All I am Saying, is Give Peas a Chance

Growing up, my sister Michelle and I hated peas.  My mom always said that it was just because our dad didn't like them, and he got away with not having to eat them.  She figured we were just trying to get out of eating them, too - and so the story of "control" among mom and daughter began!

It's funny how a childhood idea/memory can stay with you well into adulthood.  I also thought I hated coconut until I was well into my 30's, when I realized that I actually liked it (German Chocolate Cake will do that to you!).   Turns out when I was a little kid, my crafty dad TOLD me I didn't like coconut, so that he could eat all my Mounds and Almond Joy bars at Halloween.  But hating peas was MY idea, not my dad's (or so I told myself), so I held onto that one for quite a while. 

But about a year ago when I was at the farmers' market, I met a particularly passionate pea farmer.  He gave me some English pea pods and told me to just eat them right out of the pod.  So here's what happened in my head.....A) Gross; those are peas! and B) Don't you have to cook them first, preferably in a ton of butter??? and C) I wonder if he'll fall for the old "hey, what's that over there?" trick.  But instead I tried it......and they were delicious!  We're not talking frozen peas here, people!  These sweet little gems are truly a perfect food, with more protein than other veggies and full of iron, vitamin C, fiber and lutein (great for your eyes).  I dig 'em......don't tell my mom. 

Here's a delicious way to eat them....my Sweet Pea Crostini.  This will make any pea hater a pea lover.  I fixed this in a cooking class last week and the overwhelming response was, "This is soooo fresh!"  Well yes it is....and yet another example of why cooking/eating "in season" is the way to go.  It doesn't get better than fresh produce eaten in season.

P.S. you could add a little more olive oil, mixed with some water to loosen this up even further.... then it would be delicious tossed with pasta or over grilled fish or chicken.  I'll be giving that a go before these beauties disappear until next year.

Sweet Pea Crostini                                                                                                                         Makes 18

18 slices French baguette

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, halved

1 cup shelled English peas, blanched and shocked

½ cup baby arugula

2 ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon fresh dill, plus extra for garnishing

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pinch salt

·         Preheat oven to 375⁰.

·         Brush baguette slices on both sides with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and rub cut side of garlic cloves on both sides.

·         Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cook for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.

·         Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and add peas.

·         Cook 2-3 minutes, until bright green, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.

·         Shell the peas and place in a blender along with arugula, goat cheese, dill, lemon juice & zest, and salt.  Blend until smooth paste forms.  With motor running, drizzle in remaining couple tablespoons of oil to loosen up the spread slightly.

·         Top on warm baguette slices, garnish with dill and serve immediately.

 

 

Yum it up!!

A Healthier Risotto, Part II

A while back I posted a recipe for a yummy risotto using whole grain farro instead of arborio rice.  I thought it was perfect.  Then I was asked to do a cooking demo at the Union Street Festival and I consulted with Tom of TomFoolCookery.com about what I should fix.  He knew I was pretty pleased with my new "farrotto" recipe, and suggested I do that.  I fixed it for him and he made a couple suggestions that transformed it from what I thought was perfect to.....perfecter (oh, let's just make that a word!).

I had always made my risotto with wine and broth, per the traditional recipes that I learned from (yes, that's a dangling preposition from a former English teacher, but you'll have to get used to that).  I had started adding the wine at the end of the process rather than at the beginning, and Tom thought that it left a bitter taste.  He suggested that I try using white wine vinegar instead.  I'm always game to try something new, and I love what vinegar adds to lots of other dishes I make, so I gave it a go.  What an unbelieveable flavor enhancer!  Wine was now out for me.

Next was the onion.  Classic risotto recipes start with sauteeing onions, and that didn't change in my farrotto.  But after cooking for 30-45 minutes, the onions are obviously very soft, and almost unrecognizable.  They've done their job of flavoring the dish, but they no longer add any texture.  The only thing I prize more than "pretty" in my cooking is texture.  So he suggested that I add another 1/2 cup of diced onion toward the end of cooking.  Again, I have to give him props on that suggestion.

