired by Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Serves 2-3.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 small red chile, seeded and finely minced OR 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled, halved, and cut into very thin half-ring slices
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 pounds total), cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 TBS capers
• 1/4 c. mascarpone cheese
• 10 leaves fresh basil, rolled and julienned
• 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 oz. parmesan cheese, shaved into flakes with a vegetable peeler

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary leaves and the minced chile or red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant and sizzling, about 60 seconds. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the onion slices and saute, stirring frequently until very tender and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the tomato pieces and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes have softened into a sauce and the sauce has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
3. When your sauce is almost ready, add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook until it is almost al dente – drain the pasta about 1-2 minutes before it is done (you are going to finish cooking it in the sauce). Transfer the hot pasta to the pan with the tomatoes and toss to coat. Add the butter and capers and toss with the pasta and sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes longer then remove from the heat. Stir in the mascarpone cheese until it has coated all of the pasta. Sprinkle the sliced basil and parsley over the top of the pasta and stir to mix. Divide the pasta between 2 or 3 plates and top each serving with some of the flaked parmesan cheeese. Serve immediately.

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2015 was a big year for me. A really big year. We bought our first house. Got engaged. I took 13 international trips to 5 different countries (Virgin Islands, Colombia, Chile, Ireland, and Hong Kong), on a total of 56 different flights. It’s actually one less country than last year, but a lot more back and forth. I haven’t written much about the time I spent in Colombia and Chile (yet! I will!), but I sort of fell in love with Bogota (the food! the dancing! the always-just-right weather!), and I had one of my best days this year touring Chilean vineyards and eating magnificent food in a stunning setting. I also had some of my worst days of the year stuck in airports for hours on end / on planes that were on fire. Travel has its highs and lows. And last winter, as you other New Englanders know, was just kind of the worst; let’s just say I did not handle it well and leave it at that.

With all the personal and work-related stuff going on this year, blogging ended up taking a backseat. That said, it was still a pretty successful year. I’m particularly proud of the three restaurant shoots I did – my first ever! – up in Kittery, Maine. You can see some of those shots here. It was a fun foray into a different type of photography work (and Trevor definitely enjoyed being my assistant AKA eating all the dishes post-shoot). And I did come up with some recipes that were real hits, like this goat cheese ice cream with blackberry-red wine swirl and a perfected brussels sprouts caesar salad.

To be honest, I’m sort of relieved that 2015 is over. While it was a year full of milestones and adventure, it was also an emotionally and physically exhausting year. When I think about this year, particularly the first 8 months, my primary feeling is one of stress. Which might be why I’ve mentally already moved on to next year. Accordingly, tonight I’m planning on going home early, taking a long run, cooking something hearty, and snuggling up on the couch for a few good movies with Trevor.

As for 2016, I think it’s going to be another busy one, but with a better mindset. I’ll definitely be giving 2015 a run for its money as far as travel goes. I’ve already got trips to Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, and Costa Rica planned… and that’s all before April. The big difference though (and the only reason I’m doing it), is that Trevor will be coming with me, allowing me to spend more time in each country enjoying what it has to offer and less time shuttling back and forth on planes, stressed about missing another weekend together. Also, we won’t be moving, so that should eliminate a large amount of stress, although we are hoping to remodel our basement and if funds hold out, our kitchen. Given all that’s going on, we decided to wait until 2017 to do the whole wedding-thing. At first I was a little disappointed to “postpone,” but more and more I think it was the right decision. I want 2016 to be calmer, less stressful, more balanced. A little more relaxed, a little more joyful. If we get to May and I sound like I did last May, somebody tell me to take a step back, OK? Because I want 2016 to be a good one and sometimes we all need reminders about what’s important.

And to celebrate the passing of the old year into the new? We’ve got waffles. Waffles, because I want 2016 to be about bright, calm, clear-headed mornings. Festive waffles, made with chestnut flour and brown butter, and topped with poached pears, whipped mascarpone, and marron glacés if you’re feeling extra fancy. We served these for Boxing Day brunch, alongside a decadent smoked salmon and leek quiche and a cabbage and beet salad. I think it might become a new tradition.

So, Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful 2016 filled with whatever you need – energy or focus or joy or adventure or calm.

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Past New Years’ posts…

2014: Rye Blini, Smoked Salmon Dip, Russian Beet Dip, Pretty in Pink Cocktail

2013: Raspberry Sherbet Champagne Floats

2012: Butter-Roasted Cinnamon Chicken with Almonds and Pomegranates

Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Whipped Mascarpone

Waffles adapted from The Chef’s Collaborative. Serves 5.

• 1 c. red wine
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 ripe but firm pears, peeled
• 3 TBS salted butter
• 1 1/4 c. AP flour
• 3/4 c. chestnut flour (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 c. whole milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 3 oz. mascarpone
• 1 TBS maple syrup

1. To poach the pears: Combine wine, sugar, water, ginger, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then add the whole pears to the mixture. Simmer gently, turning the pears occasionally, until pears are tender all the way through when poked with a knife. This can take anywhere from 15-35 minutes, depending on your pears. When the pears are tender, remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Leave whole or slice according to your taste. Continue simmering the syrup until it is thick, then pour over the pears. Set aside.
2. To make the waffles: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, as the butter foams up and begins to brown. Once the foam has subsided and the butter has turned a deep golden brown, remove from the heat. Let cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, chestnut flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks until creamy, then add brown sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk cooled brown butter into yolks and sugar. Stir in milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites gently into batter. Preheat your waffle iron and coat with non-stick spray, then cook waffles until golden brown. Keep warm in a 200°F oven if not serving immediately.
3. For the whipped mascarpone: In a large bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Spoon mascarpone in to whipped cream in small pieces and whisk until smooth. Whisk in maple syrup and set aside.
4. To serve: Top each waffle with pears, poaching syrup, and whipped mascarpone. Serve immediately.

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Yesterday, I turned 24, rather unceremoniously. Usually, I make a big fuss of my birthday – I drag it out for as long as possible, believing as I do that you should never waste a good excuse to indulge in all your favorite foods and coerce all your favorite people into spending time with you. But this year, given all the chaos in our city right now, it felt different. I still celebrated – last Saturday I had a fun and happy party, Trevor and I have a nice dinner planned, and tomorrow I’ll be joining my parents for steak tips and strawberry shortcake. But, like everyone else in the city, if not the whole country, my attention was elsewhere. How could a birthday be important when people around you are having their hearts broken? It feels selfish and trivial to think too much about myself this week.

Still, I made this birthday cake. I had made the components ahead of time – my favorite vanilla cake recipe, made with coconut milk, lemon cream cheese and mascarpone frosting, and a lemon curd filling – but I assembled it late Monday afternoon, as a distraction from the news (or really, the lack of news) streaming in from the TV. I brought slices to work, to comfort myself after the unsettling experience of riding a train protected by stoic National Guardsmen and slipping through barricades to get into the office. I ate a slice this morning, my nerves shaken and tears threatening as I absorbed everything that happened overnight. And so it became a cake tinged with sadness. A cake turned to from need of distraction and comfort. All week, the phrase “the particular sadness of lemon cake” has been drifting through my head (from the title of this book). I didn’t set out to make a cake that would fit that description, it just happened.

Hopefully this will all be over soon, and we will be able to grieve for the victims without feeling a small but constant fear.  There are many families that have been changed forever, for whom sadness will be a constant, but we will do our best to love and comfort them. We will let the spring soothe us and our smiles will become broader. People will eat birthday cake with no sadness whatsoever.

P.S. Birthday recipes from last year, for a more jovial tone – Tequila and Lime Steak Tacos and the obligatory Birthday Waffles

Triple Lemon Cake with Lemon-Mascarpone-Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake recipe adapted from 6 Bittersweets. Lemon curd recipe from David Leibowitz. Serves 12-16.

