QUINOA ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS + PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING

Purchasing my first bundle of asparagus each year marks a tectonic shift in our kitchen. I feel ready to let go of heartier soups and starchy roots as I start to dream of the vibrant greens that only early spring can bring. Peas, wild nettles, bright salads, freshness...

Today I wanted to share a super easy dish that lets asparagus bask in its natural glory. Speaking of natural glory... have you tried storing your asparagus in water? It's a great way to keep the spears firm and fresh. I like the notion of treating asparagus like any other spring bloom... maybe I'm just a produce nerd, but I'd be quite happy to get a bouquet of asparagus in lieu of flowers.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa orzo* (any orzo will do here, or you could substitute a few cups of cooked wild rice for this recipe)
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced
• 1 large or 2 small preserved lemons (if you don't have access to preserved lemons - I think using additional fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest would make a nice substitution). For details on making your own preserved lemons, here's a recipe for you.
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice + more to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan + shaved Parm for serving
• freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• for serving: arugula or chopped parsley; another squirt of fresh lemon juice; shaved Parm or crumbled goat cheese

*A local company named Edison Grainery has been doing all sort of interesting things with grains, specifically organic quinoa. We're addicted to their quinoa crispies and I really like their quinoa orzo.

Fill and large stock pot with tap water and salt very generously. Set pot over high heat and bring water to a boil.

In a large mixing bowl, set up an ice bath for the asparagus.

When the water comes to a rolling boil, blanch asparagus slices until vibrant green and just tender, depending on the thickness of your stalks, this could take 1-3 minutes. Don't pour out the cooking water, simply scoop out tender asparagus with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge the veg into an ice bath. Keep your salty cooking water on the stove and use it for your orzo.

Cook orzo until it reaches your desired texture. (For those of you using the Edison quinoa orzo, I've found that the cooking time is much longer than that suggested on the package.)

While the orzo is cooking, go ahead and make your dressing. A note on preserved lemons: when using preserved lemons, you want to discard the flesh and use only the peel. Rinse the pieces of preserved lemon peel and place them in a blender or food processor. Add olive oil, lemon juice, grated Parm, plenty of ground black pepper and salt to taste. Blitz all ingredients. Taste for seasoning and add a little more lemon juice and/or salt as desired.

When the orzo has finished cooking, drain and transfer it to a serving dish. Pull asparagus from the ice bath, pat dry and add to the orzo. Generously dress the dish, adding additional salt or lemon juice to your liking.

Serve warm or room temp with ample freshly ground black pepper, shaved Parm or creamy goat cheese, scattered arugula leaves or chopped herbs. Although not necessary, I like to give the dish one last squeeze of fresh lemon juice just to bring out the springy brightness.

Enjoy!

serves 4-6

BTW, did you guys read the new piece by Mark Bittman about cooking and eating in Berkeley? I'm happy to see Mark so enjoying California produce and our beloved Monterey Market, but I have to say... I'm scared that the already-insane parking lot situation is about to get much much worse!

QUINOA SALAD WITH FAVAS AND PRESERVED LEMON

I am always looking for new ways to enjoy quinoa and I suspect this recipe will become a staple for us when favas are in season. If you don’t have access to favas, I think steamed, chopped asparagus or even spinach, would be a delicious substitute in this dish. Plus here's another use for those preserved lemons you might have made with me a while back.

Eating favas in the middle of California winter, I feel like a traitor to my friends at home. Here in New Zealand it is early Summer and favas ( aka “broad beans” ) are ready for harvest and impossible for me to resist. I stumbled on this recipe in Australia’s Gourmet Traveller (my new favorite food mag) and loved the mix of flavors. I ended up making a lot of changes to the original recipe until I was satisfied with the balance of fresh, creamy, lemony, flavors I craved. I served the salad to P and my mom - when they oohed and aahed, I figured I needed to share the recipe with you.

This salad can be a one-bowl-meal in itself or works as a substantial side dish for grilled fish or chicken.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH GREEN OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMON

Brian at Riverdog Farm had a request for me: "More chicken and duck recipes please." I think this may be the first request I've had and of course I had to oblige. So here is my second poultry recipe in just a few weeks. At our house, we do eat a lot of chicken, and occasionally duck, quail, or guinea hen. Usually Paul does his Fire Alarm Chicken a la Judy Rogers or he tosses a smaller bird on the grill. But I am always looking for ways to mix things up, so here we go....

