Farro Salad with Asparagus & Feta

 Whole grain salads are the staple of our spring and summer table, where you’ll regularly find compositions featuring quinoa, millet, barley, and bulgar along with a plethora of fresh, seasonal vegetables. Our newest love just happens to be farro, a hearty and deeply satisfying grain that we adore because it pairs so nicely with such a variety of fresh local ingredients year-round. 

Ever popular in Europe, and gaining a reputation in the states, farro comes in whole and pearled varieties. Using pearled farro cuts down on cooking time and gives farro the opportunity to be the star of even the most hurried weeknight meals. We’ve found that toasting the farro in butter prior to cooking intensifies the grain’s naturally rich, nutty flavor. 

In this dish, we’ve combined asparagus, green onions, and fresh oregano to give the dish a distinctly spring-like flair.  Sundried tomatoes give a nod to the impending summer harvest. Chickpeas offer protein. And feta cheese pulls everything together, giving the dish a Mediterranean flair and offering a counterpoint to the tangy lemon dressing.

Farro Salad with Asparagus & Feta

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Easter Dishes: Spring Risotto with Asparagus "Pesto"

  I've got a thing for risotto. And it's not just because it's so creamy and delicious.

That's part of it, of course.  But, I also appreciate its versatility.  Throw anything in with a bit of stock and some arborio rice, and you can call it dinner.

Some people complain that risotto takes such a long time to make.  And they whine about how it requires so much stirring.  But, that's another thing I love about it.  I love watching the rice toast in the oil.  I love how you can see it absorbing the liquid -- first the wine, and then the stock. I love how the grains turn from firm to creamy, almost before your very eyes. And the stirring -- well, that's sort of like meditation.

I particularly love risotto in the springtime when I have a wealth of new vegetables and fresh herbs to choose from.  Like asparagus.


The asparagus pesto in this dish is made in the same manner as a more traditional basil pesto. Blanched asparagus is pureed with garlic, Romano cheese, toasted pine nuts and olive oil, along with a bit of spinach to intensify its bright green color.  Lemon juice is added to pull the flavors together and add a pleasant brightness to the finished pesto.

This delicious spring risotto makes an excellent vegetarian main course or side dish which can be served with a variety of roasted or grilled meats. Leftover asparagus pesto is delicious tossed with cooked pasta, spread on grilled cheese sandwiches, or stirred into potato soup.

Even the leftover risotto is delicious.  Dish it up into a bright colored bowl and eat it right out on the patio, alongside the daffodils, while sipping a glass of delicious Savignon Blanc.

Spring Risotto with Asparagus "Pesto"

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Spring Eats: Asparagus Pizza with Summers Past Pesto

If I haven't made it clear that we LOVE our freezer, I want to make that clear now.  I don't know where we'd be without all the goodies we store up in our over-sized chest freezer.

I'm fairly certain some people thought we were crazy when we went out and bought a chest freezer -- primarily because this freezer wasn't the smallest one on the market. Nope -- we have 20+ cubic feet of gorgeous freezer space, complete with storage bins that we can lift in and out. We went with a chest freezer since they were more efficient than an upright, but we'd heard horror stories from others who claim to have "lost" things in the bottom of their chest freezers.  So, right off the bat, we developed an organization system.  We bought a few plastic storage bins that fit into the freezer and help us to organize the foods by "type" -- tomatoes/sauces in one, meats in another, veggies in yet another. We also created a freezer list, which lives upstairs.  It's been hit-or-miss lately, but the idea is that we keep the list up to date -- adding new items when we put them into the freezer, and crossing items off when we use them up.  Works pretty well, and it keeps us eating locally -- even in the dark days of winter.

One of the items that makes me glow when I think about our freezer is... pesto.  OH, yeah.  When summer hits, you'll find us growing plenty of basil in our garden.  Heck, we practically eat the stuff out of hand.  But, we also love to use the leaves to make plenty of pesto -- for storage.  Basil, garlic, toasted pine-nuts, and a bit of oil -- and we're set (I purposely leave the cheese out when I'm freezing pesto).  I put pre-measured quarter-cup portions into small storage containers or baggies -- and pack them all into the freezer for that dreary day in January when we could all use a bit of a pick-me-up.

I just used up the last of our stash of last summer's pesto a few nights ago. It was getting late and we both were starving.  I had a bunch of fresh spring asparagus on hand... and a freshly fed bowl of sourdough starter.  So, we decided to whip up a super simple pizza.

