Gnocchi With Asian Vegetables Recipe

INGREDIENTS FOR GNOCCHI
2 large russet potatoes, washed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup parmesan cheese

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE
1 bunch Chinese water spinach washed and cut into strips

1 bunch Chinese leeks, julienned and washed thoroughly
Kernels from two ears fresh sweet corn

6 Chinese long beans or green beans cut into one inch pieces and rinsed

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (optional and to taste)

2 cloves garlic sliced

2 eggs

½ cup grated Toma (from Cherry Grove Farm) or other semi-hard sharp cheese

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

GNOCCHI
Roast the potatoes in a 350 degree oven until fork tender, set aside to cool. When the potatoes are cool, cut in half and remove the insides with a spoon and discard the skins. Run the potatoes through a ricer and combine the flour and cheese. Mix until incorporated.

Fold in the butter and egg yolk and mix the dough by hand. Be careful not to over mix or the dough, stop when it is just barely a smooth dough. Let the dough rest wrapped in plastic for at least thirty minutes in a cool area or refrigerator.

Put on a pot of lightly salted water to boil while you make the sauce.After thirty minutes or more, unwrap the dough and put it on a large cutting board or clean counter. Cut off pieces and roll them into long thin cigar shaped pieces about twelve inches long. Cut each roll into small bite-size pieces and dust them with a little white flour to keep them from sticking together. (traditionally each piece is rolled off the back of a fork to give them their authentic shape but they do not need to be). Keep the gnocchi spread out in one layer on a lightly floured pan until ready to use or 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. They can then be moved into a ziplock bag or similar until ready to cook. Cook them frozen.)

SAUCE
In a large sauté pan or wok, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Let cook for about thirty seconds – do not let it burn! Add the peppers, leeks and the long beans with a pinch of salt. Saute until the beans begin to sweat, about 2 minutes. Next add the sweet corn, spinach and saute for another 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the pasta water and the basil. Taste for seasoning.Cook the gnocchi in rapidly boiling water for about four minutes or until they float. Drain them and add them to the vegetables and stir well. Add the cheese and serve immediately.

Local Cheese, a Weekend Day Trip and a Little Story to Make You Proud.

The weekend is going to be beautiful, perfect for a family day trip to Valley Shepherd Creamery, where they make delicious cave-aged cheese.  Here is a little story about their cheese that will make you very proud (the whole story appears in Locavore Adventures).

Jim and Eran Wajswol, the farm’s founder and owner were sitting on the patio at Tre Piani, discussing cheese...

“Somewhere in middle of our freewheeling afternoon, one of my servers approached the table. She said that she had a customer who was visiting from Italy and, as is the European custom, craved a little cheese to cap his meal. What should she give him?  Eran sat up like he had just heard a fire alarm. “Here, let ‘em try this,” Eran said, like it was a challenge. Then he handed over a small chunk of his pecorino-style cheese...A few minutes later the server was back at our table. The customer wanted to know --- where was the cheese from?  “Tell him New Jersey,” I said. A minute later, she’s back. “I hate to tell you this,” she said, “but the customer is laughing at me. He wants to make sure he understood right. This cheese is from New Jersey?”

Not the thing to say in this company. Eran whipped out his business card like a gunslinger. “Here, give ‘em this,” he said, adding some choice words about who does this guy think he is, who can mess around with New Jersey cheese? A minute later, our Italian visitor is on the patio, covering us in a blast of hand shakes and cheerful apologies. “Mie scuse! “Forgive the mistake,” he said, “it tasted just like the pecorino made near my town. Then we looked at each other, grinned, and raised our mugs in a toast: Cheers to Eran’s own home-grown New Jersey pecorino, now with a seal of approval from the home country! Our new Tuscan buddy had confirmed what we had set out to do: offer the public memorable food that’s world-class quality but produced right here at home. As for me, I was over the top. I felt it was a very proud moment in the history of slow food in New Jersey.”

...And there is so much to see at the farm besides cheese.  Located on a hillside in Long Valley, it offers tours, kids activities, classes, shopping and all kinds of fun. Check out their website for more info, and don’t forget to come back with a delicious piece of local cheese! 

