spring green

in my mind -- and on the phone with anna -- i'd planned to make a fancy little easter supper for my husband, featuring lamb chops (which i've never actually cooked at home), spring vegetables (TBD), and a souffle for dessert.

in reality, i acquired so many vegetables last week, josh blanched at the idea of buying lamb, or anything else for that matter. what can i say? the newly arrived spring vegetables were just too tempting. i picked up a few at the ballard farmer's market, a few at the pike place market, and a few more at whole foods... and we went out several nights last week. oops.

so, i cooked with what we had. six lovely spring vegetables from our fridge. and combined them in one dish.

i should back up to say this is not my usual approach. i am strongly opposed to almost anything "kitchen sink"-style. many a frittata, salad, and risotto have suffered that muddled fate of the eat-down. and i do not support that.

in honor of spring, or new beginnings, or my eat-down-loving new husband, comforting myself with the belief that "what grows together goes together," i took it all... and made risotto. 

stinging nettles, baby fennel, fiddlehead ferns, fava beans, wild ramps! i used all of that (plus half a leftover shallot!) to make one very green and spring-y dish. and it was actually really very good. still i maintain, not the best way to highlight all of these wonderful treats.

what was? nettle pesto! i couldn't pack an entire bag of nettles into risotto for two, so i made a simple pesto with the remainder. here's how:

nettle pesto

blanch nettles briefly in salted water
blend in a cuisinart (drain water, if necessary)
add a peppery olive oil, salt, pepper to taste

enjoy dolloped on top of risotto, stirred into pasta, with halibut or salmon, even grilled spring lamb or steak. or, as i did first thing monday morning, with a poached egg.

hello, spring!

rhubarb, peas, fava beans, miner's lettuce, asparagus -- delicious harbingers of spring! what better subjects could there be for a new beginning, the second post of this blog?

springtime also happens to be my favorite time of the year. it's hopeful, budding, still cool. 

there's no denying the goodness of a late-summer tomato, but for me, the slightly reserved, bright, clean flavors of spring are perfection.

for my april 2 wedding, we served a little spring feast (under blossoming branches, naturally).

the dish i'm thinking about this morning exemplifies simple springtime deliciousness for me -- 
alaskan halibut, fava bean purée, torn olive oil croutons
paired with àmaurice 2007 columbia valley chardonnay

(a big shout-out to the tom douglas catering team! how they served beautifully cooked halibut to 240 people is beyond me).

one day soon, i'll work on a home version and share it here.

welcome, thirsty piglettes! more springtime goodness coming soon...

photo: broad bean buds at ballymaloe, april 2010