Ragout Of Spring Vegetables With Morels Recipes

SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOûT

Steps:

• Chop white and pale-green parts of leeks and wash well in a bowl of cold water. Lift leeks from water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander to drain. Trim fennel stalks flush with bulb and remove any discolored areas of bulb. Halve bulb lengthwise and cut each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, discarding cores. Halve or quarter larger morels lengthwise, leaving smaller ones whole.
• Cook turnips in a 6-quart heavy pot of salted boiling water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer turnips with slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking. (Keep water boiling.) Boil carrots until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes, and transfer with slotted spoon to ice water. Boil fava beans until crisp-tender, about 2‚ minutes, and transfer with slotted spoon to ice water. Gently boil potatoes until almost tender, about 15 minutes, and drain in colander. Rinse under cold running water. Drain blanched vegetables and gently peel outer skins from fava beans. Halve potatoes.
• Cook shallots, leeks, and salt and pepper to taste in 3 tablespoons butter in pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add broth, zest, and 1/4 cup herbs and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids. Discard solids and reserve broth.
• Cook morels in remaining 3 tablespoons butter in cleaned pot over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 3 minutes. Add fennel, asparagus, bell peppers, and reserved broth, then simmer, covered, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Gently stir in blanched vegetables and simmer until all vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes.
• Serve ragout sprinkled with remaining 1/4 cup herbs.

EASY SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Soak leeks in cold water for 5 minutes; lift out and drain. Repeat until no grit remains on bottom of bowl. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-highheat. Add leeks and salt and sauteuntil leeks are tender, about 2 minutes. Stirin asparagus, then water. Simmer coveredfor 2 minutes. Add snap peas and radishes,cover, and simmer for 2 minutes more.
• Stir in mustard until well combined, then swirl in butter and herbs. Serve immediately.

SPRING RAGOUT WITH ASPARAGUS AND POACHED EGGS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, preferably enameled cast iron, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Add tomatillos and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a blender; let cool slightly. Add 2 cups spinach, cilantro stems, and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Blend until pureed, adding up to 1/2 cup more water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.
• Wipe skillet clean; return to medium heat. Swirl in remaining 1/4 cup oil, add spices, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add scallions, season with salt, and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, tomatillo mixture, asparagus, and remaining 2 cups spinach. Nestle in poached eggs; cover and cook until eggs are heated through and asparagus is bright-green and crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drizzle with oil and top with cilantro leaves; serve.

RAGOUT OF SPRING VEGETABLES WITH MORELS

Steps:

• Place morels in a bowl, and cover with warm water. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with salted water, and simmer 5 minutes. Add carrots, onions, turnips and celery, and simmer another 15 minutes. Drain vegetables, and set aside.
• Drain morels, reserving 1/3 cup soaking liquid, strained. Rinse morels, and pat dry.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add morels, potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips and celery. Sauté about 5 minutes, until potatoes begin to color. Add stock and reserved morel liquid. Boil a few minutes, until liquid reduces and thickens a bit. Recipe can be prepared in advance to this point.
• Stir in asparagus and scallions. Rapidly simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in remaining oil, scatter with chervil, and serve.

SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOûT

Steps:

• In a kettle of boiling salted water boil the fiddleheads for 4 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender, transfer them with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking, and transfer them to paper towels to drain. In the kettle boil the squash and the carrots for 3 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender, transfer the vegetables with the slotted spoon to the bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking, and transfer them to paper towels to drain. In the kettle boil the peas for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are just tender, and drain them.
• In a large heavy skillet combine 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, the thyme, the bay leaf, 1/4 cup of the broth, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the mixture, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the morels, halved lengthwise or sliced crosswise, and 1/2 cup of the remaining broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the morels are tender. Add the fiddleheads, the squash, the carrots, and the remaining 1/4 cup broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 1 minute. Add the peas, the parsley, the mint, and the garlic, simmer the ragout, covered, for 1 minute, and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits, stirring until the butter is just melted. Discard the bay leaf and season the ragout with salt and pepper.
• To clean fresh-picked fiddleheads:
• Snap off the crisp, bright green fiddlehead tops from ostrich ferns, leaving about 2 inches of stem attached. Rub off the dry brown casings by hand or put the fiddleheads in a wire salad basket and whirl the basket outdoors to remove the casings. Let the fiddleheads soak in a sink half full of cold water, changing the water several times to remove any grit or casing particles, and drain them. The fiddleheads keep, covered and chilled, for 1 week.

