The Last Spring Tonics that Energize

The energy of plants is usually in the roots or shoots. That's why all the Spring tonics turn out to be shoots (stalks are the same thing). These early sprouts have the zip to break through icy or muddy ground and we absorb that energy when we eat them. I've posted about asparagus, the spearheads of Spring, and about rhubarb which I hope to convince you to eat by slipping another recipe into this post that's moving on to the endgame: green garlic (the "scallions" of garlic), scallions, fiddleheads (fern shoots) and the tastiest of the bunch, pea shoots. Green garlic and pea shoots are relative newcomers to farmers' markets, more showing up each year as word spreads about how delicious and nutritious they are and savvy cooks ask for them. (That's how I got them brought to markets in Maine: continually requesting some and promising to buy lots.)

Rhubarb Crisp

I love the pink color and gingery flavor of this dessert, perfect with vanilla ice cream or not. I also love to freeze one or two to enjoy in winter. It's not too sweet, can be gluten-free, and the perfect palate cleanser after grilled foods. Leftovers make a great breakfast treat topped with yogurt. Oh, and did I say it's ridiculously easy to make. If you want strawberries, throw a few in but you don't have to. What seems the inevitable combination is based on a linguistic mistake: much rhubarb due to its pink color is identified as "strawberry rhubarb" and that led cooks to think the you shouldn't serve one without the other.
serves 8
2 lbs rhubarb
1/4 c turbinado, raw or light brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 c white raisins (use dark if that's all you have)
2" fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
pinch ground cloves
2 tbsp all purpose flour (to be gluten free use corn starch)
Optional: 8-10 whole hulled strawberries
3/4 c chopped walnuts, lightly toasted (you can do in the toaster oven)
1/2 c oats
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened is best
2 tbsp turbinado, raw or light brown sugar
1/8 tsp (lg pinch) ground cinnamon 

Heat oven to 375º. Get out a 9-10" pie plate (glass one is good here).
Wash and chop the rhubarb stalks into 1" pieces (aim for the smaller side). Put in a large bowl and combine with the sugar, maple syrup, raisins, ginger and cloves. Stir to blend. Stir in the flour or cornstarch so it absorbs the watery juice the rhubarb will emit. Pour everything into the pie plate and level the top.

Make the topping in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into pieces. Add the chopped walnuts, oats, sugar and cinnamon and with your hands blend this into chunks.  Distribute the chunks evenly over the top of the rhubarb. There may be spaces but that's okay. Try to keep them small. 

Bake at 375º 35-45  minutes until the topping is golden brown and the rhubarb juices bubbling at the edge are syrupy thick. If the nuts are browning/burning too quickly cover the top with foil.  (I often put a sheet pan on the shelf below in case the juice bubbles over.)  You can make this ahead and reheat it in a warm oven to serve. You can cool it, wrap it in tin foil and put it in a large freezer baggie and freeze for winter.

And now moving ahead in the season,

Green garlic is the "scallion" of the young garlic bulb that comes to market when farmers' thin the garlic patch. The younger ones distinguished by a bulb that hasn't begun to swell wider than the stem are best. Some farmers pull them much larger and they're tougher. The point is to eat the bulb and stem, like a scallion. 

The easiest way to enjoy them is to sprinkle on some olive oil and sea salt and roast them at 450º 10-12 minutes. They'll become meltingly soft and sweet and you can just eat them that way. Or you can mash them once they've roasted and blend them into hamburgers/meatloaf or mashed potatoes or whatever you want a taste of garlic in.  
Pasta with Green Garlic and Ricotta
serves 4-5

1½ cups fresh whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup finely minced green garlic
2 tbsp minced parsley
1 lb dried penne or fusilli

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste plus grated Parmesan for the table

Combine ricotta, green garlic and 1 tbsp parsley in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Cook pasta according to package until al dente. Just before it’s there, take out ½ cup of the boiling water and whisk in a steady stream into the ricotta to make a smooth, creamy sauce. 

Drain pasta and put in the sauce. Add butter and toss to blend. Add Parmesan and toss again, adding a little more boiling pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve topping each portion with some remaining parsley. Pass additional Parmesan at the table.

