vegetables

Springtime Delight: Ramp Pesto Polenta with Morel Mushrooms

May 15, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

I’m back in New York this week from a business trip in Nigeria and I’m still lusting over this ravishingly rampy polenta I made for Stingray and me right before I left. He’s eating meat again (praise, Jesus!…I’m Jewish, but whatever) so I convinced him to make his luscious oven-roasted chicken to accompany my side dish. I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen this week!

Ramp Pesto Polenta with Morel Mushrooms

Serves 4 generous portions

1.5 cups polenta
3 cups water
1 small container of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup fresh morel mushrooms
2 gloves garlic

For the pesto:

1 bunch fresh ramps, rinsed
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
S/P to taste

Rough chop ramps and toss into food processor with pine nuts, cheese, lemon juice and zest. While food processor is running, drizzle in olive oil until mixture is proper, creamy, pesto consistency. Add salt and pepper and add more lemon juice or olive as needed. Set aside.

Cook polenta per box instructions. General rule is usually 1 part polenta to 2 parts water/milk. Boil water and slowly add in polenta. Be sure to stir constantly so it doesn’t get clumpy. Reduce heat and let simmer until cooked (5-7 minutes approx).

Fold in container of Greek yogurt and Pecorino. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a pinch cayenne to mine, it was nice. Turn off heat and push to back burner.

Heat medium-sized pan to high heat. Add 1 T of butter and splash of olive oil so butter doesn’t burn. Add morels and let sear for 1-2 minutes before poking with a spoon. Once tender and brown, crush 1-2 cloves of garlic into the mushrooms and let soften 1-2 more minutes.

Pour polenta on a beautiful dish, spoon ramp pesto on top and finish with the morel mushrooms and you’ve got the taste of Springtime for supper!

Committing food mutiny with bulgur, eggplant, pomegranate and feta

October 1, 2013 by Eva Louise 3 Comments

There are some meals I steer away from cooking because Stingray doesn’t like certain ingredients. Since I’m the best girlfriend ever, I almost exclusively cook in line with his tastes, but the other night I threw down my apron and got all HMS Bounty on his ass. He wasn’t happy; here’s what happened:

“Damnit, Stingray, that’s it! Tonight, I’m giving you the triple threat!” I bark.

Stingray gasps in horror and then, with closed eyes he pleads, “Oh, but Evie, what does that mean?! You’re going to feed me something I despise?!”

“Yes, Stingray. The time is now for you to eat your three least favorite foods: eggplant, pomegranate and…”

“Wait… Evie, what?! It’s not…no!” Now on his knees leaning on the fridge to steady himself, Stingray whispers, “It can’t be…”

“Oh yes, yes it is. Feta. Sheep’s milk feta.“

“Nooooooo!” Stingray screams with his fist to the air, camera zooms out, as Eva walks triumphantly to the grocery store.

Ok, none of that actually happened but Stingray really hates eggplant and feta, but this week I didn’t care because I got this great idea to make a warm bulgur salad with roasted eggplant, garlic, onions served with pomegranate and sheep’s milk feta. It was awesome.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup bulgur
2 cups water
1 medium/large eggplant
2 small white onions or 1 large one
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 cup pomegrnate seeds
sheep’s milk feta
juice and zest of 1 one lemon
seasoning: salt, pepper, cayenne, italian seasoning, fine herbs

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Chop onions and eggplant into about 1 inch cubes and lay in foil-lined cookie sheet. Whack the 6 cloves of garlic with a knife and add to the onion-eggplant mixture. Season generously with salt, pepper, cayenne, Italian Seasoning, and Fine Herbs (if you have them) and olive oil. Toss with your hands to ensure the vegetables are coated with oil and seasonings.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until caramelized.

Heat 2 cups of water and 1 cup Bulgar in medium pot until boiling, reduce heat and simmer, mixing occasionally until cooked, about 10 minutes.

Once cooked, fold the eggplant, onion, garlic mixture as well as the juice of one lemon. Taste before serving on pretty platter. Garnish with lemon zest, crumbled feta and pomegranate seeds.

