This pan-grilled asparagus and endive dish makes a beautiful party platter or addition to any spring meal. Grilling the endive and asparagus and preparing the favas and oranges simply allows each element of the dish to pop. A super-light orange juice-based dressing allows the bright colors and fresh tastes to stand out in this salad.

Pan-Grilled Asparagus and Endive with Fava Beans, Orange and Basil

serves 4

Ingredients

3 lb (1.5 kg) fava beans, outer pods removed
1 lb (500 g) slender asparagus, trimmed
2 heads Belgian endive, sliced lengthwise 1⁄8 inch (3 mm) thick
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 oranges
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup (1⁄2 oz/15 g) small fresh basil leaves

Directions

Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil and add the favas. Boil for 1 minute, then drain. Squeeze each bean free of its tough outer skin.

Warm a stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat. Put the asparagus and endive slices in a bowl, add the olive oil, and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the asparagus and endive to the hot grill pan and cook, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are charred and tender-crisp, 8–10 minutes total. Season the vegetables well with salt and pepper.

Finely grate the zest from 1 orange over a bowl. Cut a slice off both ends of 1 orange so it will stand upright. Stand it on a cutting board and, using a large, sharp knife, cut away the peel and white pith by slicing from top to bottom, following the contour of the fruit. Cut the orange crosswise into thin rounds.

Cut the second orange in half and squeeze the juice into another bowl. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to make a dressing.

Arrange the asparagus, endive, oranges, and fava beans on a platter. Sprinkle with the reserved orange zest and basil. Drizzle with some of the orange dressing, and serve.
This recipe appears courtesy of “Healthy Dish of the Day,” by Kate McMillan, photographs by Erin Kunkel. Conceived and produced by Weldon Owen, Inc. in collaboration with Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (2014).

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During a recent dinner at my friend’s underground restaurant (shh!) we were presented with the most inventive use of kumquats I’d ever seen. They were sort of glazed and roasted, and served atop a seared duck breast.

The kumquats were so luscious and such a perfect foil for the rich duck that I was smitten. The flavor has been haunting me ever since.

My reaction was interesting because I tend to shy away from kumquats, as I’m not really sure what to do with them. I’m attracted to their cute, happy orangeness at the farmers’ market, but since I’m not really a lover of the flavor of citrus rind, when it comes to everyday snacking they tend to just sit there and shame me for not eating them.

Then I found this recipe from food writer Molly Watson. Now wouldn’t these be good with duck, or pork, or dessert for that matter? Try it and let me know. There should be kumquats at markets (at least here on the west coast) for another week or two.

Speaking of seasonal recipes, I can’t get enough asparagus. I tend to spend the first several weeks just roasting it in a super hot oven with salt and olive oil (and sometimes standing in the kitchen eating the spears one after another like French fries) before graduating to more complex (and civilized) preparations like this one from 101 Cookbooks with the super healthy grain quinoa.

If you’ve never tried fava beans, this is your year. They are a short season shelling bean just coming into markets now. Yes, you have to shell them in two steps but it’s worth it. And this dip from Simply Recipes sounds like a winner.

P.S: Favas are easy to grow and provide a wonderful “green manure” for your garden because they are excellent nitrogen fixers. The leaves are edible too!

Image: Miss Meister

The post 3 Seasonal Recipes to Try This Week: Kumquats, Asparagus, Fava Beans appeared first on EcoSalon.