Recipe: Asparagus Mimosa and Sweet Pea Goat Cheese Gazpacho {GIVEAWAY}

If you're looking for a deliciously easy way to prepare some spring-fresh asparagus, then check out the recipe for this asparagus mimosa that I'm sharing over at Marcus Samuelsson's blog!



I was devastated about my refrigerator biting the dust on me yesterday.

Until I saw the news from Oklahoma.  And really, what is a few cartons of milk in the scheme of things? Inconsequential nothing. That's what.

My heart goes out to everyone in Oklahoma and around the world who was affected by the tornadoes or knows someone who was. The best way to help at this point is to donate to the Red Cross, which you can be sure I'll be doing.



This sweet pea goat cheese gazpacho was another casualty of the Eats Well With Others fridge breakdown of 2013. I thought it was fine until I put it in a container to have at lunch for work...and when i went to eat it, it had bubbled up in the manner of a bread dough set out to rise. Not good.

Luckily, I got to enjoy it a few times last week, certainly enough to tell you that it tastes like a breath of fresh air with a swirl of goat cheese. And how could that not be an awesome thing? 

Since this recipe has so few ingredients, you really have to use quality ones so the flavors really shine. Fresh spring peas are a must, along with good goat cheese and good olive oil.  For the latter, I used Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which I was sent a bottle of recently to try out. It has an exquisite and rich fruity olive oil flavor that is the perfect finishing touch to any spring or summer meal in which the ingredients are simple but the flavor is big.

The folks at Carapelli were kind enough to offer me a second bottle to give away so that one of you could try it's delicious flavor! All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment telling me what your favorite spring vegetable is. I will choose a winner next Tuesday!

Disclaimer:Though I was sent a bottle of Carapelli olive oil for free, my thoughts and opinions on it are my own.



Sweet Pea Goat Cheese Gazpacho
Serves 4, adapted from Carapelli Olive Oil

Ingredient

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups fresh shelled English peas, about 2 lb in the shell
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 oz basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 4 oz goat cheese

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Add peas to the pot and cook for two minutes, then drain and blanch in ice water.
2. In a medium-sized pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in shallot and garlic and sweat for 2 minutes, or until translucent. Set aside to cool.
3. Add peas and 1 cup ice water to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add the goat cheese, basil and vinegar. Pulse until fully incorporated.
4. Add the shallots and garlic, along with the lemon juice and zest. Pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.

I am submitting the asparagus mimosa to IHCC and the sweet pea goat cheese gazpacho to Souper Sundays!

Recipe: Bulgur and Spinach Pilaf with Labneh and Chili Roasted Tomatoes

Disclaimer: I was sent the labneh used in this recipe from Karoun Dairies for free. My thoughts and opinions on it are my own.

I'm sorry for all the review posts lately, you guys. But when someone sends you an email that says "Hey! It's Mediterranean Diet Month, can we send you free cheese and yogurt to celebrate?"

As a full-blooded Italian, with Mediterranean blood coursing through your veins, you just can't say no. It would be against your heritage, your upbringing, and everything your grandmother ever taught you about anything.  And so the only correct answer is YES, followed by a superfluous amount of exclamation marks.

Or risk being haunted indefinitely by relatives past. Obviously.



So it was that I came home from a run two weeks ago to find a box of yogurt and cheese sitting on my doorstep (err...in the package room in my building).

Best. Surprise. Ever.

If we could somehow arrange for that to happen more often, I would do a lot more running. Truth.



After inhaling a container of the Greek honey yogurt, which was kind of the best yogurt I've ever eaten in my life (think creamy in a way that makes your heart skip a beat), I had to figure out what to do with all of the rest of it.

Primarily the labneh, because while I can happily top anything and everything with feta cheese and can find exactly one trillion uses for Greek yogurt, labneh is kind of a mystery to me.  Not only have I never used it in a recipe before, but I've also never eaten it.  Ever. 

As a food blogger, that necessitates a pretty big Shame.On.Me.



Before I could decide what to make with it, however, I had to first figure out - what IS labneh?  Animal? Vegetable? Mineral?

Slightly salty Greek yogurt that has been strained so that it is a consistency about halfway between sour cream and cream cheese?

The latter. Definitely the latter.



