Key Lime Cheesecake with Fresh Blueberry Compote

Every year I look forward to the flood of local and regional blueberries that arrives with the height of summer here in the Midwest.  I eat them every morning with yogurt (and peaches)...and I tuck them into desserts of all kinds.  A few years ago when I decided to teach a class called "High Summer at the Farmers' Market", I knew I had to include a dessert made with blueberries.  Rather than my usual...cake, tart, crisp, etc.....I decided to pair them with lime in a cool and refreshing cheesecake. 

 

 

You might not think of putting lime together with blueberry.  At least, I didn't until I was introduced to the combination by my friend Bonnie.  She has been enamored with the combination since first tasting it years ago in a lime custard parfait with blueberry sauce.  The first time I tasted the combination was when I was assisting Bonnie with a muffin class.  She topped her blueberry muffins with a light crunchy streusel that was loaded with lime zest rather than the more typical lemon zest.  I was struck by how well the lime complimented the blueberry...and have remembered it ever since.  

 

As it happens, lime season—both Persian/Bearss and Mexican/Key—intersects blueberry season (making their pairing all the more appropriate).  Because they are available year round, I tend to forget that limes have a season.  But they do....from early summer and on into fall, they are at their peak.  I have chosen to make my cheesecake with the more unusual Key lime...I think the spicy/aromatic quality of these little guys is especially nice with the blueberries...but I imagine this cheesecake would be pretty fine with the more widely available (and easier to juice) Persian limes.

 

If you do choose to use Key limes (and I hope you will) the best way I have found to extract their juice is as follows:  Instead of cutting the limes in half, just shave off enough of one end to expose the flesh.  Working over a bowl, slide a fork into the lime and wiggle it from side to side as you squeeze the lime with your other hand.  If you can, try to rotate the fork a little bit as you work it from side to side—this will help to tear up the membranes a bit and release more juice.  I won't lie...if you are lucky, you will get a tablespoon of juice from each lime.  You might only get a half tablespoon.  Because the yield is so meager, I also squeeze out the very small amount juice in the little "cap" I sliced off of the end...every little bit helps.  If you want to use the zest of the limes, scrub them (they are almost always waxed) and zest them before juicing them.    

 

 

As for the cheesecake itself, the recipe is fairly basic.  It is the method that is important when it comes to getting a beautiful, creamy result.  First, make sure that your cream cheese has had time to come to room temperature so that it will be soft.  Resist the temptation to beat the ingredients at a high speed.  This will result in over-beating which will cause the cake to soufflé up in the oven and collapse in the center as it cools.  When mixed at a lower speed, the final cake will be level and uniform in texture.  As you begin to mix, the cream cheese will have a tendency to get hung up in the paddle.  Simply stop the machine and scrape the paddle and the sides. 

 

 

Continue to do this until the cream cheese is smooth.  Then, begin to add each of the ingredients. First the sugar...

 

 

then the flour/salt...then the lime juice with the vanilla...

 

 

and finally the eggs.  After each of these groups of ingredients have been added, it is important to make sure that the bowl and paddle are well scraped and that the batter is completely smooth.  With each successive addition, the batter becomes thinner and any thick-ish lumps that have not been smoothed out will remain (which will result in and uneven texture in the final cake).

 

Earlier this week when I taught this class, someone asked me why I didn't include any lime zest in the cheesecake.  This is an excellent question, because citrus zest adds a great deal of flavor.  You can of course include some lime zest in the cake if you like.  I don't because I don't want the bits of texture from the zest in the cake.  Instead, I include some zest in the blueberry compote.

 

 

The blueberry compote is a recipe that I adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Pie & Pastry Bible.  It makes a perfect topping for a cheesecake: thick, with berries that are whole and intact.  The original recipe calls for lemon juice and lemon zest.  I of course have used lime juice and the aforementioned lime zest.

 

I love this cheesecake.  It is super creamy, wonderfully tart & refreshing and loaded with summer flavor.  It even won a little informal cheesecake "throwdown" (you can read about it at Katrina's blog Baking and Boys).  And, in the midst of a class filled with what I think are exceptional summer recipes (Pasta with Summer Squash & Sweet Corn, Chicken Salad with Cantaloupe, Feta & Mint, and Pizza with Roasted Pepper & Potatoes), this recipe is always a favorite.