For those of you who stay home, come try Valley Shepherds Pepato on our menu!

Two Grilling Recipes (Including a Homemade Spice Rub and a Homemade Barbecue Sauce)

A preview of Jim's grilling class. Get the whole scoop on Thursday July 25th, 6:30-9:30. To make reservations email jim@trepiani.com or call 609-452-1515

Grilled Chicken Breast Rollatini

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 slices prosciutto ham

2 slices mozzarella, provolone or Swiss cheese

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup olive oil

Method:

You will need the chicken to be either butterflied open or pounded gently with a meat

mallet to provide you with a large, thin, and even piece of chicken. Lay the chicken on large cutting board and season with salt and pepper. Lay the prosciutto slices on the breast so they are half on and half off. Place the cheese on the center of the breast. Begin rolling the chicken from the end that the prosciutto is not hanging off and keep rolling so that what you end up with is a rollatini with prosciutto both inside and outside the chicken and with all of the cheese inside. You can secure these packages with toothpicks or skewers. Brush with olive oil and cook on a medium hot grill with the lid closed, checking frequently to prevent scorching. Serve.

Simple Barbecued Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken cut into quarters bone in

For dry rub mix:

4 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dry thyme

1 tsp. dry rosemary

Other ingredients:

¼ cup cooking oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, diced

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Mix the dry spices and herbs together thoroughly. Rub the chicken pieces all over with the mixture; let rest for at least 15 minutes (or as long as overnight). The flavors will permeate deeper the longer the chicken marinates. Preheat your grill on high heat, making sure that

the grates are clean. Add the chicken pieces and lower the heat to medium. (The thicker the chicken pieces, the longer the cooking time, thus cook for longer at a lower

heat to prevent burning). Cook the chicken with the lid closed and check it often to make

sure it does not burn. You can adjust the heat accordingly allowing common sense to dictate whether or not the bird is cooking too quickly or too slowly.

Meanwhile, or up to a week ahead of time, make the simple barbecue sauce. In a saucepan, add the oil, garlic, onion and peppers. Let the mixture cook slowly until the vegetables are soft. Add the brown sugar and let it melt. Add the vinegar, bring to a boil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. This sauce may be pureed if desired. When the chicken is less than two minutes away from being cooked to your desired doneness, baste it with your sauce. Turn once and baste the other side. Serve.

Pointers:

1) A dry rub is preferred for longer cooking times because it will not burn quickly. The

sugar in the mix will actually caramelize onto the meat.

2) There are no exact cooking times because the size of chickens varies, as does the heat

of each grill. This is the part where people need to spend less time reading the recipe and more time watching and learning about the idiocinquerecies of their grill.

3) The spice rub recipe is very basic and can be adapted to your taste by using your favorite spices and dried herbs. Feel free to make it spicier, sweeter, saltier, etc. The rub

can also be used on beef, pork, veal, seafood, corn, potatoes, antelope, yak and just about anything else that can be cooked on a grill.

4) Remember that your grill also acts like an oven when the lid is closed and your chicken will cook more thoroughly that way. Things like steaks cook better on high heat with an open lid, which ensures the desirable charring outside and a more rare center (which is why thick steaks are better).

Zucchini Blossoms 101

Only a few years ago you would rarely come across zucchini blossoms outside of a restaurant (all types of squash have edible blossoms, but the most common are zucchinis’). These days you can find them at many farmers’ markets. Bright yellow to almost orange, zucchini flowers are nearly irresistible to farmers’ market shoppers. Yet it seems many people don't know what to do with them once they've bought them. Luckily all you have to do is to realize that those beautiful flowers are versatile and easy.  You don’t even have to cook them! For your convenience, here is a crash course in Zucchini Blossoms 101:

Choose flowers that look fresh and dewy, preferably still closed. Keep refrigerated, tightly sealed, and try to use the same day. They will, however, keep for several days.

