Fennel & Artichokes with Lemon and Mint

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Roasted, sweet fennel, artichokes & garlic tossed with fresh fennel fronds, mint and lemon.

Fennel & Artichokes
serves 2 as a side
1 large fennel bulb, cut into wedges, fronds reserved for garnish
1-15oz can quartered artichokes, drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves, smashed and halved
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
8-10 mint leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 425.
Toss the fennel, artichokes and garlic with olive oil, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes.
Roast in an even layer on a baking sheet for 30 minutes then turn the broiler on. Place the baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and cook for 8-10 more minutes until lightly charred.
Toss with 3 tbl roughly chopped fennel fronds and mint leaves. Taste and season with salt.

Asparagus Dumplings in Spring Onion Broth

Making your own wontons are easy and can be custom made to fit your palette. Once spring rears its head, I like to incorporate asparagus and onions into my diet. These asparagus dumplings still have a little crunch to them, making the silky onion broth a perfect companion.
 
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Fresh asparagus, ginger & tofu wrapped tightly in wonton wrappers and floating in a warm bowl of spring onion broth infused with scallions, more ginger and water chestnuts.

Spring Onion Broth
4 cups vegetable broth
2 bunches scallions, roughly chopped (3 tbl reserved for dumplings)
1" piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 tsp tamari
salt, to taste
1-4oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed

Combine the broth, scallions and ginger in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot and add the tamari. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and add the water chestnuts.
Continue to simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste and season with salt if necessary.

Asparagus Dumplings
serves 2-3
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, minced
3 tbl reserved chopped scallions
1 tbl fresh lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
6oz firm, silken tofu, mashed
1 tbl tamari
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper flakes
salt and black pepper
15-20 wonton wrappers
3 tbl fresh basil, roughly torn
3 tbl fresh cilantro, roughly torn

Saute the asparagus and scallions in olive oil until just tender, 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest, garlic and ginger and toast. Add the tofu, tamari, toasted sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Cook together for 10 minutes over medium heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Prepare a pot of boiling water.
Lay the wrappers on the counter top. Spoon a small mound of asparagus mixture into the center.
Dip your finger into a bowl of water and lightly wet the edges of the wonton wrappers. Fold up each wrapper into triangles, pressing the edges together to seal.
Once all of the wrappers are sealed, drop in the water and cook for 4 minutes.
Gently scoop out the wontons and serve in a bowl of onion broth. Garnish with fresh basil and cilantro.

Wild Mushroom & Leek Tartlets

These irresistibly tiny tarts are packed with a punch. Each one starts with a smooth cream cheese layer on the bottom and ends with caramelized mushrooms, leeks and sauteed rainbow chard leaves floating on top. Make as an appetizer or eat these as a meal like my husband and I did. Use your favorite kind of mushroom for the filling. This time of year the "mushroom guy" starts showing up at the Farmer's markets and while pricey, those mushrooms are supreme. You don't need much for this recipe so splurge a little on those morels or lobster mushrooms. You won't regret it!

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Wild Mushroom & Leek Tartlets
yields 15 mini tarts
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
6 oz wild mushrooms (morels, hen of the woods, oyster, lobster, chanterelle)
1 leek, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegetable broth, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small head rainbow chard, stems removed, chopped into small pieces
salt, pepper & red pepper flakes to taste
1 tsp dried dill
1/4 cup herbed vegan cream cheese
1 box frozen mini phyllo tart shells, thawed


Saute the mushrooms and leeks in olive oil over medium heat until lightly caramelized, 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup vegetable broth to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Once the broth has been absorbed, add the garlic and chard. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and dill. Cook until the chard has wilted down then continue to saute for 10 minutes more. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of broth and cook 3-4 minutes more until the broth has evaporated.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Fill each mini tart shell with 1 tsp of cream cheese and top with mushroom mix.
Enjoy!

Spring Pea & Basil Salad with Chicken and Fingerlings

Much to my shagrin, spring is in the air. While I love the vegetables spring brings, this can only mean one thing: summer is coming! Boohiss. It's not quite there yet so I will count my numbered days with bright, fresh produce in every meal.
A new type of vegan meat has come around these days that is now being sold in Whole Foods called Beyond Meat. It is by far the closest thing to real chicken you will ever taste. Granted, I don't remember what real chicken tastes like at all BUT when I tried this for the first time, my brow furrowed and I scowled. I was pretty much convinced I was being duped and someone was getting me to eat chicken. I chewed it with so much suspicion that my eyes hurt from squinting. Now, knowing full well that this is in fact, vegan I will certainly be replacing it with the old (old/new) Gardien standby.

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Fresh green peas, crisp cucumber, vegan chicken and creamy fingerling potatoes drenched in basil, cilantro, lemon and garlic for a new springtime salad great warm or at room temperature.

Spring Pea Salad
serves 3
1 cup(6 or so )fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
12 oz vegan chicken strips (such as Beyond Meat)
salt and pepper
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
3 tbl minced scallions, green parts only
1 tbl fresh lemon zest

Combine the potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Add the peas and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes to warm the peas through then drain.
While the potatoes are cooking, saute the chicken strips in olive oil until lightly browned and crisp on the edges. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss together the potatoes, peas, chicken, cucumber, scallions and lemon zest.
Add all of the basil dressing and stir to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature

Basil Dressing
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup packed cilantro, leaves and stems
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbl minced scallions, green parts only
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
juice from 1/2 lemon

Blend together until smooth.

Broccoli Pistachio Soup

This soup is AWESOME. It's so creamy and full flavored from salty pistachios and a drizzle of coconut milk at the end. It's a no fail recipe that tastes less than 30 minutes to make and have on the table.

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Full heads of broccoli and pistachios are slowly simmered together then blended into a creamy, lucious soup with a hint of coconut milk and garlic.

Broccoli Pistachio Soup
serves 3-4
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 heads broccoli, stems and florets roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt, to taste
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup pistachios, plus more for garnish
3 tbl coconut milk, for drizzling

Saute the broccoli plus stems and garlic in olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until bright green and slightly tender, 7 minutes. Season with salt.
Add the broth and pistachios and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
Taste and season for more salt if necessary.
Divide among bowls and garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk and some pistachios.