Christmas in July

Posted on July 15, 2015 by makehastenotwaste

This is embarrassing.

I still have a Panettone I received as a holiday gift.

How terrible is that? For one, it’s an embarrassment of riches to be able to say “woe is me, I have extra cake/bread that I haven’t felt like eating!” This problem is not unique to me, as I confirmed from subsequent Googling. The part that makes it so embarrassing is that I have come to JULY without touching it.

At one point, the cake was tucked in a cubby of a shelf while the months ticked by. Oh, it wasn’t hidden from sight. Just from my apparent consciousness.

Now I’m determined. Cautiously excited. I’m not sure how wise it is to eat the cake so late, and I’m not sure if it would be accepted as a donation. I will justify using it by pointing out that the cake was labeled by someone to be good for about 5 months. What’s another 2.5?

I slowly removed it from the packaging, inspecting for decay. So far, so good.

The perfumey smell of fruitcake hit me as I removed the paper covering around the sides and bottom. Determination: good to go.

French toasts and bread puddings are the top ways to use this sweet, cake-like bread studded with dried fruit. Since I love soaking bread until it becomes a custard consistency, I’m all for it. But with whom am I going to share a large, rich casserole any time soon? To my delight, PJ Hamel’s blog and recipe came up in my searches. It transforms the cake into the form of moist bread loaves, a much more convenient way to keep (i.e. freeze) and share!

The original recipe calls for 9 to 10 cups of diced bread. The full cake totalled about 13 cups for me, so I scaled the recipe accordingly.

Panettone Bread Pudding Loaf
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

4 large eggs
2 2/3 Cups of some combination of milk and cream (I used 2 Cups skim milk and 2/3 Cup heavy cream)
1/4 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 panettone or about 13 Cups panettone or other bread, diced into 1″ cubes
about 1 1/4 Cup fresh lemon curd, split (recipe below-prepare ahead of time to allow for chilling, or purchase pre-made)
coarse sparkling sugar, for sprinkling on top; optional

Microwave Lemon Curd Recipe
Also from King Arthur Flour
Makes at least 2 Cups (more than needed; feel free to halve the recipe, if preferred)

1 Cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted
2 large eggs

I ended up using 2 large and 3 small lemons to reach 1 Cup of freshly squeezed juice.

In a large microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, melt the butter. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.

Place bowl in microwave and cook in 1-minute increments. After each minute, remove from the microwave and stir to combine.

The curd is done when it is thickening and coating the back of the spoon. Or, when it reaches 185°F – the instant-read thermometer is your friend!

Mine took about 6 minutes to reach 185, but after 3 minutes some of the egg already cooked! Straining is required in this case. I happen to notice my new pasta scoop might have the right size holes for simply scooping out the solids–and it was!

Stir, transfer to a container, and refrigerate (or freeze, if in a rush) until firm.

On to the bread pudding!

Prep your bread by cutting or tearing into pieces.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, dairy, and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the bread and stir. Allow the bread to absorb much of liquid-anywhere from 30 minutes to, in my case, 90+ minutes.

When the soaked bread and curd is ready, preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter up some loaf pans.

Mix the soaked bread some more, and then scoop 1/4 of it into each pan. Plop a heaping 1/2 Cup of lemon curd on top of that layer.

Cover with the rest of the bread/custard.

Now more fun stuff: the recipe calls for sprinkling with white sparkling sugar. It makes me laugh how out of season this is!

Put the pudding loaves in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top becomes golden brown.

Allow to rest and cool at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour.

Another reason why the title of this post is so appropriate: one of my go-to loaf pans has this festive design!

Slice the loaf and top each slice with a little sifted confectioners’ sugar, for good measure.

The verdict? Delicious. The lemon curd adds some nice freshness to counteract the intensity of the dried fruit. The richness of the dessert goes a long way. The recipe author suggests serving the pudding with some less-sweet vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. To me, it begged for an espresso or coffee or black tea on the side.

Now I just need some classy holiday dinner party guests. Are you in?

I decided to commemorate my “Christmas in July” in yet another way: dropping off donations to the Salvation Army. It was probably around the holidays that I last dropped off my extensive collection of rejected clothing and shoes.

The cat sitting on the sweatshirt? That’s Riley. I didn’t give her away.

The piles were doing no good in my closet. Here’s hoping they find a good home!

Everything Beer Cheese Bread and Beer Poached Shrimp with Fennel

Posted on August 20, 2014 by makehastenotwaste

I’m not always great with decisions. Ceramic, porcelain or stone tile for the bathroom floor? Buy the 2 year or 5 year extended warranty? What color fireplace stone and curtains will match our current living room? Should I get a green or a blue sweater; which do I have more of in my closet? Should I spend the next 45 minutes of free time cleaning the kitchen floor or filing the office receipts?

