lentil soup with rhubarb and garlic scapes

This is a very simple and quick soup for utilizing what late spring in NYC has to offer. Rhubarb and garlic scapes are perfectly in season right now and both add a bright and dynamic flavor to an otherwise kind of bland, run-of-the-mill vegetarian soup. Garlic scapes are the curly green flower stalks of garlic bulbs and have an almost asparagus-like herbaceous taste without all the sting of raw garlic. I sauteed them in this recipe for a couple of minutes, which really mellows them out. The rhubarb also needs just a couple minutes of sauteing to bring out the lovely lemon zestiness of its stalk. 

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup red lentils (washed and picked through for any stones or non-edibles)
4 cups veggie broth
2 cups chopped rhubarb (one inch think pieces)
2 cups thinly sliced garlic scapes
sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or any herb you please- parsley or dill would go well too)

In a heavy stock pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add garlic scapes and rhubarb and a sprinkling of sea salt. Sautee for only a couple minutes and then add lentils and veggie broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir every once in a while to make sure lentils aren't sticking to bottom of pan. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Ladle into soup bowls and top with a good helping of chopped herbs and freshly ground pepper.

kale and mushroom risotto

Risotto can be time-consuming. It's not hard, you just have to be watchful. It involves adding a lot of water or broth. And lots of stirring. LOTS of stirring.  I opted for broth because it's much more flavorful. I added some thinly sliced dinosaur kale, shiitake mushrooms and a bit of red pepper flakes for color and kick.

1 cup uncooked arborio rice

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup of mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 cups dinosaur kale, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped onions

3 cups vegetable broth

sea salt and pepper

Saute onions in butter, add salt and cook until soft and translucent. Add kale and mushrooms and cook for about five minutes. Add rice, stirring for about two minutes. Stir in one cup of broth. Continue cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed. Gradually stir in remaining broth one cup at a time, cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup. Portion into bowls and top with cracked pepper and freshly grated parmesan. 

Yields approximately 3 cups cooked rice

beet tapenade with green lentils and sea salt

This is what I did with the leftover beet puree from the beet ice cream I made the other day. It has a lovely red-pink hue and tastes sweet and earthy complemented with the sea salt and peppery green lentils.

beet ice cream with mascarpone, orange zest and poppy seeds

Beets are bright red, earthy and sweet. And when roasted, have hints of chocolate and an almost nutty quality. This ice cream is extremely decadent considering it's made with a root vegetable. The salty mascarpone lends a hand in that, as does the heavy cream and whole milk. The orange zest cuts into the richness, while the poppy seeds give it a nice crunch. It's a bit labor-intensive, but super worth it if you want to try an ice cream  that is multi-layered and unusually satisfying. The recipe is adapted from this great ice cream book called "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home."

Makes about one quart

2 medium red beets
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon arrowroot
2 ounces (1/4 cup) mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Zest of one orange (use vegetable peeler to remove zest in large chunks)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wrap each beet in heavy foil. Bake until very soft, about one hour.
Let the beets cool slightly, then peel while still warm. Cut into chunks and puree in a food processor. Force the puree through a sieve. Combine 1/2 cup of the warm beet puree with the sugar (save extra beet puree for a tapenade or spread-just add sea salt and olive oil and slather on a good piece of bread- delicious!) Set aside to cool.
Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the arrowroot in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the mascarpone, beet puree, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and orange zest in a large 4 quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the arrowroot slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about one minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the mascarpone mixture and beets until smooth. Cool to room temperature, discard orange zest, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to really let the flavors meld.
Pour the ice cream mixture in a frozen ice cream maker canister. Add poppy seeds and spin until thick and creamy.
Pack ice cream in a storage container and freeze for at least four hours before serving. When ready to serve, sprinkle with a few poppy seeds for garnish. And enjoy!

sweet genius competitor

Last night I was a finalist on Food Network’s pastry competition reality show called Sweet Genius. I had auditioned back in November sort of as a joke and got a call back to participate in January-- much to my excitement and terror. I’ve never been on television before, nor have I ever cooked for a famous pastry chef that designs Martha Stewart wedding cakes. I was petrified. Cameras pointing at me in all directions while I finagle my way around a new kitchen. It’s also extremely unnerving to watch yourself on television, after the fact. Seeing my reactions to my own culinary blunders was especially frightening. Thankfully, the producers edited me well. I came across sweet—bittersweet – in fact. I talked a lot about my mom being sick and doing my best to make her proud. Her strong work ethic, her great baking skills, her humor, her resilience to fight this cancer. This post is for my awesome mom whom I can’t wait to see this weekend. I love you Moeder! 

I had a little viewing party in honor of my television debut and did a variation on the black bean cake I made on the show. This one is vegan and in cupcake form.  Black beans lend a really nice moisture and crumb to cakes. The earthy undertones accent the smoked paprika, cayenne and orange components really well. On top, I added a chocolate ganache, reduced raspberry syrup and roasted almonds with agave and sea salt.

