Spring Vegetable Fricassee Recipes

WARM SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Put the courgette ribbons in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and the lemon juice.
• Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 2 mins, adding the frozen peas and broad beans for the final min. Drain well, pod the broad beans and toss together with the courgette ribbons. Drizzle over the olive oil, sprinkle on parsley and season to taste.

STOVE-TOP VEGETABLE FRICASSEE WITH TARRAGON CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Heat oil in large high-sided, oven-proof skillet over medium heat Add sliced onion, bell peppers, asparagus, and carrots and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Stir in tarragon and vermouth cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach (or dandelion greens) and milk and sour cream and simmer 2 minutes. Add more milk, if needed, to make sure the vegetables are submerged. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Place pan under broiler and broil until golden brown. Serve mixture over rice.
• Chef's Note: You can clean and cut all vegetables and reserve in refrigerator, to be used when cooking fricassee.

CREAM OF THE CROP VEGETABLE FRICASSEE WITH FRIED TOAST POINTS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, mushrooms, celery and garlic and saute until tender. Add the flour and form a roux, stirring to incorporate the butter and flour.
• Slowly add the vegetable stock and stir until smooth. Continue to cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. If the sauce looks too thick you can add more stock or water to thin it down.
• Add all the blanched vegetables to the sauce along with the fresh herbs. Cook for 5 minutes, gently stirring, over medium heat. Add the mascarpone and heavy cream and allow to reduce for another 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. While the sauce is simmering, add the canola oil to a large skillet, over medium heat, until smoking. Slice the bread into triangles and shallow-fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove from the oil, drain on paper towels and set aside. To serve, place a ladle of vegetable stew into each large soup bowl and garnish with fried toast points.
• Cook's Note: Blanching vegetable is a great way to speed up the cooking process of any dish and is very simple to do. Simply cook vegetables in boiling salted water until vegetables are still firm but cooked, then remove from boiling water and place into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside until ready to use.

SPRING VEGETABLE FRICASSEE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water on the side. Boil vegetables except for the tomatoes in separate batches, approximately 2 minutes each, or until just tender. Transfer to ice water to chill, strain and pat dry. (The vegetables can be made up to this point and kept covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator up to 12 hours.) Heat olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until they are hot, about 3 minutes. Toss in the marjoram; adjust seasoning if needed, and serve hot.