You can imagine that restaurant ordering presents a challenge for me. The worst (or best) example of a paralyzing menu is from Shopsin’s, known for a menu like none other. Ooh boy, I feel a twinge of anxiety coming. Can’t I have an extra stomach, available to access on the special occasions when I know I’ll never again get the chance to taste this particular preparation of food? I like to believe that my difficulties stem from some kind of advanced analytical ability, i.e. my brain is processing the complexities of the situation and considering all angles before reaching the best conclusion (not likely). The problem is, most of the time the choice is no big deal! Take my cooking choices: these are by no means life or death. Yet there are times I wish someone else would tell me, outright, exactly what to do with ingredient X, Y, Z.

That’s how I was feeling last week when I put a query out on Facebook, asking what to do with the leftover beer cans in our fridge.

I explained that I had no intention of drinking the beer plain, now six months past its purchase date (as if I ever choose to drink it “fresh”). I expected to catch a little more flack, since it sounds a bit snobbish. Indeed, I came home last Friday to find that my father, who was visiting for the weekend, had cracked one open to sample. My dad is no elitist. Born on a farm during the Great Depression, I can always count on him to check food for spoilage–allowing great leeway, of course. He consumes leftovers with a gusto. In other words, he’s great to have around.

People were quick to respond to my poll. Beer batter, fondue, brats, soup, and “target practice” were among the answers. The most popular idea, by far, was beer can chicken. Beer chicken wasn’t something I was tempted to make at the time, but the idea of using beer to cook shellfish was spot-on. Also, the runner-up response, beer bread, caught my eye. I knew adding cheese was an option. In fact, I could really add anything to the bread that pairs well with beer, which meant tapping into the CSA vegetable share. An oniony, starchy, gooey, boozy concoction was on its way.

In case you’re counting, six cans remained after my Dad’s refreshment. Two cans went into dinner on Saturday night, for Beer Cheese Bread with Everything Bagel Topping and Warm Beer Poached Shrimp and Fennel Salad. Two recipes for the price of one in this week’s post!

Beer Poached Shrimp and Fennel Salad
From Bryan Miller in The New York Times

Vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon fresh dill or fennel fronds, chopped
1½ teaspoons mustard, preferably spicy
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Poached Shrimp:
12 ounces of light beer
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
5 sprigs fresh dill or a combination of dill and fennel fronds
1 pound shrimp, peeled
Salt and pepper, to taste

Fennel, etc.:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 fennel bulbs, cored, sliced thin and cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
Additional dill or fennel fronds for garnish

Prepare vinaigrette. You will need to adjust seasoning according to your mustard. I used a combination of Dijon and coarse stone-ground mustard, enhanced with a touch of pepper. Fennel fronds made up a good portion of the herbs for my vinaigrette. I should have had plenty of dill, since I planted it in my garden this spring, but it went mostly to seed before I got the chance to use it!

In a deep saucepan (with lid reserved), pour beer and add garlic, dill sprigs/fennel fronds, and some salt and pepper. At medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil before lowering the heat and allowing it to simmer for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, take a separate skillet/saute pan and heat the olive over medium heat. Stir in your bite-sized fennel pieces and cook until they are starting to soften. Remove from stove. You can place the fennel on the serving plate, but keep warm.

In the saucepan with the beer, drop the shrimp. Turn heat up, cover with lid and cook for about a minute. Turn off heat and remove lid.

Use a slotted spoon to remove and drain the shrimp. Arrange shrimp over the fennel. Pour vinaigrette over the salad and add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with fresh dill or fennel fronds.

The quantity shown here is a scaled down portion of the full recipe.

As I mentioned earlier, the beer cheese bread recipe is highly adaptable. The recipe on myrecipes.com includes several suggestions. I used shallots and scallions because I had some, already pre-chopped from other recipes. The scallions got me thinking of my favorite bagel spread, scallion cream cheese, which got me thinking about bagels, which reminded me of the Everything Bagel Topping I purchased from good ol’ King Arthur Flour. Of course, you can replicate everything bagel topping with the requisite individual ingredients of onion, sesame, poppy seed, garlic and salt. I thought all of this would pair well with cheddar cheese, a type I always have on hand, in place of the Monterey Jack cheese specified in the original recipe. What a delicious brainstorm. I imagine being asked at a restaurant if I would like something from the beer, cheese, or bread section of the menu. Easy answer: “Yes, please.”