FRESH FAVA BEANS AND WILD MOREL RAGOUT WITH LAKE SUPERIOR WHITEFISH

Steps:

• Shell the fava beans from the large long pods in which they are encased. This will reveal the beans in their thin skin from which they must also be removed. Do this by bringing a pot of water to a boil, add the beans to the pot and blanchcook for 2 to 3 minutes before straining the favas and shocking in an ice bath of cold water. The thin skin can now be peeled entirely off by hand to reveal the sweet fava bean. It is now ready to be added to any dish and only requires a few moments of additional cooking time.
• Clean the morels carefully and trim off the bottom of the stem. Remove all dirt and debris by soaking them in several changes of clean cold water. Next, lay the morels out on paper towels to absorb the excess moisture and air dry. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• In a saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the morels and saute 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots and cook for 3 additional minutes. Add the fish stock and braise the morels for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the fava beans and white wine to the morels and continue to cook another 3 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and add the fresh thyme leaves. Swirl in the cold butter to allow the butter, which adds a creamy texture to the dish, to melt but not separate. Remove promptly from the heat and place the morels and fava beans on a warm serving platter. While the morels and fava beans are cooking begin to cook the whitefish by seasoning the fish with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a second saute pan. Add the fish fillets to the hot oil, skin side down and cook the fillets 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side, before removing and placing on the serving platter with the morels and favas.

RAGOUT OF SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• First prepare the vegetables: If the potatoes are small, just leave them whole; if not cut them into bite-sized pieces.
• Carrots should be pencil thin, so cut lengthwise in halves or quarters.
• Break the cauliflower into florets.
• Cut the onion into thin halfmoons; separate the garlic, but leave it unpeeled.
• Steam the potatoes, over boiling water, in a tightly covered pot until tender, about 15 minutes; drain.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet, over medium low heat and saute the onions and garlic until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat to the lowest setting and add the carrots and cauliflower to the skillet; season with 1 teaspoon salt and scatter the arugula over top.
• Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes (the arugula should exude some moisture, but you may want to add a splash or two of water or white wine).
• Once the carrots are done, transfer the potatoes to pan and drop butter in 1 tablespoon-sized chunks, stirring to make a light sauce.
• Garnish with tarragon and serve.

RAGOUT OF SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Cut the asparagus diagonally into 2-inch lengths.
• Cut the shallots or onion greens into 2-inch lengths, including all but the last inch or so of green tops.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan.
• When it has melted, add the carrots and potatoes.
• Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the turnips, salt, pepper and sugar; cover and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add the shallots, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the fava beans and peas, adding more butter if needed.
• Cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
• By now, the vegetables should be almost tender.
• Uncover the pan and increase the heat to medium.
• Add the wine, stirring and scraping up any bits clinging to the bottom.
• Stir in the herbs, the asparagus and any remaining butter.
• Cover, reduce heat, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until the asparagus is just tender.

LAMB RAGOUT WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Season lamb chunks generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fennel seed and rub to distribute. Set aside for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to several hours, or overnight).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or similar heavy pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add lamb and brown on all sides, until meat is well caramelized, about 10 minutes. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan.
• Remove lamb, turn heat to medium and add onions (and a little oil if necessary) and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf and thyme and cook for 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste. Sprinkle with flour and cook 2 minutes more. Add white wine and whisk well as mixture thickens. Whisk in broth and bring to a brisk simmer.
• Return meat to pot. Cover pot and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until meat is tender when probed. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Keep warm, or cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight before proceeding with vegetables (which should be prepared right before serving).
• Prepare the vegetables: Remove fava beans from pod. Blanch 2 minutes in boiling water, then cool in ice water. Peel and discard outer gray skin from each bean. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Set aside. (If using frozen lima beans or edamame, cook the thawed beans for 3 to 4 minutes in salted boiling water.)
• Bring a medium pot of fresh water to a boil and salt well. Add fennel and simmer until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with spider and rinse with cold water to refresh. In the same pot, cook carrots until tender, about 4 minutes, then remove and refresh. Cook turnips for 3 minutes, then remove and refresh.
• Just before serving, melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add cooked fennel, carrots and turnips. Add scallions and stir to distribute. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of water and cook until scallions have softened, about 2 minutes. Add fava beans and heat through. Stir in lemon zest and parsley.
• Transfer meat and sauce to a large serving dish. Spoon vegetables around meat and garnish with fennel fronds.