A "Winter Meets Spring" Asparagus Recipe

Come April, we crave asparagus. Tender and delicate, yet those flavor notes have a distinct snap. Since the weather is still pretty wintry we’ve got the perfect recipe for you-one that combines springy asparagus with a richer, luxurious preparation, fit for the rainy chilly weather outside.

Fettuccine with Asparagus Sauce (Serves 4)

1 pound fresh fettuccine

1 bunch asparagus

2 cloves garlic

½ cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. butter

¼ cup olive oil

Fresh chopped Italian (flat) parsley

¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

Shaved parmesan to garnish

Salt and white pepper to taste

Cut off the tips and the tough ends of the asparagus. Discard the tough ends and reserve the tips. Chop the asparagus stems. Combine olive oil and garlic in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook until garlic is lightly browned. Add the chopped asparagus and a sprinkle of salt.

Cook over medium heat until tender. Add 1-½ cups of water and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture reduce by half and add the cream. Reduce by another half. Let the asparagus mixture cool and puree in a blender, or use an immersion blender.

Strain, puree, and add back into a saucepan. Add the asparagus tips and parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, about 3 minutes. Strain the pasta and drain completely. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir in the cheese. Arrange on a heated serving platter (or individual bowls) and garnish with the shaved Parmesan.

When the first local asparagus and the sun both come in, hopefully soon, there are many other preparations you can try:

• Boil or steam the asparagus spears until they just sag when lifted. Then dress them very simply with good olive oil, lemon juice and coarse salt. And maybe a few shavings of Parmesan…
• The wiry thin spears are great stirred into risotto or pasta, or used to make a frittata. You don't need to peel the asparagus, just cut off the bases.

• Cut off the bases of the asparagus where they turn green, then peel with a vegetable peeler from the tip down. They work very well on the grill but you can also glaze them. Lay them in one layer in a skillet and add just enough water to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Then add some butter or a splash of olive oil. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the spears are almost tender (poke them with a small, sharp knife to make sure). Remove the lid, raise the heat to high and cook until the liquid has reduced to a silky asparagus-flavored sauce. Serve as is, or top it with a sunny-side-up egg with some good bread for a fancy brunch.
• You can use a vegetable peeler to turn the peels of the asparagus stem into long thin “noodles,” then make a little salad with olive oil-garlic-lemon vinaigrette, some capers and chopped hardboiled egg.

Cheddar Gnocchi With Brown Butter and Spicy Spring Greens

Here’s a recipe for gnocchi with Irish cheddar. Cloaked in brown butter, they work charmingly well with the first greens of the season, especially spicy ones like watercress and arugula. Yes, you can substitute Parmesan, but cheddar gives the gnocchi an earthy sharpness that lends itself well to the brown butter and the greens. We had them at Jim’s first Chef’s Dinners, series. Next Chef Dinner is coming up on April 18.

Irish Cheddar Gnocchi

2 large russet potatoes, washed

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup aged Irish cheddar cheese, such as Dubliner

1 egg yolk

¼ cup melted butter (preferably Irish such as Kerrygold)

Method:

Roast the potatoes in a 350 degree oven until tender enough to fork and set aside to cool. When the potatoes are cool cut in half, remove the inside with a spoon and discard the skins. Run the potatoes through a ricer or mash thoroughly with a potato masher.

Combine with flour and cheese. Mix until incorporated. Fold in the butter and egg yolk and knead the dough by hand. Be careful not to over-knead-stop when just smooth. Let the dough rest wrapped in plastic for at least thirty minutes in a cool area or the refrigerator.

To cook the gnocchi: unwrap the dough and put it on a large cutting board or clean counter. Cut off pieces and roll them into long ropes about the width of a cigar. Cut each roll into small bite-size pieces and dust them with a little flour to keep them from sticking together. (Traditionally the pieces are rolled off the back of a fork, giving them an authentic shape, but they do not need to be.)

Arrange the gnocchi in one layer about ¼-inch apart on a lightly floured pan. Let stand one hour at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. (At this point they can be frozen for up to one week. If you choose to freeze them, put them in the freezer on the pan in one layer until they are frozen solid. Then move them into a ziplock bag until ready to cook. Cook them frozen.)

To cook: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Working in small batches, cook gnocchi in  boiling water until gnocchi rise to top and are tender, about five minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to large baking pan.

