Here is a spring pasta, with two great flavor combinations at work: asparagus and ramps, and asparagus and orange.

It’s green, fresh, and has spring written all over. A little high-quality olive oil drizzled over top, along with maybe a bit of sea salt, would finish it off fine.

Living in New York City, finding ramps was no problem – there a staple of the Greenmarket during the couple months that there in season, due to their popularity among chefs and the dining public. If however you can’t find them, try spring onions or even leeks.

The Chanterelle cookbook was one that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time, and recently finally decided to purchase. I love restaurant cookbooks most of all because they give us an inside look at some of the country’s top kitchens, and its an inexpensive way to explore the cuisines of well-known chefs. Although the recipes are usually more complicated, I enjoy cooking from restaurant cookbooks, and imagine myself creating the dish during dinner service at the restaurant.

So, this here is Chef David Waltuck’s arctic char with grapefruit. The grapefruit is what caught my eye here; I love using grapefruit juice in vinaigrettes, and was curious to see it here in a butter sauce. The candied grapefruit peel had me wondering though, wouldn’t it be too sweet and overpower the fish? Actually no, the sugar balances the bitterness of the peel, and as it cooks down and hardens, it adds an interesting textural note to the dish.

In all, it’s a fresh take on classical French cooking, and fun to both cook and eat; we get a delicious mound of buttery cabbage, a crisped-up char fillet, a rich, fruity sauce, and curly, zesty strips of grapefruit rind scattered about.

The Recipe

Source: Chanterelle by David Waltuck

zest of 1 large pink grapefruit, removed with a vegetable peeler (be sure to remove only the zest, not the white pith beneath) and julienned (3 inches long)
3 tablespoons sugar, plus more to taste
1 cup pink grapefruit juice (from 2 large grapefruits)
1 medium shallot, coarsely chopped
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup heavy cream
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus 2 tablespoons at room temperature
1 small head Savoy or green cabbage, cored and cut into very thin strips
kosher salt
black pepper from a mill
four 6-ounce Arctic char or salmon fillets, skin on, any pin bones removed
3 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Prepare the Candied Zest:

Put the grapefruit zest in a small saucepan and cover with about 2 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then drain the zest in a fine-mesh strainer. Repeat the process twice more, for a total of three times, to soften the zest and draw out some of its bitterness.

After draining the zest for a third time, return it to the pan and add ½ cup water and the sugar. Stir together and cook over very low heat until the liquid is reduced to a syrup but is still loose and plentiful enough to cover the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. (You do not want to completely reduce the liquid, which would result in a cloyingly sweet and sticky rind. Taste a piece if you like; it should hold its shape but be easily chewable and slightly sweet.) If the liquid seems to be reducing too much, add a tablespoon or two of water to keep the zest from burning. Drain well and let cool on a baking rack. (The candied zest will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Prepare the Grapefruit Butter Sauce:

Put the grapefruit juice, shallot, and wine in a medium nonreactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the liquid is simmering and cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons of syrupy liquid, about 15 minutes (be careful not to overcook or the natural sugars in the juice and wine will caramelize and discolor the sauce). Stir in the cream and let the sauce thicken over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. (The reduction can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; reheat gently before continuing.)

Reduce the heat to low and gradually whisk in the cold butter, a few cubes at a time, adding the next few cubes only after the previous batch has been well incorporated. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and season with salt. You should have about ½ cup of sauce. Taste it; the sauce should be slightly sweet and tart. If you don’t discern any sweetness, add a pinch of sugar. Keep the sauce covered and warm.

Melt the softened butter in a 10-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add the cabbage and cook, tossing, until just slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add ¼ cup of water and season with salt and pepper to taste.. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until most of the water has evaporated and the cabbage is cooked through but still a little crunchy, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.

Lay the fillets on a clean, dry surface and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat until it is very warm (don’t let it get really hot), then add the fillets, skin side down, and cook until the skin is crisp and browned, 3 to 4 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it because char burns easily.) Turn the fillets over and finish cooking the other side, 3 to 4 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the cut and the desired level of doneness. Blot the skin side with paper towels.

To serve, divide the cabbage among 4 dinner plates, placing a mound in the center of each. Evenly divide the grapefruit sauce, pouring it around the cabbage. Sprinkle the plates with the chives, then place a char fillet on top of each cabbage bed. Garnish with a sprinkling of the grapefruit zest and serve.

Have fun with different presentations: cut the avocado in slices, julienne, or dice. Mix everything together or compose the plate.

Spinach, avocado, and grapefruit. It’s a simple salad, but very balanced and enjoyable. The grapefruit adds juicy, acid brightness to lift up the spinach, while the avocado brings a satisfying heartiness. Toasted pine nuts add some crunch, and a nice balsamic vinaigrette rounds it all out.

Cold carrot soup garnished with whipped cream and chives

Cold carrot soup is a summer classic; sweet and refreshing, as well as brightly colorful. Orange juice and white wine give this one a nice acidic lift, while cloves, ginger, and cardamom round out the flavor. This is a very easy, quick soup to make. Just start by sauteing the aromatics, then add the carrots and liquids and simmer, puree, finish with yogurt and carrot juice, and chill.