 

 

 

 Key Lime Cheesecake Squares

with Blueberry Compote

Graham Cracker Crust:
5 oz. graham crackers, finely ground (to make a scant 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
3 T. granulated sugar
2 oz. (4 T.) unsalted butter, melted

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with 2 criss-crossed sheets of foil, leaving an overhang.  Butter or spray the pan.  Combine the crust ingredients until homogenous and press into the pan in a compact even layer. Bake in a pre-heated 350° oven until just beginning to brown—8 to 10 minutes.  Cool.

Key Lime Filling:
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 T. all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. strained key lime juice
3 eggs, at room temperature and lightly beaten
1/2 t. vanilla

Briefly beat cream cheese to break up.  Beat in the sugar until smooth; scrape the sides.  Beat in the flour & salt; scrape the sides.  Add the lime juice and vanilla and beat in.  Scrape the sides.  Beat in the eggs in two or three additions, just until smooth and fully incorporated.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Place the pan on a half-sheet pan and place on the oven rack in a pre-heated 325° oven.  Pour in hot water to come up at least half as high as the batter in the pan.  Bake until just set--about 40 to 45 minutes.  Cool to room temperature (about 2 hours).  Chill, uncovered, until cold (at least 2 hours, but cheesecake may be baked a day or two ahead).  

To portion, lift the cold cake out of the pan using the overhang of foil.  Cut the cake using a sharp, thin knife dipped in hot water (and wiped dry) in between cuts.  First, trim the edges.  Then cut into three 2 3/4-inch wide strips.  Cut each strip evenly into 3, 4 or 5 pieces depending on whether you want 9, 12 or 15 portions.  You may also cut 18 buffet-sized portions by cutting 9 squares and then cutting each square in half on the diagonal.



Serve topped with a spoonful of blueberry compote.

Blueberry Compote

14 oz. blueberries (about 2 3/4 c.)

75 g. sugar (6 T.)

1 T. Key (or Persian) lime juice

zest of 1 Persian lime or 3 or 4 Key limes

1/2 oz. cornstarch (2 T.) 

 

Combine the berries with the sugar, lime juice and zest in a wide, shallow saucepan.  Let macerate for 30 minutes.  Dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of cold water and add to the berries.  Bring to a boil, stirring gently with a heat-proof rubber spatula.  Let boil until the juices are clear and very thick--about a minute.  Empty into a bowl and cool without stirring.  Chill.  Makes a generous 2 cups.

 

(Compote/topping adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum)

 

Printable Recipe

 

Fusilli with Beet Greens, Currants, Pine Nuts & Feta

 

Last month I posted a description of an evening meal that included a side of wilted greens.  On that particular occasion I had intended to use Swiss chard for my greens, but discovered when I started to cook that I was a bit short on chard.  Fortunately I had some beets with the greens still attached, so I was able to supplement my chard with some of the beet greens.   As I remarked in that post, if you have never had beet greens, you are missing out.   And since they pretty much come free with the beets, they are a great means of extending your food dollars.   

 

As it turns out, it isn't much of a stretch to replace (or supplement) chard with beet greens in your cooking.  They—along with spinach—are members of the same plant family...the goosefoot family.  (For those interested in a little plant trivia, you will be interested to know that this family of plants also includes epazote, lamb's quarters and—most surprisingly—quinoa.)  In fact, beets and chard happen to be the same plant (Beta vulgaris)—just different cultivars..   They can be cooked and served in the same manner.   I think beet greens have a more pronounced, earthy flavor...but for the most part, if you want to use up those greens that came with your beets, you can try them in any favorite recipe that calls for Swiss chard (grain salads or pilafs, quiche/frittata, soup, pasta, etc.).    

 

The first time I ever tasted beet greens they were used to sauce pasta.  The recipe was from Alice Water's Chez Panisse Vegetables.  It is still a favorite recipe—I have altered it only slightly over the years.  I have added a garnish of Feta (Ricotta Salata will work too--a salty cheese does great things for the sweet and earthy flavors of this dish) and a scattering of pine nuts.  Beyond that, probably the most important change I made is that I don't include the stems of the beets.  Alice Waters directs you to include them (cutting them into two inch lengths and adding them to the onions with the leaves).  This only works if you have the most tender and freshest of beets.  I found them to be a big stringy and unpleasant on one occasion, so I have left them out ever since.