Food mutiny complete!

Lend me your ears!…for some Eva-style Elote

August 29, 2013 by Eva Louise 9 Comments

I don’t really like ears of corn. There’s something so cumbersome about the way they look that turns me off…as in, they look like a real commitment to prepare and eat. You know? No? OK, yea, I forgot that everybody else on the planet freakin’ loves corn…Which means I need to have a few corn recipes in my repertoire. FINE.

Luckily, my Mom decided to buy a million ears of it for our recent trip to British Columbia, so this was the perfect time to practice. I decided to do a riff on elote, Mexican street corn and used our BBQ to char the corn before preparing the dish. Not revolutionary, but it took the dish to a totally stellar level.

Eva-style Elote

Ingredients

3 ears of corn, husks off, stub on (makes it easier to BBQ)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 heaping dollops of crema (Mexican sour cream), creme fraiche (French sour cream) or just regular sour cream
1 heaping T mayonnaise
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese or grated Parmesan
juice of 1 juicey lime
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 ripe avocado

Char the ears of corn for about 8-10 minutes on a seriously hot grill or griddle pan, probably, 375-400 degrees. Let them cool long enough to take a knife to chop off the kernels. Reserve a small bunch of kernels, cotija, cilantro and avocado for garnish later, then mix corn with all of the other ingredients EXCEPT the avocado. Careful on the mayo and crema to make sure you don’t add too much. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Fold in the diced avocado near the end so it doesn’t squish. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Garnish the mixture with the remaining corn, cotija, cilantro and avocado, then serve!

Copy Machine Food Muses…and Salmon

July 12, 2013 by myfriendsinfood 4 Comments

I love my co-workers. No but actually… I’m obsessed with them. We have this unnaturally close bond because we are frequently required to travel internationally together, sometimes making work feel more like camp or high school (except awesomer because I’m not going through puberty and I’m now cool). We bond over champagne at 40,000 feet, over horrific food poisoning, severe colds and broken limbs, in strange and foreign countries. We bond over lost baggage, language barriers, Swiss fondue and too many bottles of wine. I really love this level of familiarity and comfort because it allows me to do things to my colleagues I’d never do anywhere else, you know, like break into their desk late at night on a regular basis to eat that salted chocolate they keep at the back of their bottom desk drawer, or ask to borrow their socks on my way to the gym.

Travel disasters and desk break-ins aside, I love my coworkers because of their support of my blog. Mind in the Butter has gained incredible traction in my office and some of my biggest fans and food muses are right here scanning documents at the copy machine. They “like“, comment, and drool over every blog post or food photo immediately once I click “Publish.” Conversely, they tap their watches, scowl and shun me when I’ve gone too long between postings. They are a huge motivating factor and source of inspiration for my food blogging and deserve to be celebrated. THANK YOU!

Yesterday in the spirit of home-cooking and coworker love, we hosted a “Coworker Potluck” to give us an excuse to swap recipes and enjoy each other’s company. With the help of one of my coworkers, I did Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter with Tomatoes Provençal and others brought incredible salads, sides, dips, and desserts. What a treat!

Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter

Filet of Salmon
1 lemon
2 sprigs tarragon (about 3 T), torn up
3 T chives, rough chopped
2-3 pads of butter
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 medium shallot or one whole, small shallot diced
S and P to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350

In food processor mix tarragon, chives, butter, garlic, shallot, olive oil, S/P and the juice of ½ the lemon until smooth. No food processor? No problem. Just finely chop everything and blend with olive oil and softened butter.

Rinse and pat dry the salmon and place in a foil-lined baking dish. Spoon the luscious herby mixture generously over the salmon making sure to cover all the sides. Slice the remaining 1/2 lemon into 3-4 thin slices and place on top of salmon. If possible, leave in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.

Pull the corners of the foil up around the filet into a loose tent, careful not to smush the herb mixture. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size. White specks should form around the salmon indicating it’s done. Use a fork and pull at the corner of filet to ensure it’s ready.

