Storage veggies, early spring delights dazzle
Though it will be a while before we welcome the new spears of asparagus and the first, sweetest strawberries, we can obtain a few items from the fresh/organic sections of local grocery stores, and enjoy spring’s new produce in great recipes. Too, ‘tween season treasures that have thrived in storage make for great dishes. Enjoy!
‘Tween season squash still holds forth as a great side dish. Blessed with a long storage life, your choices are many: Acorn, Sweet Dumpling, Butternut, and many more. My favorite guise however, is as savory bisque. This elegant recipe is fine enough for company and it lends itself to a variety of spices – from nutmeg to curry!
Squash Bisque
2 cups cooked, mashed squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium sweet onion, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced or finely grated candied or preserved ginger
1 cup vegetable broth (or your own)
½ bay leaf
1 cup half-and-half
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons crème fraiche, sour cream or whipped cream
Fresh thyme or sage sprigs
In saucepan, melt butter; sauté onion and ginger over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add squash, broth, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring until heated through. Add half and half and continue on simmer until heated through. If bisque seems too thick, thin it with a little more broth or half and half. Serve in bowls garnished with cream dollops accented with a sprinkle of curry, nutmeg, cinnamon and/or thyme sprigs or snipped sage leaves.
Asparagus has appeared on produce counters if not yet in the garden. Go for Organic options, and enjoy this old Gourmet Magazine recipe that I made “mine” a few years ago by substituting smoked salmon or lox for the thin-sliced cooked ham originally called for. (Mine’s the best).
Asparagus Cheese Melts
(serves 2 — enlarge as needed)
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (1 ½ ounces)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 pound med-thin asparagus, tough ends snapped off
4 slices Ciabatta or other Italian white bread
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ pound thin-sliced smoked salmon or lox. Preheat broiler. In small bowl stir together Parmesan and mayonnaise. Pare large ends of asparagus if necessary and cut to fit bread slices. Arrange asparagus in a buttered skillet large enough to hold it all in one layer. Add ½ inch salted water, cover and cook over moderately high heat 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain well in a colander.
Arrange bread on a baking sheet and butter top of each slice; broil about 6 inches from heat until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn bread over and arrange salmon on each slice, folding or trimming as necessary. Arrange asparagus on ham and spread with Parmesan/mayo mixture. Broil open-face sandwiches about 3 inches from heat until topping is golden and puffed, 1-2 minutes. Serve. Sensational!
Beets are another “tween” veggie, and my crisper still holds several of them, fresh as ever and ready for use. In tandem with all-season potatoes, they shine in this old recipe from the Norwegian side of my family. When making this from scratch, I cheat by using sweet pickle juice with my own cooked beets. You can simply use purchased pickled beets if you wish.
Scandinavian Beet
And Potato Salad
(8 servings)
1¾ pounds red potatoes, cooked, peeled, cooled, cut into ½ inch dice
2 16-ounce cans whole small pickled beets, drained, juices reserved, cut into ½ inch dice
2 cups finely chopped red onion
2 medium tart apples, peeled cut into ½-inch dice*
1 cup drained sliced bread and butter pickles, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons cane sugar
Pepper
Garnish: Drained capers; Chopped hard-boiled egg yolks; Chopped parsley; Sour cream as desired.
Place prepared cooled potatoes in large bowl. Add beets, onion, apples* and pickles. Mix ½ cup beet juice, vinegar, sugar and pepper in small bowl; pour over salad. Toss gently, season as needed with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. At serving time, taste salad for seasoning, adding more vinegar if needed. Mound on a large platter or shallow bowl and garnish top with capers surrounded with rings of egg and parsley. Serve with a bowl of sour cream on the side.
* I often omit the apples since I like the salad better without them.
Note: Many old-country Norwegians add chopped pickled herring to this traditional salad. Grandma Davidson would just have a bowl of it on the table (love that stuff!)
Tip: For a more simple offering, just toss the potatoes, beets and onion in a mayo-based dressing flavored with the beet juice. Use the remaining beet juice to pickle hard-cooked eggs for picnic treats!
When the rhubarb comes on, my favorite dessert becomes classic rhubarb oatmeal bars. You can serve these as a “cookie” or cut into larger squares to top with ice cream for a true springtime dessert.
Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars
1½ cups flour
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup firm packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
3 cups rhubarb sauce (thickened w/cornstarch if necessary)*
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Set oven to 375. Lightly grease 13x9-inch baking pan. In medium bowl combine first five ingredients (through salt). Add softened butter and stir with fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press half of mixture into bottom of greased pan. Spread rhubarb sauce evenly over crumb layer. Top with remaining crumbs, pressing gently to firm; sprinkle with walnuts. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and rhubarb is bubbly. Cool to room temperature before cutting.
* Rhubarb Sauce
3 cups diced rhubarb stalks
2½ Tb. cornstarch
¾ cup granulated cane sugar
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup water
2 Tb butter
Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water in heavy saucepan. Mix well, add rhubarb. Heat over high heat until thickening, then lower heat to med-high and boil, stirring constantly until thick and clear. Remove from heat, stir in butter.
Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns from the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com.