It was not my
intention to write a blog post when I prepared this spring vegetable ragoût for
dinner the other evening. Then...as
occasionally happens...it was so very good that I wanted to share it. Besides, the fact that almost all of the work
can be done ahead makes this an ideal dish to serve for a large holiday
gathering.... like Easter. So, for all of you who have not finished
planning your Easter spread—and still need to come up with a special green
vegetable side dish—this post is for you.
The recipe for this ragoût
is really just a detailed example of a classic restaurant method for reheating
vegetables. Any single vegetable—or
combination of vegetables—can be treated in this way. To begin, simply cook all of the vegetables
for your ragoût ahead using vegetable specific and appropriate methods: Green vegetables should be blanched and then shocked
in ice water when they are cooked to your liking. Shocking will stop the cooking process and
preserve their bright green color. Other
vegetables—most commonly small or baby root vegetables, artichokes, new
potatoes or small onions—can be poached or braised to the point of
doneness. All of this can be done several hours...or
even a day...before you plan to serve them.
Reheating the vegetables is
easy. If you have time, let them come to
room temperature. Then, wilt some minced
shallot in a small amount of butter or olive oil. To the shallots add the vegetables and a thin
film of water (or stock) and heat through.
When the vegetables are hot, season with salt and pepper, swirl in some butter—and
herbs if you like—and serve.
For an even more streamlined
vegetable side, you may leave the shallot out.
Just film the pan with a bit of water (or stock), add the vegetables and
proceed with the reheat. The herbs
should be altered to compliment the specific vegetables you are reheating...but
they too, may be left out. Whenever
possible, I like to include both shallots and fresh herbs since these add so
much to the final flavor. For a large
dinner, the shallots and herbs can both be minced a few hours ahead.
If you happened to see the
salmon with asparagus and peas that I posted last month, the process of
finishing the vegetables with butter will sound familiar. In the case of the salmon dish the vegetables
were not pre-cooked. The cooking and finishing
were all done in one step. I mentioned
briefly in that post that the finishing process
worked the same whether you were reheating a vegetable, or cooking and
finishing them all in one step. That
post was an example of the latter, today's is an example of the former. As mentioned in that earlier post, the only trick to this finishing method is
that you need to be careful to add roughly as much butter as there is liquid
left in the pan so that the butter will emulsify easily into the simmering liquid,
creating a light buttery sauce. (You can
actually add more butter than liquid, but the higher the proportion of butter,
the thicker the sauce...and I prefer a more fluid sauce). Agitation of the pan and its contents will
encourage the emulsification process, so after adding the butter, gently slide
the pan back and forth...or swirl in a circular motion...until the butter has
disappeared into the ragoût.
For those interested in
technical/professional terms, the
French call this process of finishing a liquid/sauce by gradually adding butter monter
au beurre. Not only does this
process increase the volume of and enrich the sauce, the emulsification of the
butter into the liquid adds a lovely sheen, a fluffier texture and a pleasant mouth
feel. It will also soften strong and/or
acidic flavors. If you don't know what
to do to round out a sauce...or a vegetable...or a pasta dish...you could do
worse than swirling in a small amount of butter. Butter does indeed make just about everything
better.
In the ragoût I am sharing
today there are multiple vegetable components.
And as noted above, they each require different methods of pre-cooking. The asparagus and peas are simply blanched
and shocked. The artichokes are turned
and poached in acidulated water. If you
have never "turned" a globe artichoke, you should give it a try. I wrote a "how to" post a few years
ago. I know that turning artichokes can
be a bit of a daunting task, but practice will make it easier. You can of course use canned or frozen
hearts, but there is truly no comparison between the taste of fresh artichokes
and canned or frozen. To me, the work
involved in trimming a fresh artichoke is more than worth it.
As for the
spring onions,
they are given a classic French treatment. They are braised until they are soft, tender
and beautifully glazed. To prepare them,
trim away the roots and all but the pale green.
