Leeks at the Pearl Farmers Market

Leeks are in season at the farmers markets in the area, but people still don’t know what to  do with this wonderful and versatile vegetable.

Sure, you can sauté them, but don’t stop there. I particularly love them in soups, though they are great in salads and as a side dish. Thomas Keller, considered to be the finest chef in America, uses them in a bread pudding.

Here are links to several leek recipes we’ve run in the past as well as new one for Creamy Leek Soup, which is perfect for those of us trying to cut back on carbs without losing any flavor.

The point is, don’t pass those leeks up the next time you’re at a farmers market. They are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, according to NutritionData.self.com. “They are also  a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, folate, iron and magnesium, and a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese.”

And they taste great, with a sweetness that is comes out when you cook them. Look for smaller leeks. Cut only the white part, then peel back the thick, outer green leaves and cut only the tender part of the green beneath. Soak the cut pieces in water; the dirt will sink to the bottom while the leek stays on top.

• Potato Onion Soup
• Leeks with Cream and Mint
• Silky Leek Salad
• Leek Bread Pudding from Thomas Keller

Cream of Leek Soup

2 cups chicken stock  or vegetable stock
1 cup finely cut leeks
2 tablespoons butter
½ medium sized onion, minced or grated
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream

Cream of Leek Soup

Bring the stock to a boil. Add leeks and simmer. While they are cooking, melt butter in a saucepan with the onion. Then add to the leek-stock mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the leeks soften and cook. Add chopped parsley. Pour mixture into a blender or food processor and purée.

Set up a double boiler over low heat. Whisk the egg yolks over the warm water. Slowly stir in heavy cream and whisk until fully incorporated. Slowly add the cream to the soup and stir it with a wooden spoon until it thickens. It is done when the mixture coats the spoon with a slight film. DO NOT let the mixture boil and do not overcook.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Adapted from apinchofhealth.com

Chef Michael Flores

Join chef Michael Flores this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for a ‘guys’ night out’ class. It’s all about ribs, and class attendees will get to learn how to make a slew of them. On the menu are Beer-Braised Ribs in Rum Barbecue Sauce, Spicy Honey Mustard Ribs, Roasted Barbecued Spare Ribs, Roasted Corn with Parmesan-Lemon Topping and Chopped Salad with Tamarind-Tequila Vinaigrette.

You’re also welcome to BYOB to class. The cost of the class is $69 per person.

To sign up for the class, which will be at the La Cantera Sur La Table, go to www.surlatable.com and choose “Cooking Classes”. Enter your zip code and then follow the instructions. Or, call 800-243-0852.

Red Cabbage Salad with Anchovies

This refreshing salad needs to pickle in a vinegar solution for 24 hours before you add the dressing. The end result is tangy with a rich mouthfeel. It has a very Mediterranean flavor.

It should come as no surprise then that the recipe is from Clifford A. Wright’s wonderful collection “Little Foods of the Mediterranean,” which is sadly out of print though used copies can be found on the Internet.

Wright offers a short history of the salad: “This Catalan recipe, called amanida de col llombarda amb seitons, literally means ‘salad of Lombardy cabbage with anchovies.’ Lombardy cabbage refers to red cabbage. I’ve adapted this recipe from Marimar Torres’ ‘The Catalan Country Kitchen,’ published in 1992. It is best served at room temperature.”

In my haste to get a number of dishes out for a recent party, I forgot the parsley. It didn’t seem to be needed. Leftovers also keep well, though you should bring it up to room temperature after removing it from the refrigerator.

Red Cabbage Salad with Anchovies

1 pound red cabbage, cored and finely shredded
3 tablespoons fine sherry wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
6 salted anchovy fillets, rinsed
1/4 cup extra-virgin  olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped freshly parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, combine the cabbage, vinegar, salt and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until a lavender color, about 15 minutes. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours.