The response that our farrotto received today (lots of "Oh my!", "YUM!" and "This is soooo good!") has caused me to rewrite that original recipe.  If you liked the first one, which I've heard many of you have, give this one a try.  You won't be sorry.....

Farrotto

Serves 4-6

8 cups vegetable broth* (Trader Joe's low sodium is still my fave)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups diced onions, divided

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (more if you'd like)

2 cups farro

1 bunch asparagus, cleaned, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves (use lemon thyme if you can find it; BTW,  it's easy to grow)

1 lb shelled English peas

1/4 cup half & half (highly recommend local, organic Straus Family)

1/2 cup goat gouda

Sea salt & pepperr to taste

• Bring broth to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer. (A boil is a belly laugh; a simmer is a giggle.)
• Bring a separate pot of water to boil.
• In a large, deep-sided skillet heat butter and oilve oil.
• Add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes until translucent and beginning to soften.
• Add garlic and saute an additional minute, stirring constantly.
• Add farro and stir to coat all grains.  Continue toasting grains for 1-2 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of broth and stir, stir stir.
• Once liquid has evaporated, add another cup of broth and continue stirring constantly.
• Repeat process until farro is soft, about 30-45 minutes.  (Taste the texture after 30 minutes; farro should be softened, like al dente pasta.)
• While farro is cooking place asparagus in boiling water and cook 2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold water. 
• When farroto is near done, add white wine vinegar.  Taste and add more if necessary.
• Add remaining 1/2 cup diced onoin, lemon zest, thyme, asparagus and peas stirring to combine.
• Add half & half and cheese, stirring to combine.
• Season to taste with salt & pepper. 

You'll thank me even more now!  And go ahead, thank Tom, too.

Everyday Paella....any way you like it

I often tell people in my cooking classes that I love to cook, but I don't necessarily like to spend a lot of time doing it. That may have a little something to do with the fact that I also really love to EAT....get it into my belly now! So I work at creating dishes that are delcious and healthy, but also can be made quickly.  Paella is not one of them (it takes about an hour to prep and cook), but DANG is it good!  And because it's packed with veggies, rice, beans, and great proteins, it's all you really need to fix for dinner.  The ultimate one pot meal.

There are as many different versions of paella as there are cooks.  You can go from a completely vegetarian version all the way up to the traditional with pork, chicken, seafood and shellfish version.  The one constant is rice.  Any medium or short grain rice is acceptable; they absorb the liquid better than long grain rice.  That being said, I am partial to brown rice, but it takes quite a while to cook, so my preferred rice when making paella is arborio.  It will cook within 35 minutes and also creates a creamy texture, a bit like risotto.

Spring is my favorite season for paella, bacause I like to add asparagus, sugar snap peas and even fava beans to the mix.  This recipe doesn't include fava beans, because they need a bit of explanation....but I'll explain it here.  If you buy fava beans from the farmers' market early in the season (like now), they are very tender inside and only require a quick 3 minute blanching in boiling water.  Then cool and peel the skin away to reveal the tender bean inside.  People are under the impression that they are "hard to work with" because when you buy them later in the season or at the grocery store, where you have no idea about the freshness, the bean inside gets a tough coating around them that requires and extra step to remove.  So if you see them at the farmers' market in the next month, buy them and try them.  I'll try to post my fava bean dip recipe soon for a great first-timer's experience.

But until then......

Spring Paella
Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cups arborio rice

1 can diced tomatoes, drained  (reserve liquid to use if necessary)

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon saffron

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup water

½  cup dry white wine

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans

1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1” pieces

 2 carrots, diced

2 Italian chicken sausages, casing removed and crumbled in bite sized peices

½ lb peeled & deveinded shrimp

1/3 cup fresh peas (or frozen)

Salt & pepper to tast

• Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
•  Add onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.Add rice and sauté 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, parsley, garlic, paprika, and saffron, stirring to combine.
• Add broth, water and wine and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add beans, asparagus and sausage.  Increase heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 15-20 more minutes, stirring often, until rice is tender.
• In the last few minutes add shrimp and peas.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This one is worth the extra time....make a biiiig batch!