Spring Once Again, And Tarts And Salads With Greens To Celebrate It

It has been a long while again!

Crazy to imagine that so many months have passed since the last post. But life has been busy, once more, and has also brought some interesting new projects, some of which I may share one day. In any case, here we are, Spring again and while I have been more quiet on the blog, I have continued to share weekly culinary adventures and Meatless Mondays on Social Media. A few Spring greens posts have garnered attention, and there was a request for recipes so I will happily oblige. :)

All posts are of course inspired by Farmers Market finds. And there have been quite splendid greens this season in the Bay Area, perhaps bolstered by more rain. A huge fave has been these bok choy blossoms, which had a delicious mild flavor.

Bok choy blossoms - Berkeley Farmers Market, Happy Boy Farm.

And then of course, asparagus were back!

Fresh asparagus - Berkeley Farmers Market, Riverdog Farm.

These veggies lent themselves perfectly to salads and a couple of tarts. The first one, a Spring Vegetable Vegan Tart, was a relatively simple tart though it involves a few steps. First, make a vegan tart crust. In my case, I also make it gluten-free, using oat and rice flours for example, but you can use any GF flour you typically like to use. I tend to prefer to use olive oil to coconut oil, which has a more pronounced flavor. Bake your tart shell and let it cool down.

Then, saute a few thin asparagus cut in 1/4 inch pieces, bok choy blossoms, also chopped, thinly sliced scallions and garlic greens in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. You can add chopped herbs of your choice if you desire too. Leave aside until cooled down.

While the vegetables cool down, prepare the vegan cream: in your food processor or blender, blend: 1 block medium firm tofu, 1 block soft tofu, 1 can coconut milk (use just the cream), salt, the zest of a lemon (organic preferably), 1-2 tsbp lemon juice, 1/3 cup cashew nuts softened in hot water (drain the water before blending). Spread some of the cream over the cooled tart shell. You can use the rest of the cream for other dishes, even sweet ones (think dairyfree cheesecake :)).

Spread a few sauteed slices of crimini mushroom for good measure.

Finally, spread over the sauteed vegetables, get a few bib or gem lettuce leaves for a side salad, and you have a dinner. :)

If after this you find yourself with more bok choy blossoms in the fridge, left-over sauteed mushrooms and vegan "cream", you can make another meat-free and delish lunch (or dinner): quinoa on one side with the mushroom and a dollop of the cream, a salad of chopped bok choy, spinach and scallions on the other, with half an avocado sliced, and seasoned with an Asian vinaigrette (a little rice vinegar, soy sauce, a little lemon optionally, a little maple syrup or agave syrup, sesame oil and a little salt and pepper to taste). Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and serve with savory muffins if you are up to baking. :)

And now back to the asparagus! This year they turned out to be quite delicious too, and I found a few new ideas to prepare them. One of my favorite ways to eat them (and I have quite a few actually :)) is to eat them raw, with their full intense flavor. For example, I incorporate them thinly sliced in a market fresh salad. For a market fresh salad, I typically combine what I find at the market on a given day. A refreshing combination is the following: chopped Siberian kale, thinly sliced radishes and asparagus, and water cress. This is also a pretty combination for a Spring meal. I like a good Sherry wine vinaigrette (and you can slightly sweeten it with agave or maple syrup, or add some chopped shallots and garlic) to season it, and adding some chopped toasted pecans. Of course, you can sprinkle with fresh goat cheese if you like. :)

This year, I was also inspired by Edible San Francisco, which published the recipe for an Asparagus Soup with creme fraiche. That pairing is always to die for and the soup was too! You can add some butterbeans to thicken the soup and add some protein for a complete meat free meal.

This asparagus-creme-fraiche combo, and having a spare butternut squash on hand, inspired me to make a new tart: marbled butternut squash, asparagus and goat cheese pie. Which worked out well for a Meatless Monday which coincided with Pi Day. :) This tart requires a few steps and preps but it is well worth it. First, as with the previous tart, make a pie crust, roll it out in a 9" tart pan, and bake it for 15'. In my case, I made it gluten free and used butter since this is not a vegan tart. Then, prepare three different filings:

• Asparagus filling: Cook about 3/4 pound asparagus in salted water until quite soft. Puree with 1 tbsp creme fraiche, salt if need be and pepper, and 1 egg.
• Butternut squash filling: Slow roast 1 small to medium butternut squash at 375deg F until fully cooked and soft. Puree it with 1 tbsp creme fraiche, salt and pepper, and 1 egg.
• Goat cheese filling: Blend together about 1/3 cup soft goat cheese, 1-2 tbsp creme fraiche, salt & pepper, and a little lemon juice if desired.

To assemble: pour the butternut squash over the tart shell. Then drop spoons full of the asparagus filling and using a knife, make a first marble effect. Repeat with the goat cheese filling. Bake the pie at 350 deg F until set (ie. firm to the touch).

This tart is delicious warm but I think I liked it even better cold.

So that was a long post after a few weeks "away"! Enjoy those Spring Greens. :)

By the way:

• You can use other combinations of Spring greens for the first tart. Your imagination is the limit so see what is available at your farmers market or local store if you do not have a farmers market nearby.
• For the first tart, choose good quality tofu (I go for a non-gmo and organic, good quality one): it makes a big difference in taste.
• These dishes are all made gluten-free but you can use regular flour for the tarts if you prefer.
• If you need inspo for a vegan crust, here is one. Again, I would use olive oil for this recipe.
• For the second tart, you basically need to make a savory shortcrust pastry (and I like to make one with egg). If you need inspo for that, this will help.