Place the anchovies and olive oil in a small food processor or blender and process until smooth. Drain the cabbage and squeeze out the excess moisture. In a large mixing bowl, toss the cabbage with the anchovy mixture and parsley. Correct the seasonings and toss again with black pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

From “Little Foods of the Mediterranean” by Clifford  A. Wright

Fredericksburg peaches are in season now.

Fredericksburg peaches are starting to show up in farmers markets. This recipe, from the new “Gordon Ramsey’s Healthy Appetite” (Sterling Epicure, $24.95), uses no sugar and only a little honey to sweeten it. But the end result will please even the sweetest tooth.

Roasted Peaches with Vanilla, Spice and Honey

4-5 ripe but firm peaches
2 cinnamon sticks
2  star anise
1vanilla bean, split
3-4 teaspoons  runny honey
Generous splash of peach liqueur  or peach  schnapps or brandy (see note)
Plain yogurt, to serve

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the peaches in half and prise out the pits. Slice the peach halves into wedges and arrange on a nonstick baking  sheet. Add the spicesand vanilla bean, then drizzle over the honey and peach liqueur.

Bake the peaches for 10 to 20 minutes until they are just tender and slightly caramelized around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Serve with a generous spoonful of yogurt.

Note: Use apple juice to keep alcohol free.

Makes 4 servings.

From “Gordon Ramsey’s Healthy Appetite”

The Original Baja Fish Taco

Original Baja Fish Tacos

This recipe involves several steps and a merging of a few recipes before you get the final tacos, but the end result is well worth it. One taste will convince you why these are a Baja California favorite.

Only the Secret White Sauce recipe is slightly different, because chef Eric Nelson doesn’t really want to see the secret in print. But he will give it to you over the phone. So, give him a call at (210) 241-2006 and ask. Your family will thank you for it.

Nelson, corporate executive chef at Zachry, demonstrated this recently at the Pearl Farmers Market.

Herb Garden Mexican Oregano Beer Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (12-ounce) beer
1/4 cup Mexican oregano
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Water to thin batter

Mix flour, baking powder and sugar with eggs, melted butter, beer and Mexican oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Thin out with water if needed.

Makes 1 quart.

Secret White Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Mix mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Fire-Roasted Texas-Grown Red Tomato Salsa

4 fire-roasted tomatoes, preferably Texas grown
2 white or yellow onions
4 cloves garlic
3 serrano chiles
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste

Rough chop tomatoes, onions, garlic, serranos, cilantro, olive oil and salt, and pulse with hand blender.

Makes 1 quart.

Tacos:
1 quart oil for frying (canola, soybean or peanut) or Fry Daddy
8 ounces mahi mahi or cod, cut into strips 2 ounces each
2 ounces flour seasoned with salt and pepper
8 ounces Herb Garden Mexican Oregano Beer Batter
4 white corn tortillas (use 2 per taco if they are thin)
8 ounces Secret White Sauce
4 ounces Fire Roasted Texas Grown Tomato Salsa
4 ounce green cabbage, shredded like coleslaw
1 lime quartered

Eric Nelson demonstrates how to make fish tacos at the Pearl Farmers Market.

Heat oil in a fryer to 350 degrees.

Dredge mahi mahi in seasoned flour.

Dredge fish in beer batter and fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Warm corn tortillas in skillet.

To assemble: Place 1 corn tortilla on a plate with 1 piece of fish in center. 2 ounces Secret White Sauce on fish, 1 ounce salsa on top of white sauce, then 1 ounce shredded cabbage.  Squeeze 1 quarter of lime juice on cabbage.

Makes 4 tacos.

From Eric Nelson

Make a rich chocolate sauce to go on top of Chocolate Mexican Cake.

Candle 79 is a noted New York vegan resaturant. And “Candle 79″ (Ten Speed Press, $30) is the restaurant’s cookbook, a savory collection of dishes that range from the fall-flavored Butternut Squash-Chestnut Soup with Caramelized Pears to a summery Cucumber-Basil Martini.