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) salted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/4 c. AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 c. canned coconut milk (shake well before opening)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, or grease well. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat vigorously until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition. Batter should be pale yellow and thick.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the batter, and stir until just incorporated. Add the coconut milk, and stir until just incorporated. Add the second half of the flour mixture, and stir, again, just until incorporated. Overbeating the batter will lead to a tough cake. Stir in the vanilla and lemon extracts, if using.
4. Pour half of the batter into each of the two prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until the cakes are light golden brown on top and spring back when touched. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes should come out clean. Let cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pans on a cooling rack, then run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen and invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely before assembling.

For the lemon curd:

• 1/2 c. lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 TBS unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1. Place a mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl, and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add the butter pieces and heat over low heat, whisking constantly. Once the butter has all melted, raise the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook, still whisking constantly, until the curd has thickened to a pudding-like consistency. Immediately remove from heat and pour through strainer into the bowl.
3. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic against the curd to keep a skin from forming, and refrigerate until fully chilled.

For the frosting:

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1. Beat together the mascarpone and cream cheeses until there are no lumps. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating vigorously between additions, until the frosting is stiff (you may not use all 4 cups). Add the lemon extract and lemon juice and beat to incorporate. Taste for flavor, consistency, and sweetness, and adjust lemon juice and/or sugar amounts according to taste.

To assemble:

1. Dab a bit of the frosting on a cake plate. Place your bottom, cooled layer of cake on top of the cake plate and press down to stick. Spoon a generous layer of lemon curd on top of the cake and spread with a spatula. The layer of lemon curd should be about 1/3 inch thick all around the cake – you may not use all of the lemon curd. Gently place the second cake layer on top of the lemon curd. Press down lightly, and wipe any lemon curd that oozes out off the side of the cake. Frost the cake, using a crumb coat if you want the cake to be extra neat.
2. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold or at room temperature, with an extra dollop of lemon curd or fresh strawberries.

The post A Birthday, with Sadness // A Lemon Cake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

On Monday, I posted the richest, most decadent dessert in my repertoire – Bailey’s Chocolate-Chip Cheesecake. It’s one of my all-time favorites, which shouldn’t be a surprise, coming from a girl who has been known to order a blue cheese salad, followed by pasta carbonara, followed by creme brulee when out to dinner. (Read: I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I were lactose intolerant). But even I have limits, and as I was making that cheesecake and actually seeing what 2 pounds of cream cheese looks like in a bowl, I knew I’d have to exercise some self-control. And then atone for my gluttony.

Enter these baked apples. Stuffed with dates and pecans and drizzled with just a touch of maple-flavored mascarpone cream (yes, there’s still dairy…), they are significantly lighter than most of the desserts of this season, yet still delicious, festive, and elegant enough to serve to company. And, dare I say it, these might even be healthy enough to have for breakfast. At least on a special occasion. Like a Tuesday.

Head on over to Greatist for the recipe, and check back here on Friday for more Christmas-time treats!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Baked Stuffed Apples with Maple Cream appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Yes, I know it’s not the morning anymore, but at least it’s still Monday! And I did do my new resolution today, I just didn’t get the chance to tell you about it. Actually, there are a bunch of things I want to tell you about, all somewhat unrelated, so excuse this post for being a little bit jumpy…

Let’s start off with this week’s resolution: to bring a healthy snack to work each day (with the ultimate goal of staving off those mid-afternoon junk food cravings). Today I brought half an avocado and a clementine, tomorrow I’m thinking nuts and dried cherries. Anyone out there have any great snack suggestions for me? I’d love to hear them.