Starting The Year With Native American Corn And Beans, And Braised Scarlet Turnips

I am forever curious about new types of food and ways to cook them.

Luckily as years go by, there never seems to be an end to the list of things I have yet to try. In fact, that list seems to expand. It is not so much because new foods are created through agricultural or other food innovation, though that does create opportunities for discovery. It is that the abundance this planet has been bestowed with, provides in itself, plenty to learn about and enjoy in one's lifetime. In fact, growing older makes that point clearer each year. It also shows, how restricted or narrow an average diet can be. Of course we all have our preferences, myself included; but I now regularly make a point in going out of my way to try a food, vegetable, grain that I have never tried before. And in so doing, I find I also connect with other cultures, other histories, other people and, to boot, have great fun learning about these foods and cooking them.

Flint Corn at la Tercera Farm, at the Berkeley Farmers Market.

And so, in the past few months, I came across heirloom beans and corn varieties which were new to me at the Farmers Market: Hidatsa Shield, and Flint corn. Both are of Native American heritage. Hidatsa Shield is a North Dakotan heirloom which is typically grown in trio with corn and squash, and takes on a cream texture when cooked. Flint corn was cultivated by Native American tribes in New England and on the Great Plains, and the one I found had a beautiful ruby color.

Flint Corn soaking over several hours.

Both the corn and the beans (found in separate markets and stalls) need to be soaked before cooking. And in the case of the corn, ground. There was actually a hand grinder at the Stall where the corn was sold, which I used for another heirloom variety, but on this run, I was too much in a rush. So I coarsely ground the corn with my blender. While the beans were fresh enough to only need 1-2 hour soaking before they doubled size, the corn required several hours (at least 6). And I had been told by Anabelle, the wonderful stall owner, that I should keep the soaking liquid and cook the corn in it for extra corny-ness and creaminess. Which I did.

Coarsely ground and cooked corn.

I cooked the corn like I would typically cook polenta, though adding water regularly as it was quite "thirsty". I did not keep good track of the ratio of water to grain on this attempt, but there was a good one to 2 inches of water above the grain to start with. Once the corn was cooked and tender, which took about 1hr, it had the consistency of very coarse grit. I added olive oil, a bit of pecorino romano, salt and pepper. This was another tasty discovery, interesting both in flavor, which was distinctively nutty, and texture, tender, but with a little bite, at least on that first attempt.

Beans, covered with water, veggies and aromatics, and ready to cook.

To cook the beans, I used a rather conventional approach, more or less following the steps provided by theKitchn.

Beans almost fully cooked. A water check showed they needed a little more liquid to finish cooking.

I sauteed a purple carrot, added a (purposely left) whole garlic clove, then the beans, aromatics (laurel, thyme, and a little rosemary), and covered with water (about 1 inch above the beans). I also added a strip of kombu, a sea vegetable known to make beans more easily digestible. The beans cooked rather quickly, about 1.5 to 2hrs, and I added a little water a couple of times. I seasoned them with pepper and smoked sea salt which gave them that rustic flavor I much enjoy with beans. They were indeed deliciously tender, creamy and plain tasty.

Scarlett turnips found at the SF Ferry Building Farmers Market run by CUESA (at Marin Roots Organic)

And on my last Farmers Market run before Christmas, I had also found some gorgeous Scarlet turnips with equally beautiful green tops. While I was no stranger to turnips, a favorite since childhood, I had actually never tried this particular type. So, catching up swiftly :) For me, a great way to eat turnips is to braise them. Well, I love braising veggies in general.

Scarlet turnips braised with their greens which are tasty and edible (no waste :))

But back to the turnips, I simply cut three large ones in wedges, and did the same with a small red onion, which I sauteed for a minute or two in a dutch oven. I then added the turnip wedges, a little water (about 1/2c), salt, pepper, and thyme. I then put the lid on, turned the stove on to very low, and cooked for about 10'. I then added the greens of the turnips, sliced, and let cook for another 5' or so. Turnip greens are edible and quite tasty so it is really worth using them (and keeping waste low :)). Those braised veggies were not only delicious, they were also very pretty, having taken on lovely pink hues.

New Year's Day brunch of (Native :)) Champions.

So the fruit of this labor led to a brunch of champion on a rather cool (by CA standards :)) New Year's day, with the beans providing a nice change from the typical lucky lentils (and certainly, luck and good fortunes in at least equal amounts :)). I served them with the cooked Flint corn, a fried egg, another type of heirloom corn, and sauteed mushrooms. And accompanied, following a tradition now well established (at least for me :)), with spiked eggnog.

New Year's Day tradition chez moi :): eggnog, which I make with pasture raised eggs, almond or lactose free milk (here with almond milk), a little organic cream, maple syrup and all due spiking.

With this happy and interesting start of the year, I am looking forward to more such times in the New Year. And certainly wishing you the same. :)

By the way:

• The beans were found at the Lonely Mountain Farm stall at the SF Ferry Building Farmers Market. The corn, was a heirloom from la Tercera Farm at the Berkeley Farmers Market ( stall now closed for the Winter and Spring).
• Braising is one of my favorite techniques for cooking veggies. A number of sites provide details on the technique, which you can adapt to your personal tastes. There is a good list of posts focused on braising on Saveur for more inspiration.
• For more reads on turnips, there is also a nice post on Edible Madison.
• These dishes are all gluten-free, can be made dairy free, and will satisfy all eaters :). The turnips will also be low in FODMAP.