The most common way to cook them  is to fry, stuffed or not,  in a very light, almost tempura-like batter. But if you are not into frying they are delicious eaten raw and a welcome addition to salads, pilafs, soups and even to garnish desserts. They add a subtle sweetness and a slightly herbal flavor. Don’t trim their slim stem, because it adds a nice crunch. They match particularly well with the season’s leafy greens, such as baby kale and arugula.

This is how you fry them: whisk enough ice water into flour that it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Dip the flowers in the batter, shake gently to get rid of any excess batter, and fry them in hot oil until they're crunchy--just two or three minutes. Drain on paper towel and serve immediately with drink or on the aforementioned greens.

Bon Appetit!

Grilling Grass (Fed) in Central Jersey + A Recipe

Grass-fed meat from local farm is not only delicious but also very nutritious. This grilling season, why not giving it a try?

Richly flavored, grass-fed beef cooks a bit differently than corn-fed beef. It is lower in fat with a firmer texture. To get the most out of it be sure to grill it medium-rare and be careful not to overcook. Also give it a good olive oil brush before you grill. If you like your beef well-done, choose a different cooking method, one that involves slow cooking and a lot of liquid, such as braising. Pastured chicken and pork should be cooked all the way, just like conventional ones.

Griggstown Quail Farm and Market

Check out some of our favorite places to buy local meat that was raised grazing grass.

Mallery Grazin’ Meats Butcher Shop: An old-world style butcher shop that cuts and grinds your meats to order. It features local grass-fed beef, chicken and pork products from the owners’ farm, Simply Grazin’ in Skillman. They also offer a nice selection of vegetables and other local foods.

Cherry Grove Farm: Sausages from the farm’s whey-fed berkshire pork are second to none. The farm also carries other pork cuts as well as grass-fed lamb and beef. While you’re at it grab some of their grass-fed award-nominated cheeses to pass around. Call ahead for availability.

Beech Tree Farm: Exceptional succulent beef from lush grass pastures, lovingly tended by Lucia and Charlie Huebner in Hopewell, NJ. They also also sell chicken, pork and eggs seasonally. If you call ahead they can bring your order to a farmers market they participate in. Contact the farm for more information.

Griggstown Quail Farm and Market: Full-flavored pastured chicken and quail are available at the farm’s store in Princeton. They also sell those fruit and pot pies Griggstown is famous for. Get some extra chicken and make this wonderfully seasonal dish, featured in Locavore Adventures!

Micro greens are available locally at Blue Moon Acres farm.

Galantine of Griggstown Farm Chicken with Spring Vegetables and Micro-Beet salad

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1 bunch asparagus, tough ends cut off, blanched until barely cooked and chilled immediately in ice water

2 cups fresh spinach washed and rough chopped

¼ cup morel mushrooms, chopped

½ cup toasted and roughly chopped hazelnuts

¼ cup sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 cup white wine

1 shallot

2 tsp. tarragon dry or fresh chopped

salt and white pepper to taste

For the salad

1 tbsp. whole grain mustard

2 tbsp. sherry vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

Sea salt

6 oz. micro beet greens if available, or other baby greens

For the poaching liquid

3 cups chicken broth

1 leek, split

2 bay leaves

2 cloves

Method:

Carefully remove the skin from the chicken in one piece by first cutting along the backbone and then running your fingers between the skin and the meat. You will need to use a small knife to cut through the wing and leg areas.

Remove the breast meat in one piece and set aside. Remove the rest of the meat and save the bones for stock (you can make the stock for the poaching liquid from them). Slice the breast meat into thin scaloppine. Grind or pulse in the food processor the rest of the meat. Keep all the processed parts refrigerated until the rest of the ingredients are prepared.

Combine the wine, shallot and tarragon in a saucepan and reduce until almost completely evaporated.

Place all of the chicken meat (except the breast) in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until ground. Add the shallot and tarragon reduction and season with salt and pepper, pulse again until well mixed. Remove the contents to a large bowl.

Add the vegetables and nuts and mix well.

Lay out a large piece of cheesecloth and then lay out the chicken skin (feather side down) in one piece. Place the slices of chicken breast in one layer leaving about one inch around the edges. Using a rubber spatula, spread the chicken and vegetable mixture on chicken breast in an even layer about ½ inch thick.