 

If you don't have any beet greens, you could obviously make this pasta with Swiss chard..it will be delicious.  But if you happen to have some beets on hand (from your last trip to the farmers' market...or in your CSA share), I wanted to post this recipe so you will be motivated to save those greens rather than just discarding them out of habit.  (Something many people do...I was shocked during a recent trip to the grocery store when the clerk offered to cut the greens off and throw them away for me.)   The beet greens will require a bit more picking over than chard...but that's OK, they're usually pretty abundant.  And, I predict that once you sample those greens, you will begin choosing your beets with an eye towards not just the condition of the root, but the condition of the leafy tops as well.

 

Fusilli with Beet Greens, Feta & Pine Nuts

 2 T. Olive oil

1 medium red onion, finely diced

1 fat clove of garlic, chopped

pinch of pepper flakes

6 oz. trimmed beet greens (This will probably require two bunches of beets.  Pick through the greens, discarding any that are yellowing or wilted.  Then, strip away the stems.  If the leaves are very large, cut crosswise into a wide chiffonade.  Rinse the greens well.)

1/4 c. currants, plumped in hot water for 15 minutes and drained

2 T. mint chiffonade (see notes)

2 heaping T. pine nuts, toasted

2 oz. Feta (or Ricotta Salata), crumbled

8 oz. Fusilli

1/2 to 1 T. Extra Virgin Olive oil

 

 

Warm the olive oil in a wide sauté pan set over moderate heat.  Add the onions and garlic, along with the pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are tender and beginning to turn golden.   Add the beet greens a handful at a time, turning them with a pair of tongs so that they are coated in the hot oil and onions, and adding another handful as each previous handful begins to collapse.  When the greens have collapsed, add the currants. 

 

 

Cover and cook until the greens are tender—about 5 minutes.  Uncover the pan, reduce the heat to the very lowest setting to keep the greens warm while you cook the pasta.

 

While the greens are cooking, bring 6 quarts of water to the boil in a large stock/pasta pot.  Add 2 to 3 Tablespoons of salt.  Add the fusilli and cook until al dente.  Drain, reserving some of the pasta water.  Add the mint and the fusilli to the greens and toss to combine.  If the pasta seems dry, add a bit of reserved pasta water.  Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and toss again.  Serve, garnished with the pine nuts and Feta.  Serves 2 to 3.

Notes:

• This pasta can be doubled to serve 4 to 6.  Use a larger sauté pan.
• If you don't have any fresh mint, add some dried oregano instead to the onions while they cook—1/2 teaspoon or so. 

(Recipe adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters)

 Printable Recipe

Raspberry, Vanilla & Blueberry Parfaits with Shortbread Stars for Independence Day



As we head into July, we are nearing the height of raspberry season. Last week I had the privilege of tasting them freshly picked in the garden of a friend. On Saturday I noticed that they had begun to trickle into the farmers' market (along with the flood of blueberries). At my local grocery store raspberries are abundant (and on sale!). But even without all of these cues, the fragrance wafting my way from the mountain of raspberry boxes at Costco last Friday would have told me that the season for raspberries was upon us.

As I stood in front of that Costco display, I thought about the festive red, white and blue parfait I had seen that morning on Martha Stewart's Facebook page. So instead of just purchasing the one box of raspberries I needed for my private dinner client...I purchased two extra boxes so I could make fresh raspberry sorbet for parfaits to serve at my family's Fourth of July celebration.

The parfaits are perfect for the kinds of casual, out-of-doors, boisterous activities that are the norm for Fourth of July celebrations. Made up of the aforementioned fresh raspberry sorbet, along with vanilla ice cream, fresh blueberries and a sugar cookie garnish...they could hardly be simpler (or more festive). Recipes for each of the components were provided on Martha Stewart's site, but I of course wanted to use my own favorite recipes. Instead of vanilla ice cream I made the Orange-scented Honey & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream that I posted last year with my recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. I love orange and honey with berries and I thought it would be a perfect foil for the tart raspberry sorbet (and it was).

The sugar cookie garnish on Martha Stewart's parfaits took the form of a cute little spoon. I was going to make spoons and then decided that cookies cut in the shape of stars and sprinkled with red, white and blue sugars would be more fun and a much better fit for the holiday. To make the cutouts, I used one of my favorite shortbread recipes (adapted from Emily Luchetti's Stars Desserts—I posted a Pistachio variation in March). Like the cookie spoons, the star shortbread cookies can be stuck into the parfaits as a garnish...or simply arranged on a platter (so people can eat as many as they want...).