Tomatoes Provençal

Small, ripe tomatoes on the vine (campari and cherry tomatoes are ideal)
Olive oil
Herbs de Provence
Italian seasoning

On a plate, drizzle olive oil on whole tomatoes. Shake or pinch herbs and Italian seasoning on around the tomatoes to fully coat. Sprinkle on salt and pepper for good measure. To avoid cleaning another dish later, tuck the vined tomatoes into the corner of the same pan as the salmon (not inside the foil tent). Roast at 350 with the salmon. They should be soft and blistered when done, so they might need a few more minutes than the salmon depending on their size.

Heaven is a South African Kitchen

July 11, 2013 by Eva Louise 4 Comments

***This is the third and final post from my trip to South Africa. The previous posts are here and here***

Heaven on a plate

On our final morning at the whimsical Miner’s compound, something amazing happened – I met the Miner’s wife, Jackie, who had been in the city during our drunken escapades the day before. We bumped into her at the back door of her kitchen in our efforts to say goodbye to our host and friends. She was directing a platoon of housemaids, with a voice so sensational it was like the Cheshire Cat or an Afrikaans Miranda Priestly were yelling orders from behind a buzzing fan. She had fiery red hair in a coif that Marge Simpson’s sisters might request at the hair salon and gorgeous bright eyes that will keep her looking youthful even when she turns 100. Just amazing.

“Come, come, come. You must have something to eat!” She said in same breath as her introduction.

Instead of staging our departure, Stingray and I let Jackie take us hostage (rather willingly) onto the back porch to enjoy a decadent breakfast of fruit salad, fresh yogurt, charcuterie and her homemade preserves (umm…is this real?!). We ended up staying so late that it was already time to enjoy lunch which we did, at the very same table.

I was gorged, spoiled and feeling rather useless so Jackie was gracious enough to let me cook with her in her amazing kitchen. She and I whipped up a Tuscan-style tuna salad with cannellini beans, fried eggplant with cilantro, a simple salad with a vino cotto vinaigrette, and a caprese salad with olive oil so rich it looked like gasoline.

As I chopped, (she and I in matching aprons) she told me the story of her gorgeous Chinese linens, her fruit trees, herbs and spices from her travels to the Middle East, and the painting class she’ll take in France later in the Summer. So intimated by her amazingness, I interrupted her a few times to ask, “How do you want this chopped? What else should I add to this? Am I doing this right?” “Dahling, everything you’re doing is just perfect, simply perfect. Add whatever you’d like!” My only thought was: Eva, burn your passport so you can live with Jackie forever!…Do it, burn it now!

Once I finished shaking up my vinaigrette and the meal was almost ready, I started to chop a littler slower in attempts savor this moment with her. When I go to Heaven, I know that the cafeteria will look just like Jackie’s gorgeous kitchen.

Tuscan-style Tuna Salad

Ingredients

1 can of good albacore
1 can of canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 shallot or small red onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, grated
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped cilantro
Olive oil
S and P to taste

Toss all ingredients together, in a beautiful bowl, except for tuna. Add tuna and incorporate gently to try to keep it from breaking up too much. Taste, adjust flavors accordingly.

Fried Eggplant with Cilantro

1 large eggplant
1 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 garlic cloves
juice of 2 lemons
Pepper to taste
maldon salt

Chop eggplant into 2 inch “pegs” and fry in olive oil until crispy and tender. In the meantime, mix the lemon juice, grated garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Once the eggplant is done, put directly in bowl with lemon juice mixture. The olive oil absorbed in the eggplant will naturally balance out the acid. Sprinkle maldon salt or another large-grained salt right before serving.

Caprese salad (everybody knows this one, right?)

Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with high quality olive oil (lemon juice or balsamic were not added to the version pictured)

Green Salad with Vino Cotto Vinaigrette

1/2 cup walnut oil
1 pinch sugar
1-2 T vino cotto (Italian sweet wine syrup)
1 heaping T dijon mustard
1/2 clove garlic, pressed or grated (optional)
S and P to taste

Shake all ingredients in a jar. Too sweet add more dijon, too thick add more oil. I served this with arugula and butter lettuce, some red onion left over from the other salads, a ripe avocado and some paprika for color.