If they are very small, they may be left whole. Larger ones may be halved or quartered
through the root.
To cook, place them in
a pan that is just large enough to hold them in a snug single layer. Add water to come a third to half way up the
sides of the onions. Season lightly with
salt. Add a pinch of sugar and dot with
butter.
Bring to a simmer, cover and
cook gently until the onions are tender to the tip of a knife. Uncover and increase the heat slightly. Continue to cook until the liquid has
evaporated and the onions are glazed with the butter and sugar. You may remove them from the heat at this
point, or continue to cook them until the sugar caramelizes a bit.
 |
| Glazed spring onions--cooked until lightly caramelized |
These onions are a delicious addition/
finishing touch to any vegetable ragout or stew. The same process may be applied to pearl
onions, shallots or cipollini onions.
I love the
composition of this particular ragoût...it just seems to shout "Spring!" with
the dark green of the asparagus and peas, the paler green of the artichoke and
the translucent white of the onion. You can include all...or only a few...or
add/substitute other Spring vegetables (fava beans, for example). The herbs too can be varied to suit your
taste. But I especially love the mint in
this dish...it adds just the right bright, clean and refreshing note. And in the end, that's what this dish on your
Easter table should be all about...a refreshing and bright addition to a feast simultaneously
marking the advent of Spring and the promise of new life. Happy
Easter.
Spring Vegetable Ragoût
6 spring onions, white and
pale green parts only, roots trimmed away
unsalted butter
Salt & freshly ground
black pepper
Sugar
Juice of half a lemon
4 globe artichokes,
"turned"
1 c. English (shelling)
peas, fresh or frozen
1 lb. medium asparagus,
trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths on a diagonal
2 to 4 T. unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely minced
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme,
picked
water or stock
2 T. coarsely chopped
Italian flat leaf parsley
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh
mint
Vegetable Prep
Halve (or quarter, if very
large) the spring onions through the root.
Place in a pan that is just large enough to hold them in a snug single
layer. Add water to come a third to half
way up the sides of the onions. Season
sparingly with salt and pepper. Add a
pinch of sugar and dot with butter.
Cover and bring to a simmer.
Simmer until the onions are just tender to the tip of a knife. As the cook, check occasionally to make sure
there is still some liquid in the pan.
Add more if necessary. When the
onions are tender, remove the lid and increase the heat. Simmer briskly until the onions are sizzling
in the butter and are coated with a syrup-y glaze. You may leave them without color, or cook
them until the sugar begins to caramelize a bit. Do not burn.
Transfer to a plate and let cool.
Add the lemon juice to a
large pot of water and bring to a boil.
Season with salt. Cut the
artichokes into 8 wedges each and add to the boiling water. Cook until tender—about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In another pot of boiling
salted water, blanch the peas until just tender—this should only take a couple
of minutes. Scoop out and cool in an ice
bath. Transfer to a plate. If using frozen peas, simply thaw.
In the same pot of water the
peas were blanched in, blanch the asparagus until just tender. Scoop out and cool in an ice bath. Transfer to the plate with the peas.
 |
| Cooked vegetables, along with shallots and herbs ...ready for a final reheat |
Prepare the Ragoût
Place a wide sauté pan—one
that is large enough to accommodate all of the vegetables—over medium heat and
add a tablespoon or so of butter. When
the butter has melted. Add the shallots
and thyme—along with a pinch of salt—and sweat until softened. This will only take a minute or so. Add the vegetables and enough water to just
coat the bottom of the pan—maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons. Increase the heat and bring to a simmer,
tossing the vegetables occasionally, until they are heated through. Add the butter and swirl and toss to help it
emulsify into the water (the goal is a light, emulsified butter-y sauce). Remove from the heat and season with salt
& pepper. Toss in the mint and the parsley.
Serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.
(Recipe adapted from Frank Stitt's Southern Table)
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