For my raspberry sorbet, I just followed the formula I always use when I make a fruit sorbet. The method is outlined in my plum sorbet post from a couple of years ago. The raspberry sorbet is even easier than the plum. The fruit doesn't need to be pitted or cooked. Just measure, purée and strain the berries and then add a volume of chilled simple syrup (equal weights of water and sugar that have been brought to a boil) equivalent to 1/3 of the volume of the fruit. Place the mixture in a deep container and test the sugar density using the egg test. Add water or sugar syrup as needed. Taste and adjust with lemon juice. Be careful with the lemon...my raspberries were sufficiently tart and flavorful—I didn't need much lemon.


To build the parfaits, layer scoops of the vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries and scoops of the raspberry sorbet. Top with a sprinkling of more fresh blueberries. I think it looks best to build the parfaits with several small scoops of each flavor, rather than one large scoop of each. But if you don't have any small scoops (typically sold for scooping cookie dough), the parfait will still look very pretty. The parfaits on Martha Stewart's site are made with a large scoop of each and they look beautiful.

For an alternate—and more formal—presentation, you could make an ice cream/sorbet terrine by packing alternating, even layers of the sorbet and ice cream into a plastic wrap-lined loaf pan. Freeze the terrine until firm before turning out and cutting into thick slabs to serve. (Use a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry after each cut so you will get neat, clean slices.) Place the slabs, on individual chilled plates and scatter the blueberries over each slice. Instead of using fresh blueberries, you could make a blueberry sauce to pool on the plate under the terrine or a chunky compote to spoon across each slice. The stripes of red sorbet and white ice cream would be perfect for the holiday. As a bonus, this presentation would make it much easier to serve to a crowd.

I think it is worth making your own sorbet and ice cream for this frozen holiday treat. But if you don't have the time...or an ice cream maker...then you can of course recreate these parfaits with purchased ice cream and sorbet. The important thing is to serve something that is delicious, refreshing and red, white and blue.... And, if you can squeeze in some of the delicious, in-season raspberries that are coming into the market right now (maybe built into an all vanilla ice cream parfait along with the blueberries), all the better. But no matter what you serve, I hope that you—and those you love—have a safe, fun and festive Independence Day celebration.

Fresh Raspberry Sorbet

1 1/3 c. (300 gr.) water
1 1/2 c. (300 gr.) sugar
1 1/2 to 1 2/3 lbs. fresh raspberries
1 T. fresh lemon juice—more or less, to taste

Make the simple syrup: Place the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Set aside to cool. You will have about 2 cups simple syrup, which will keep indefinitely in covered tightly in the refrigerator.

Gently wash the raspberries if they are dirty and spread on towels to dry. Purée the berries in the food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pass the purée through a fine-meshed sieve. Chill until cold.

Place the purée in a deep, container that is large enough to hold 6 cups. Add a cup of the simple syrup and stir well. Wash a raw egg well and dry carefully. Drop the raw egg (in the shell) into the sorbet base. If the sugar saturation of the base is where it should be, the egg will float so that a dime- to quarter-sized portion of the shell is visible on the surface of the sorbet base. If an area larger than a quarter is visible, add water. If the egg is not visible at all, or the area that is visible is smaller than a dime, add simple syrup. (When I made my sorbet, I needed to add another 2/3 cup of syrup.) After the sugar density has been corrected, remove the egg. Taste the sorbet and add lemon juice to taste. The rule of thumb is 1 1/2 tablespoons per quart of sorbet base (my raspberries didn't need this much).

Freeze the sorbet according to the manufacturer’s instructions on your ice cream freezer. Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm. Makes about a quart of sorbet.

Note: The weight of raspberries given in the recipe is equivalent to about 5 to 5 1/2 cups of berries...which will in turn make about 3 cups of strained purée. This is why the recipe begins by adding 1 cup of simple syrup (1 cup is a third of 3 cups). It is interesting to note that the final amount of syrup needed was 1 2/3 cup...which is a third of 5 cups (approximately the volume of the berries before they were puréed). I suspected that I would need this larger amount but started with the smaller—you can always add more sugar syrup...you can't take it away once it has been added.