To serve:

Brown butter

Spicy greens, washed and cut to bite-size if needed

Salt and pepper

A drizzle of red wine vinegar

Before serving, heat up a few tablespoon of  brown butter in a pan. Add the cooked gnocchi and shake the pan until the gnocchi are coated in butter. Divide into four individual plates. Take the pan off of the heat, add the greens, and toss with the remaining butter. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and mound next to the gnocchi. If you wish, drizzle a little red wine vinegar on the greens.

An Irish-Italian Fusion Corned Beef Recipe

Whole beef shanks are rarely used in the US, but they are popular in Italy. That’s why I decided to use them in my corned beef. They fuse together my two culinary legacies:  the Irish one the one I was born into, and the Italian one I’ve adopted.

I’d never brined shanks before, but it made sense to me because they’re very flavorful and take well to braising.

I got the shanks whole, deboned them (see note) and brined them over four weeks.

A couple of days before I serve my shanks I will cook them with more spices, garlic, onion and water and wait for the drum roll!!

Beef Shanks Being Cured at Tre Piani

4 lbs. kosher salt

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

12 cups coriander seeds

12 juniper berries

24 black peppercorns

12 red peppercorns

18 allspice berries

8 whole cloves

6 bay leaves

About 5 lbs. beef shanks

Brine the beef:

In a large, lidded pot, bring 4-1/2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and sugar and bring back to a boil.

Tie the spices in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the boiling water. Boil to dissolve the salt and sugar. Then remove from the heat, pour in 6 cups of ice-cold water, and let cool to room temperature.

Add the meat and bay leaves to the brine, making sure the meat is completely immersed, and cover tightly. Refrigerate 4 days for brisket or up to 2 weeks for a whole top round roast and 4 weeks for shanks. Turn every so often.

To cook:

3 Tbs. pickling spice

1 Tbs. black peppercorns

2 bay leaves  

2 onions, halved

5 large cloves garlic, smashed

Tie pickling spice and peppercorn in a cheesecloth.

Place a large stockpot on the stove and put in the corned beef. Add cheesecloth, onion, garlic, bay leaves and several quarts of water (at least enough to comfortably cover the meat). Bring the water to a boil. Then, turn down the temperature and allow the corned beef to simmer for about 4 hours or until it is nearly fork-tender.

Notes:

• Whole deboned shanks are hard to come by. Order them at local farms such Beechtree Farm or Brick Farm Market. Be sure to order the shanks well in advance.

• Beef shanks are best the day after they are cooked. Braise them and then let them cool in the braising liquid. Reheat them before serving.
• You can also make this recipe with top roast or brisket.
• To preserve the beef’s color you can use a little bit of curing salt.

'Tis the season for Winter Farmers Markets!

 

Cherry Grove Farm

The Central New Jersey Slow Food “Eat Slow” Winter Farmers Market ninth season kicks off in December with the first market on December 8th at Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville. These markets are organized by the West Windsor Community Farmers Market in collaboration with Slow Food Central NJ.

 

On December 8th from 10am -2pm, Cherry Grove Farm will open its outdoor event barn to market-goers, offering an array of locally grown and produced foods including cheese, baked goods, fresh produce, jams, wine, mushrooms, chocolates and much more. Dress warm and enjoy the season’s best local foods! Visi twww.cherrygrovefarm.com for directions and more information about the farm.

 

December 8^th from 10am-2pm

Cherry Grove Farm

3200 Lawrenceville Rd

Lawrenceville, NJ

 

January 11^th  from 11am-3pm

Tre Piani Restaurant

120 Rockingham Row

Princeton, NJ

 

February 8^th from 10am-2pm

D&R Greenway Land Trust

One Preservation Place

Off Rosedale Rd

Princeton, NJ

 

Entrance and parking are always free. $2 suggested donation to benefit Slow Food Central New Jersey.

 

Visitwww.slowfoodcentralnj.org for a full list of vendors or call 609 577-5113 for more information.

 

Braised Endive with Pancetta Recipe

The first local Belgian endives indicate that fall is really here. This hearty, pleasantly bitter leaf lends itself well to rich preparations with bacon, cheese or butter. Here is one fine example:

Braised Endive

2 ounces pancetta or good quality bacon, diced

6 heads endive

Butter

Chicken Stock

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated raclette or other good Swiss-style cheese (option)

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, cook the pancetta until fat is rendered and pancetta is crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Drain the fat and wipe the pan clean.