Beer Cheese Bread with Everything Bagel Topping
Adapted from Cooking Light’s recipe on myrecipes.com

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 Cup shallot, finely chopped
1/4 Cup scallions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 Cups)
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Cup (4 ounces) cheddar cheese, shredded
12 ounces bottle light lager beer
Cooking spray
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2-3 Tablespoons Everything Bagel topping

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a small skillet set on medium-low, heat the olive oil. Add shallots and green onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to caramelize (about 7 minutes).

Add pepper and garlic, stir to incorporate for 1 minute.

Measure flour and combine with sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry mixture for adding the onion mixture, cheese, and beer. Stir to moisten the batter completely. Lumps are OK.

Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter in and drizzle 1 Tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle with the everything bagel topping.

Bake at 375° for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. After about 30 minutes, you could drizzle additional butter on top.

Pay no attention to the beat-up oven mitts!

Cool for a few minutes, and then turn loaf out of pan to cool completely. I took my bread out of the oven a little early, so it was still very moist in the center. This gave it a deliciously tender, cake-like quality. If you want it more toasty, leave it in longer.

It’s hard to resist this bread, even under-done.

Try your best not to consume the whole loaf right away. As expected, it makes a wonderful breakfast. Haven’t you always wanted to have beer for breakfast? Breakfast of champions. Enjoy!

Tuscan Soup

Posted on May 1, 2014 by makehastenotwaste

It has been two weeks since we returned from our vacation to Italy and France, and I haven’t yet recovered from withdrawal. I long to return to days of wandering through historic cities in the spring sunshine. The jet lag lasted about five days before dissipating, but these cravings have lingered.

Italy was a feast. My main impression of the food is that people love meat, based on the abundance of meats we tried and encountered. Cured meats and sausage and porchetta. Yes, there was some excellent pasta (mostly enjoyed in a meat sauce), one excellent roasted shrimp “secondi” and two times I ordered a market-fresh (but not necessarily stellar) Mediterranean fish. I should have sought out vegetables more often. In Florence, I enjoyed one outstanding, flavorful chickpea soup, where some of the chickpeas had been blended to create a thickened, creamy base. Sadly, it was served at a restaurant where there service was so poor that I left fuming–we were treated almost as if we were invisible. Later that week, I had a lentil soup as part of a no-nonsense, prixe-fixe lunch at a restaurant frequented by locals, and it was terribly bland and uninteresting–clearly reflecting its place as part of a “value” lunch.

I don’t want to sound unimpressed with the trip; we loved the vibe of Italy, and savored numerous inspiring dishes. Here’s a small sample of our photos. Hover your mouse over each picture and click to view full captions.

Treats from the family-run bakery that uses no butter and has a giant oven that cookies run through on a conveyor belt.

Fresh Italian cheese at the Travesterre neighborhood food tour’s first stop.

An oven run on hazelnuts shells.

100% authentic gelato, we were told. We even tried one that was beer-flavored–pretty good!

We never knew porchetta could be so good.

Wine and fresh pasta sampled at lunch in Rome.

Truffles and a runny yolk made this a fantastic appetizer at a French-Italian restaurant in Florence.

Enjoying a taste on our Chianti wine tour, in Tuscany.

Lunch appetizers at a famous butcher on our Tuscany tour. Yes, that’s lard in the forefront.

It was rather timely to come across this Tuscan vegetable-based soup recipe last week, on the website Blue Apron, a grocery subscription service. The less fortunate part was that I couldn’t find toscano (also known as lacinato) kale! Tuscan kale is darker green and flatter, without the curly edges, and I really wanted to use it. After trying four stores, I resigned myself to a fact I already knew, that toscano kale is woefully out of season here right now, so I shouldn’t be using it anyway! Regular kale it is.

I will admit that a big part of the recipe’s draw for me was the soft-boiled egg on top–I am such a sucker for a runny egg. Drool. On a side note, is there anything more disappointing in life than when you expect the egg yolk you are being served at a restaurant will be runny and it’s not?

I have made poached eggs many times (they don’t always turn out great) but for some reason, I never made soft-boiled an egg. What an epiphany! It’s a much less messy-and still healthy-way to enjoy the liquid yolk.

Tuscan Ribollita Soup with Soft Boiled Egg
From Blue Apron
2-4 servings

Part 1 ingredients:
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste

Part 2 ingredients:
about 8 ounces kale (any type)
1 14.5 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3.5 Cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Part 3 ingredients:
2 slices sourdough bread, or 1 large sourdough roll, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 Cup parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs (or more for additional servings)
salt and pepper to taste

The reason I divided the ingredients into three parts is that you can use your time more efficiently by prepping the ingredients for each part while the previous set of ingredients are cooking. I did all my mise en place at first, which took quite some time, and then I was less occupied during the cooking stages. One could do dishes during those down times, of course.