Printable Recipe

Shortbread Cookies

1/2 lb. unsalted butter, at a cool room temperature (malleable, but not soft)
1/2 c. sugar (100 g)
a pinch of salt
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour (280 g)

Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together just until combined and smooth...it is not necessary (or desirable) to cream until light and fluffy.

Add the flour and mix on low speed until the dough comes together.

On a lightly floured surface (working with 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough at a time and adding the scraps from each rolling into the next, fresh portion of dough) roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/4-inch and stamp out cookies in whatever shape you desire.

Transfer the cookies to parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them evenly (about 1 to 2 inches apart—they can be pretty close together since they don't spread). Chill the stamped cookies until they are firm. If you like, sprinkle some granulated or decorative sugar over the cookies before baking.

Bake the cookies in a 300° oven until set—about 15 to 20 minutes. The cookies should not brown...although they may begin to take on a light golden color at the edges. Let the cookies cool briefly on the sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store the cookies air-tight.

Depending on the size of your cutters, the recipe will yield about 4 to 5 dozen Shortbread Cookies.

(Recipe adapted from Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti)

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A Roasted Beet Sandwich

Earlier this month I was in the Twin Cities to attend a family graduation. While I was there I had the privilege of spending a few days with my good friend Bonnie. As usual we talked about, cooked and ate lots of good food. We visited the St. Paul Farmers' Market (one of my favorite markets) and also made a quick trip to a little mid-week market in the town of Excelsior. (I say "quick" because the weather was unseasonably cool and I hadn't packed appropriately. It was windy and way too chilly for my shorts and light jacket.) At the end of the market there was a food truck (called "The Moral Omnivore...ethical eats from bacon to beets") that we had been encouraged to visit. We ordered a quinoa salad and a couple of their featured sliders and then raced back down the length of the market to enjoy our lunch in the warmth of the car.

Everything we had was very good, but it was the beet slider that stood out. It was delicious...so good I was tempted to brave the cold to run the length of the market to get another...but I didn't want to be a pig. Filled with thinly sliced roasted beets, egg, and goat gouda...I loved everything about it. Normally when I eat something I like this much, I write down a short description of it so I can recreate it (or use it for inspiration) at a later date in my own kitchen. I don't know why I didn't write anything down about this sandwich...I enjoyed it so much I probably thought I wouldn't be able to forget it.

I'm not sure what it says about my mental note keeping faculties, but I completely forgot about that wonderful little sandwich until today. Yesterday I purchased a couple of bunches of beets at my farmers' market. Typically I roast my market beets while I'm unpacking the rest of my purchases, but work prevented me from doing this yesterday. Instead I roasted them this morning while I was getting ready for church and then left them on the counter to cool while I was gone. When I got home from church I started to pull out everything I needed to make one of my favorite Sunday lunches...a fried egg sandwich. As I was doing this I had to move the beets. It was then that I remembered the beet slider.

Unfortunately I don't remember a lot of the details of the slider other than the thinly sliced, roasted beets. I should call Bonnie so she can fill in the details I'm missing. Honestly, I'm not even sure that the beet slider included egg...I may be confusing it with something else I had over that weekend... In any case, today there was something about the action of making a sandwich and the sight of the roasted beets that tripped my memory. And even if there weren't eggs in the original...eggs are wonderful in combination with beets.

Since I don't keep slider buns on hand, I used a couple of toasted slices of a miniature Boule (I think Focaccia would be a good bread choice too). I slathered both pieces of bread with mayonnaise (I am never skimpy with the mayo on a sandwich) and Dijon mustard. The beets I sliced for my sandwich were simply roasted and peeled. I almost always dress roasted beets with a little bit of vinegar (to draw out their sweetness) but for this sandwich, you don't need to. If you happen to have some roasted, dressed beets on hand though, I'm sure they would be fine.

Since I was planning on frying an egg, I went ahead and used a fried egg, but hard cooked egg—or a thin smear of egg salad—would be good too. To finish I knew I needed something green and a bit of cheese. I didn't have any goat gouda on hand, so I used P'tit Basque—but any medium-soft (so you can get nice, thin slices), salty and mild cheese would work well. I'm fairly certain that The Moral Omnivore's slider also included arugula...I used a leaf of Boston Bibb instead.

