Minted Fresh Pea Soup with Asiago Hazelnut Biscotti

I went to see Bobby Flay perform this spring. Now, I'm not really one for the grandstanding celebrity chefs (preferring instead the ones who make me feel like I've just been invited to dinner - Giada DiLaurentiis, Ina Garten, and Nigella Lawson, for example) but Bobby Flay was coming to Niagara Falls and I could get tickets. The presentation was fun to watch and I had a great time giggling in the audience while elbowing my friend Paul on one side and my mother on the other side.

I didn't walk away with a whole lot though. It was really more about the show than the cooking, which is fine, but I was there for the cooking. The one thing I walked away with was the inspiration provided by a pea sauce that Flay made for lamb chops.

This soup is made from frozen peas. In the middle of pea season. Sounds silly, I know, but frozen peas are just easier to work with. The flavor is no less spring-like because the peas came from a bag, in fact, I can be sure that they were picked and frozen during the peak of the pea season, yielding the sweetest peas available. In addition, you won't have to spend hours shelling peas to get enough to make this soup and they are available year-round for your pea soup pleasure.

Bobby Flay went for a basil flavor in the soup, but I decided to nod toward the English with a minted pea soup. This is truly one of the most refreshing soups I have had. It is great both cold and hot. Drizzled with buttermilk, it is downright gorgeous, looking and smelling like the essence of Spring.

I really appreciate pureed vegetable soups for their intensity of flavor, but sometimes I crave another texture in there to mix things up a bit. For this, I created a savory biscotti. Biscotti are dunking cookies, which is perfect for a soup buddy. This one has a fairly mild cheesy flavor with hazelnuts, which are a soft nutty compliment to the green flavors of pea and mint.


Minted Fresh Pea Soup with Asiago Hazelnut Biscotti

Soup
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped leek
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 lb frozen peas*
2 Tablespoons mint leaves
1/2 cup buttermilk

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the leek. Cook until limp but not browned. Add vegetable broth, water, and peas. Bring to a soft boil and cook about 5 minutes or until the peas are heated through. Add the mint and buttermilk. Add liquid if necessary to reach the desired consistency

Puree in a blender until very smooth. If you would like a perfectly smooth soup, run it through a medium seive. I prefer mine with the occasional chunk.

(serves 6-8)


Biscotti
1 cup grated asiago cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, beat cheese and butter until the butter is lightened. Add eggs, incorporate completely and stir in hazelnuts.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine completely. It may be necessary to use your hands to fully incorporate the flour.

Split the dough in half. Form each half into a log that measures about 5 inches wide. Place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment.

Bake 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife and a very gentle sawing motion, cut the logs on a diagonal into 3/4 inch slices. Return these slices to the cookie sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes. These may be baked more or less depending on the desired crispness.

(makes 16)

*If you can get them and are willing to shell them, fresh peas will work beautifully as well.

Poached Egg with Asparagus and Mushrooms on Goat Cheese Toast

At the farmers' market this weekend I found what is bound to be the last of the asparagus for the season. When I actually bother to follow the seasons of my favorite vegetables and not just resort to the version that comes from California, I'm struck by the fleeting season of each variety. There are only a precious couple of weeks when I can devise new uses for asparagus, strawberries, sugar snap peas, arugula and radishes (although new uses for radishes has been a bit difficult - tea sandwiches, anyone?)

There is no prayer of getting most of the local produce at the grocery store (this is where my beloved Wegmans begins to let me down) so the pressure is on at the market on Saturday morning. I need to buy enough of everything that I can fully experiment without letting my eyes be bigger than my tummy. The only thing sadder than not getting enough produce is getting so much that it winds up going bad before it can be used.

This recipe is a wonderful combination of simple farm-fresh flavors that makes a great brunch and an even better weeknight dinner. Asparagus is a regal, beautiful vegetable that has always been special and beloved in my house. It can dress up any meal. The egg, on the other hand, is simple, casual, and messy. Eggs for dinner, like any breakfast for dinner, feels like cheating; a defiance of convention that just reinforces my ability to make my own decisions as an adult.

For Mike and me I cook three eggs, one for me and two for him. This is a great dinner for two. There is no advantage to making this in quantity, it doesn't keep and it isn't any easier. In addition, you should eat it with someone who already loves you, because it is quite a mess.