Carrots simmering with aromatics in stock, wine, and orange juice

So far every restaurant in New York that I’ve cooked at has had at least one beet salad, and they’re all as different as can be. Some use big red beets, some use baby beets; some are served with goat cheese, others with pistachios. The beet salad is a fun menu item because it’s so colorful, and the beets’ versatility allows for many different interpretations.

In this version of the beet salad, the beets are flavored with a lively curry vinaigrette. Orange segments add some juicy acid and color, and parsley throws in some green. This recipe comes from a book by the CIA called Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen.

Roast in a pan covered with foil, with a little water to keep them moist

Toasting spices for curry powder

Doing it old school - grinding curry powder in mortar and pestle - all I have at the moment is that tiny mortar & pestle, so it took a while...

Making curry oil

Curry oil - dark and aromatic

Curry vinaigrette

Note: For this recipe, you will need to first make curry-infused oil (3rd recipe), then use that to make curry vinaigrette (2nd recipe). Yes that’s three recipes for one salad, but in the process you will learn to make a delicious and unique vinaigrette that would also be delicious over chicken, potatoes, etc.

Toss the beets with the curry vinaigrette

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Heating up some of the leftovers... Finally got around to getting a picture. Food first, then photos

This recipe gave me a use for my preserved lemons, which I wrote about here. The beef is braised in a flavorful broth of diced preserved lemons, cilantro, and Middle Eastern spices. The sweet, earthy flavors of sunchokes and pearl onions come out in the long braise and balance out the spice and sourness of the sauce. My produce store was out of sunchokes when I made this, so I substituted parsnips and celery root with good results.

Mostarda & Charcuterie Plate

There are many versions of mostarda, an Italian fruit relish finished with mustard seeds. This citrus version of mostarda is from Sicily and has a strong sweet-sour flavor common in Sicilian cuisine. The full spectrum of citrus flavors is represented, from sour lemons and limes to sweet navel oranges. It is also a very colorful relish, with yellow, orange, and green diced peels.

This mostarda is served as a condiment for prosciutto, salamis, and other cured meats. The tart fruity flavor accents the salty meats. For a nice meat platter, serve the mostarda with a few different meats (prosciutto, speck, coppa, etc), some crostinis, and pepperoncini.

I’ve written a general recipe here, based on the way I used to make this dish at work (in, of course, far greater amounts). The recipe can be changed around; if you can’t find blood oranges just use another navel orange or two.

This is a very complicated recipe for a relish, but its fun to make. Let me know if you do.

Quarter lemons and fill with salt.

Preserved lemons are a unique ingredient often used in North African cuisines. They add a zesty, citrusy note to a dish, as well as a bit of color.

It’s not too hard to find jarred preserved lemons in gourmet stores, but making them at home is even easier. Buy a bunch of lemons, and make two lengthwise cuts into each one, from one end almost to the other, so that each lemon is quartered, but still held together at the stem. Fill the inside of each lemon with salt, and drop into a glass jar such as a Mason jar, with a tight-sealing lid. Press down on the lemons, and add more salt. Squeeze the juice of another set of lemons, and pour the juice into the jar. There should be enough salt and juice to cover the lemons. The acid and salt are the preservatives. The salt will draw water out of the lemon peels and give it a firm texture, and a distinct flavor.

Wait at least a month before using the lemons. Their flavor improves over time, and they will keep for more than a year in the refrigerator. Indeed, some chefs who use preserved lemons wait a whole year to use them, to get the strongest flavor from them.

Marinated olives & toasted almonds is a classic pairing for an appetizer or meze at a Mediterranean table. There are various recipes for olive marinades; some are very aromatic, others on the spicy side, with minced hot peppers or chili flakes. This one has a distinct citrus kick, from a Moroccan ingredient, preserved lemons.  The sour notes from the julienned preserved lemon peel are offset by sweet cinnamon and clove.

Olive Marinade:

Submerge olives in olive oil. Add: a few crushed garlic cloves, a bay leaf, a couple cinnamon sticks, a couple cloves, and some julienned preserved lemon peel.

Spiced Almonds:

(Use marcona almonds, the larger type. They will be peeled and blanched).

Toast almonds in one layer on a sheet pan in 350 or 375 oven for 10 minutes or so, until they are nicely browned. Check them after 7 minutes and stir them around so they toast evenly. When done, toss in a mixing bowl with salt, dark brown sugar, chopped rosemary, and paprika. Add these seasonings gradually and to taste. The almonds will be perfect when they’re a little salty, a little sweet, and a little spicy, with a fresh undertone from the rosemary.

The marinated olives keep for a very long time in the fridge. When I worked in a Mediterranean restaurant we would marinate a huge plastic tub full of olives, which would last two months or so. In fact the flavor improves over time as the olives absorb the marinade. If you have a dinner party, do what I did and make a big bowl of marinated olives of different types (Cerignola, Nicoise, Kalamata). It will be a colorful decoration on your table, and afterwards you can gradually make use of all the leftover olives by chopping them and throwing them in pasta sauces and salads.

This unusual, red and white salad accents fluffy bits of cod with tart blood oranges, red onions and olives, and a roasted chili pepper adding a touch of heat. A light dish with strong, varied flavors. Blood oranges and olives are a common Mediterranean combination; at the restaurant we use them both in our roasted beet salad.

I also made another salt cod dish from the book, Spanish Salt-Cod and Red Pepper Salad with Fingerling Potatoes