Spiced, Wine-Poached Pears with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

In case I wasn’t already in food ecstasy at the end of our lunch, Jackie brought out some of her spiced, wine-poached pears and homemade vanilla ice cream and served it drizzled with grappa. It’s a miracle I didn’t implode into stardust after that.

Spiced, wine-poached pears with homemade ice cream

A diptych of her lemon tree…why not?

Moped Dinner Party in Switzerland

May 17, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Sometimes when I’m alone, eating bread rolls with packets of mayo drinking mini-bar wine in my hotel bed watching Russian music videos, I think to myself “business trips kind of suck.” But then I remind myself that most nights my life is fabulous and that I rule. Evidence of this is the incredible dinner party I had with some girlfriends and their beaus recently while on a business trip to Geneva.

Normally working late into the night, I committed to leaving the office in time to hop on my friend, Cristina’s Moped and head to France to do some dinner party grocery shopping. Holding tightly to her waist (apparently NOT necessary which she made very clear to me), with the spring breeze blowing through my 2-piece suit, and our helmets bonking against one another with every windy turn, I knew this was exactly the 2-wheeled escape I needed.

Eva’s Spring salad: rocket, shaved zucchini, cucumbers, chives, mozzarella with a lemon vinaigrette

My European friends are by default better cooks than I (because they are Europeans) , so I gladly took a step back on this meal and just offered to make a simple salad (above) while the girls made seared duck breast with an apricot jam, mustard and soy sauce glaze, sauteed asparagus and roasted potatoes. Thank you, ladies for a truly decadent dinner escape!

Seared duck breast with roasted potatoes and asparagus

I was excited so I made them do a group "haut cinq" with me (fake french for high five)

I was so excited by the success of the meal that I made them do a group “haut cinq” with me (my fake french for “high five”)

Lemon-Tahini Dressed Kale with Pine Nuts and Cranberries

April 28, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

These days I’m addicted to kale and totally over my normal vinaigrette go-tos: homemade apple cider and balsamic vinaigrette, so I tried my hand at a lemon-tahini dressing. I always feed bad for that lonely can of tahini that sits in my fridge after I’ve gotten the urge to make humus–the only reason I can normally think to use sesame paste. With this new addition, that sad old can is put to good use with this kale salad tossed with toasted pine nuts and cranberries.

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoon tahini
3 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika
crushed garlic clove

Oyster Romance

March 29, 2013 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

This past week, Stingray and I needed a little romance in our life. Nothing says “hey there, Big Boy” like oysters and luckily we just happened to have a dozen briney Wellfleet oysters in the fridge. I picked up a cheap proscecco and a couple of extra groceries to make it a meal: a soft cheese and crusty bread to serve with a crisp macintosh apple. I felt like I needed to cook something, so I picked up a bunch of asparagus and steamed them, poached two eggs and made a (kind of) homemade béarnaise.

The stars must have seriously been aligned for operation romance, because right before I was about to serve dinner I remembered some shrimp I had in the freezer to help me really make this a bangin’ dinner. I boiled and peeled them and set up all the proper shellfish fixins’: lemon, cocktail sauce, horseradish and a homemade mignonette sauce (vinegar and shallots) and we were ready for a partay. Can’t wait until we get another dozen oysters…

“Ying and Yang”

Halibut Top Ramen

February 27, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Last week I did a post featuring a fried halibut sandwich with one of two halibut fillets we had. The fate of the second fillet is featured above– an Asian-style halibut soup with tender ramen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, baby bok choy…and about 100 herbs and spices. I really got into it and made the soup using my wok and a wooden sushi spoon as a ladle. (I’ll admit, I was even a whisker away from wearing a Hello Kitty apron…)

Like many of my recipes, the ingredients are interchangeable but the trick here is to layer them properly to get the right depth of flavor and the right consistency (ie not mushy, not too salty or bland). So below I’ve outlined, not a recipe, but conceptual steps to take to make a tasty Asian-style soup.

aromatics/sturdy vegetables and proteins + seasonings and oils + broth + noodles + delicate vegetables and fish + serve+ garnish = so awesome.

