May, 2011 | I Can Cook That

Rhubarb Crisp

Another offering in my CSA share this week was rhubarb. I had no idea what rhubarb was, let alone how to cook it. So for those that are in the same boat as me, rhubarb “have large leaves that are somewhat triangular-shaped with long fleshy petioles. Although the leaves are toxic, various parts of the plants have culinary and medicinal uses. Fresh raw stalks are crisp (similar to celery) with a strong tart taste; most commonly the plant’s stalks are cooked and used in pies and other foods for their tart flavour.” (Thanks Wikipedia) Thankfully, the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative must have assumed people would need help, and posted a recipe on their blog for rhubarb crisp.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan
5 to 6 cups rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces, tough strings removed
¼ cup turbinado sugar (raw sugar) — This is just what I had on hand
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
pinch salt
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, or use some butter to grease the pan. Prepare your rhubarb by cutting it into 1.5 inch pieces.

Toss prepared rhubarb with turbinado sugar (or whatever sugar you have), orange juice, and orange zest. Spread in the baking dish.

Add butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt to a food processor. Pulse for 20 to 30 seconds, or until it begins to clump together. Add oats and pecans and pulse until combined.

Crumble the pecan oat topping over the rhubarb mixture.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until brown and bubbling.

I dare you to put that much sugar in any dessert and make it taste bad. It was really sweet (obviously), and honestly might have needed a bit more acid. Maybe a squeeze of lemon? The oats and pecans stayed nice and crunchy, while the rhubarb softened so that it could easily be cut with a spoon. Yum!

Cucumber Salad with Radish and Dill

I Signed up for a CSA vegetable half share through the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. Once a week, I pick up a box of local, organic and (obviously) in-season vegetables. This week my bundle included pink radishes. I have never tried to make anything with radishes so I was excited to see what kind of recipes were out there for this ingredient. I decided to try a salad recipe from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber (or 3 Kirby cucumbers) halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A handful of feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a cutting knife
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Begin by prepping your vegetables. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and use a spoon to remove all seeds.

Once seeded, thinly slice the cucumber.

The radishes I had were tiny, and I was afraid to try to thinly slice them without losing a finger. I used a mandolin slicer to slice the radishes as thin as possible. Be very careful not to get your fingers!

Add the sliced cucumber and radishes to a bowl. Zest the lemon into the same bowl.

Add the feta cheese and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, dill, sugar, and garlic. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.

That just means mixed so the vinegar/oil don’t separate

Add the vinaigrette to the cucumber mixture, tossing to coat. Make sure to discard the garlic before serving.

Even if this turned out to be the most offensive salad I’ve ever eaten, I’d still probably post it just so you could see how beautiful the salad is. Thankfully, the flavors worked really well together. The lemon soaked into the cucumbers and radishes adding a hint of citrus, the dill added a little earthiness to the dish, and the feta was a nice balance to the fresh vegetables. I am pleasantly surprised to say that I hope to make radishes a part of my normal ingredients during the spring!

Lemon-Dill Salmon

This recipe is a result of me buying a bunch of ingredient for other recipes and then forgetting to look up anything for a salmon recipe. I rummaged through my fridge and came up with a few ingredients I figured would taste good together.

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon
1 lemon, zested and squeezed
1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

There are two lemons, but I only used one

Zest the lemons into a bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the bowl. Add the melted butter and mix.

Add the tablespoon of dill and mix.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

Pour the lemon-butter-dill mixture over the salmon.

Add the salmon to the pan skin-side up. Cook for 2 minutes or until the salmon has a nice brown sear. Flip and cook until the salmon is cooked though and flakes easily.

So this recipe isn’t a breakthrough way to cook salmon. But it is tasty, a bit different than your normal salmon dish, and happily quick. I am a big fan of lemon zest, it really lets the lemony flavor shine through the butter and dill.

Pear Arugula Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan

I found a recipe for Fig & Arugula Salad with Parmesan and really wanted to try it, but figs are not in season until September-ish. Comments for the recipe suggested using red pears as a substitute, so I tried it out. I also didn’t have any shallots so I nixed those, and added in some walnuts for a bit of crunch. The result was this Pear Arugula Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 red pears, peeled, cored & chopped
6 cups trimmed arugula (about 6 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
A handful of walnuts

Combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Whisk to combine.

Very exciting photo, I know

Peel pears.

Cut in half and remove the seeds and stem. (You can use a melon baller or just a spoon)

Chop into bite-size pieces.

Add the pear pieces to the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Cover and let marinate for 20 minutes. In another bowl, add the arugula.

You can add raw walnuts, or if you’re up for it, saute them in some butter until fragrant.

Remove and place on a paper towel to drain the butter.

Allow to cool and add to the arugula. Add the cheese. After 20 minutes, add the pear pieces.

This was really refreshing! I wish I could have made it with fresh figs, so I will have to attempt that again in the fall. There was just the right amount of sweetness from the pears, tangy-ness from the vinegar, crunch from the walnuts, and spice from the arugula. This would be a perfect summer dinner and a great spring board dish. Grilled salmon or chicken would be a great addition to this dish.