Plated: Fresh Pea Puree with Garlic Scapes

My love of fresh peas has just grown a little larger. Earlier this week, my good friend Lauren and I whipped up a simple, light weeknight meal that will definitely go into the recipe file. Brainstorming what we would cook a bit earlier in the day, we both realized our fridge's were uncommonly barren (Lauren's moving next week, but I really have no excuse!). The one item I did have on hand were some great looking shell peas I'd bought at the greenmarket last weekend. And so we built our dinner around the simple pea...and I transformed those little suckers into a tasty, "lick-your-plate clean" pea puree (seriously, Lauren literally licked her plate). I also had some fresh chives and garlic scapes lying around, so I decided to saute them up and toss them into the puree. If you've never heard or cooked with garlic scapes before, you're not alone. Last night was my first experience and I'm hooked. They look like curly scallions with a subtle garlic flavor. They're tasty and thanks to their shape, are kind of fun to have around (see picture below).
We ended up pairing the puree with a garlic-lemony baked tilapia and baby red potatoes fresh from the farmers market. Here are the details:



Lemon-Garlic Tilapia with Pea Puree and Baby Potatoes
Serves 2

Tilapia --
3/4 lb fresh tilapia (2 small fillets)
1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
2 Tbsp garlic scapes, minced
cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Place tilapia in 9x9 baking dish. Halve lemons, squeeze juice over fish and include rinds in baking dish for additional flavor. Sprinkle chives, garlic scapes and cayenne pepper over top of fish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil for 5-7 additional minutes, checking frequently so fish doesn't burn.

Pea Puree -
~ 1 lb fresh shell peas, shelled (comes to about 1 1/4 cup of peas)
1.5 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup fresh chives, minced
1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt, or more to taste
1-2 Tbsp cooking water from the peas
Boil peas in a medium saucepan. Saute chives and garlic scapes in butter 2-3 minutes on medium heat. In a food processor, combine peas, chive-scape-butter mixture, lemon juice, salt and cooking water. Puree until well blended. Taste test and add additional salt.

Potatoes -
8-10 small-medium baby red potatoes
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chives, minced
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
In a large sauce pan, boil potatoes until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and add potatoes, chives, salt and pepper. Saute 3-5 minutes.

Quick & Dirty News Feed

I just read/watched two good news stories that are worthy of a quick post.

1) 5 Meals with 10 Kitchen Staples
Checkout Mark Bittman's spot on this morning's Today Show and watch him whip up a summer pasta with breadcrumbs, spinach and a touch of bacon along with 4 other meals in under 15 minutes. I've mentioned Mark (and his kitchen staples) before and you all know I'm all about a teeny bit of easy prep to keep a healthy kitchen well-stocked.

2) The Latest & Not-So-Greatest Diet "Quick Fix"...It's all about Smell
Here's an article in today's Times unmasking Sensa, tiny granules you sprinkle on food that act as appetite suppressants by stimulating your olfactory gland (smell from nose to brain) to signal satiety. Basically Sensa and other similar products take the pleasure out of eating and thus, make your favorite dish of mac n'cheese or piece of chocolate cake much less appetizing. Take pleasure and enjoyment away from me? Not so fast, sorry. I'll pass and would prefer to sniff AND eat...in healthful, indulgent moderation of course.

What's in Season Near You?

I spent a good amount of time sauntering through NYC's farmers market in Union Square this past weekend and I can confidently say that summer produce is finally on the horizon (fingers crossed with this gray, rainy weather we've been having). Depending on where we live however, summertime, seasonal produce may vary. Just because peaches are out by the bushel in early July in Virginia, doesn't mean you'll find them at your local greenmarket in Vermont. Weather and agriculture is certainly unpredictable, but I think it also makes the shopping experience that much more exciting, intriguing and creative (well, it often forces you to be more creative!). Go with what your geographic area gives you and you won't be disappointed in terms of flavor and taste. Wondering what's in season near you during June, July and August? Checkout Epicurious.com's fantastic Farm-to-Table Seasonal Cooking guide -- seasonal recipes, tips, 10 of the nation's best locavore restaurants, AND a peak-season map for produce around the country. See what's happening right now in your state. For NY, we've just hit strawberry season. Sugar snap and shell peas, rhubarb, asparagus, radishes and spinach are on overdrive at the greenmarket. Eat up! Here's one of my favorite early summer recipes that plays up the perfect pairing of strawberries and rhubarb in an indulgently healthful dessert.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Serves 10-12

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

3 cups chopped rhubarb (about 1" pieces)

4 cups strawberries (halved or quartered, about 1 1/2 pints)

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (my secret ingredient)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, toss the sugar, cornstarch, rhubarb, berries, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix well and transfer to a lightly buttered 13x9 glass baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients to form coarse crumb and sprinkle over the fruit mixture. Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crumb topping is lightly browned. Serve warm with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or frozen yogurt.