A Weekend of Sauces

Julie went home for Memorial Day weekend while I stayed to write, and I felt compelled (compelled, I tell you!) to make some sauce based on seasonal imported produce, and then Julie return with some seasonal local produce and yet another sauce was born. Here they sit, proudly, on top of ice cream.

Sauce the First: Lemon Curd

Lemons have been showing up plentifully from the resellers at the farmers market, but they don't last long, so they must be put to use quickly. Lemon curd is delicious, and Julie has often said that we should try making some, so try I did! I hunted around and eventually settled on this recipe, that its author describes as foolproof. I'd like to think that I didn't fully put it to the test, but I managed not to fool it up. I added a lot more zest than the recipe calls for, but otherwise left it alone. The result is rich but light in texture, and with a brighter lemon flavor than some of the more yolk intensive versions I've had. The texture is great, but there's a slight hint of egg white flavor to it that bothers me a little bit, so if I made it again, maybe I'd drop one or two of those. It's quite decadent with ice cream or yogurt. I had some this morning on french toast that Julie made and, at her brilliant suggestion sprinkled some toasted walnut pieces over it. So damn good.

Sauce the Second: Aprium Lavender Compote

Apparently aprium season came early this year, because we've had a big bunch of them in the markets lately. I have to say, for eating fresh I find them extremely disappointing: pretty apricot shaped fruit with less flavorful plumlike flavor and somewhat mealy texture inside. The best thing you can say about them is that they're not as intensely tart as many apricots are, but then also blander. Cooked up into sauce, though the texture becomes nice and meaty and the flavor deepens. I very much wanted to try another recipe from Clotilde Dusoulier's book Chocolate and Zucchini, and while Julie is iffy on the whole eating flowers thing she's game to try.

What you do is halve and depit two pound of apricots/apriums (any smallish stone fruit will work). Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, then sprinkle two tablespoons of sugar over it and allow it to brown for a few minutes, stirring a couple times to distribute. Place the aprium halves, cut side down around the skillet and allow them to cook undisturbed for about five minutes, until they've given up a good amount of juice. Carefully remove the fruit, leaving as much of the liquid behind as possible. Sprinkle two teaspoons of edible lavender buds (available in co-ops) over the juice and cook the whole thing down over medium-low heat to a think syrup, stirring occasionally. If you're feeling especially lavendery, you can leave the buds in, but I strained them out and returned the syrup to the pan along with the reserved fruit. Combine and heat through. I liked it, especially on pancakes, but Julie was still found flower eating too perfumey, so we made a second batch without lavender.

Sauce the Third: Rhubarb Sauce

Even before Julie brought some gorgeous rhubarb back from Wisconsin and her generous childhood neighbor Lorraine, we managed to piece some together from the farmers market and the plant we put in last year in my mom's garden. Normally all you do is combine chopped rhubarb with sugar to taste and allow it to cook down. This time though, either we accidentally slipped some salt in or perhaps some of the rhubarb was grown in a brackish marsh, either way, the flavor was somewhat off and we added various and sundry things to try and make it good (Julie even wanted to add some rose water before I reminded her that she doesn't like that). Eventually it was Alright, and Julie is gamely continuing to eat it up. Sure is pretty though.

Asparagus Lemon Risotto

Yeah, it's a lot of green on the plate, but this was actually a very complex and tasty risotto. The lemon, the parmesan, the asparagus and the creaminess of the rice, all played nicely against each other. It was nice to have fresh spinach again, but it was a bit tough and was really just something extra on the plate. Oh well, tastier clorophyll next time.

The original recipe is from here (but that requires some sort of registration, so here's a loose web version), but we've tweaked it ever so slightly, so here's our version.

Asparagus-Lemon Risotto

1 lb asparagus spears
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, diced
2 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup Arborio or other short-grained rice
3 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup grated parmesean
1 t freshly grated lemon zest
1 T fresh lemon juice

Trim the asparagus and divide it between two baking sheets. Leave one third whole and cut the other two thirds into two inch segments. Drizzle one tablespoon of the olive oil over the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a 450˚ oven for 10 minutes, tossing a couple of times until crisp-tender.

Bring the stock to a low simmer and keep it there. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium heat and add the onion. Saute until the onions are translucent and add the shallots and garlic. Saute one or two minutes more until they soften and add the rice, stirring to coat. Cook stirring for another few minutes until the rice is golden brown. Add the first cup of broth and carefuly stir it into the rice until it is almost entirely absorbed. Work more of the stock in half a cup at a time, stirring, until the rice becomes toothy but soft and the sauce creamy. Stir in the cheese, the lemon juice and zest, then stir in the cut asparagus. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately and top with the full asparagus stalks. Tastes like Spring.

Asparagus Corn Chowder

Local asparagus has arrived! This week it was back up to $4-$7 a pound, but a week ago one of the smaller farmers was offering $3 a pound or two for $5. Who can argue with that? And so the orgy of aspargus dishes began.

This soup is a variation on the Greens potato corn chowder that I've made for years. Back when I was vegan, my dad remarked with wonder that it tasted as rich as a cream based chowder. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but that's part of the beauty -- it's extremely flavorful while being relatively low in fat.

Asparagus Corn Chowder

7 cups vegetable broth

5 ears sweet corn

1/2 lb potatoes (white or yukon gold recommended), cubed

1 T butter

1/2 T olive oil

large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 t thyme, chopped

1 t basil, chopped

1/2 lb (approx. ten stalks) asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2" pieces

1/4 cup dry white wine

salt and pepper

Shave the corn from the cobs with a large sturdy knife. Set aside 2 cups and put the rest (2-3 cups) in a large soup pot. Use the back of the knife to scrape the remainder of the cornflesh from the cobs into the pot. Add the potatoes, 2cups of the stock, and a bit of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes begin to break down, 20-25 minutes. Add two additional cups of stock and then blend the soup to a smooth puree.

While the soup is simmering, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent and beginning to color. Add the garlic and herbs and cook, stirring occaisionally, until they become fragrant. Add the remaining corn and asparagus and cook until the vegetables become tender. Add the wine, and cook another couple minutes until most of the wine has cooked off.

Add the sauted vegetables to the blended soup. Add additional stock (or milk, or cream), until the soup reached the consistency you like, and cook at a low simmer for another 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. You can top each soup bowl with additional shredded basil or grated hard cheese, as we did here

Julie brought some more asparagus back from the Dorns this weekend, so we can enjoy delicious dinners (and fragrant urine) for a while more.