Salade Niçoise

In Toronto, this week, we experienced record temperatures and  for this time of year and hit 30ºC.  Summer has come early as did our first salad Niçoise of the season.  This variation of a classic is a summer family favourite that can be made quickly and dressed up or down depending on presentation and whether the tuna is fresh or canned.

I like to use Kozlik's Canadian Mustard, available at St Lawrence Market, Feista Farms and The Hundred Mile Store in Creemore.  The mustard is fabulous, with multiple flavour options and for me, it makes sense that rather than sending Canadian mustard seeds to France to be processed into Dijon Mustard, I use  this very good mustard that is made locally.    

two dinner portions
salad

• 4 cups of mixed salad greens
• 4 small potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 6 anchovies
• 14 green beans
• 1 tomato
• 10 olives
• 8 ounces of sushi grade tuna

dressing

• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of good quality grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil
• fresh thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Prepare salad dressing and set aside.

Boil potatoes and eggs in salted water.   Run under cold water when cooked.  Briefly cook green beans and then put in ice bath to maintain intensity of green and stop cooking.  Peel eggs,  cut potatoes and . tomatoes.

Split salad greens between two bowls.  Arrange vegetables, eggs, anchovies, and olives on greens.
Sear tuna on high heat, slice and arrange on greens, add dressing and serve.  

Claire's Tart Lemon Tart

Claire's Tart Lemon Tart with Debbie's Birthday Lilacs

Claire saw a picture of this tart in a magazine when she was eight and made it for a family function.  Since then, it has become her specialty and, it is expected that she bring it to all family events.  When she was younger, she made the filling and I made the pastry.  I occasionally still help with the rolling of the pastry.  This is very lemony and a bit tart, unlike the more typical, sweeter and custardy lemon tarts.  A small sliver complimented by seasonal fresh berries is a perfect end to a spring meal.

Pastry for 8" tart pan

• 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon of organic sugar
• 1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten

Combine flour and sugar, cut in butter.  Add 2 tablespoons of cold water to egg mixture and stir into flour, handling as little as possible.  Add more water if needed for pastry to hold together.  Form into  flattened ball and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Lemon Curd

• 4 large egg yolks plus 1 whole egg slightly beaten
• 1 cup of organic sugar
• 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, approximately 3 lemons
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, cut into pieces

In a heavy pan, strain the egg yolks and the whole egg through a sieve.  Add the sugar and lemon juice and mix.  Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly and the mixture covers the back of the spoon.  Remove form heat and add the butter, one piece at a time and stir until mixed in.  Add lemon zest.  Cover with sedan wrap until ready to use.
      
Heat oven to 375F
Roll pastry.  We like it to be thick, maybe a 1/4 inch or so.  Fit into tart pan, line foil or parchment paper, and fill with pastry weights.  We use Claire's old marbles, but beans or rice also work.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and weights and cook for another 10 minutes or until golden.  After the pastry has cooled, add lemon curd and place back in oven for another 10 minutes or until the curd has set. 
   

First Garden Salad of the Season

This weekend we harvested the the first salad of the season from the garden.  I had planted a mescalin mix and some arugula seeds in that early warm spell this spring just before that last heavy snow fall. Luckily the snow melted the next day and watered the seeds, giving the plants a good kick start.  This weekend the leaves were finally large enough to begin harvesting.  Chives, lovage and some fennel fonds supplemented the salad, as well as the perennial herbs, thyme, sage and oregano.  
Earlier in the day, we had weeded all the garlic mustard we came across.  The leaves from the garlic mustard, which are nutritionally loaded, provided a tasty addition to the salad. I had also planted some pansies and the flowers made the perfect topping for our first garden salad. 

Pickled Wild Leeks or Ramps

My daughter came up north this weekend, and since there were still morels on the front lawn, and lots of wild leeks in the woods, suggested a repeat performance of last week's dinner, complete with cheese.  Because Claire has been off dairy lately, I hadn't anticipated this and was short of Parmesan cheese.  This tuned out to be one of those happy accidents because this week's risotto turned out to be better than last week's.  I am not sure about blog etiquette, however, I have gone back and adjusted the risotto recipe to reflect the reduced cheese.

When digging leeks for the risotto, I noticed the first of the buds were starting to form on the ramps.  This is the first sign of the end of the leek season. Time is running out to preserve ramps, so picked Ramps became the weekend project.

Pickled Wild Leeks (Ramps) will turn a pale pink as they age

I like to pickle the leek bulbs with no seasoning, to allow for more flexibility when using them later. I save the leek greens to use in salads or sauté and serve as a side.

Ingredients

• 50 to 60 wild leeks
• 1/2 cup of white vinegar
• 1/3 cup of rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 250 ml wide mouthed canning jars

Clean wild leeks and cut off greens just above the bulb. Save greens for another use.
Place leek bulbs in a sterilized jar.
Mix vinegars, salt and sugar together in a stainless steel pot and bring to the boil.
Fill jar to 1/2" from top and screw on lid.
Process jar in boiling water for 20 minutes. Tighten lid and store in a dark place until ready to use.  These are best after a couple of weeks.