More on the resolutions – I did a pretty good job with them last week, except I ate only three green salads instead of four. I’ve forgiven myself, though. If you’re new to my little resolutions challenge, you can read about the impetus behind it here, and please join in by posting your own resolutions in the comments (or updating me on how they’re going, for those of you who have already shared)! And to continue holding myself accountable, here are all my cumulative resolutions thus far:

• Week one: No chocolate from the chocolate box at work
• Week two: Walk to or from Park St. Station each day (an additional 15 minutes of walking on my commute)
• Week three: Do ten minutes of strength training and stretching every day
• Week four: Eat at least four green salads per week
• Week five: Bring a healthy snack to work every day

Moving on: the reason I was late in posting today was because I spent the weekend away on a girl’s weekend with my mom, as my (very) belated birthday present to her for her 50th. I had so much fun and it was really nice to get away, so I just wanted to share a few trip notes and pictures. We stayed at a cute B&B – William’s Grant Inn – in Bristol, RI, through a LivingSocial deal, and while we were there took a tour of The Breakers (which was all decked out for Christmas!) in Newport. It’s stunning how much detail went into those houses. As part of the deal we had a lovely dinner at Le Central, where I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy the food was. Sunday we spent some time walking around Bristol shopping (I picked up a great set of Spanish bakeware at an antique shop – I can’t wait to photograph it), and then went on a neat little hike in the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Such a nice little getaway!

And now for everyone’s favorite part – the food! The pictures here are of a super delicious crespelle recipe from a beautiful new book on Italian food, SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine. I’ll be posting the full review later this week, but I couldn’t wait to share these lovely little treats. Crespelle are just the Italian version of crepes, and these particular ones are filled with a mixture of sweetened goat cheese, mascarpone, and ricotta, then simmered briefly in an orange-caramel sauce. To top it off, the crepes themselves are made with nutty browned butter and are as light as air, with crispy lacy edges. The cumulative result is kind of sigh-inducing, and totally worth the extra work. If you’re looking for a more savory crepe, check out these Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes I created for Life’d last week (it appears I’m on some sort of major crepe kick). And one last thing I wanted to mention before I leave you with the recipe: I’m being featured on NoshOnIt on Wednesday, if you’d like to check it out. Personally, I’ve been loving reading their daily emails and discovering great new food bloggers and recipes, and I highly recommend them.

Ricotta and Goat Cheese Crespelle with Orange-Caramel Sauce

Adapted from SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine. Serves 3-4.

Notes: The original recipe made a lot of crepe batter, so I’ve scaled the proportions back to make it more manageable for a small household. However, I thought the ratio of filling to crepe in the original recipes was a bit off, so I’ve left the amount of filling at the original amount. Feel free to fill them according to your taste. The crepes are very thin and delicate, and flipping them takes a little bit of practice. You also have to plan ahead a little for this one, as both the batter and the filled crepes require a little chilling time in the fridge. Refrigerating the batter overnight will yield the most delicate crespelle.

• 1 1/2 TBS + 1 TBS salted butter, divided
• 3/4 c. whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. + 2 TBS flour
• 1 1/2 TBS + 1 TBS sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. goat cheese
• 1/4 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1/3 c. ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. powdered sugar, sifted, plus additional for garnish
• 1 navel orange, zest and juice (1/2 c. juice needed)

1. Make the batter: Melt 1 1/2 TBS of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until it bubbles and begins to smell nutty, then pour into a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the milk to the same saucepan and return to the heat. Heat the milk for 2-3 minutes, just enough to scald it. Remove the milk and let cool slightly (it should feel warm to the touch but you should be able to touch it without hurting yourself).
2. Add the warm milk and the eggs to a blender and pulse to combine. Add the flour and 1 1/2 TBS of the sugar and blend to combine. Drizzle in the butter (with the blender running, if possible), and blend until fully combined. Strain the batter through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
3. Make the filling: in a medium bowl, stir together the goat cheese, mascarpone, and ricotta until smooth. Add the vanilla and the sifted powdered sugar and stir to combine. Zest the orange and add 1 tsp of the orange zest to the mixture. Reserve the remaining zest for garnish. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Cook the crepes: Heat a very small pat of butter in a large non-stick saute pan over medium heat, then carefully wipe most of it out with a paper towel. Pour 1/4 c. of batter into the heated pan and quickly swirl in a circle to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute, until light golden brown, then carefully and quickly flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove the cooked crepe to a plate and continue with remaining batter. This should make about 8 crepes.
5. When the cooked crepes are cool, spoon 1-2 TBS of the cheese filling in the middle of each crepe. Spread in a vertical line about 1/2 inch thick, then roll the crepe up like a burrito. Place the filled crepes on a platter, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, to firm up the filling.
6. When ready to serve, heat the remaining 1 TBS of butter in your largest saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the filled crepes, seam side down, and toast for 2 minutes, before carefully flipping each crepe over. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 TBS of sugar. Once it dissolves, and the orange juice from the orange. Cook down the mixture until the juice is slightly thickened and has been absorbed somewhat by the crepes. Remove the crepes to individual plates and top with the extra orange caramel. Garnish with powdered sugar and any extra orange zest.