While it is most commonly incorporated into dips or just eaten plain, spread onto a piece of flatbread and topped with a bit of spice and olive oil, I knew that I wanted to do something a bit more involved with it.  You know, the kind of thing that would take all morning longer than I thought and make me just a teensy bit late to lab. (That's how I roll.)



Enter this pilaf, which consists of layer upon layer of amazing Middle Eastern flavor (and is totally worth postponing your experiments for). 

On the bottom, we have a spinach and bulgur pilaf, which lends a bit of heartiness to the meal. This is topped with a bit of torn mint, tomatoes that have been roasted into a sweet spicy savory oblivion, cinnamon-infused caramelized onions, and the labneh, which kind of serves to cleanse your palate after each and every bite of all that intensely delicious flavor.

Definitely totally worthy of celebrating all that Mediterranean heritage I have in my bones. In fact, I daresay even the ghosts of my relatives past would be proud, and that is no easy feat.



One year ago...Deep Dish Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping
Two years ago...Tofu in Green Chile, Mint and Cilantro Sauce with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower, Indian-Spiced Chickpeas with Rhubarb and Spinach, Sweet and Salty Brownies
Three years ago...Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Bittman's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Four years ago...Sweet Potato Carbonara, Chilled Summer Squash Soup with Curry

Bulgur and Spinach Pilaf with Labneh and Chili Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4, adapted from 101 Cookbooks and Crazy Water Pickled Lemons

Ingredients
For the pilaf:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 oz bulgur wheat
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• salt and black pepper
• 11 oz baby spinach
• leaves from a small bunch of mint, torn
• 1 cup labneh

For the tomatoes:

• 12 plum tomatoes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp harissa
• 2 tsp soft dark brown sugar

For the onions:

• 2 onions, very thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp soft brown sugar
• juice of 1/2 small lemon

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them, cut side up, in a roasting pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, harissa, dark brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Pour this dressing over the tomatoes and mix in the pan to combine.  Cook for 40-45 minutes, until the tomatoes are wrinkly and sweet.
2. For the pilaf, saute the chopped onion in the olive oil and a pinch of salt until it is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the bulgur to the pan along with the spinach. Pour in the broth and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. For the caramelized onions, cook the onions in the oil over high heat so they become golden brown and crispy. In the last few minutes of cooking, add in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir it around until the sugar begins to melt and caramelize. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Layer the various components in a broad shallow baking dish, putting the pilaf first, followed by half the mint, the tomatoes, the rest of the mint, dollops of the labneh, and the caramelized onions. Serve.

Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Bread Pudding

Disclosure - While I was sent free samples of Labriola Pretzel Rolls, my thoughts and opinions on them are my own.

The.Boy has been getting ready to train for a marathon.  He's not actually training, mind you, just...preparing to train.

(Don't worry, I don't really understand it either.)



What that means for my daily life is that every other morning, his alarm goes off at 6:30AM, which is an hour earlier than normal. (Note - I have been awake for a half hour already.)  He then proceeds to lay in bed for at least ten minutes until I get agitated by the fact that he hasn't gotten up yet and that, if he doesn't get up, I will surely get blamed for not waking up him. And then I yell at him.  To get up.  Sometimes...he listens.

So then at some point, he gets up, eats a banana...and gets back into bed.  And then when I yell at him to get up again he tells me that this is "his process".

He has been doing this for a week now. And he already has a process. Really.



Anyway, in the event that he does eventually get up and start to get ready, he then proceeds to try to talk to me throughout all of his pre-run stretching.

And, well. That is a big no no.  That is my blog-writing "me" time, you see.  And it gets interrupted for no one. Not even boyfriends who think it is imperative to ask me about whether we should get some odd or end for our apartment at that precise moment in time.  (Doesn't he know anything?)

After we go through all that with our relationship hopefully still intact...he goes for a 3 mile run. Hallelujah.

And to think...I didn't even get to the carb loading yet.

Remember earlier this week when I told you that he had two veggie burgers, complete with two pretzel rolls for dinner?  Well, what I didn't mention is that he also had four mini snickers bars, a few cookies that his mom had made at Easter...and a hefty slice of this bread pudding.

To be honest, I'm not really sure how we're going to manage food-wise when he starts actually training since we're already toeing the line of our food budget now.



There is going to have to be a lot of this bread pudding in our future.  Because not only is it delicious in a salted-chocolate-covered bread kind of way...but it is also dense. And super filling. For a normal person, one modest slice is really enough to satisfy any and all sweet cravings you may have been having.