Fiddleheads, the delicacy of late Spring, are the sprouts of the ostrich

fern gathered when it's still in spirals and hasn't yet unfolded as an upright stalk. They grow in the Himalaya, in northern New England and the Canadian Rockies as wild woodland plants that must be foraged. They are rich in vitamins A and C but should never be eaten raw. Sometimes they're available pickled in a jar. Otherwise they're best steamed for 6-8 minutes with a cut lemon and sea salt and served with a few grinds of fresh black pepper. If you put a pinch of baking soda in the steam water, they'll keep their bright green color.  Once steamed you can throw them in salads or toss them in with stewed Spring chicken or over pasta with olive oil, lemon juice, pitted black olives and pancetta.

I found fiddleheads popping through snow ground in Bhutan and found out this is how the locals cook them.  

 Himalayan style Fiddlehead Ferns

for 4-6

1 sm. red onion, peeled, finely chopped

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ lb. fiddleheads, cleaned

3 new potatoes, cleaned and sliced into thin disks

1 cup water

1 med. fresh green chili (about ½ oz.), seeded and sliced in thin strips

¼ tsp ground coriander

8 oz fresh soft sheep cheese, farmers’ or feta cheese or soft ricotta, crumbled

1/8 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and sauté until translucent and soft. Add fiddleheads, potatoes and water. Simmer over low heat about 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Add the chili, coriander, cheese and salt, stirring to blend. Continue to simmer until cheese melts into a smooth sauce, about 5 minutes. Add freshly ground black pepper to your taste and serve hot.  The Bhutanese would do that with roast pork.

   
The other name for a scallion is "Spring onion" because it's the first shoot of an awakened bulb. East Asian cultures use lots of them because they can't wait for the full onion. We have choices but if we're sticking to the seasons, now is the time for the Spring onion. Fall is for the fat ones that keep.

Quick scallion pancakes

These are Korean style.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup boiling water

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup minced scallions

1 tbsp sesame oil

½ cup corn or canola oil

Sift flour with salt into large bowl or food processor. Add water in a steady stream, continually mixing with a wooden spoon until a dough ball forms. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it sit 30 minutes.

Combine the sesame oil with 1 tbsp corn or canola oil. Flour a flat surface and roll dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with the oils and spread the scallions evenly on top. Now carefully roll the dough up tightly like a jellyroll. Cut it across into 4 equal pieces. Twist each piece 3 times and wrap it itself into a spiral. Roll each spiral into a flat 5” pancake. (If it’s a little bigger, okay.) Coat a nonstick skillet with some of the corn or canola oil and pan sear the pancake on both sides until they brown. Use fresh oil for each pancake if you need to. Cut into wedges to serve.

Make a sauce out of soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced ginger and scallions with a fleck of Asian chili sauce.

Pea shoots, a Chinese favorite, are what you get when you thin out

the pea patch as the tendrils begin their climb. They are startlingly tasty, with perhaps more flavor than peas themselves and you can eat them raw. They are perfect in an egg or tuna salad pita pocket, on crostini particularly if a paté is underneath (the picture here is on top of a smoked salmon paté), and with cold poached salmon. I sometimes stick them in the cream cheese on my bagel. In other words, they are no trouble. 
   You can toss them in vegetable or chicken noodle soup and in just about any stir-fry. The Chinese simply stir-fry them with lots of garlic and dig in.
Chinese stir-fried Pea Shoots

The Chinese use snow pea shoots which are thicker than garden pea shoots and work best in this recipe.

serves 2-3

1 lb pea shoots

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3-5 cloves of finely chopped fresh garlic (depending on how much you like)

1/2 tsp salt or 1 tbsp soy sauce

grind of fresh pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

Wash and thoroughly drain the pea shoots.

Using very high heat, heat oil in a wok until smoking. Quickly add the garlic and pea shoots constantly stirring. After a minute, add salt or soy, pepper, and sesame oil. Stir and mix well. Cover the wok and cook 1-2 minutes. Remove lid, stir briefly, and transfer to serving dish.