Step 1: Saute mushrooms and aromatics (onions, garlic, shallots etc.). If you’re using beef, tofu, shrimp or chicken as your protein, cook them here to get maximum flavor and color. They are sturdy enough to withstand the boiling broth.

Step 2: Season liberally with all your “Asian-style” pantry goods: soy sauce, dash of rice wine vinegar, green onion, ginger, mirin, seasame oil, lemongrass.

Step 3: Add broth: I mix 1 carton of chicken broth and 1 carton of vegetable broth. Combinations of beef, mushroom or fish stock would be equally as delicious.

Step 4: In separate pot, boil noodles only until tender. Drain and set aside. Ramen – the jerry curl of noodles – is my noodle of choice since they are easier to grip with chopsticks.

Step 5: while the noodles cook, add delicate vegetables: bok choi, spinach, leeks, zucchini and fish: haddock, cod, salmon, halibut etc. and stir gently for about 2 minutes.

Step 6: Add a generous scoop of ramen noodles into the bottom of a pretty bowl then ladle soup making sure to get all the good bits; the vegetables and protein.

Step 7: Garnish with sesame seeds, green onion, hot chili oil, whatever your heart desires.

On the (Herb-crusted) Lamb with Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding

January 2, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Herb-crusted lamb with mushroom and leek bread pudding – fast friends that seemed so natural together after just one encounter. The herb-crusted lamb isn’t anything revolutionary (just luscious) but a savory bread pudding?! Totally revolutionary. Inspired by Ina Garten, I actually followed the recipe (!) and it turned out beautifully.

Herb-crusted rack of lamb

adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

2 racks of lamb, about 1-1/4 lb. each, chine bones removed, rib bones frenched, and meat trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
1 cup soft fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 475°F. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Combine the garlic, parsley, thyme, and breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Moisten the mixture with enough olive oil to make the mixture hold together.

Heat a large dry skillet over high heat. Put the lamb, meat side down, in the skillet. With tongs, hold the lamb against the skillet for a minute to give it a nice brown crust. Turn the meat to sear it on all sides for a total of 4 minutes. Remove the meat from the skillet and paint the meaty side of the rack with the mustard. Roll the meat in the herb mixture to coat it. Sear and coat the second rack in the same way.

Transfer the racks to a roasting pan just large enough to hold them. Cover the rib bones with strips of foil so they don’t burn and roast until medium rare, 20 to 25 minutes (120-140°F internal temperature). (I forgot cover the bones and smoked out the whole kitchen). If you want a crispier crust, finish cooking under the broiler for 2 minutes. Let the racks rest for 5 minutes before carving.

Use a carving knife to cut between the rib bones. Arrange the chops on warm serving plates. Serve hot. (The chops will cool quickly, so the best strategy is to carve the racks at the table.)

Ina Garten’s Mushroom and Leek Bread pudding

6 cups (1/2-inch-diced) bread cubes from a rustic country loaf, crusts removed
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces pancetta, small-diced (optional)
4 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts (4 leeks)
1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and 1/4-inch-sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1/4 cup medium or dry sherry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (6 ounces), divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the bread cubes on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, until starting to brown. Stir in the leeks and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the leeks are tender. Stir in the mushrooms, tarragon, sherry, 1 tablespoon salt and 11/2 teaspoons pepper and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until most of the liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, stir in the parsley.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, chicken stock and 1 cup of the Gruyere. Add the bread cubes and mushroom mixture, stirring well to combine. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the liquid. Stir well and pour into a 2 1/2-to-3-quart gratin dish (13 x 9 x 2 inches). Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Gruyere and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is browned and the custard is set. Serve hot.