Asparagus and Potato Soup

On April 22nd we celebrate Earth Day.  Earth Day was founded in 1970 to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.  Part of celebrating Earth Day is cooking seasonally and buying locally.  This soup has no cream to thicken it, only the potato.  Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
One small bunch asparagus spears, bottoms removed, sliced 1/4-inch (about 1 cup)
4 cups vegetable stock (preferably organic)
1 medium-sized potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
1 sprig fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon jluice
Pince of ground white pepper
Pinch of salt
Croutons and/or asparagus tips for garnish

In a medium saucepan, warm olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add the shallots, garlic and salt.  Sweat vegetables on low heat until shallots are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add asparagus to saucepan and cook 5 minutes more. 

Add the vegetable stock, potatoes and tarragon.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat, discard the tarragon sprig.  Puree the soup in a blender, or use a stick blender in the pot.  If desired strain the soup through a large fine-mesh strainer to remove any remaining lumps.  Return the soup to the saucepan and rewarm.

Season the soup with a bit of lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste.  Garnish with croutons and/or asparagus tips.  Serve immediately.

This recipe makes 4 servings.

TIPS TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY

• Stop buying bottled water
• Cook at home more-eat out less
• Grow a garden
• Make your own lunch
• Use reuseable grocery bags
• Cook seasonally/but locally
• Use environmentally friendly cleaning products

White Bean Dip with Parsley Oil

With the spring season in bloom, so are my herbs.  One herb that is not common to most people is lovage.  It's a very large plant that has leaves that look like celery leaves, and tastes very much like it too.  It makes wonderful soup, but today I've used it in an oil to top a white bean dip. If you don't have access to lovage, use equal parts parsley leaves and celery leaves.

1 14.5 ounce can cannellini or other white bean, drained, reserving the liquid
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.  In a food processor, pulse the drained beans, garlic, fresh thyme until combined.  With the processor running, add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil.  Add some of the reserved bean liquid to smooth out the dip to desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a shallow serving bowl.

To make the parsley oil (or lovage oil), in a food processor pulse the leaves until finely chopped.  While the processor is running add the remaining oil and puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  You may serve it as is, or strain the oil before serving.

Make a well in the center of the dip with the back of a spoon.  Pour some of the parsley oil into the well and serve with pita chips or flatbread cut into wedges.

NOTE:  The bean dip and parsley oil can be made ahead and refrigerated separately for up to 2 days.  Bring to room temperature before serving.



Eat Well!

Pasta Primavera

The sun is shining and the air is warm, the daffodils and crocus' are all in bloom with the tulips not far behind.  It looks like spring outside, but how about at your table?  I love making this Pasta Primavera recipe because it LOOKS like spring!

Here's the ingredients:
8 ounces fettuccini (or any other pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 bunch asparagus, cut in 2-inch slices
1 cup shelled green peas (or frozen will work!)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toasted pine nuts for garnish (optional)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions.  While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft but not browned.  Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds, being careful not to brown.  Add the stock, cream, lemon zest and turn the heat up to high.  When it begins to boil, add the vegetables and cook until the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.  Turn off heat.

Drain the pasta (do not rinse) and add it back to the pot.  Pour in the sauce and mix to coat the pasta.  Add the lemon juice, basil, Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Toss again and serve immediately.

Garnish with toasted pine nuts.

There you go!  Springtime in a bowl!  Of course you can substitute many spring and summer veggies to your liking.

Eat Well!

Spring is here!

Sometimes you can't tell by the weather outside, but when you see your herbs poking out of the ground, you know spring has arrived!  I love springtime in my herb garden.  Even though it's a lot of work in the beginning of the season, you will reap great rewards all season long with flavorful herbs just outside your kitchen door.

Start by raking out all the leaves and sticks that have wintered over in your garden.  Next cut back the dead wood and stems from your herbs.  Here is my sage plant that is about 4 years old.  It's huge-but loves being cut back in the spring.

You will notice near the base of your plant new leaves sprouting.  This is where you want to cut back to.  Always cut ABOVE the lowest leaf sprouts.  This might seem like a drastic cut for your plant, but trust me, it will grow very fast once the weather warms up.

 

One of my favorite springtime herbs are chives.  They are usually the first to poke out of the snowy garden bed.  You don't need to do anything with them but clean out any debris that may be on top of the plant.  Soon you will be seeing flower buds among the slender spikes.  

 

Tarragon and oregano both grow up from the crown of the plant.  All last year's growth is dead, so cut all that back. You'll see the new leaves right on the ground.  They grow fact, so get those plants cleaned up as soon as you can.

The rewards of growing your own herbs is the bright, flavorful taste they bring to the food you prepare.  Nothing tastes better that the freshness of herbs.

Happy gardening!