Among the desserts, authors Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos and Jorge Pineda offer a Mexican chocolate cake that has no eggs and no dairy in either cake or sauce. “Our chocolate cake is memorable,” they write. “It’s beautifully spice with cinnamon, and ancho chile powder gives it a subtle, unexpected kick. Our customers are mad for it!”

Mexican Chocolate Cake

1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chocolate sauce:

1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups vegan semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush two 9-inch round cake pans with safflower oil and set aside. If making cupcakes, brush a 12-cup muffin pan with safflower oil or line with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, ancho powder and baking soda and mix well. in a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, safflower oil, sugar and vinegar and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans on wire racks. Cupcakes will take less time to bake.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat the soy milk in a saucepan over medium heat until very warm but not boiling. Transfer to a blender. Add the maple syrup and chocolate chips and blend until smooth.

Cut the cakes into wedges, drizzle with the sauce, and serve.

Makes 2 cakes.

From “Candle 79″ by Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos and Jorge Pineda

Use Hass avocados in this guacamole.

Even vegans like to drink. And cook. And sometimes mix the two together. That’s the message of John Schlimm’s funny yet flavorful cookbook, “The Tipsy Vegan: 75 Boozy Recipes to Turn Every Bite into Happy Hour” (Da Capo, $17). And what better way to test that theory during Fiesta than with a bowl of tequila-spiked guacamole?

“What would guacamole be without a tequila chaser?” Schlimm writes. “Luckily for us, with this recipe we’ll never again have to ponder that terrifying question. Share the love and mix a few tablespoons of the lively spirit directly into this classic south-of-the-border dip. Just beware the fire hazard: When adding the jalapeños, carefully taste a slice for determining the sizzle factor, which can vary widely. As for the limes, usually the smoother the skin, the juicier the lime.”

Tequila Seduces Guacamole

3 ripe Hass avocados
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 to 3 jalapeños (depending on your heat preference), stemmed, seeded and finely diced
Juice of 1 lime, about 3 tablespoons
2 to 3 tablespoons good tequila
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Lightly  warmed tortilla chips, for serving

Halve the avocados and remove the pits by whacking them with a knife blade and twisting them out. Use a spoon to scrape out the avocado flesh into a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork just until chunky. Add the cilantro, red onion, jalapeños, lime juice, tequila, salt and pepper and combine with the fork. If the mixture seems too thick, add a bit more tequila. Serve at room temperature with plenty of warm tortilla chips.

Makes about 2 cups.

From “The Tipsy Vegan” by John Schlimm

Prepare a confetti of minced peppers and celery.

Fill ramekins with the confetti mix.

During Fiesta, many of us love to crack cascarones over friends’ heads, showering them with a colorful spray of confetti.

That was the inspiration for this easy egg dish, which you can serve at a brunch or at a buffet.

You can play around with the ingredients to get the flavor and the color combination you want, including a serrano or a green bell pepper for a dark green. You could add finely chopped olives or any other flavor you choose.

You could also add your choice of ingredients, such as crab meat, shrimp, cubes of ham, avocado or a variety of cheeses.

Confetti Eggs

Olive oil, butter or cooking spray
6 thin-cut slices salami
3-4 tablespoons butter
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
1/2 orange bell pepper, minced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, minced
1 serrano,minced, or 1/2 green bell pepper, minced
Minced or thinly sliced celery
9-12 eggs, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Shredded cheese, such as cheddar or colby-Jack

Cook until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat 6 ramekins with a touch of olive oil or butter, or spray with cooking spray. Place on a cooking tray.

Place a slice of salami at the bottom of each.

Melt butter  with your choice of onion, peppers and celery in a pan. Cook until the ingredients begin to turn soft. Dish as much of the mixture as you want into each ramekin, and reserea little to garnish the servings after they’ve cooked.

Whisk the eggs until fluffy. Use as many as you’d like, from 1 1/2 to 2 per person. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add any herbs you may want, such as dill or herbes de Provence. Divide the egg mixture into the ramekins.

Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese.

