Spaghetti with Ramps

Hello out there! Sorry to have abandoned ship for the past week -- due to Passover, I've been subsisting on a strange diet of matzah, farmers cheese, avocado, and salad. Not exactly the stuff worthy of a blog post. Most people would rather clean their bathroom than volunteer to host a dinner party the day after Passover ends, but moi? I've been itching to get back in the kitchen something serious. So yesterday, I did just that. I cooked up dinner for some of D's law school friends and relished every minute of my time with my dishes, my kitchenaid, and best of all -- FLOUR.

As if eating carbs again weren't cause enough for celebration, have you looked outside? It's Spring! The cherry blossoms here in DC are in full bloom (many are already past their bloom, which means the grass is blanketed in pink) and the weather this weekend has been just gorgeous -- a perfect 76 and sunny today, in fact. I couldn't be happier about the weather; so you better believe last night's menu took full advantage not only of the end of the holiday, but of the start of my favorite season.

I've got many recipes to share with you -- my mind's been bursting with new ideas that I haven't been able to test out in the past couple weeks! -- but first and foremost, an ode to one of my favorite spring vegetables: ramps. I've waxed poetic about ramps before, and this surely won't be the last time: ramps are a variety of green onion that grow wild during the first couple weeks of Spring. Their season is literally only a couple weeks long so you gotta grab 'em while you can. I spent way too much on ramps at last week's farmers' market, but Friday night was the big payoff: I served them in a simple preparation a la Mario Batali, tossed with linguini (he actually recommends spaghetti), olive oil-toasted breadcrumbs, salt, and crushed red pepper. The dish may sound dead simple, and it is -- I have to restrain myself from blanketing the whole thing in parmigiano reggiano -- but it's also absolutely delicious.

I promise more recipes this week, including a great simple way to make salmon (but alas, no pictures -- it was eaten up before I had the chance!) and a perfectly tangy lemon tart (with some nice pictures, too). For now, hit up your weekend farmers' market and get yourself some ramps. Happy spring, everyone!

Spaghetti with Ramps adapted from Mario Batali

Coarse salt 1 pound dry spaghetti or linguine 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 more tablespoons if toasting breadcrumbs (see below), plus more for drizzling 8 ounces fresh ramps, white root ends and green leafy tops separated 1 to 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (Batali says to use dry, but I used fresh, and toasted them in a pan in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown, then transfered to a bowl)

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons salt and return to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to package direction, until tender but still al dente. If using fresh bread crumbs, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-to-14-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and cook, tossing regularly, until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out pan with paper towel. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and allow to heat up. Add root ends from ramps to pan and cook, stirring, until tender. Season with red pepper flakes and salt. Add leafy greens from ramps and cook, stirring, until wilted. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss gently to coat pasta with sauce. Divide pasta evenly between 4 warmed plates. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

The Makings of a Middle Eastern Lunch

Hard to believe it's already Thursday and another Saturday is nearly upon us. I'm still thinking about last weekend's 75-degree weather and super-chill Mediterranean style lunch. A trip to NYC will prevent me from repeating that meal this Saturday, but if I could, I would, in half a heartbeat. It's the obvious way straight to my heart: breads, spreads, salad, and a glass of wine. Easy to please, no?

I might as well pass along the recipes I used in case you're interested in replicating my lunch last Saturday. Really not hard, really really tasty. Whip up a greek salad to accompany the spreads here, get (or make) some good pita or laffa (shepherd bread), and wash it all down with some cold, fruity white wine. My mouth is totally watering.

First up: Muhamarra, the Syrian red pepper and walnut spread with a kiss of pomegranate syrup. Next, a lovely walnut hummus from Heidi at 101 cookbooks topped with paprika and sumac, the tart Middle Eastern condiment. Finally, labneh (at long last) -- the thick, tangy yogurt cheese finished with a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkling of za'atar, a Middle Eastern plant ground into a fine powder and mixed with sesame seeds.

Last week was the first time in a long time that I've been able to bring a part of my experience in Israel into my home in DC, and I'm still riding the wave.

(Also -- shout out to my little bro, who turned 23 today. Yowza!)

Muhammara adapted from Epicurious

1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers in olive oil with garlic, drained 1 cup walnuts 1/3 cup breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses or fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Pita chips

Blend all ingredients except pita chips in processor until coarse puree forms. Season with salt. Transfer to bowl; serve with chips.

Hummus en Fuego adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted 2 cups cooked (or canned) garbanzo beans, drained 1-2 medium cloves garlic, to taste juice of 1 lemon (about 4 tablespoons) 1/4-1/2 cup hot water 1/4 cup olive oil 1 Tbsp za'atar (or paprika)

To make the hummus, give the walnuts a spin in the food processor, just until they are a sandy texture. Add most of the garbanzos, 1 or 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 clove garlic, and lemon juice. Now process until smooth. Drizzle in the water a bit at a time and puree more, until the hummus is creamy and billowy. Taste; if desired, add the second garlic clove. Let the processor run for a minute or so at this point, to incorporate air into the puree and give it a light texture. Taste, adjust the seasoning - more salt, more lemon juice, etc.

Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with plenty of the remaining oil and paprika, sumac, za'atar or other Middle Eastern spice. Heidi garnishes with cured olives and red pepper oil, another lovely option.

Makes roughly 2 1/2 cups.

