May’s Chef’s Kisses
Asparagus (and eggs) + peas (and cheese)
Hi and happy almost June! Thank you so much for being here. For those that are new, this is my end-of-the-month newsletter where I discuss my monthly ‘chef’s kiss moments’ (aka all the lovely and wonderful things I’ve been up to, mostly food/cooking related, but not exclusively) and share one recipe that I’ve been loving. After last month’s more involved asparagus recipe, I am providing a simpler one inspired by Jacques Pepin and his no-waste cooking philosophy.
This spring has been quite cool and rainy, which has had some real benefits: I loved leaving the window open and holding off on putting the A/C unit in, enjoying the breeze, fresh air, and sounds of the city and birds. It has also made the shrubs, trees, and grass ultra-green with impressive blooms (I'm not sure I’ve ever seen so many roses on my runs through my neighborhood).
However, this may have been the reason for a delay in spring produce… So, this newsletter is a little short on the recipe ideas side, except for those around asparagus, which there are a lot of. There is also a slim section on snap peas (which I am greatly looking forward to eating more of, along with the shelling peas which i just got my hands on the other day and have a cheese pea and ham galette in the oven right now), more findings from my NYC croissant quest, and some delicious-dishes-shoutouts, many of them from Jersey City.
Talk soon <3
Asparagus (and eggs)
This was a big month for asparagus in our home. We ate a lot of it. I have a big soft spot for asparagus–I devoted a whole newsletter to spargel (white asparagus) last year, though I also love the green stuff of all thicknesses. Those thin tender green stems have a light and grassy-green flavor perfect for a quick poach and shock, while the thicker stalks have a juiciness, meatiness, and more pungent flavor that holds up great when served with a bunch of other things. I ate a lot of the latter with eggs for lunch this month.
I made a green and white asparagus dish with a green and white hollandaise. While I poached the asparagus in some shallow but boiling water (about a 4-minute cook time for these thick spears), I whipped up a small batch of hollandaise. I quickly tossed some ramp leaves in boiling water, wrung them dry, and then added them to half of the hollandaise, making it green. For the other half, I added extra lemon juice for flavor and thinning out (to match the consistency of the green half). I plated the asparagus in alternating stripes and dug in.
Then I made what may have been my favorite version of asparagus this month: an asparagus mimosa. I started by boiling some eggs until they were jammy. While they cooked, I prepped the asparagus by cutting off the woody bit at the bottom and then peeling the lower 2”. In a small bowl, I added some dijon and lemon juice, and in a larger bowl, I placed some chopped-up parsley, arugula, tarragon, chives, salt, packed capers, spring garlic, and spring onion. Once the eggs were done cooking and cooled, I peeled them and removed the jammy bits to mix into the lemon juice and mustard. I then chopped up the whites and mixed them into the herbs, finishing with a little drizzle of olive oil. To serve, I plated the yolk sauce on the bottom, followed by the asparagus and then the egg whites and herbs. As an asparagus mimosa lover, this was my favorite version yet. I loved getting alternating bites of the green and white asparagus, as well as alternating bites of the sauces. It just came together oh-so-nicely, and each bite was a teensy bit different. I highly recommend it.
This is the asparagus quiche. For those of you who have been here for a while, you’ll know that this is my third time trying to make this. It all started when I saw a photo of asparagus in a crust (literally just blanched asparagus put in a crust used as a serving dish) and was inspired to make a quiche version. The difficulty with quiche is that it takes a fair amount of time to set. So, while the eggs are trying to set, the asparagus begins to overcook and leech out its water, thus leading to a curdled quiche filling AND overcooked asparagus (you can read more about those asparagus failures here).
This year I sort of figured it out by tying the asparagus together with the top of a garlic chive and par-cooking the asparagus in the microwave to release some of the juices. Most of the issues were fixed–no puddles of asparagus water, the filling was perfectly cooked, and the asparagus stood! However, the asparagus was still a bit overcooked… And with that my friends, it is time to put this idea to bed. I still learned something valuable though: I should be putting more herbs in my eggs regardless of whether or not they are in quiche format. I recommend thyme, chives, and spring garlic (and cheddar, but that’s not an herb). So, more of that, and less of standing asparagus in the future.
I tried another asparagus in crust last year (though it was actually more a galette last year and I made it a quiche this year). I made it with asparagus bottoms, which do not see enough love. It’s a way to use them up if–like me–you make a ton of asparagus in one month (although not the best way, the best way is outlined below in the recipe). I made the same quiche filling as above in a wider and thinner pan. One thing to note when using asparagus bases is that you need to peel the outside (you can use a vegetable peeler) so it’s not as woody. This worked out better than the other quiche, but the asparagus bottoms became dried out as it baked, and as the filling puffed, it toppled over all the asparagus spears. It just wasn’t right.
And so it was back to the drawing board on how to make an *aesthetic* asparagus quiche, for next year. Luckily, I was recently served Martha Stewart’s take on asparagus quiche at a podcast taping (pictured above). These were adorable mini quiches filled with peas and with asparagus tips poking out. I decided then and there that I needed to try an egg and cheese custard filling with asparagus to redeem myself.