Trim 6 endives and slice them in half lengthwise. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

In the same skillet, heat some butter and brown the cut side of the endives over a high flame. Do this in batches, adding butter each time. The pan will brown, which is fine - just don't allow it to blacken; if it does, wash it out before the next batch.

Place the endives, brown side up, in a gratin dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer and scatter the cooked bacon between them. Pour chicken stock into the dish to a depth of ½ inch. Cover tightly and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until quite tender.

Option: uncover and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake, uncovered for 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts. Serve as a side dish or - if using cheese - a vegetarian main course.

Lamb Braised with Jersey Tomatoes and Oak Grove Plantation Polenta Recipe

The Grain Grinder at Oak Grove Plantation 

In beautiful Hunterdon County there is a real plantation. An old gate opens into 160 acres of sprawling farmland that surrounds a big, old plantation house. The farm, Oak Grove Plantation, grows a fantastic diversity of vegetables (more than 250 varieties of tomatoes alone!) and excellent grain products like cornmeal, whole wheat flour, popcorn and wheat berries.

The owners Susan and Ted Blew bought the farm in 1977. According to Susan it was so overgrown you could barely see the house and the fields. They cleaned it up and over years of trial and error learned “exactly what varieties work on our farm and how to get the best of them.” No wonder then that chefs line up for their products, sometimes all the way to their Union Square farm stand in New York City.

You can always find Oak Grove Plantation polenta on Tre Piani’s menu. The heirloom corn is ground on the farm in this funny looking old machine (see picture) and makes exceptionally tasty polenta. Now, as the days get colder, it’s the perfect time for a creamy bowl of polenta, mixed with some fresh kernel of Jersey corn. You can top it simply with Jersey late summer tomatoes and basil, or try a meltingly tender lamb braise.

Creamy Polenta with Jersey Corn Kernels

1 cup polenta

3 cups water (more for a softer polenta)

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons butter or ghee

1 cup fresh corn kernels

Bring water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Stir in salt. Pour in polenta steadily, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until polenta is thickened. It should come away from sides of the pan, and be able to support a spoon. This can take anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes. Stir in the butter and corn. Taste and add salt and butter if needed. Pour polenta onto a wooden cutting board, let stand for a few minutes.

Lamb Braised with Jersey Tomatoes and Pecorino

½ cup olive oil

2 lbs. boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into bite-size cubes

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 very ripe Jersey tomatoes, grated

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup fresh pecorino cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add the lamb and let it brown all over. With a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (you may need to add a splash of water to the pan to do that).

Add the onion and carrot and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to sweat. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir until paste dissolves. Add 1-1/2 quarts of water and bring to a boil (if you are not using a Dutch oven, transfer the contents into a large ovenproof casserole). Add the potatoes, cover and put into a 350 degree oven for 1-1/2 hours or until the meat is tender and slightly thickened. Remove from the oven and season with parsley, salt and pepper. Serve over polenta and top with grated pecorino cheese.

Oak Grove Plantation

266 Oak Grove Road

Pittstown, NJ 08867-4008

(908) 782-9618

oakgrovepl@earthlink.net

www.facebook.com/oakgroveplantation

The Local Lunch Box - Ideas and Recipes

Children are back at school and parents are back at work, which means that the brown bag lunch is back, too! Though we would love to welcome you for lunch at Tre Piani, sometimes it is just impossible to leave your desk. We believe, however, that you deserve to eat well-even in your cubicle-so we compiled some tips and recipes for assembling delicious, healthy lunches at home.

Farmers markets are still going on strong and will continue through fall. You can get some great local meats, cheeses, breads and veggies for super sandwiches. Mix up some interesting salads that will hold up, too, like pasta salad with fresh veggies, cheese and olive oil, or quinoa-tzatziki salad (tzatziki is actually better made the day before, which makes it a great brown bag lunch choice).

Try whole-wheat bread from a local small bakery (some loaves are baked in square pans and are perfect for sandwiches). Spread with a nice bean hummus or even roasted garlic instead of mayo. Fresh local apples and pears have just made their annual appearance at the market. Slice them thin and insert into peanut butter sandwiches instead of jam.

