SPRINGTIME STARTERS
Hello W4D friends! Springeth hath sprungeth and if it’s still chilly where you are, perhaps some Springy snacks will manifest warmer weather. This week we’ve got two delish dishes that would make perfect starters for your Spring Soirees!
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SPRING PEA CROSTINI WITH ASPARAGUS & PROSCIUTTO
AU: I love Spring! All the Spring vegetables start poppin’ at the Farmer’s Markets, and everyone is excited to come out of their Winter slumber… The days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and you can bust out the pastels in your wardrobe. A truly energizing time of year!
EK: I love all the green. The green grass, the little green shoots that are going to become flowers and all the green veggies!
AU: When I think of Spring, I immediately think of green vegetables like peas, asparagus, ramps, leeks, and artichokes. All my favorite suspects. This time of year, I especially love a good nosh, and that’s why my Spring Pea Crostini with Asparagus & Prosciutto is the perfect dish for entertaining. Think of crusty bread rubbed with garlic, then topped with a schmear of spring peas and ricotta cheese, flecked with lemon and parmesan, and topped with tender asparagus and crispy bits of prosciutto. It’s a Spring Awakening in one bite!
All of the components can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge, and then assembled right before guests arrive, so it’s perfect for even the busiest of hosts.
AU: The sweet pea puree can be made up to 5 days in advance, and y’all, this stuff is so delicious I can just eat it with a spoon. But it would also be amazing as a sauce for homemade Springy pizzas, tossed with cooked pasta, or as a quick puff pastry tart base like Elizabeth’s Caramelized Onion Tart from 2021.
AU: If you want to use fresh peas, by all means, go ahead with your seasonal self. You’ll want to blanch them in salted, boiling water until they turn bright green, then shock ‘em in an ice water bath to preserve their color (and stop the cooking).
If you’re like me, frozen peas thawed/rinsed under cold water in a fine-mesh sieve will do just fine. Try to let them dry as much as possible before adding to the bowl of a food processor to puree with the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, parmesan cheese, red chili flakes, mint, and salt & pepper.
Now let’s turn our attention to the asparagus and crispy prosciutto…
AU: One thing about me is I hate heating up my entire oven just to toast bread. It feels like such a waste of energy and time. But untoasted crostini is just sliced bread, so here we are. But we’re going to roast our asparagus and crisp up some prosciutto while the bread toasts. I don’t know why, but this makes me feel INCREDIBLY smug and productive. Why am I like this?
The asparagus and prosciutto get to share a sheet pan, while the sliced baguette gets its own. Brush the bread slices with some olive oil and toast them while the asparagus/prosciutto tray does its thing.
When the toasted bread comes out of the oven, immediately take some peeled garlic cloves and rub them onto the toasted surface of the bread. It’s sort of like grating the garlic directly onto the toasts, and for some reason is very satisfying. I don’t’ make the rules.
AU: Then it’s as easy as assembling the crostini for your guests! Just dollop a bit of pea puree on each toast, and follow with some asparagus (which you’ve cut into smaller pieces) and crispy prosciutto that has been cooled & crumbled. Sprinkle the whole thing with minced tarragon, and serve! If the weather doesn’t think it’s Spring, at least your tastebuds will!
EK: I just bought all the ingredients to make this including the most beautiful pencil-thin local young asparagus that is too thin for grilling, but perfect for your crostini!
*Full Recipe available below for paid subscribers.
MARINATED MUSHROOMS & ARTICHOKES
EK: The warmer weather makes me think of picnic food and trips to the beach. And, last weekend, I visited a friend of mine at the beach. She had her refrigerator stocked with yummy cold salads: chicken salad, tuna salad, shrimp salad, pimento cheese, coleslaw, and caramelized onion dip, to name a few.
I brought this Marinated Mushroom & Artichoke Salad to add to the refrigerated fare. And Anthony’s Spring Pea and Ricotta Puree/Spread would have been a welcome addition, as well!
AU: That pea mixture, would be great on shoe leather! But I am so intrigued by these marinated mushrooms and artichokes. I think mushrooms + [insert spring vegetable here] are always a perfect combo! Peas & mushrooms? Love. Asparagus & Mushrooms? Delightful. A pasta with mushrooms, peas, and artichokes?! I’ve died and gone to heaven.
EK: The great thing about having all these prepared salads ready to go is that you can pull together a delicious meal quicker than it would take you to make almost anything else—and it’s something that everyone looks forward to.
It’s a treat to shop at a gourmet food store and buy a bunch of containers of prepared foods. And, one that most people reserve for vacation or a special occasion. Why not make your own at home? That way, it’s on-hand for lunch, dinner or a quick snack.
It’s like meal prep, but make it a picnic!
AU: I love that! Big Picnic Energy is something we could all use! in 2023!
EK: That thought is what inspired me to make the Marinated Mushrooms & Artichokes. When Anthony and I started talking about the recipes that we wanted to make for this week’s newsletter, we started talking about how much we loved both peas and mushrooms, and peas and mushrooms together!
And that got me to thinking about the Peas and Mushrooms salad and all the other assorted salads I used to buy at Loaves and Fishes in the Hamptons. Then I got mushrooms on the brain and remembered a marinated mushroom salad from another gourmet food store that I went to years ago.
Soon, I was in the kitchen making a new recipe for Marinated Mushrooms & Artichokes with a nod to all the fabulous food shops that I have frequented. I am newly motivated to turn a little meal prep into keeping my fridge full of “prepared” salads, spreads, and dips—things to make quick and easy meals and instant entertaining.
EK: You could make this salad with your favorite vinaigrette and toss it with blanched mushrooms and water-packed artichokes, and it will be very good. You can also make my vinaigrette that includes Herbes de Provence and crushed Calabrian chili peppers.
The only “cooking” for this recipe is blanching the cleaned-and-trimmed mushrooms. You do this to both tenderize the mushrooms and to make sure that they are clean and sterile before marinating them. The warm mushrooms also absorb more of the flavors in the marinade as they cool.
So that brings us to the topic of cleaning mushrooms…
EK: It has long been taught that you should never submerge mushrooms in water. The thought was that they would become waterlogged and they would become soggy and take longer to cook.
But true confession: I have always washed my mushrooms in water and dried them with a paper towel. It’s so much easier to get any lingering peat off of them. And, the truth is that I have never had a problem with soggy mushrooms. The mushrooms in the photo above were rinsed well in water and dried on a paper towel.
EK: After they are dried, they are trimmed and any large mushrooms are cut in half or quarters. The next step is to blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Once you drain the them, add half the vinaigrette to the warm mushrooms, along with some chopped red onion, and stir to coat. Add some drained artichokes and cover with the rest of the vinaigrette.
EK: Let the mushrooms and artichokes marinate on the counter until they are at room temperature. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator until it’s instant meal time!
*Full Recipe available below for paid subscribers.
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