For a twenty-something year old male who is in marathon "spring training", on the other hand....I make no promises or predictions about serving size. Just, eat as necessary.



One year ago...Baked Macaroni with Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese
Two years ago...Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta
Three years ago...Chicken Tikka Masala
Four years ago...Black Bean Swiss Burgers with BBQ Onions

Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Bread Pudding
Makes one 10-inch "cake", adapted from Labriola Bakery Cafe

Ingredients

• 1 dozen pretzel rolls
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350. Cut the pretzel bread into 1 inch pieces and let sit out overnight to get stale.  You can also lightly toast them in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
2. Heat the cream and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk 1/4 cup of the cream mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Whisk in another 1/4 cup. Pour the remaining cream into the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
3. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Toss the bread with the custard and the chocolate chips. Pour into a 10-inch springform pan and bake, covered with a sheet of parchment paper for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and cook for 10 more minutes.

Recipe: Pasta with Yogurt, Peas, and Chile

You know that adrenaline rush when you're eating a meal and it's so spicy that it makes your nose run?

I love that.

I live for that, in fact.

Other things I love at the moment include, but are not limited to:

nights when there are no Mets, Rangers or Cowboys games on so my boyfriend actually remembers that I exist and sometimes even lets me choose what we watch on tv (but probably not since my choices seem to consist entirely of The Real Housewives of Any County, Married to Jonas, and Grey's Anatomy),

seeing one of my labmates on the street as I am leaving for a Central Park run at 9AM (on a weekday) and he is headed into lab (shame on me) (but really, can I help it if that's my peak running time?! the body knows what the body wants),

cookie butter (no explanation needed),

pale green pea-infused yogurt sauces that cut the aforementioned spice to the point that one's boyfriend can actually eat it (for.the.win).



If you are spice averse or have someone in your life who is, then feel free to decrease the amount of red pepper flakes you use.  As for me, I went full speed ahead with them.  I would like to say that's not because I knew full well that if the.boy deemed it too spicy then it would be a "more for me!" situation...but that would be a lie.

Although, in my defense, I knew I would love the creamy feta yogurt sauce, dotted with peas and asparagus, smothering a pound of pasta and topped with spicy crunchy pine nuts before I even made the damn thing. And that's just the kind of connection you shouldn't mess with. Ever.

And besides. Given all the hockey/baseball games I've endured in the past three weeks of our cohabitation...I deserve it.



One year ago...Roasted Vegetable Bruschetta with Queso Fresco, Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches with Fig and Honey
Three years ago...Braised Tofu in Caramel Sauce
Four years ago...Indian Spiced Chickpeas and Kale over Fusilli

Pasta with Yogurt, Peas and Chile
Serves 6, adapted from Jerusalem and The Guardian

Ingredients

• 500 g Greek yogurt (about 1 17.6 oz container)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2/3 cup olive oil, divided
• 1.5 oz basil, torn
• 1 lb fresh peas, boiled until floating
• 1 lb pasta
• 1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 oz pine nuts
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb feta, crumbled
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Put the yogurt, garlic, 1/3 cup olive oil and 3.5 oz of the peas in a food processor. Process until pureed. Add in the basil and puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions, adding the asparagus in the last minute of cooking. While it's cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and red pepper flakes. Fry for four minutes, until the nuts are golden and the oil is deep red.
3. Drain the cooked pasta and gradually add it to the yogurt sauce. Add the peas, feta, a tsp of salt and plenty of pepper. Toss gently. Serve topped with the pine nut and red pepper flake mix.

I am submitting this to this week's I Heart Cooking Club!

Recipe: Pimiento Mac and Cheese and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups

Bon Appetit called this the tastiest version of mac and cheese that they've ever made....but did it sway the taste buds of my blue-box obsessed boyfriend?  Find out by checking out my latest post over at Culinary Covers!



About two weekends ago, I participated in a marathon. Of the baking variety.  Not only did I have to make something for the NYC Food Bloggers Bake Sale to support the No Kid Hungry Campaign, but I had two dozen cupcakes and some pretzel bites to make for a bridal shower, as well as two desserts to bring to The.Boy's for Easter. To say I was all sugared out by the end of the weekend was an understatement.

In order to make my life slightly less insane that weekend, I decided to make something for the bake sale that could be made days before and would keep well, so I took to my pinterest boards with reckless abandon and as soon as I spotted these peanut butter cups, I knew the deal was sealed. They were absolutely positively "the.one".