For a sweet treat, choose plain organic yogurt - try goat yogurt from our friends at Valley Shepherd Creamery (they sell it at farmers markets and we bet that if you call ahead they will hold some for you). Sweeten it with some local jams or honey, also available at farmers markets. Garnish with apples and pears.
Soup is another great food that kids and grownups love. If you make pureed soups you can even sneak in healthy things-kids won’t even know they’re in the soup!  This time of the year make sungold cherry tomato soup and pack in a thermos. It is naturally creamy and sweet, and tastes great at room temperature.

Here are some recipes to get your creative juices flowing.  

Carrot Curls With White Bean Hummus

Also makes a nice party presentation

1 carrot, peeled

3 tablespoons white bean hummus dip (see recipe)

Place the carrot on a cutting board, and using a vegetable peeler, press hard as you peel long, thin strands of carrot. (Pressing hard will help the strands curl.) Pack dip in a small container and take along with carrot curls.

White Bean Hummus
2 cups home-cooked or 1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3 roasted garlic clove (see recipe)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Combine first four ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Drizzle in the olive oil throughout.

Sungold Tomatoes Soup

Intensely flavored sungold tomatoes are available at farmers markets. If you’re using other kind of tomatoes you may need to add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a little sugar to intensify the tomato flavor.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large white onion, diced

3 cloves roasted garlic (see recipe)

2 cups low-salt chicken broth, homemade vegetarian broth, or water

4 pints sungold tomatoes

1 sprig fresh thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, chives, or dill, or a mixture of all three (omit if sending it with your child to school)

In a nonreactive 5- to 6-quart heavy pot, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes.

Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Discard the thyme sprig. Let cool briefly and then purée in two or three batches in a blender or food processor. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with the herbs.

Popped Quinoa With Tzatziki and Chickpeas

Pack 1 cup quinoa with 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas and some vegetables in a container. Top with 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce or bring the sauce with you in a separate container.

Quinoa

Double or triple the recipe and serve for dinner on a weeknight. Make sure the kids hear the popping sounds, they make the quinoa sound tasty.

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1 cup quinoa

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1-1/2 cups broth or water

Heat olive oil or butter in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add quinoa and salt and stir to coat with oil. Keep stirring until you hear “popping” sounds (just like popcorn) and the quinoa emanates nutty aromas. Add water or broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer approx. 20-25 minutes until all water is absorbed and quinoa is slightly "puffed.” Take off the heat, fluff with a fork, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. To intensify the nutty flavor, you can stir in some good butter (preferably from grass-fed cows).

Tzatziki

1 large zucchini or other summer squash, scraped but not peeled
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups (450 gr) Greek yogurt
1/3 cup chopped dill and fresh mint, mixed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Shred zucchini with the large holes of a box grater. Mix the the zucchini in a strainer with the salt, and let them stand for about 30 minutes, shaking and turning them a few times to encourage them to expel their water.
After they’ve drained, squeeze the shredded zucchini in a dishtowel to get out most of the excess liquid, and transfer to a large bowl.

Mix zucchini with the garlic, yogurt, herbs, and olive oil, and taste, adding more salt if desired. Depending on the brand of yogurt, you might want to add a squirt of fresh lemon juice or a little sour cream if you want it more tangy and or rich.

Roasted Garlic

It’s creamy, it’s aromatic, and your co-workers will thank you for the lack of a garlicky aroma. Add to sauces and dressing or even use as a spread. 3 large heads garlic, cut horizontally in half

3 cups extra virgin olive oil

4 sprigs thyme

1-1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut off the top of the garlic heads. Put them in a small casserole or ovenproof pot and pour the olive oil over them. Add the thyme and pepper. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the garlic is soft.

Cubicle Meal Salad With Local Cherry Tomatoes

We can’t get enough of those cherry tomatoes. Here they are combined with beans and shredded local chicken breast (you can get some from Griggstown Poultry Farm) to make a hearty salad that will keep you going until dinner.

1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups local cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup (4 ounces) cooked chicken breast, diced

1 tablespoon aged sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup excellent olive oil

1 cup baby arugula leaves, packed separately

In a large bowl, combine white beans, tomatoes and chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and a little salt and pepper. Add the oil, whisking constantly so that the dressing emulsifies and thickens. Season to taste.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Pack a serving into a plastic container. Take the arugula along and mix it in just before eating.