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Tag: origin

  • Farmers Market Asparagus Ragout à la Jacques Pepin

    We have had Asparagus Ragout for supper repeatedly in recent weeks. We visited the Provincetown Farmers Market on a recent trip to our favorite spot on the tip of the Cape and bought a bunch of asparagus from Silverbrook Farm. We didn't want to turn on the oven in our rental apartment to roast it, so Penny remembered a Jacques Pepin cooking technique for cooking fresh vegetables in a little water and a bit of butter. We both loved the result. 

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    After returning home, we located a Jacques Pepin video with instructions for what he calls Asparagus Ragout. (This dish is first up on this the program.)  

    Via Wikipedia we found this about Ragout, "The term comes from the French ragoûter, meaning: 'to revive the taste." The Italian ragù (the word being borrowed from French) is a sauce such as Ragù Napoletano used typically to dress pasta."

    While this farm fresh asparagus did not need reviving, this method of cooking it certainly results in great flavor complete with a light sauce. (Naturally, Ed selected his favorite utensil – a slice of fresh bread – and sopped up every drop of the sauce remaining on his plate.)

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    When we returned to Boston, we bought more asparagus at the Atlas Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers Market and had a second supper of lovely, local asparagus.

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    We do peel the stalks and this time we had watched the video and followed Jacques' method. If you have the time, you can make an asparagus soup from the trimmings. 

    Asparagus ragu

    We highly recommend this quick and easy cooking method for many of the fresh, local vegetable you'll be gathering at local markets this summer. 

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2018 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

    A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

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    The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

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    A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

    Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

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    Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

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    In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

    IMG_8405

    Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

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    One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent. 

    "When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

    If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks. 

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

        

    Details:

    Words: Penny Cherubino
    Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  

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  • Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

    A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

    Unspecified

    The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

    IMG_8215-COLLAGE

    A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

    Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

    IMG_8363

    Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

    516Vg1-IEvL

    In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

    IMG_8405

    Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

    1675698673

    One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent. 

    "When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

    If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks. 

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

        

    Details:

    Words: Penny Cherubino
    Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  

    Related articles
    Mastering Hamersley's Roast Chicken Recipe
    Mussels Are Sustainable, Easy to Cook, and Fun to Flavor
    Healthy Alternatives for July 4th Cookouts, Pot Lucks, or Picnics