Not only would they stay delicious for days in the fridge, so I could make them at the beginning of the week when things were a bit calmer, but they would also allow me to showcase almost all of the delicious chocolate that was sent to me by Divine Chocolate for just this purpose.  I must admit that I nibbled on a bit of this chocolate while I was making these and it was one of the tastiest, richest chocolates I have ever tasted. It definitely gave these peanut butter cups a bit more depth than they would have been had I just used plain Jane chocolate chips.  Not only that, but I could feel good about eating it because it is the premium fair trade brand owned by cocoa farmers. No guilt = better peanut butter cups. That's a fact.

To connect with Divine Chocolate and see what they're all about, check them out at their website: http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/, on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divinechocolateUSA, and on twitter: https://twitter.com/divinechocusa.



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups
Makes 2 dozen, adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups chopped semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate (I used a half and half mix), divided
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Whisk in the brown sugar and let cook until it is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Let sit and cool, about 20 minutes.
2. Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners. Melt 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate, either in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, or in a double boiler. Drop 1 tsp of chocolate into each paper liner and, using a pastry brush, brush it up the sides of the liners. Freeze for 20 minutes.
3. Whisk in the powdered sugar, flour and salt to the peanut butter mix. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the muffin tin and cookie dough. Place 1 tsp cookie dough in the center of each chocolate cup, flattening it a bit with your finger. Freeze for 10 minutes. Melt the remaining chocolate. Cover each cookie dough top with chocolate and smooth with a spoon. Freeze for 15-20 minutes until hardened.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Chickpea Quinoa Burgers on Homemade Pretzel Rolls

In an effort to take some of the pressure off myself  encourage The.Boy to exercise his first amendment rights (you know, freedom to eat whatever he wants...even though in our apartment it's really freedom to eat whatever I've decided to cook for him), I've tasked him with choosing one dish to add to our menu plan each week.




Now, lest you think I would give him free range to choose any recipe in the history of recipes, which could admittedly be quite daunting (and would inevitably end up with him requesting pizza and/or steak for dinner every week), in actuality I introduced him to my Pinterest boards and said "Go crazy."

He, apparently, took that literally.



You see, when I first came up with this little scheme of mine, I had visions of him meticulously going through each and every pin and carefully choosing the one that he was really craving that week.

You know, because that's what I would have done.

And instead, what I got was a kind of Russian Roulette version of a selection process in which he scrolls through my boards on my iPad like a man unhinged, closes his eyes, and then points his finger at the screen.

The end.

Way to leave our whole lives dinners up to fate, babe.

The first recipe he "chose" was for these veggie burgers. And before we took our first bite, he looked at me and said, "So if they're good, you can tell people I picked them. And if not...it's all your fault." (Typical.)

Well, let me tell you that he had two that night. Pretzels buns and all.

I guess he liked them.



And really what's not to like? The burgers are stuffed with some of my favorite superfoods - chickpeas, quinoa, sweet potatoes - and are encased in a pretzel roll.

A Home.Made.Pretzel.Roll.

It just doesn't get much better than that.

Unfortunately, this also means that The.Boy feels entirely justified in his method of recipe "selection"...but if it turns out this well every time...well I just can't argue with that.

**The winner of the Whole Foods Gift Card giveaway from a few weeks ago is Amy of uTry.It! I'll be emailing you!! 



One year ago...Red Wine Buttercream Frosting
Two years ago...Coriander Tofu Tostadas with Refried Beans and Grilled Fennel, Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Three years ago...White Bean Dip on Turkish-Style Pita Bread, Coconut Rice Pudding Cake with Raspberry Compote
Four years ago...Artichoke and Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Sweet Potato Chickpea Quinoa Burgers with Spiced Yogurt Sauce
Makes 8, adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup dried quinoa, cooked
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Poke the sweet potato all over with a fork. Cover in damp paper towels and microwave 3 minutes on each side, until tender. When cool enough to touch, remove skin.
3. Place the onion mixture, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, cumin, ancho chili powder, 1 tsp salt, cilantro, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until slightly chunky but still smooth. Place mixture in a bowl. Stir in quinoa, panko, and egg until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide burger mixture into 8 patties place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350. Bake burgers for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through, flipping halfway through.
5. For the spiced yogurt sauce, stir together the sriracha, dijon mustard, greek yogurt, honey and salt.