Place in the oven. The cooking times on the dish will vary according to how well done you want the eggs, the size of the ramekin you use and how many eggs you use, but if you use 2 eggs per person, the cooking time will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle a little extra vegetable confetti on top, if desired, and serve immediately or on a brunch table.

The eggs will puff up when hot. They will deflate somewhat with time.

Makes 6 servings.

From John Griffin

Asparagus on the grill.

Easter may be over, but my hunger for asparagus isn’t.

Here are two recipes that are great for the grill.

The first is from Simon Hopkinson’s “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” (Hyperion, $24.95), which is a great resource for those looking for solid recipes that are often easy to put together. He reminds us of just how versatile these spears are and how well they go with certain foods.

“Asparagus lends itself to the simplest of preparations,” he writes. “Most obvious is to serve with with melted butter, or just hollandaise on its own. i have come to the conclusion that, in fact, eggs are its favorite companion: buttery scrambled eggs, soft-boiled or poached eggs using asparagus spears as ‘soldiers,’ or eggs baked en cocotte with cream and tarragon.”

The other is a simple grilled asparagus dish I threw together with items out of the fridge and freezer.

Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan

24 large asparagus spears
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
3 to 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, in a piece
Lemon wedges, to serve

Heat a ribbed cast-iron grill or skillet. Brush the asparagus spears with some of the oil, and cook until nicely charred on all sides. Transfer to a large white dish, season lightly with salt and plenty of pepper, and sprinkle with the chopped egg. Using a potato peeler, shave slivers of Parmesan over the surface, drizzle with more olive oil, and serve with the lemon wedges.

From “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham

Grilled Asparagus with Hazelnuts

Grilled Asparagus with Hazelnuts

Asparagus
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Hazelnut oil
Toasted hazelnuts, broken
1 egg, sunny-side up (optional)

Prepare the grill. Drizzle how much asparagus you want to eat with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the asparagus until charred on all sides. Place on a platter and drizzle with a light amount of hazelnut oil. Sprinkle toasted hazelnut pieces. Top with an egg if desired.

From John Griffin

On a time-pressed evening, when I was dreaming about bouillabaisse, this preparation brought a little bit of Mediterranean magic to our light dinner.

H-E-B was selling brown shrimp from the Gulf, for less than $7 per pound, so I bought shrimp plus a big, meaty fillet of flounder. A can of San Marzano tomatoes, fresh thyme, bay leaf, a dash of white wine, plenty of garlic and capers produced a warm and satisfying meal for two. The only thing I might suggest to have with it would be slices of crusty bread.

If you have mussels, oysters, squid or other seafood, it can easily be added to the stew.

A few ingredients and gentle cooking produce a Mediterranean-flavored dish.

Fish Stew with Tomatoes and Capers

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 large can San Marzano (or other) tomatoes, diced or broken up by hand, with juice
1/4 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc or other dry Italian white)
1 large bay leaf
Several sprigs each fresh thyme, Italian parsley and/or fresh fennel leaf
1 pound medium shrimp in shells, uncooked
Salt, white pepper, for seasoning
1 pound flaky, firm white fish, such as cod or flounder, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons capers

Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pan. Add the garlic and fry over medium heat until it is just lightly browned, but not crisp. Pour in the tomatoes and juice, along with the white wine, bay leaf and herbs. Bring to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes.

In another saucepan, put the shrimp in and cover them with water. Salt lightly. Bring shrimp to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat and let them cool in the cooking water.

When the tomatoes have simmered and reduced a little, and the shrimp are beginning to cool, take about a cup of the shrimp broth and stir it into the tomatoes. Let the broth simmer another few minutes. Taste for seasoning. Then, place the chunks of fish into the tomatoes, submerging them in the broth and bring it back to a simmer.  While the fish is cooking, peel the shrimp (they should be still warm, but cooled enough to handle). Trim off any dark vein, as needed. Put the shrimp into the soup with the fish and let it cook another minute or so. Add capers.

To serve, spoon out several chunks of fish and shrimp and put in a soup bowl. Ladle broth and tomatoes over the fish and shrimp.

Serves 4

From Bonnie Walker