Cupcakes:

2/3 cup canola oil

2 ½ cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 T grated orange zest

2 T orange juice

2 15 oz cans black beans (drained, rinsed and pureed)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ cup water (or more if batter appears dry)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Blend black beans in a food processor with the oil, sugar, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest, until smooth. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder until mixed. Fold wet mixture into the dry until incorporated. Fill cupcake tins two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove, and cool on rack.

Toppings:

Roast a ½ cup of almonds, slathered in agave, in oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, put a ¼ cup of frozen raspberries and 2 tablespoons of agave in a saucepan and reduce for about 10 minutes, or until syrupy. Finally, melt any dark chocolate bar in a double boiler. To assemble: dip cooled cupcakes in melted chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and raspberry reduction 

strawberry rhubarb thyme sorbet

It's the little things. The first rhubarb of the season makes me so happy and hopeful. And strawberries are finally arriving at the farmer's markets. Even though the weather is a bit blustery and cold out, this sorbet reminds me of sunny spring days ahead (and the unseasonably warm days before.) The thyme gives a really nice lemony taste that enhances the sweetness of the strawberry and rhubarb.

12 ounces rhubarb
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
10 ounces strawberries
1 teaspoon orange zest

Wash the rhubarb stalks and trim any bad bits. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the rhubarb, water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender and cooked through. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Slice the strawberries and puree them with the cooked rhubarb mixture and orange juice in a food processor until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

farmer's market caraway rye bread with honey lavender chevre

rich basil ice cream

This ice cream is amazing. I love the earthy and sweet herbaceous-ness of basil and the richness of the thick custard base. The mellow pale green color and flecks of basil really make this ice cream beautiful.

1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1 lemon

Using a small food processor or blender, grind the basil leaves with the sugar and one cup of the cream until the leaves are ground as fine as possible. Pour about half of the basil mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining one cup cream. Set a mesh strainer on top.

Warm the other half of the basil mixture in a medium saucepan along with the milk and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. (You can check the doneness with an instant-read thermometer; it should read between 170 degrees F and 175 degrees. Egg safety experts recommend cooking eggs to a minimum temp of 160 degrees, however don't let them get above 185 degrees, or you'll get scrambled eggs!) Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Zest the lemon directly into the custard. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge. It's best to refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Adapted from "The Perfect Scoop"

Roasted tomato tart with anchovies

This is the first time I'm posting a recipe that isn't vegetarian. It can easily be made vegetarian, but this time around I wanted to try something a little fishy. 

This crust recipe (or Pate Brisee as it's called if you're feeling fancy French) is a standard Martha Stewart recipe that is so straightforward and perfect. It always comes out flaky and buttery, like a salty shortbread. It's much easier using a food processor than a pastry blender. This recipe makes extra dough. So you can, in fact, make two 9-inch crusts. Or, I used a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and kept the extra dough for another tart. 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed 

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, one tablespoon at a time. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to one month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. 

Assembling the tart filling is super easy. It's also a variation on a Martha Stewart recipe. (She's just the best!) This recipe simply entails slicing up some tomatoes and adding a bit of salt, pepper and olive oil. It ends up looking so pretty!

1 tablespoon olive oil

all-purpose flour, for dusting

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 4 medium) sliced, 1/4 inch thick

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

one small 2 oz can of anchovies 

Set oven to 425 degrees F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to specified length of tart pan you are using. Fit dough into pan. Using a rolling pin, trim dough flush with the top edge of the tart pan; chill tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. 

Arrange tomato slices in an overlapping circular pattern working from the outer edge toward the center. Spread anchovies evenly over the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle of olive oil. 

Bake tart until crust is golden and tomatoes are soft but still remain their shape, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. 

smoked paprika black bean soup with cheddar cheese quesadilla

This is a ridiculously easy soup that can be made in less than 30 minutes. All the equipment you need is a medium sized sauce pan and an immersion blender. And ingredient wise - a can of beans, a clove of garlic, small onion, a handful of cilantro. The addition of smoked paprika really lends a rich smokey spicy flavor. Maybe a dollop of sour cream or super rich greek yogurt to bring it together.  And a jalapeno, if you want a bit of heat. The quesadilla is just shredded cheddar cheese that I toast up in a saute pan with a bit of olive oil.

one can of black beans
one small white onion
one clove of garlic
one teaspoon of smoked spanish paprika
one teaspoon of cayenne pepper
sea salt
olive oil
freshly ground pepper
handful of chopped cilantro
one jalapeno
juice of a lemon
couple tablespoons of sour cream or greek yogurt

Chop onion into 1/4 inch dice. Thinly slice the garlic. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a sauce pan. Add onion, garlic, sea salt, pepper and spices. Saute for a couple minutes until onions are translucent. In  the meantime, drain the beans and rinse with cold water. Add to pot, when beans start to stick a bit, add about a 1/2 cup to one cup of water or stock to loosen up the sauteed bits. You could even deglaze the pan with some white wine vinegar or lemon juice. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until beans have really absorbed the smokey flavor of the spices. Remove from heat. Use the immersion blender to, you know, blend the soup a bit. Blend to desired consistency. Top with chopped jalapeno, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.