The post Monday (Morning) Resoultions: Italian Crepes with Sweet Cheese Filling and Caramel Sauce appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I went a little strawberry crazy last week.  It’s just that I saw so many people writing about strawberries, taking pictures of strawberries, making strawberry jam, etc., that I couldn’t resist.  So I bought a quart of tiny, bright red local strawberries at WholeFoods on Thursday night.  Then, on Friday, one of my coworkers just dragged me to the farmer’s market at Copley for lunch, and when a cute farmer yelled out “we just picked these this morning, you know you want some!” well, how could I say no?  Another quart in the bag. And these strawberries are not the big hearty California ones that will last for weeks in your fridge; these strawberries beg to be eaten, with little embellishment, right away.

Sometimes when I’m surrounded by beautiful produce I forget that I’m only one person, and that it’s hard for one person to eat 2 quarts of strawberries in 4 days.  So I had to find uses for these berries other than eating them out of hand.  I made a few things, including a batch of my favorite strawberry and sage muffins, and by tonight, after popping this strawberry-rhubarb pie in the oven to share with my dad (it’s his favorite pie, and it was just father’s day…), I only have a handful of berries leftover – just enough for a lovely breakfast tomorrow morning of strawberries, fresh cherries, Greek yogurt, and granola.  Of all these treats, however, the star were these strawberry and whipped mascarpone parfaits with chocolate shortbread.  These things are delicious.

I spent a good chunk of Saturday cooking and baking, which was really nice, given that I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen lately.  Trevor was at tryouts all day, so I decided to make us a nice risotto dinner for when he got back, with something strawberry-based for dessert.  I had been toying around with the idea of finally making a fraisier, but all the individual components – sponge cake, pastry cream, marzipan – started to seem daunting as the day crept on.  Then the idea of doing something resembling a dirt cake, but with strawberries, of course, popped into my mind, and wouldn’t leave.  I had all the ingredients I needed on hand to make a quick batch of chocolate shortbread (which is so buttery and chocolaty and crumbly it’s amazing), and I was already using mascarpone in the risotto, so I whipped it with heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to give it a little more silkiness, and we were good to go.  I love pretty much anything that is layered with cream, but I have to admit that this recipe was partly inspired by all of my recent lunchtime trips to Via Matta, where they serve every single dessert with whipped mascarpone and it’s totally heavenly.  In particular, I was thinking of their “Mascarporeos” – a tray of do-it-yourself “oreos” with rich chocolate cookies and whipped mascarpone.  Anyway, the combination of the buttery shortbread, sweet cream, and fresh strawberries was incredible – sophisticated and comforting at the same time, fresh, and not too sweet.  I may or may not have eaten one for breakfast the next morning while doing this shoot.  Food blogger problems.

I did so much brainstorming about other things to make with strawberries that I might have to double up on berries again next weekend.  It’s a short season, after all – I might as well make the most of it!  Plus, I really do want to make a fraisier, and also this sour cream and strawberry ice cream, and why not some jam while I’m at it.  So I guess you can probably expect to see some more strawberries around here, and pretty soon, too.

Strawberry, Chocolate, and Whipped Mascarpone Parfaits

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original.  Serves 4.

• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into small (1/2 inch) pieces
• 1/2 c. mascarpone cheese, chilled
• 1/2 c. heavy cream, chilled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBS sugar
• 1/2 recipe dark chocolate shortbread (see below)

1. Crumble shortbread cookies into pieces, with some tiny crumbs and some larger, bite-sized chunks.  You can do this easily by hand or by using a rolling pin to roll over a plastic bag filled with crumbs.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk mascarpone and heavy cream until thick and evenly combined.  Add vanilla and sugar and whip until it holds soft peaks.
3. Divide 1/2 of cookie crumbs between 4 glasses.  Top each chocolate layer with a large dollop of whipped mascarpone, and a handful of strawberry pieces.  Follow with another dollop of mascarpone, then top with more strawberries and remaining chocolate crumbs.  Serve cold.

Dark Chocolate Shortbread

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.  Makes 2 cookies 6 inches in diameter (about 10-12 servings).

• 1 stick salted butter, softened
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c. + 2 TBS flour
• 2 TBS cornstarch
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 TBS heavy cream (optional)

1. Blend butter, sugar and vanilla together in a medium bowl until well combined.  Sift flour, cocoa and cornstarch on top of butter mixture, fluff dry ingredients together gently with a fork (it’s OK if they start to mix with the butter below), then proceed to mix into the butter and sugar, just until evenly combined.
2. Pat dough together into 2 discs about 1 inch thick and 6 inches in diameter.  If dough is too crumbly to do this, add the heavy cream and mix in to moisten the dough.  Place the dough discs on a baking sheet and refrigerate for half an hour, uncovered.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F while the dough chills.  After half an hour in the fridge, prick the dough all over with a fork (to let steam escape).  Bake for 15 minutes, then let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes (if you try to move before it has cooled enough, it will immediately fall apart).

The post Strawberry, Chocolate, and Whipped Mascarpone Parfaits appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m here to tell you about our garden.

Finally.

I’ve been looking forward to writing this post since the beginning of February, when I planted the first tiny parsley seeds and proceeded to check them hourly for signs of growth.  I’ve taken hundreds of pictures, from those first tiny sprouts to the squash flowers that have just opened up to the fat little pea pods on the vines (peas! actual peas!)  and I’ve been dying to share them.  Well, I’ve shared a couple.  But really, I didn’t want to say too much about the garden in case it was a total failure.  Having written about it prematurely would only have compounded my disappointment.  I love this garden.  Like, I really love it.

From the get-go, I decided that if I ate even one thing from the garden, I would consider it a success.  And now that I’ve harvested not one, but two things from the garden (arugula! peas!), I’m taking a deep breath and declaring success.  And telling you all about it.

Dork alert: I’ve been keeping a garden diary.  Growing things is not something I have that much experience with, and when I’m unsure about something, I write about it until I understand it.  That’s why I have 8 journals full of notes about boys – they’re not as simple as they seem at first, what can I say?  But looking back at the notes I’ve taken in the past 4 months reveals how much uncertainty there is for a first time gardener – there was the week when the trees leafed out and the raised bed stopped getting morning sun, and I wondered if the sun would ever be high enough in the sky to give it afternoon sun (it is).  The days when the lemon tree suddenly dropped all it’s leaves caused a bit of panic too (it’s covered in blossoms now, although still a little low on greenery).  Just the other morning I found that some creature had hopped into the raised bed and eaten an entire kale plant, leaving no signs that the plant had ever existed.  Little heartaches are left and right in this process, but working in the garden with Trevor has become one of my favorite activities, and eating the first fresh peas this week has seemed more like icing on the cake than the natural outcome of all the hard work we’ve put into it.