Carefully roll the chicken up in the cheesecloth to form a large cylinder. Tie the roll on each end and in several places along the length, not too tightly. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Place the stock and seasonings into a pot large enough to hold the roll and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and poach over low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. You can keep the stock for another use.

When well-chilled remove the string and the cheesecloth. Slice into ¼ round slices and arrange on a platter.

Whisk together all of the salad ingredients except the greens. When well-incorporated add the greens and serve atop the galantine.

Capture the Romance of the Sea and the Allure of a Full Moon in a...Crab

For locavores, food marks the passing of time and the changing of the seasons.

This time of year, soft shell crab from the central Atlantic coast and most famously the Chesapeake Bay is the ultimate marker. In fact, you can mark the exact first day of soft shell crab season. Starting in May and throughout the summer, the blue crab abandons its shell and starts to form a new one, making its sweet, briny, delicious meat immediately accessible. Legend has it that crabs, like the ocean, are influenced by the phases of the moon. In their natural environment, crabs begin shedding their outgrown shells on the first full moon of May. At this point, the whole thing is edible, and the combination of tenderness and crunch of the very new shell makes it a delight.

Right now, soft shell crabs are still very young and tender. A cast iron pan set on the hot grill is, therefore, a great way to cook them and kickstart the season (both grilling season and soft shell crab season). Heat it up and then sear the crabs with butter, salt and pepper. Baste with a drizzle of melted butter seasoned with some lemon zest. Do not overcook-when the crabs plump up and become firm, they are done. This should take about eight minutes.

The most important thing with soft shell crabs, of course, is that they be utterly fresh. Plan ahead and talk to a fish merchant you trust. You must buy them the day you eat them (and while you’re at it, ask the fish guy to clean them for you). To select the tastiest, use your nose. When fresh, they smell clean and astringent. They begin to deteriorate rapidly, so keep them on ice. Cook them within 24 hours.

Serve with local grilled asparagus and a glass of a crisp white to capture the romance of the sea and the allure of a full moon in spring.

Asparagus Risotto alla Milanese Recipe

Risotto alla Milanese is a perfect springtime dish. It really flatters green early spring produce. The creamy texture and bright saffron color form a perfect backdrop for green spring vegetables such as peas and asparagus.

This week was a big week for spring asparagus. Fresh, juicy with a green “mineral” flavor. Also this week, we fielded an SOS call from a Princeton woman. She had 15 guests at home for a pre-Mother’s Day luncheon and no food. We quickly put together a “take away” lunch: vegetable antipasti, risotto Milanese with spring asparagus, flounder in beurre blanc and a cappuccino cheese cake.

Lunch was a great success and all the ladies asked for the risotto recipe. So here it is, use it with asparagus or green peas. Happy Mother’s Day!!

Read more about asparagus and get an old-favorite asparagus recipe here.

Risotto alla Milanese with  Asparagus

2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice

1-1/2 cups white wine

2 large pinches of saffron

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

3-4 cups chicken stock; water; or a vegetarian stock made of carrots, celery, onions and spring vegetables, kept on a simmer

1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 bunch fresh local asparagus, crowns separated from stems, stems cut into ½ inch pieces

Keep the crowns of the asparagus and the stems separate. Blanch stems and then crowns. drain well and set aside (see note below).

Heat the wine until warm and add the saffron. Let steep for a about 10 minutes (the saffron will leach out its color).

Finely chop onion. In a 2-1/2 to 3-quart heavy saucepan cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add rice, stirring to coat with butter.

Add saffron wine and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a simmer, until absorbed.

Continue cooking at a simmer and adding broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next.

Cook until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente at the cebter, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth mixture left over.)

Stir in Parmesan, blanched asparagus stems, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Divide into individual plates and top with the blanched asparagus tops.

To Blanch Spring Vegetables:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Prepare a colander and a large bowl filled with ice water. The idea is to cool the vegetables quickly. Boil the vegetables for a minute or two, drain in the colander and then immediately transfer to ice water. Cool in ice for a minute or so and drain.