Firstly, take your eggs out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. Perhaps you are one of those lucky ones who has such fresh eggs you don’t need to refrigerate them in the first place? I envy you. Fill a small saucepan with some water and a pinch of salt and set aside for later.

In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until softened. Add carrots and a little bit of salt and pepper. Cook the mixture for a few minutes, until the carrots have softened.

Put the small saucepan over heat so it comes to a boil.

To your large pot, add all of the Part 2 ingredients (beans, diced tomatoes, kale, vegetable broth, and crushed red pepper flakes).

See why you need a large pot?

Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, smelling and tasting to see if the flavors have come together enough for your liking.

Add the bread cubes, half the parsley, and half of the Parmesan cheese to the soup and stir.

If you feel there is not enough liquid, it is fine to add a little water (especially if you are using a rich vegetable stock). Let the soup cook, without stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until thickened. Add even more salt and pepper to taste!

While the soup is simmering, gently place the eggs in the saucepan of boiling water. Cook for exactly 5 minutes. Have a small bowl of cold water ready, and transfer the eggs into the bowl with a slotted spoon. Then run the eggs under more cold water for 30 seconds. Gently peel the eggs (be careful) and set aside.

Fill two bowls with soup and place one soft-boiled egg in each. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

That’s what I’m talking about!

Harvest Muffins

Posted on November 9, 2013 by makehastenotwaste

Time to get grating.

Last week was as big one for the CSA harvest, plus I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of things at a farmer’s market I was passing, so it has been a busy time of cooking and eating and trying to keep up. No ordering lunch for this gal! It has been delicious though. There was a modified sweet potato shepherd’s pie made using leftover barbecue pulled pork my sister made for a family function and sent me home with. I made scallion pancakes, butternut squash parsley penne, and slightly spicy coconut chicken bok choy soup, the latter of which went really well with an ice cold lager beer home alone watching Dancing with the Stars (I’ve accepted my occasional loneliness while my husband has volunteer fire department responsibilities).

When it looked like my meals were already covered for the rest of the week, I knew I had to take precautions against food spoilage. Fortunately Melissa Clark came to my aid. Well, SHE didn’t actually COME to my side and counsel me, but how cool would it be for her make a video in my kitchen? I came across her harvest muffin recipe.

This recipe reminds me a little bit of the sourdough carrot cake recipe from August, which led me to King Arthur Flour’s “Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake” recipe. Muffins are easier, since they can be individually frozen and thawed as desired.

Harvest Muffins
From The New York Times

1 1/8 Cups (140 grams) whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 Cup olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 Cup (70 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1 small apple, grated, and juices reserved (1/2 cup)
1/2 Cup grated carrots (or butternut squash or parsnips)
1/2 Cup grated beets (or zucchini)
1/3 Cup (55 grams) raisins
1/2 Cup (40 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut

A note on the inclusion of grams on the ingredient list above–it is a true a time saver to be able to use the kitchen scale instead of pulling out the different measuring cups and leveling them off.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins, either mini or regular. Prepare ingredients:

I ended up using a little more than 1/2 Cup of the carrots and beets.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

To a large bowl, add the grated apple and juices and grated vegetables, eggs, olive oil, honey, and brown sugar.

Combine.

Lovely!

Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the raisins and coconut.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way up.

It is hard to tell what is 3/4 of the way filled. These muffins aren’t huge risers, so it wasn’t a problem.

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes for mini-muffins and about 20 to 22 minutes for regular muffins.

8 minutes in–we’re halfway there!

When an inserted toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are ready to be enjoyed.

I know you’re wondering–the answer is yes, the muffins do taste a little like beets. You get the beet flavor when you first take a bite, but then it fades into the straightforward sweet taste you would find in any zucchini, apple, or banana bread. I will be enjoying these now until Thanksgiving!

Taking ramps and getting on the bandwagon

Posted on May 7, 2013 by makehastenotwaste

Have you heard the rage about ramps? Those bunches of mildly pungent spring onions that pop out for a short time, to the delight of foodies? It has been called a “Mania” by more than one source, with Eater and Grub Street tracking the appearance of ramps on restaurant menus. My interest was first piqued this spring 2013 either when I came across the ad for Ramp Fest in Hudson, NY (decided it would be wasteful to drive through NYC-area traffic, by myself, to partake), or when I saw Smitten Kitchen’s latest post. I had never cooked ramps, but I was pretty sure I had eaten them before, in a restaurant dish (apparently chefs hoard them).

