Music and Cats

The abundance of edible riches available at Seattle’s farmers’ markets this week made eating locally a relatively simple — and quite delightful — proposition. With raw ingredients as fresh as these, we tend to cook simple meals that allow their flavors to really shine.

Last Sunday, the first day of the One Local Summer challenge, we had a simply delicious supper of roasted salmon and sautéed asparagus.

Three days before I cooked it, this salmon was swimming in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere near La Push, WA. I roasted it in a 250-degree oven, with only a drizzle of California olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper.

It’s high season for asparagus, so we’re eating it frequently. I sautéed these stalks in olive oil with green garlic and spring onions. (Too bad I forgot to photograph it until after I’d served our plates.)

While the One Local Summer challenge is to prepare one meal a week using 100% local ingredients, we had a couple more all-local dinners this week.

On Thursday evening, we had fresh halibut, baked with homemade aioli (local green garlic, egg yolk and Asian pear vinegar, California olive oil, dried mustard), and steamed broccoli.

Friday night, I had the time (and inclination) to cook a more elaborate dinner: asparagus bread pudding. I adapted recipes from the Washington Post and 101 Cookbooks, using ingredients I had on hand. I hadn’t had time to bake bread, so I bought a loaf of locally-baked bread. I don’t know where the bakery gets its flour, so this delicious dinner (and brunch yesterday and today — yum!) might have had a couple of ingredients from outside of the 150 mile radius that’s my definition of local. While I can’t claim that it’s 100% local, I can state without reservations that it’s 100% delicious.

Savory Asparagus Bread Pudding

1 head green garlic, coarsely chopped (or 8-10 cloves regular garlic)
3 cups milk
1 pound loaf French- or Italian-style bread, cut into thick slices
1 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, finely sliced
1/4 pound morel mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Gouda cheese
1/2 cup cream (or additional milk), if needed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.

In a small saucepan, combine the garlic and milk. Bring just to a boil, then set aside to steep.

If you’re planning ahead of time, leave the sliced bread out overnight the bread is not stale, lay slices on a large baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until just crisp. Cut bread into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces and put in a large bowl.

Bring water to boil in a steamer. Steam asparagus until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the mushrooms. Increase the heat to high and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms exude their liquid. Remove from heat; season with pepper to taste.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly. Strain the cooled garlic-infused milk into the bowl, discarding the garlic, and whisk until smooth. Grind in lots of black pepper. Pour egg-milk mixture over the dried bread. Add the asparagus-mushroom mixture with any juices and the cheese; mix well. Let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid has been absorbed. (If you find that all the liquid soaks in, and some of bread cubes are not saturated, add a little more liquid. I added 1/2 cup cream, as I’d used all the milk.) Pour bread pudding mixture into the prepared baking dish; smooth with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until puffed and browned. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Tags:   Eat Local · NaBloPoMo · One Local Summer · Seattle4 Comments