Labneh

1 quart greek or regular yogurt 1 tsp salt olive oil za'atar

Stir salt into yogurt. Line a wire mesh strainer with either cheesecloth (at least two layers) or paper towels. Spoon yogurt into strainer; set over a bowl, cover loosely with saran wrap, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bowl will contain much of the whey. For regular yogurt, strain an additional 3-4 hours or more, for maximum thicknes. Greek yogurt will be ready after about 8 hours.

Serve in a shallow bowl; drizzle olive oil, and top with a generous sprinkle of za'atar.

Rice Paper Rolls

Lunch makes or breaks my day. If it's good, I cruise through the whole afternoon on the contents of my midday tupperware, don't get really hungry again til about 4 or 5, and by then, I can pop a couple almonds, some honey wheat pretzels, or a piece of the dark chocolate bar I stash in my first drawer (don't tell), any of which will easily hold me over until dinner. If it's bad, I'm hungry at 1:30 and every minute thereafter, until my next real meal. I'm fidgety and tired, fussy and hungry. The upshot? If lunch is bad, the day is, like, the total opposite of awesome.

It's with this in mind that I've launched my impromptu Good Things for Lunch campaign. You know, the one that brought you zucchini tart, and edamame cabbage salad, and yam and chickpea salad too. What's next, you ask? Good things.

In today's post, The Other Good Lunch I Had Last Week: rice paper rolls. They're filling, fresh-tasting, and nutritious -- all in all, a great lunch food. They can be made in advance, packed into a tupperware and eaten at will. The dipping sauce isn't too bad, either. And best of all, they're truly a blank slate that will accommodate almost anything your fridge has to offer.

Moi, I used avocado, carrots, cucumber, parsley, cilantro, mint, slices of nori (seaweed sheets for sushi), shelled edamame, and slices of asian-flavored soy. Steamed shrimp are the most common addition, and basically anything else you have in your fridge would work as well.

The basic method: prepare a big bowl of tepid water (large enough to accommodate your rice paper -- if the bowl is too small, the rice paper sheets will crack). Set up a mise en place, "everything in place," essentially a workstation where all your ingredients are chopped and ready to go. Also have a large plate, the flatter the better, ready to use as the assembly station for your rolls. Stick your first sheet of rice paper in the water, slowly, so as not to crack it. Make sure it is completely submerged. Let it sit there between 25-45 seconds, until it is softer than pliable but not totally mushy. Take it out of the water, let the excess drip off, and lay it flat on your plate. Make a mound of various ingredients in the center of the paper, but slightly towards you (leaving about 2/3 of the roll on the far side of the ingredients and 1/3 on your side -- see the pic above). Fold the sides in; then roll up the rice paper away from you, as pictured.

Serve rolls with any Asian peanut sauce. Here's a good recipe:

Spicy Peanut Sauce from Epicurious

* 3 garlic cloves, minced * 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 1 tablespoon tomato paste * 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter * 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce * 1/2 teaspoon sugar * 3/4 cup water

Preparation

In a small saucepan cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until garlic is golden. Whisk in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, whisking. Simmer sauce, whisking, until thickened, about 1 minute. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Serve sauce warm or at room temperature.

Friday Freakout #1: Where's my local falafel joint?

In the interest of diversifying this blog beyond my standard "photo with recipe" formula, I'm instituting a new feature called Friday Freakout. No explanation needed, right? Having recently returned from Israel, falafel is on the mind more than usual. Walk down the streets of Jerusalem with me for a moment: you won't make it a block without passing at least one falafel/hummus/shawarma joint -- more likely 2. Some are truly falafel stands, where all orders are to go, salad bar is DIY or done in a jiffy by the man behind the counter (trust me, you've never seen hands move so quickly). Others are hummusiot -- hummus is what's for dinner, served on its own or with any number of topings, ranging from tehina and chickpeas to sauteed mushrooms or even meat. Lastly, you've got the do-it-all places that have shawarma, falafel in pita or laffa (the big peasant-bread wraps), and hummus platters. And like I said, they're everywhere.

So why is it that there's no really, really good middle eastern food spot within walking distance of my house? To sharpen the gripe: there are three hummus/falafel/shawarma places within two blocks of my pad. The two best ones (Amsterdam Falafel and Old City Cafe) are decent, the third one (Shawarma spot) is really horrible -- like, effervescent hummus and bug-in-plate horrible. AmFal and OCC are fine, and they do the trick in a pinch: their falafel is crispy and pretty flavorful, their salatin (salads) are varied and some are pretty ok, but nothing out of this world -- and their hummus simply isn't so good. Last time I checked, hummus makes or breaks the whole sandwich.

The real joke here is that considering how many options are around me, I'm relatively lucky: outside of Adams Morgan, the hummus-falafel-shawarma food group is pretty endangered.

And that's not to mention the severe lack of other middle eastern food in the area: labneh (tangy, thick yogurt with a hint of salt), kubbeh hamousta (sour Yemenite soup with zucchini, sorel, and meat-filled dumplings) and good, not-overly-sweet baklavah are nowhere in sight. grr.

That concludes this installment of Friday Freakout. Do you live in DC and know of good ME food joints? Are you brewing over the lack of this food in another city? Comments, people, comments.

Now that the mood is off my chest, happy Friday and a wonderful weekend to all!