This sandwich has lots of possibilities. If I had had it on hand, a little black olive tapenade would have been a nice touch...arugula pesto would be good too. If you don't like egg, some sliced avocado would be excellent. In the fall, maybe some thinly sliced roasted sweet potato.... The main idea is a sandwich filled with sliced, roasted beets and other good things that go with those beets.

My beet and egg sandwich was delicious....just like its inspiration, it was loaded with flavor and very satisfying. It was so good I wanted to make another...but I was out of bread...and just like before, I really didn't want to be a pig.

Market Inspiration...Salmon with Wilted Greens, New Potatoes, Olives & Lemon

For our dinner Sunday evening we had a simple meal of pan-seared salmon with wilted greens, potatoes, olives and lemon. Both the new potatoes and the greens (a mixture of chard and beet greens) were from my Saturday trip to the farmers' market. I love cooking this time of year...with a fridge and pantry full of market produce, dinner practically makes itself.


Typically when I cook chard or beet greens, I simply add the trimmed and rinsed greens directly to a sauté pan of hot, seasoned (garlic, onion, pepper flakes, anchovies, etc.) olive oil. The relatively tender greens will collapse and cook to tenderness fairly quickly. An alternate method of cooking is to first blanch the greens in boiling salted water. Then, when the leaves are tender, transfer them to a colander to drain before spreading them on a baking sheet to cool. After squeezing out most of the excess moisture from the cooled greens, they can be warmed through in the seasoned olive oil right before serving. Restaurants use this method because it allows the line cook to quickly produce a serving of wilted greens to order (not to mention that it reduces the amount of space the greens take up on the cook's station). It's a great method to use if you are serving greens for a crowd or working ahead for a party. At home (where I cook for two) I am most likely to use this alternate method when I'm cooking sturdier greens (like kale) simply because it saves time...it takes much less time to blanch sturdy greens to tenderness than it does to wilt them directly in the hot oil.

Sunday evening I chose to use this latter method for another reason: I was preparing two different types of greens and I had no idea if they would cook in the same amount of time or not. Blanching allowed me to cook each separately (different batches in the same pot of water) and then warm them up together for serving.

The reason I mention this is that you might find yourself in a similar situation. The "bunches" of greens that you purchase at the farmers' market can vary in size from vendor to vendor and if you have a smaller bunch...or extra greens left from a larger bunch...you might find yourself combining different types of greens in order to make up the volume you need for a particular preparation or for a specific number of servings.

In my case, the bunch of chard I purchased on Saturday was a bit small. An average bunch of chard will produce about five ounces of trimmed leaves. This is just about right for two portions of wilted greens. The chard I purchased had a yield of only 3 1/2 ounces of leaves. Fortunately, I had also purchased some beets at the market, so I decided to supplement my chard with some of the beet greens. Once picked through and trimmed, I had another 2 1/2 ounces of greens—making six ounces...more than enough for two portions.

Beautiful beet greens...in the same family as Swiss Chard
...if you have never had them, you should definitely give them a try.

To make the greens, warm some olive oil (about 1 1/2 to 2 T.) in a wide sauté pan. Trim a couple of spring onions so that the length of the green portion is about equal to the length of the white and pale green portion. Trim away the root and any wilted bits of green. Halve the onions lengthwise and slice thinly cross-wise (you should have about 1/2 cup of sliced onion). Add the onion to the oil along with a pinch of salt and a few hot pepper flakes. Gently stew until the onions are soft and tender—about 10 minutes. Set aside until you are ready to heat the blanched greens. To serve, add the cooled, blanched greens to the pan and cook over moderate heat until hot through. If the greens seem dry, add a bit more olive oil. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt & pepper.

If you like, you can finish the greens with a squeeze of lemon. But since I was serving the greens with salmon—which is also nice with lemon—I chose instead to serve each plate with a wedge of lemon so we could each dress our greens and fish to our liking at the table.