Salted Pretzel Rolls
Makes 8 rolls, adapted from Bake Your Day

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• coarse sea salt

Instructions

1. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper.
2. Combine the water, brown sugar, yeast and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and stir until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl after mixing for a minute or so, add in flour a tablespoon at a time until it doesn't do this (I had to add about an extra 1/4 cup).
4. Remove the dough from the stand mixer and form into a ball. Oil a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl and roll to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for about an hour or until doubled in size.
5. Preheat oven to 425. 
6. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the baking soda. 
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 8 rolls, forming each into a ball. Place each on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
8. Boil the rolls, 4 at a time, for 30 seconds, making sure to splash with water so that they are evenly coated. Remove from the solution with a fine-mesh strainer and put back on the baking sheets.
9. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and cut an x into the top of each roll. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until rolls have reached the desired shade of brown, making sure to watch closely at the end so that they don't burn.

Recipe: Rhubarb Curd Shortbread Tart with Fresh Strawberries

On the list of produce that my boyfriend "doesn't believe in", rhubarb is pretty high up there, along with Meyer lemons, ramps, fiddlehead ferns, persimmons, and pretty much anything that us food bloggers go crazy for but that the population at large can barely even conceive of. 

I mean, sure, everyone has heard of strawberry rhubarb pie but if asked to choose a stalk out of a lineup or identify it's flavor in any other context, it would be a pretty scant group of folks who could do it with repeatedly accurate and consistent results. Beginner's luck notwithstanding.



So you can imagine his confusion and disbelief when I told him I was making a rhubarb curd tart to bring to his family's Easter celebration last weekend. 

I think, actually, he laughed and said, "No you're not."

Followed up by a "But really, what are you making?"

No, but really I'm making a rhubarb curd tart.

Eye roll. "Okay, whatever, just surprise me I guess."




He believed in it a lot more after I hit him over the head with a stalk of it. I'll tell you that much.



Anyways, even though I'm not quite sure his family knew what they were eating, this tart got rave reviews by everyone who tasted it, with one of The.Boy's uncles even going so far as to tell me that it was best dessert he'd ever eaten.  High praise.

And really, it was quite good. The rhubarb curd is just the perfect amount of sweet-sour and while the strawberry-rhubarb flavor combination is there, it's the rhubarb that really shines, which rarely happens in other dessert applications of this vegetable. 

Not to mention that it's a head turner.  I mean, seriously, how pretty are those layers of strawberries? They'd make me look twice.

And - bonus - I think the.boy now finally believes in it.  One veggie down, only....lots....to go.



One year ago...Chocolate Raspberry Tart, Pan-Fried Asparagus with Ramps, Lemon and Fried Eggs
Two years ago...Salmon Baked in a Foil Parcel with Green Beans and Pesto
Three years ago...Mac and Cheese with Roasted Pork, Goat Cheese, Rosemary and Fiddlehead Ferns
Four years ago..Roasted Haddock with Green Beans and Asian Cilantro Sauce

Rhubarb Curd Shortbread Tart with Fresh Strawberries
Makes 1 (9-inch) tart, adapted from Cook This Now

Ingredients
For the shortbread tart crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 12 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

For the rhubarb curd: 

• 10 oz rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, chopped into pieces
• about 2 cups strawberries, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. For the crust, combine the flour, confectioner's sugar, salt, and cardamom in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and process just until a crumbly dough forms.
2. Scrape the dough into a 9-inch tart pan and, using your fingers, press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 325. Line the tart dough with foil and fill with pie weights or baking beans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is light golden brown.
4. While the crust is baking, make the curd. Puree the rhubarb in a food processor until totally smooth, about 2-3 minutes, adding a bit of water if necessary, but really as little as possible. Pour into a strainer lined with a coffee liner and strain the rhubarb juice into a bowl.  You could also use a cheesecloth to do this. You should get about 2/3 cup liquid.
5. Set a metal bowl on top of a heavy-bottomed pan that is filled with 2 inches of simmering water. In the bowl, combine the rhubarb juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until it is dissolved.
6. When the crust is ready, remove the foil and beans/weights. Lower the oven to 300. Pour the curd into the tart shell and smooth. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the curd is just set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least an hour or in the fridge overnight.
7. Just before serving, top with the strawberries.