I started by making a brisée dough, blind baking it, and making a custard with milk, cream, eggs, and cheese (the first one had parmesan, the second with comté). I cooked the custards, blended them to emulsify, and then let them set up and cool in the tart shell (that way they didn’t have to be baked).
The first version I made was using thin slices of asparagus that were briefly poached and finished with a little lemon juice for a touch of acidity. For the second version, I added pieces of boiled asparagus to the top of the tart as it set up. Both were great.
If I were to ever open a cafe, this would go on the menu. I will certainly be making this again next year, and maybe I'll even give Martha's take on mini quiches a try.
One last egg and asparagus dish for the year…
Nearly no-waste asparagus, lemon, and egg salad
On the first of this month, I was invited to a dinner potluck hosted by Dana Cowin. The dinner was for The Jaques Pépin Foundation and was a kickoff for the Home Cook Campaign in honor of Pepin’s 90th birthday. All of us were encouraged to bring a dish in line with Pepin’s no-waste cooking practice. I brought a dessert inspired by one of my favorites, a banana brown butter tart. I turned it into a (nearly) no-waste version by transforming the recipe to use the whole banana (including the peel), whole eggs, and a whole vanilla bean. The only waste was the eggshells.
Watching a video Mr. Jacques Pépin recorded for us (wow!), gave me another idea. He spoke of how he always saves every vegetable end for a stock, which reminded me of a technique I saw on Instagram that I adore. Basically you save the ends of the asparagus after trimming them, blend them (or if you have a juicer, juice them), and then cook the trimmed asparagus in that liquid for an extra asparagus-y flavor. It’s always delicious (you should try it even if you don’t make this recipe), and a great way to use up the part of asparagus that so often gets tossed. For this salad, we will be utilizing this minimal-waste asparagus cooking method.
This recipe also uses each part of the lemon. It gets zested and juiced for the dressing, and then the body gets boiled with the eggs and chopped up for some extra briney-lemony flavors in the salad. With that being said, if you are not a lemon superfan, you can make this with half a lemon and save the other half for another use (you could use it to re-make the salad with sugar snap peas, more on that in the pea section).
The whole thing takes about 15-20 minutes to come together and should be enjoyed with toast. This is far easier than last month's salad, and is a delicious lunch. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Please note that you can find more ingredient information and tips for conversions in my conversion document. If you have any questions, please refer to the document or feel free to leave a comment!
1 small lemon
1 stem of spring garlic (or 1 clove of garlic) optional
1-2 anchovies optional
3-4 large eggs
400-500g asparagus
1 tablespoon of butter
A few chives or scallions
An herb of choice (I used chopped thyme–about 2 tsp worth–but basil or mint would also be delicious here)
10-20 g parmagianno reggiano (grated) optional
Salt & pepper to taste
Slices of bread of choice for serving
Butter (for the toast)
Set a small pot of water on the stove. It should have enough water to cover the eggs that will eventually go in.
While the water warms, prep your dressing. Zest a lemon into a large bowl and then use the zester to grate in your garlic clove if you are using it (or thinly slice your spring garlic). Chop up your anchovy (or anchovies) and add them to the bowl as well. Then slice the lemon in half and juice it into the bowl (if you’re not a huge fan of lemon, only juice half, and save the other half for another use). Cut and discard the end(s) of the lemon. Throw the lemon into the pot of hot (it might even be boiling already) water. Once boiling, add in your eggs and set a timer for 6-7 minutes (depending on how cooked you like your eggs, 6 ½ minutes is the perfect amount of time for a jammy egg).
While the eggs and lemon boil, prep the asparagus. Cut off ⅛” of the asparagus bottoms and discard. Then cut the tough ends (about 2-2 ½”), and give these a rough chop. Set the ends aside in your blender bowl (or juicer). Slice the asparagus on an angle into about ½”-1” long pieces (it depends on the thickness of your asparagus) and set aside.
Blend your asparagus stems with ¼ cup of water, or juice them. Set this liquid aside.
Set up a bowl with cold water for your eggs and lemon.
When the eggs are done cooking, remove them from the water with the lemon rind and place both in the bowl of cold water. Dump the water out of the pot. Add your chopped asparagus to the pot with your asparagus juice (if you blended the asparagus, I would highly highly recommend straining the juice into the pot to remove the fiber). Add in a pinch of salt and the butter. Place the pot on the stovetop and cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so until cooked through. In my experience, it will take about 2-3 minutes, but it depends on how much you like your asparagus cooked (and the size of the pieces). Cook until bright green, and then place the asparagus in the bowl with your prepped dressing (it will continue to cook a bit as it cools down).
Remove your lemon from the cold water and give it a thorough chop (you can also throw this in the blender if that’s what you used to blend your asparagus bottoms). Add 3/4ths of it to the bowl with the salad ingredients. Then peel your eggs, chop them, and add them to the bowl (I think this is best when the eggs are cut into 1/8ths).