You don't even need a recipe for this one if you've got some pesto and a bit of dough on hand.  First, preheat your oven to 500 degrees (or higher, if your oven is capable). Slice your asparagus in half lengthwise -- and then into 1 inch pieces.  Then roll out your pizza dough onto a piece of parchment paper.  Spread it with a thin layer of pesto, and then top it with a handful of mozzarella cheese. 

Add the asparagus.  And then another layer of cheese.  Then sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of basil and oregano (fresh or dried).  Bake for 20 minutes -- or until the pizza dough is crisp and the cheese speckled with brown.

Voila! Simple weeknight pizza that tastes a suspiciously like last summer.

Sourdough pizza crust


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Yay for Spring Veg: Tortellini with Asparagus & Olives

If any of you thought we were lying about eating asparagus until we couldn't handle another the thought of another spear, I just want to reassure you. Here at Burp! we don't play around.

The past couple of weeks have been utterly JAM PACKED with asparagus. We've eaten it raw. Steamed. Grilled. Plain. And buttered. We've dipped fresh spears in green garlic and basil cream cheese. And tucked them into grilled cheese sammiches. We've adorned grilled asparagus with rosemary salt (oooh! so fantastic) and roasted a pound or two with olive oil and "Sea Kelp Delight". We've thrown it on pizza. We even made lasagne with asparagus and morel/leek jack cheese sauce (which, regrettably, I didn't photograph...but it would have made a fantastic blog post).

Everything we've created has been delicious. But, there was one evening in particular when we roasted up some particularly succulent with lemon and sweet Vidalia onions -- and then tossed it with oil-cured olives and tortellini. And I can't get it out of my head. It was so very much worth the (minimal) effort.

First, you take your asparagus, and chop it into 2 inch lengths. Slice an onion in the same manner, and toss the two together.
Zest one of those lemons that's been sitting in your fridge just waiting to be used, and then juice the lemon. Toss the zest and juice with some olive oil and a bit of melted butter. Yes -- you really want the butter here. It adds SO much flavor, and it also ensures good caramelization on your roasted veg. Really fresh asparagus and sweet onions both contain a considerable amount of moisture, so you want to make sure you give them a bit of encouragement in the browning department.
Pour the lemony vinaigrette over your asparagus, and then add salt & pepper to taste.
Layer everything in a baking pan and throw it in the oven at 450º for about 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, cook up a bit of tortellini. I'm not normally a fan of dried tortellini, but recently I found a brand I really like. The trick, it seems, is to avoid overcooking the pasta at all costs -- while still getting the dried cheese filling to soften. My tips:

1. Use a larger pot to boil the tortellini than you think you need. Plenty of water circulating around the pasta is key.
2. Do NOT believe the package instructions. The pasta NEVER needs as long to cook as they recommend.
3. Test, test, test. Begin testing those tortellini as soon as they begin to float. Continue testing them until the noodles are toothy-but-tender, and the cheese within the pasta is pleasantly cooked (but not mushy).

In between testing your tortellini, you'll want to slice up a few oil-cured olives. A handful will do. Their flavor can be pretty overpowering, so you don't want to over-do it. I like to cut mine into smaller pieces so that you get the salty perfume of the olives distributed throughout the pasta dish without completely obliterating all of the other flavors.
When your pasta is cooked, and your asparagus is pleasantly roasted (see what I mean about that caramelization?) you'll want to toss everything together.
And then let your eyes linger on the beauty in the bowl.
Bright and briny. Cheesy and filling. Oh, and did I mention how incredibly EASY it is to throw together on a busy weeknight?

On a cloudy late spring day, this recipe is enough to transport me directly to a sunny Mediterranean beach. And who can argue with that?

Lemony Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Onions


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YAY for Spring Veg: Balsamic Grilled Asparagus

Wedding cake is great fun, but my hips can't take any more sweets at this point. So, it's back to the veggie patch with us! And this week, it's ALL ABOUT the spring veg.

If you live on the West Coast you can laugh at us Midwesterners for being a bit late-on-the-draw with our asparagus recipes. But, the fact is, we're in the midst of Wisconsin asparagus season right now. In mid-June. And we couldn't be happier.

We've been loading up on fresh, local asparagus from JenEhr Family Farm at the farmer's market on Saturdays. And we'll keep on eating it until it's no longer available... by which point we'll be utterly sickened by the thought of eating any more. AH! The joys of seasonal produce!