Poached Egg with Asparagus and Mushrooms on Goat Cheese Toast

As with any simple dish, be certain that you find the best ingredients available to you. A fresh egg is vital because the white will hold together well while poaching; an old egg will result in egg white all over the pan.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 quart mushrooms, button or baby bella, sliced
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon white vinegar
2 eggs

1 bunch asparagus
1 Tablespoon olive oil
sea salt

2 slices good quality bread, ciabatta, baguette sliced lengthwise or any other variety that appeals to you, toasted
2 oz (half a small log) soft goat cheese

Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a medium fry pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with sea salt, and cook, stirring very occasionally until browned and soft and the liquid is evaporated. Add the garlic, cook for one minute more until the smell of the garlic blooms. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until evaporated, about another minute.

In a broiler pan, roll the asparagus in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and broil about 4 minutes. Turn the oven down to 425 F and cook until tender, about 8 more minutes.

Fill a small pan 1-1/2 inches deep with water, add the vinegar and bring to a low boil. Add eggs carefully without breaking the yolks and cook at a simmer until the tops of the eggs become white but the yolk is still very runny.

To assemble: Spread the toast with the goat cheese, top with asparagus and mushrooms. Balance the eggs right on top.

(Serves 2)

Lemon Berry Meringues

When I was a little girl, my parents threw huge exciting parties in the summer. My mother must have had some sort of intimate relationship with the weather Gods, because we never had a drop of rain on the night of their parties, fortunate since there were far too many people having much too much fun to move them inside. I was always allowed to attend the beginning of the parties before I was sent over to spend the night at my grandmother's house next door to listen to the sounds of the band, the laughter, and the merriment from right next door until I finally drifted off to sleep.

The parties were never catered. There was a small arsenal of recipes that my mother still has that require only a fork so people aren't trying to cut with their plates on their laps. My mother always made meringues filled with chocolate mousse for these occasions. She would craft the meringues in the shape of shallow little bowls and fill them with a generous portion of the spiked chocolate concoction. This recipe is a variation on that favorite dessert, one that takes advantage of the spring berry crop and lemon curd, one of my favorite sweet-tart treats.

Now that it is spring and we haven't hit the hot, humid days of summer, it is the perfect time to make meringues. I'm not kidding when I say it has to be dry out when you make these. If it is a humid day, the result of this recipe will make you think you turned to the page for "chewing gum" by mistake. If it is dry enough and you have the patience to leave them in the oven for a long time, they will be light as air and blissfully sweet and crunchy.

There are two different kinds of meringue. Both have the exact same ingredients, yet the results are not at all alike. The first is Italian meringue. This is what you find on top of a lemon meringue pie. This meringue is made by whipping up your egg whites and pouring a boiling hot syrup over them while still whisking the mixture. The whites are cooked by the hot sugar syrup and the mixture remains spongy and soft. French meringue, by contrast,incorporates all the ingredients while they are still cold. Then they are baked in a very low oven for a long time, drying them out to be crispy, crunchy and light. It is the French meringue that makes a great base for these desserts.

There are a couple of keys to making this dessert successfully. First, your bowl and beaters must be really clean. If they are already clean, wash them again. Any oil or fat will cause the eggs to revolt. They simply will not whip up and it is the whipped eggs that make the meringue. Second, have the eggs at room temperature.

Third, following the the oil or fat preventing your eggs from whipping, be certain that there is no yolk in the egg whites. If you are new to separating eggs, try separating the whites into a small bowl and adding that white to the larger bowl once you have successfully accomplished the separation. If you are really bad at this, plan on a scrambled egg meal immediately following the meringue making process! I find it much easier to separate eggs with my hands, letting the whites slip between my fingers while the yolk stays in my hand. The shells just have too many sharp edges for the yolk to get caught on.

The other divine component of this dessert is lemon curd. This curd has a lovely tart flavor that isn't too sweet, a beautiful foil for the sugary meringue. The marriage of lemon and berries is also a favorite of mine. Lemon curd is really easy to make as long as it is cooked really slowly. If you cook it too quickly the egg will scramble, and while the flavor will still be great, the texture of lemon flavored scrambled eggs leaves a bit to be desired.