I started planning the garden out in January.  I’ll admit, we were a little over-zealous, and the garden quickly spread from being contained in a 16 sq. ft raised bed, to a 16 sq. ft raised bed and about 20 pots and containers along the driveway.  With the exception of 1 eggplant, the thyme, the oregano, and the trees, we started everything from seed.  In February, we started the basil, sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, broccoli, eggplant, and tomatoes.  I invested in a heating mat and found that, even though they seem like a waste of money, the Jiffy pop-up seed pods were much more effective than planting in little pots with seed starter.  The oregano and thyme sprouted but never really grew, so we replaced them with big plants from Pemberton.  That first batch of basil got dried out when I went away for the weekend and had to be restarted.  The parsley was a slow-starter, but is now doing OK in the raised bed.  One of the eggplants really took off, and has it’s first flowers now.  The tomatoes have been the biggest success – San Marzanos and Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.  The 5 cherry tomatoes are all huge and just getting their first tiny green tomatoes.  In March, the shelling peas and fava beans got planted directly in the bed, the lettuces went into a large stone bird bath, and brussels sprouts and kale got planted inside.  Then in April, the squash, cucumbers, and beets went in.

And now?  In the raised bed are 2 varieties of English shelling peas, fava beans, parsley, broccoli, cucumbers, roma beans, edamame, kale, and brussels sprouts.  On the porch?  A fig tree and a strawberry plant.  In the backyard, a planter that’s overgrown with arugula, parsley, radicchio, and lettuce, and containers with raspberries, more broccoli, mint, and sage.  In pots along the driveway, where it’s the sunniest, are the meyer lemon tree, tomatoes, summer squash, watermelons, basil – both green and purple, and cucumbers.  It’s a giant hodge podge of green, and I have no idea what will work and what won’t, but it’s the best experiment I’ve done in a long time.

To celebrate the arrival of the peas, the success of the garden, and the beginning of summer, I had a little dinner for Trevor and I on Saturday night.  An actual dinner – with a glass of prosecco, a main course, and a dessert, where we sat down at the same time at the table with bowls and forks rather than eating out of tupperware from the fridge.  Mostly I just eat the peas straight while I’m sitting in the garden – they are so incredibly sweet and cool and juicy – but I wanted to use at least a few in a real meal.  So I made a spring risotto, with peas, fava beans, asparagus, mascarpone, and pecorino – all the flavors of spring.  The fava beans and asparagus aren’t from our garden, but they are local and very tender and flavorful, so we’ll take ’em.  It was delicious.  And for dessert, there were parfaits with chocolate shortbread, whipped mascarpone, and lovely red-ripe strawberries from the farmer’s market… but you’ll have to wait for Tuesday for that recipe!

Spring Risotto with Peas, Favas, Asparagus, and Mascarpone

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original.  Serves 4.

• 1 1/2 c. arborio rice
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. water
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 1/2 c. shucked fava beans (about 1 lb. with pods)
• 1/2 bunch asparagus (about 15 thin stalks), trimmed and sliced on a bias into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen English shelling peas
• 1/3 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 c. grated pecorino romano
• leaves from 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• extra thyme and shards of pecorino romano for garnish

1. Prepare the vegetables.  Heat the chicken stock plus 1 c. water in a large pot over medium heat until it comes to a low boil.  Add the fava beans and asparagus, and boil for 2-3 minutes, until asparagus is bright green.  Remove vegetables with a skimmer and plunge into very cold or ice water to stop the cooking.  When cool, skin the fava beans – the easiest way to do this is to puncture the skin (which should feel a bit loose after cooking) with your thumbnail and then gently pop the bean out of it’s skin.  The bean on the inside should be bright green.  Set aside the vegetables, and lower the heat of the chicken stock to maintain a gentle simmer.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, until translucent.  Dont’ allow it to brown.  Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until edges are translucent.  Add the white wine and cook, stirring until fully absorbed.
3. For the remainder of the cooking process, add the hot stock to the rice 1 ladleful (about 1/2 c.) at a time, stirring all the while and cooking until each ladleful is absorbed.  The entire process will take about 20 minutes.  If you find that you are running out of stock, add a bit of water to the simmering stock.  The risotto is done when it is mostly tender but retains a bit of bite – you don’t want it to get mushy.  When it reaches this stage turn off the heat.  Stir in the grated pecorino, the mascarpone, and the thyme leaves until the cheese have melted.  Add the prepared vegetables and the fresh or frozen peas.  If the peas are very young and tender, the heat from the risotto will cook them just enough.  If the peas are tougher and starchier, you may want to prepare them in the same manner as the fava beans and the asparagus.
4. Serve hot, with extra thyme and shards of pecorino romano.