If you are pickling more than a few bottles, experiment with different spices in some of the bottles.  A half teaspoon of picking spices with a small Tai chili pepper in each  bottle works well.  


And it goes without saying that it is very important to only harvest a very small portion of any wild leek patch, as they take years to develop.  I have read, I forget where, that a large leek bulb may be 20 years old.  I transplanted a patch of wild leeks from the country to the city under some large trees, and while they come up every year, the patch is only a tiny bit larger after 5 years.  

Port Rhubarb and Apple Crisp

 Rhubarb was the first plant in my garden that could be picked this year.  Last weekend as part of our goodbye winter dinner, we made a rhubarb and apple crisp using an open bottle of port, that had probably been in the fridge a little too long, to supplement the sweetener.  At dinner we had a conversation about whether it was a  crisp, crumble or a cobbler, and eventually decided on 'crisp' because the topping did not use flour as you would in a pastry,  but rather, was coarser with an oat base and not crumby. After doing some research, I think we weren't too far off the mark.  I liked Canadian Living's approach which suggests that it really doesn't matter, call it whatever you like, however I found a more precise explanation on OChef that I also found useful.

The desert was a success, with the help of a generous scoop of Mad River Co, Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream.  I think this is the best vanilla ice cream ever. The only place that I know of, that I can buy it, and only sporadically, is at the 100 Mile Store in Creemore.

Port Rhubarb and Apple Crisp

serves 4
heat oven to 350F

• 4 stocks of rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 apples cut into bite some chunks
• 1/4 cup of port
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

topping

• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 up of butter
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix the rhubarb, apples, sugar and spices, and port together in a bowl, and put in small loaf pan or serving sized containers that can go in the oven.  Prepare the topping, next.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon with the oats.  Cut in the butter, and press into flat pieces and cover the fruit.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes for individual portions, or 30 minutes for larger pan, or until juices are bubbling.  Serve warm with ice cream.

 Best Wishes to Fifth Town Artisan Cheese

A very ripe "Lost Lake" 

This past Saturday, while picking up some groceries at the 100 Mile Store in Creemore, I asked for a "Lost Lake" or "Operetta Cheese" by Fifth Town Artisan Cheese.  I was devastated to find out that Fifth Town Artisan Cheese was closing it's doors temporarily and there would be no more of these fabulous little cheeses for a while.  So sad.  Good luck with the restructuring. 

Wild Leek and Morel Risotto

Wild Leek and Morel Risotto

The first spring at our our place in the country near Honeywood, my daughter and I discovered wild leeks in our woods.  A few weeks later we found morels growing under the big old maple tree on the front lawn.  I wasn't sure that these were really morels and so after being reassured by my neighbour that indeed these were the real thing and that morels are one of the few mushrooms that are next to impossible to mistake, I felt I had won the lottery.  

Swath of Wild Leeks in the Woods

It was a cold and wet weekend and risotto was the prefect remedy.  After digging the leeks in the rain, we were thoroughly chilled, so standing over the hot stove doing the slow risotto stir was perfect.  This recipe became an instant family spring ritual.  

Because the morel season is so short, maybe two or three weeks if we are really lucky, and very unpredictable, I tend to invite everyone I can muster on short notice for this annual indulgence.   

First Morel of the Year

This weekend the morels returned, and unlike our first experience, it was a warm and sunny weekend.  Ann was visiting from Perth and shared her fond memories of Sylvia Boorman who wrote "Wild Plums in Brandy,wild foods cookery" in 1969. Sylvia's place, it turns out, had been only minutes away from our place in Honeywood.  Ann, as a young girl, had spent a week with Sylvia, learning about food that could be forged from the woods, and so it seemed fitting, that it was Ann, who was helping with the digging of the wild leeks this year.   My good friends and neighbors, Alan and Ester, joined us for the ritual spring dinner of Wild Leek and Morel Risotto, and also remembered Sylvia and had stories to share.  

In addition to the wild leeks and morels, we also had the first local asparagus from Griffins Market Garden, and the first rhubarb from my garden.  I think we are finally putting winter behind us.  

Ann cleaning the wild leeks

serves 6


15 to 20 wild leeks, depending on size
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup  fresh morels
1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
2 cups of dry white wine
7 cups of vegetable broth
sprig of thyme
4 tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Clean leeks well under cold running water.  Cut the leaves just above the bulb and save the leaves for later. Cut bulbs in half, lengthwise and sauté the bulbs in the 
olive oil, and add the rice and stir, until the rice becomes translucent. Add 1/2  of the wine and stir over medium heat until almost all the wine is absorbed.  Add the other half of the wine and repeat.  Add thyme and then add the broth 1 cup at a time, stirring until  almost all is absorbed and repeat until rice is done. It should be creamy but still al dente.  In the mean time, clean the morels and cut into large bite size pieces and coarsely chop the greens from the leeks.  Sauté the mushrooms in half the butter, add the greens at the last minute and stir both into the risotto.  Remove from heat. Cut the remaining butter into chunks and quickly stir into rice mixture.  Stir in cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.