Now, if you're a food geek (as I am), you might be interested in knowing that asparagus has a long, mysterious history. No one really knows its origins. However, we do know that it's been around for a VERY long time. The word asparagus originates from the Greek, asparagos – and the Greeks were known for their cultivation of the plant. In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder speaks of their belief that if rams’ horns were pounded and buried, asparagus would grow in that place. Another famous Roman, Cato, wrote about his experiences cultivating asparagus from seed at the vernal equinox. The seeds should be sown, he wrote, in moist, dense soil and fertilized with sheep’s dung. Maybe a bit TMI -- but fascinating stuff, nonetheless.

That said, I won't hold you down for too long with the history of things. In fact, today I've got an easy-peasy grilled asparagus recipe that will have your tastebuds dancing. All you need (in addition to a pound or so of asparagus) are three ingredients that I'll bet you have lying around in your pantry -- a bit of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, and a bit of Dijon mustard.
Throw all three ingredients into a bowl. Almost any proportion works in this case, but I like equal parts vinegar/oil with a dollop of mustard.
Add a pinch of salt and a bit of freshly ground black pepper... and then whisk them thoroughly. It's not the prettiest vinaigrette in the universe, but I promise you'll find it far more than satisfactory.
Toss it with your cleaned asparagus. You can let the veg marinate for a while, or you can throw them directly on the grill. Heck, you can even eat them just as they are, if you're so inclined (really fresh asparagus is outstanding raw).
Grill the spears over direct heat for 5-10 minutes -- or until they are just tender.
One of the great things about asparagus is the speed at which it can be cooked. It's the perfect vegetable to prep as a quick side dish. Which explains the legendary phrase often attributed to Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus (known to be quite the fan of asparagus): Velocius quam asparagi coquantur (Quicker than you can cook asparagus).

Yay for ancient spring foods!

This post has been submitted as part of Real Food Wednesdays. Great stuff over there; check it out!


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Sunday Sammiches: Roasted Asparagus & Onion Panini

Spring has sprung. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself now that U.S. asparagus has shown up in the market.

Asparagus is one of the seasonal crops that we eat with gusto for a short time, and then relinquish at the end of the season -- so "asparagussed-out" that we are happy to have a long reprieve. Like the tomatoes of August, we crave them for months, eat them with abandon, and walk away from them when June hits.

At this time of the year, I really ought to start the countdown for fresh WI asparagus. After all, local produce offers so many benefits... but, I can't help myself. It's hard to resist when my winter palate starts to salivate over their crisp, green stalks. So, I have a tendency to break down and buy a few rounds of California spears.

I thought the first asparagus spears of the season deserved a special treatment, so Peef and I put our heads together. A sammich was probably the last thing on our minds, but then it occurred to us that a ham & swiss with asparagus might be seriously good. And why not make the sammich less about the ham and more about the asparagus while we were at it?? Peef agreed that the concept sounded good, so we got to work.

We happened to have a couple of light, fluffy Telera rolls on hand, along with some local gruyere, which I thought would make a nice match for the asparagus.
We chopped the asparagus into 2-3 inch pieces, and tossed it with some thinly sliced onion.And I made a lemon vinaigrette of sorts with a bit of lemon juice, some zest, a bit of olive oil, and some melted butter.
We tossed the vinaigrette with the asparagus & onions...
... and then threw everything into a hot oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.
Then we set to work on the sammiches -- first placing a few thin slices of gruyere on each bun...
Then, adding the ham...
We spread the top of the bun with a bit of basil pesto, and added a slice of regular Swiss cheese (for a bit of creaminess).
At this point, we closed the sammich up and threw her on the panini grill for a few minutes until the cheese got all nice and gooey.
We opened her back up again (you'll note the cheesy goodness all intermingling with the pesto and ham. yeeeum.)
And we loaded on the asparagus and onions.
This was going to be one happy little sammich.
Turned out to be kinda purty too, with a majority of the asparagus spears lining up for their photo op.
Seriously, these were some great sammiches. The Telera buns were the perfect texture -- soft in the middle, but crisp on the outside, and not too heavy so that they overwhelmed the asparagus. The cheese was creamy and flavorful. The asparagus was fresh and tender (NOT stringy) -- and the onions were ultra sweet from being roasted. The lemon gave everything a burst of freshness, while the basil pesto brought forward a great herbal note. Surprisingly, although the ham was a nice touch, I'd venture a guess that these would be just as amazing as a vegetarian sammich.

Like "spring in a bun."
Try 'em for yourself!!

Roasted Asparagus & Onion Panini (with or without ham)



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