I am drawn to Moroccan food, but never cook it myself.  A few months ago, my neighbor Rich loaned me two gorgeous Moroccan cookbooks. I drooled over the photos and found lots of tempting recipes. The Preserved Meyer Lemon recipe that I shared back in May came from Modern Moroccan by Ghillie Basan; we have been enjoying our stash of delicious preserved lemons ever since - cavalierly tossing a few into a roast chicken, or making that scrumptious A16 recipe for Halibut.

I have been remiss in returning Rich's cookbooks because I want to make so many of the recipes. Next Friday we leave for our year of travel and I really can't justify keeping the books any longer. Here's one recipe I had to try before we say goodbye to our kitchen for a year.

We served this succulent chicken over a buttery quinoa pilaf that soaked up the chicken's yummy, lemony sauce.


INGREDIENTS
from Modern Moroccan by Ghillie Basan - a truly inspiring cookbook that sadly seems to be out of print

• 3 pound chicken
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• small bunch of fresh oregano, finely chopped (Basan's recipe calls for cilantro instead)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, grated
• pinch of saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (we used fresh grated ginger instead)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 cup cracked green olives
• 2 preserved lemons, rinsed and cut into strips

Rub the cavity of the chicken with garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt.

Mix olive oil, grated onion, saffron, ginger, and pepper on the chicken's skin. Place chicken in a tagine or large flameproof casserole ( I used my trusty Le Creuset dutch oven). Pour the marinating juices over the top, cover, and let the bird marinate for 30 minutes.

Pan-Fried Butterfish

I love Monterey Fish Market, near my house in North Berkeley. The folks who work there are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, the fish and shellfish are always fresh and inviting, and there is an air of responsibility and love about the place as a whole.

I went in the other day with no goal in mind. I just wanted to pick up something to cook for diner that night. As I walked in the door, I heard one of the staff singing the praises of this itsy-bitsy fish, called a Butterfish. I'd never seen the likes of it in a fish market before. Needless to say, I was intrigued. The market tray held a dual line of what looked like miniature albacore, the skin was a beautiful steel grey, the dorsal fin ran the whole length to a relatively large and powerful tail. This was a little fish that could really move through the ocean with authority.

"What's the story with this little fellow," I asked. "Delicious!" was the consensus from behind the counter. One of the guys said that Butterfish is a semi-pelagic fish, which means it spends most of its life out in the deep ocean, beyond the range of most fishermen. The season for finding it in markets is very short, just about a month and a half, in June and July, corresponding to its spawning season, when they come in closer to shore in the north Atlantic. I should say here that Butterfish is one of those slippery, vernacular names that has been applied to a variety of fish over the years. Other fish that have been called Butterfish include Sablefish and Black Cod. The key to distinguishing Butterfish from anything else is the size. They never exceed 12 inches in total length, but most run from 6 to 9 inches. The ones I bought had had their heads removed and were no more than 5 inches long.

"These fish taste just like their name implies." I was told. "They are the favorite of the owner; the fish he would choose above all others to eat." Sold.

I took home eight for my family of four, which only amounted to a bit over a pound; total cost, about $8.


INGREDIENTS
• 8 Butterfish, heads removed but skin on
• 1/2 Preserved Meyer lemon
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• flour for dusting (GF folks, we used Sorghum flour)
• olive oil and butter for seasoning the pan

You could certainly grill these guys, but I chose to pan fry them. I started by taking a very sharp knife and cutting an X in each side, going right down to the bone. This was just to help get the seasoning I was preparing a bit further into the flesh.

For seasoning you could put together just about anything that sounds good going with a firm, mild fish. Even a quick brush of olive oil and squirt of lemon juice would hit the spot. I decided to dice up a half of one of E's preserved lemons, chop a few tablespoons of fresh parsley from our garden, and add a pinch of red pepper flakes. I covered both sides of the fish with this concoction, then I dusted them with a bit of gluten-free flour, and put them in a hot pan, seasoned with olive oil and butter.

I cooked each side about about two minutes, and that was that.

We garnished with some chopped up parsley blossoms, our garnish of choice these days. We ate the fish with a simple green salad.

The fish was succulent, as advertised. I was licking my fingers as I made my way through each little fellow. My only bit of warning is about bones. There are plenty in there, and they do need to be picked out.