All that said, this is not at all difficult to make and results in a simple, beautiful, and wonderfully tasty dessert.

Lemon Berry Meringues

This recipe makes 12 meringues, but only enough lemon curd to fill about 8 of them. We like to keep the extra meringues around for nibbling or in the case of one breaking.

Meringue Cups

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar*

1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 225 F

Combine the egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a clean copper or stainless steel bowl. Beat using a hand beaters or a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar to the mixture one tablespoon at a time while still beating. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

On parchment lined cookie sheets, form 12 meringue bowls by dropping the meringue onto the sheet and making an indentation with the back of a spoon. If you are handy with a pastry bag, feel free to pipe your meringue into little bowl shapes.

Bake for two hours. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven about 8 hours or overnight. If you are concerned about humidity, leave the meringues in the oven with the oven light on.

Lemon Curd (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

grated zest of one organic lemon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (make sure there are no seeds)

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Whisk vigorously until the mixture lightens in color a bit. Add the lemon juice and butter and cook, whisking constantly, over low heat until the mixture simmers for a minute or two and thickens a bit. Remove from the heat.

You can strain the mixture through a sieve at this point if you would like to remove the lemon zest. I chose to leave the zest in. Stir in the vanilla.

Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate.

To Assemble

2 cups mixed berries, picked over

1/4 cup creme de cassis (optional)

Fill the meringues will the chilled lemon curd. Top each with 1/4 cup berries and a mint leaf to garnish. If you want to make the berries a bit more special, soak them in cremede cassis (blackcurrant liquor) for about 15 minutes before assembly. This will look a bit more messy, but will taste absolutely divine.

(Serves 8)

* Cream of tartar helps the beaten eggs hold their shape. If you are using a copper bowl (you lucky devil!) you can omit the cream of tartar. My mother does both. I think it is her version of a meringue insurance policy!

Ginger Carrot Soup with Cashews

I love to find a recipe that I would never have come up with myself. This is a perfect example. I found this in the new printing of the original cookbook from the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY. Moosewood is an institution. It has been there for longer than most restaurants even dream of being in existence and it is completely vegetarian, as are all of the cookbooks. They celebrate vegetables, grains, and even dairy and eggs, but not meat.

Now don't get me wrong here. I love meat. I love meat almost as much as I love cake. But I also know that meat is often treated with hormones and antibiotics, which I'm not wild about putting in my body, and it is expensive to get meat that isn't treated. We resort to some egg meals like quiche or frittata, but sometimes it is nice to have some good vegetarian options that stand all on their own. This is one of those. It is actually a vegan recipe, lactose and gluten free. What is in it, you may ask. All good things. Fresh carrots and ginger, toasted cashews, and a combination of spices that I would never have devised.

This soup is a nutritional powerhouse too. Enough beta carotene to make your head spin (night vision, anyone?) and protein and good fat from the cashews. This is a great option for a dinner on a cool night with a hearty salad to fill in the rest of your nutrients. (Or just go ahead and add a big crusty loaf of bread!) This soup is fine served cool, but I think the heat really brings out the nuttiness of the cashews. It is so smooth and rich in flavor, you would never know that there is no cream in this soup. In fact, the cashews somehow both thicken the soup and give it an incredible lightness at the same time. The result is sublime.

This soup also became a loyal lunchtime companion. It thickened up a bit in the fridge, but just a little water before I microwaved it at work made it just as good as when I first made it.


Carrot Ginger Soup with Cashews (adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook)

The spices in this recipe are vital to the flavor. Don't depend on the allspice that you bought in the mid-nineties. The Lexington Co-op and many other health-food type shops sell spices in bulk. Get only as much as you need.

2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups water

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon dried mint*

3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup toasted cashews

Place the carrots in a medium saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender (10-15 minutes)

Heat the olive oil in a small fry pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, salt, and spices. Lower the heat and continue to saute for another 8-10 minutes, until the onions are soft. Stir in lemon juice.

Combine the spice-onion mixture with the carrots and the cashews. Use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth.

(Serves 8-10)

* I couldn't find dried mint in bulk so I opened a mint tea bag and used the contents. Brilliant, I thought!