I learned that my friend Kelly is part of this cult. We were attending a mushroom-themed lecture and dinner, organized by our Cornell alma mater, when she brought up ramps, so I suppose that makes sense. She asked if I had had some yet this year. I lamented about western Long Island’s lack of good spring farmer’s markets, and told her I had not once seen them in ANY of my local grocery stores, but I didn’t feel the need to go out of my way when there are so many other vegetables to make use of. Then she offered to get me some, at the farmer’s market she walks by on her way to work at Columbia. Now was my chance! Who knows how long they will last?! I suggested we cook them together at her place that weekend.

Of course, I wanted to use the ramps at LEAST two ways. So here it goes.

Chimichurri Ramps Bread with Lemon Thyme Butter
discovered through Pinterest, on vegetarianadventures.com

Chimichurri:
1 bunch of ramps (about 10 stalks)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 red pepper flakes
dash of pepper

For the bread:
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup parmesan, shredded (apparently optional! Since we forgot to add it and it was still delicious)

For the butter:
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 heaping teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
Half of a lemon’s worth of zest – wash lemon well to remove any wax

To make the bread: Combine the warm water and yeast in the large mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes or until it becomes frothy. Add in the flours, salt, and olive oil and mix until combined. Knead dough in a stand mixer with hook attachment until smooth and elastic. If you don’t have a mixer, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for ten minutes. If you are at Kelly and Kevin’s house, this floured surface is their cleaned off dining table. Hey, it worked! Transfer kneaded dough to an oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for an hour.

While the bread is rising, make the butter: mash the lemon zest, softened butter, and thyme together. Depending on much your butter softened, wrap in parchment paper and place in the fridge until firm.

And make the chimmichurri: Rinse the ramps and cut off the roots and any rough tips. Slice into big chunks. Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) until a smooth paste forms. Taste for additional seasoning, and try not to eat it all right out of the container.

Next, turn the dough out onto floured surface and roll into a rectangle, about 18 by 12 inches. Top with the chimichurri. At this point, you could add half of the shredded parmesan cheese too.

Roll the long side of the dough towards you (jelly roll style, like you would for roulades or cinnamon rolls) and pinch the ends closed.

This next instruction is a little messy: slice down the middle lengthwise, twist both pieces, and use the two parts to bread the bread by twirling around each other. (When I first saw this instruction, I pictured disaster. But with Kelly’s encouragement, I managed to keep most of the filling inside).

Transfer to a greased baking sheet…

This whopper required four hands.

and let rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. Add the rest of the shredded Parmesan, and bake for roughly 25 minutes or until golden on top.

Ramp Risotto
via NYMag.com
Serves: 4

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ramps
1 small shallot, ﬁnely chopped
Pinch of red-pepper ﬂakes
1 cup arborio or other fancy risotto rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth, simmering in separate pot on stove
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Kosher salt to taste

In a wide, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Finely chop ramp greens and stalks, reserving greens for later.

Kelly’s husband Kevin working the slice.

Add shallot, ramp stalks, and pepper ﬂakes, and stir until the shallot is translucent, about two minutes.

Add rice to pot and cook over medium heat for two minutes, stirring to coat rice with oil. Pour in 1/4 cup of the wine and boil until almost absorbed. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot broth at a time, stirring the rice constantly until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Add another 1/4 cup of stock, the remaining wine, and a tablespoon of olive oil, continuing to stir.

Add the ramp greens and more stock as needed and continue cooking and stirring until the risotto looks creamy but is still al dente, about 18 to 22 minutes.

Remove from heat and let the risotto stand for about 30 seconds. Add a drizzle of olive oil, butter, and cheese; stir until well combined. Season with salt.

What a ramptastic meal!

In the end, I can understand the obsession with ramps. They are lovely. Their roots have a stronger flavor than leeks, more subtle than green onions, and more complex than yellow onions, with a slight flavor of garlic. And they are so easy to prepare! In spite of the fact that I have gotten pretty good at dicing onions, I don’t always enjoy the mess it makes with the little pieces going everywhere. The leaves wilt nicely too, retaining a bright green punch. If you like the idea of these recipes but can’t find ramps (surprise surprise) I will share Smitten Kitchen Deb’s suggestion of using a combination of green onions and a few spinach leaves, some pretty standard ingredients to have hanging around (or growing in a garden later in the summer). I’ll have to try this someday soon and let you know how it goes!

Kelly and me

An effort to make efficient use of every last drop, stem, crumb, and moment.

Category Archives: Bread