Getting to be BBQ season here in the Northeast and it is the Fourth of July coming up so I thought that I would share one of my “Go To” side dishes. This pasta salad has to be one of the fastest ever to put together and is very neutral — no exotic flavors this time. I went for a little picnic out on one of the islands in Boston Harbor and snacked on this salad on the rocks.
Hollandaise. That lovely creamy buttery addition used to perfect Eggs Benedict, place over white fish or summer veggies. It is pure magic if done correctly, and can be a disastrous mess if it splits on you. This is my technique for making the magic.
And why am I showing you a picture of hollandaise with asparagus, a fried duck egg and serrano ham? Well, in the month of May, Germans are absolutely crazy about their asparagus (the white kind, though white is awful in my parts of the world, as it is old, woody and generally horrible; this lovely green stuff is from the local farmers market and was harvested about 36 hours ago). Holladaise is wonderful with this dish.
Ok, back from a little hiatus from blogging about food, but here I am again. The weather has been miserable, even for New England spring weather, so I made this butternut squash soup as comfort food. It’s lovely and super easy. Besides having to roast the squash for an hour (which is hands off) I think the whole thing took an additional 15 minutes beyond that. And you could use any other kind of squash or pumpkin too. The curry is super nice, so if you can, serve with naan (both Trader Joes and Whole Food sell some good naan, if you are so included).
In my attempt to expand my “flavor-profile” horizons, I decided to make these “Moroccan” meatballs. For the record, I don’t know that they have turkeys in Morocco (I am guessing more lamb?), so it’s more the flavors that I am going for in this recipe: cumin, coriander, paprika, nutmeg and cinnamon. An interesting combination, to be sure. But they turned out quite lovely. I’ve frozen a batch so when I have visitors in the next few weeks, they might be good as an appetizer or a snack. If going for the whole meal thing, service with cous cous. Nom.