To finish, finely chop your scallions or chives, and your other herb of choice. Add these to the bowl, finish with the optional parm, and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add the rest of the chopped lemon if you want more lemon flavor, it is up to you and your tastes (I like to use the whole lemon but it may be too much for some).
Toast up and butter your bread. You can eat the salad slightly warm or at room temperature. While I have placed the salad on top of toast in photos, this is impossible to eat unless using a fork and a knife. I actually would recommend plating it up next to toast and using the toast to scoop up bites.
Peas and cheese
To begin, this section is a bit small. While I planned to share many shelling pea dishes that I have been dreaming up for some weeks now, shelling peas are just at the market. And so, more on those next month…
Until then, I made a few dishes with sugar snap peas which just came into season at the Greenmarket the other week. They are especially bright, green, sweet, and snappy-crunchy this season.
First up, was the salad above, but made with blanched peas (instead of asparagus cooked in its own liquid). As expected, it was delicious (possibly even more delicious than the above version, depending on who you ask). I also left the cheese in small chunks, so you got more of an occasional bite of cheese versus a more persistent flavor. This was even easier to make than the asparagus salad, easier to eat on a piece of toast, and another great lunch option.
Then there was last month's recipe for a potato salad with sugar snap peas and asparagus, which I remade not once, but twice this month. You can find that recipe here.
And then there was this spring’s snap-pea pasta which I absolutely adored. The dough was made with egg and basil (like a spinach pasta dough but using blanched basil), and then it was shaped into thin little mezzalunas stuffed with basil, mint, pea pesto, and shelled peas (so the pasta mimicked the pea pod). While the pasta was cooked in boiling water, the sugar snap peas were cooked in a little bit of water, butter, and salt. Once the pasta was done I added it to the pan with the peas to finish cooking them together. So delicious, and so cute!
Slices of joy!
Congratulations to Phoebe Tonkin, on her wedding! It was an absolute pleasure getting to make these wedding cakes for her and Bernard LaGrange. For more on the inspo behind these wedding cakes you can read the Substack newsletter I sent out earlier this year.
Speaking of cake, I also tested a s’mores ice cream cake. It is perfect and I’m so excited to share the recipe with you next month!
Dining out
Balaji Bhavan - Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness. This was such a phenomenal meal. I had some of the best dosas I’ve ever tried. We got the Onion Chilli Masala Dosa which was packed with onions and perfectly cooked potato, and the Guntur Karam Dosa which had this delicious chili paste spread in it. The chutneys and sambar were so delicious and bright. We also got an order of Poori and it was one of the best pieces of fried bread I have ever had in my life. My only regret was not having room for more. The lemon pickle was so good we purchased some to bring home.
Bread & Salt - You probably have already heard that Bread & Salt makes some of the best sandwiches and pizza. The rumors are true, they really are some of the best I’ve ever had. The menu is constantly rotating, but the last few times we’ve gone they’ve had a fennel, salami, and pecorino sandwich, which is one of my favorites: the yummy fennel-y pork salami with the crumbly, soft-ish, and salty cheese is perfect with the extra fruity olive oil and delicious crunchy bread. Such a perfect bite. Despite trying to maintain a conversation with my husband while eating it, I found myself daydreaming, leaving my body, and floating into sandwich heaven. We also got the broccolini and scamorza with lemon which brings me–a broccoli lover–so much joy. The broccolini is perfectly cooked with a little bit of bite yet no bitterness. It’s served hot with melty cheese and lemon zest to brighten, and as it sits it so nicely softens the extra crispy-crunchy bread.
Also, don't skip the focaccia or bombolone, Théo and I love them so much we had both at our dinner the night before our wedding. The focaccia is fluffy and the slice is big and I love the briny olives and tomatoes on it. The bombolone is one of my favorite donuts, the dough is so soft, the sugar on the outside so crunchy, and the jam is never too sweet.
Mariscos El Submarino - feeling oh so luckily that Mariscos El Submarino has been opening up more shops, and one just opened up less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment, we love all the aguachiles we have tried (great for splitting with a big group), fried fish taco, and tried the tuna tostada with salsa macha last night which we thoroughly enjoyed.
NYC croissant quest pt. 2: Miolin makes an excellent croissant with so much buttery flavor on the tongue. It has a beautiful and light height, maintaining its structure even as you eat it. It’s also perfectly flakey. They really balance all the great croissant factors so beautifully.
My song of the month was “Canone n.21”. This song feels like it was made for a busy bee, buzzing around and kissing all the flowers. When I spotted a gorgeous long strip of rose bushes on my run, I put this song on and slowed down briefly to smell and admire them. At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement behind the bushes and a whole bunch of geese and their babies emerged. It was a lovely little surprise. I recommend stopping and smelling the roses, maybe playing this song as you do, and imagining you’re a little bee flying all around. Maybe you’ll see some baby geese too :)
The shaved asparagus is so pretty!
Love the presentation of these dishes