To cook the salmon, heat a heavy sauté pan (I prefer carbon steel or cast-iron) over medium high heat—the pan should be just large enough to hold the fish. Dry the filets (I used skinless filets) with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. Add enough olive or canola oil to the pan to barely coat the bottom. When the pan is hot enough, the oil will slide easily across the pan. One or two wisps of smoke curling off of the pan is just about right—if the oil smokes profusely, the pan is too hot. Add the fillets to the pan (skinned side up) and cook without disturbing until golden brown—about 3 minutes. Carefully slide a slotted spatula under each filet, gently flip them over (tilting the pan helps to prevent a big splash of hot oil) and continue to cook until the fish is cooked to your liking. The "fisherman's rule of thumb is to cook the fish for 10 minutes per inch of thickness...I like mine a little less done than that. However you like your fish done, remember that it will continue to cook after it has been removed from the pan, so cook it so it is just a bit under done. If you have very thick fillets, You may need to lower the heat a bit while it finishes. Or, you may transfer the pan to a 375° to 400º oven to finish the cooking. Remove the fish from the pan and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Along with the salmon and greens, I served new potatoes roasted with garlic, thyme and black olives. I particularly like this roasting method for firm little, freshly dug (before the green portion of the plant dies back), new potatoes.

You may add the olives or not...as you please.

To prepare the potatoes, preheat the oven to 375°. For each person, you will need 4 to 6 oz. of potatoes (depending on appetites—four ounces is plenty for me). Scrub the potatoes well. If you have true new potatoes, most—if not all—of the skin will simply rub off as you scrub them. Halve the potatoes if they are large. Place the potatoes with some whole (unpeeled) cloves of garlic (1 or 2 per person) and some sprigs of fresh thyme (or rosemary). Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat generously and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes in a baking dish (stoneware, ceramic or enameled cast iron are all good choices) that is just large enough to hold the potatoes in a snug single layer.  Add a splash of water (just a tablespoon or so)

and cover tightly with foil. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, add some Kalamata olives (pitted or not...about 5 or 6 per person) and give the pan a gentle shake to coat the olives in the oil and redistribute the potatoes. Continue to roast until the potatoes are tender to the tip of a knife—another 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. The garlic may be removed and reserved for another use or served with the potatoes. Set aside and keep warm.

I loved the way this meal came together in a harmonious whole...the lemon, olives and garlic adding just the right touch. If you aren't crazy about fish, you might try this combination of greens and potatoes with a grilled or sautéed chicken breast. But don't wait too long. True new potatoes are a fleeting treat ... and they won't be around for long.

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A meal of gathered ingredients

Earlier this year I posted this picture on Facebook:

My caption read: "On a lazy Saturday in January...lunch of a few of my favorite things (Clementines, Medjool Dates, Almonds & Manchego Cheese). Sometimes you don't need to cook... "

This is so true....you don't always need to cook to eat well. Frankly, sometimes you can't cook...you're too tired...too busy or stressed out...too --- something. But these occasions don't have to be occasions when you eat processed or fast food. The idea that a meal has to be cooked—by you or someone else (or in the case of fast and/or processed food, by an industrial processing facility)—is narrow and limiting. Some of the very best meals—like my January lunch—are simply gathered. Or, as in the case of our dinner last Sunday night, made up of a combination gathered and minimally cooked items.

I should clarify that when I say "gathered", I don't mean foraged. Although a meal of sautéed fiddleheads and morels that I had gathered on a long walk would be delicious, it isn't what I have in mind here. No, the kind of meal I'm talking about is one that features a few quality purchased items—items that, when combined thoughtfully, make a meal. Your gathered items can be any number of things— a delicious pâté, cured sausage or cheese...maybe some olives or some purchased pickled or marinated vegetables...fresh, perfectly ripe fruit or some soft, chewy dried fruits...a few nuts (freshly roasted)...simply prepared fresh vegetables (maybe with a nice purchased or leftover sauce...pesto...aioli...salsa verde...)...a small handful of baby lettuces, dressed with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon...a nice crusty loaf of bread or some tasty crackers... You get the idea. Whatever you serve, just make sure that it is something you love and is of a quality that pleases you.

I don't think any complicated recipe I might have prepared would have been any better than the meal we had this past Sunday evening. It was simplicity at its best. A delicious, oozy goat Robiola, a nice crusty loaf of raisin walnut bread,

and market fresh, early summer vegetables...simply prepared.

The beets were roasted and dressed with sherry vinegar and olive oil. The snap peas were blanched and tossed with olive oil and fleur de sel. The new potatoes (freshly dug...the first of the season) were poached in a small amount of water and olive oil and were finished with more olive oil and chives from my garden. A perfect meal.

The only thing that would have made our dinner better would have been a nice dry Rosé...but I didn't happen to have any in the house...and my "gathering" for this particular meal didn't extend to exerting myself to make a run to the store.