I’m prone to think myself an expert on too wide an array of topics. Brian’s similarly afflicted, so in this way, and the fact that we’re both not the dollars and cents types, we’re a bad match. Or at least, he’s not the absolute yin to my yang. One way we both learned we knew much less than we had thought we did was moving to Virginia. In Brooklyn, artisan products and farm-fresh produce (that you buy from the farmer) are available almost any day of the week at one of the city’s Green Markets and also at local specialty shops like the Bedford Cheese Shop or the Meat Hook. Not only that, but because vendors range from Vermont to southern New Jersey, we enjoyed a particular food’s season longer as it stretched up the eastern seaboard. Here in a small city in central Virginia, vendors aren’t exactly flocking, so eating locally has a far more strictly defined meaning. That’s one of the main reasons we were thrilled to have signed up for a CSA. (Have you sent in your check yet?) [Read more…]
carrot and jerusalem artichoke salad
With this breezy, sunny spring weather I pretended the offerings at Saturday’s Union Square Greenmarket would be bountiful, but of course the pickings were slim. Despite the sunshine we are at the absolute end of the winter vegetables. What food there is seems largely wilted and soft. Amid all this merely edible food some great items can still be had.
We found some beautiful and tender microgreens, crisp jerusalem artichokes, and yellow carrots. One of my favorite things about summer produce is the immediacy of your meal. As fast as you can slice, salt and drizzle olive oil, you can eat. I was inspired and to decided to put everything together in a dish that lies somewhere between salad and slaw.
Using the slicing side of the grater, I quickly reduced the carrots and jerusalem artichokes to about 4 cups of very thin discs, tossed in the microgreens, a shallot, and a light, lemony vinaigrette. Suddenly, we had a bright and delicious spring salad.
Carrot and Jerusalem Artichoke Salad
serves two for lunch, or four as a side
3 medium carrots, the more colorful the better, here is used yellow carrots
2 goods size Jerusalem artichokes
1 shallot
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon rice or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
pepper
pinch cayenne
Peel the carrots and Jerusalem artichokes, and then slice them as thinly as you can, preferably using a mandoline or the slicing side of a grater. Put the sliced vegetables into a large bowl and toss with salt, the lemon juice and the vinegar. Set aside while you wash the greens. When the vegetables have absorbed the lemon and salt, toss with greens, and some pepper, and serve.
clam chowder with jerusalem artichokes and bacon
Every time I’m going to have shellfish I’m like “Is it that you’re not supposed to eat it in months that do have an R or don’t? Or is it ones that end in R?” Then I just eat it anyway. I just looked it up and, as it happens, you can eat shellfish whenever you want. It’s one of those things that got started somewhere once and probably made sense at the time like “March comes in like lion and out like a lamb” or “April showers bring May flowers” and you learn it and don’t really think about it, but then one day you’re sitting there in Phoenix and you realize that it doesn’t necessarily rain everywhere in April.
Clam chowder is one of those dishes people get uptight about (like barbecue) and insist that whatever they grew up eating is the only real clam chowder. Luckily, I’m not from a clam chowdery region of the country, so I can feel free to improvise. This one has a high bacon to clam ratio and it subs out some of the potatoes for Jerusalem artichokes which really taste nice with the bacon. It’s a rich, hearty, flavorful soup which makes it excellent for the cold weather (assuming it’s cold where you are.)
Clam Chowder with Jerusalem Artichokes and Bacon (adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)
serves 4 as a main course, maybe 6-8 as a starter
12 chowder clams (those are the really big ones, you can use two dozen of the normal-sized kind)
1 pint Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
about a 1/2 lb. of thick cut bacon (less, if you’re not crazy), chopped
4-5 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1.5 pints heavy cream (or use a pint and use milk for the rest)
1 large onion, diced
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
salt
pepper
4 sprigs parsley, chopped
splash of madiera (optional)
– Steam the clams in a big pot. Pull them individually with tongs as they open, try to get them before they open all the way.
– Shuck the clams with a knife. Open them over a bowl and save the juice that comes out.
– Mince the clams.
– In big pot (To keep from messing up every dish you have, use the one you steamed the clams in. rinse it first.), cook the bacon over medium for about 5 minutes.
– Add the onion and cook until it softens, about four minutes.
– Add the flour and cook for another minute.
– Add the sunchokes, the potatoes, the bay leaves, the thyme, and the clam juice you saved. Simmer over medium low 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes and sunchokes are tender. The Jerusalem artichokes take longer, so when you test to see if things are tender, make sure you try one of them. If you don’t have enough clam juice, add just a little water.
– Dump in the cream, parsley, and clams (also the madeira, if you’re using it). You can use a little more or less cream depending on how your chowder looks to you. Gently heat it.
– Taste it and add salt and pepper if you’d like.
– Serve with bread.