The post Garden: Pea, Fava Bean, and Asparagus Risotto appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Hey, two months in a row!  Look at me, fulfilling promises and everything.  This month’s cookbook is David Leite’s “The New Portuguese Table,” a fairly recent compendium of traditional Portuguese recipes with a modern twist.  I’ve been really looking forward to cooking from this book, as it won a James Beard award in 2010 and has a solid 5 star review on Amazon, with only one negative review in the bunch.  I made three recipes from this book in the past few weeks – cilantro bread soup with poached eggs, white beans and sausage, and black olive risotto – and I hate to say it but I’m not as enthused about the recipes in this book as everyone else seems to be.  The white beans and sausage were good, but not that original – I thought it tasted like regular old chili.  (Full disclosure, I used kidney beans instead of cannellini beans, because I just couldn’t find dried cannellini beans.  I went to four stores looking for them.  So the bean substitution probably added to the chili effect.  However, kidney beans and cannellini beans are actually pretty close in flavor, and genetically related, so the major differences caused by the substitution were probably texture and appearance, and not so much flavor.  Also, did you know that kidney beans and cannellini beans are poisonous?  Thanks, wikipedia.  You are so full of knowledge.)  The cilantro soup I did not like at all – its only redeeming factor was the croutons made from Trevor’s delicious homemade bread – and I ended up dumping most of the recipe out, as well as not finishing the bowl I brought to lunch the next day.  And it takes a lot for me to throw out food that I really wanted to like.  Maybe I was expecting too much from such a simple recipe, but it was definitely a disappointment.  On the other hand, this black olive risotto – super awesome.  Like decadent grown-up mac’n’cheese with a twist.  I made it twice in one week, and taking the time to make two risottos in one week is big for me.

Let me elaborate: this recipe takes your standard risotto ingredients – arborio rice, chicken stock, onion, white wine, and parmesan – adds two special ingredients – black olives and mascarpone – and becomes something super comforting, super creamy, and super delicious.  Trevor’s one semi-negative comment on it was that it lacked depth of flavor, which I do sort of agree with – it hits you with creamy, cheesy, and olive-y pretty hard.  But I’m OK with that.  That’s kind of what I’m looking for in a comfort food.  And this is definitely comfort food.  So the risotto recipe is a keeper.  But the other recipes I tried?  I probably won’t go to the trouble of making them again.  That doesn’t mean I’ve completely given up on this cookbook – I still have a few recipes I’d like to try, like the green olive dip and the rosemary custard – but I will approach future recipes with a more critical eye.  The cookbook itself is very attractive and well laid out, and most of the recipes included sound interesting – many of them are totally new to me, which is always something I look for in an ethnic cookbook.  Overall, I’d give this book 3 and 1/2 stars, with room for improvement if the two not-so-good recipes I tried were just flukes.

Black Olive Risotto

Serves 3.  Adapted from David Leite’s “The New Portuguese Table”

• 1 1/2 c. arborio rice
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 5 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 2/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 3 TBS minced fresh parsley

1. In a large, wide saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent and beginning to brown.  In the meantime, heat stock over medium heat.  Add dry rice to pan with onions and cook for 1-2 minutes, until edges of rice are translucent.  Then add white wine all at once and cook, stirring constantly, until it is absorbed.
2. Add  ladleful of hot stock to the rice and stir constantly until it has been completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.  Continue adding stock one ladleful at a time and stirring until completely absorbed until the rice is just tender – you should use most of the stock.  If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, use hot water.  When rice is tender.  Add parmesan cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sliced olives, and stir until cheeses are melted and risotto is creamy.  Remove from heat and serve hot with fresh parsley sprinkled on top.

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