brown butter sage mashed potatoes

While mashed potatoes - and just potatoes in general - are an essential staple in life and i’ll never tire of them, it can be fun to change it up at times. This version is a simple variation topped with flavorful brown butter and crispy sage. The brown butter adds a rich toasted nuttiness that complements the creamy mashed potatoes and frying the sage mellows out the herbiness while adding a crispy texture. Similar to how scallions are used in scallion noodles where they’re cooked down in oil to unlock a fragrant version of itself while toning down the harsher notes, the same can be done for herbs like sage or rosemary too. Crisp them up in some butter or olive oil to transform the flavors and put it on everything. Go crazy.

A side benefit? This recipe uses a lot less butter than most recipes since browning the butter packs a bigger punch that you don’t need a stick of butter to get the same effect.

A few tips:

• There are few essential tools (I mean, you could even use a fork to mash the potatoes if you need), but if you have a stand mixer the process is incredibly fast and easy.

• This recipe uses sage, but feel free to substitute with another herb.

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brown butter sage mashed potatoes

serves 4

ingredients

4 potatoes, russet or yukon gold

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter, in two halves

handful of sage leaves

salt & pepper

steps

1. Prepare the potatoes: Peel and cut potatoes in medium sized chunks and place in a medium sized pot. Cover with cold water, add a generous pinch of salt, and bring to boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a knife. Drain water.

2. Mash the potatoes: Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or by hand, mash the potatoes until no chunks remain.

3. Heat up milk & butter: In a saucepan or in the microwave, heat up the milk and 2 tablespoons of butter until melted.

4. Mix in with potatoes: Pour the milk and butter into the potatoes and mix until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Brown butter with sage: In a saucepan over low heat, add the remaining butter with sage leaves. The sage will slowly begin to crisp up as the butter browns. This should take a few minutes. Take care to not let the pan overheat as the butter can easily burn. Lightly salt the sage.

6. Serve: Plate the mashed potatoes, and drizzle the sage with brown butter over top.

duck confit and ramp hand pies

As picnic season begins to ramp (hehe) up, are you wondering how you can up your picnic game this year? Bring a few of these hand pies to share with friends and family and I can guarantee you will be invited back for the next picnic. Encased in a ridiculously flaky crust, these pockets hold tender shredded duck confit, caramelized onions, duck fat potatoes, and finished with some quickly seared ramps. The filling is the perfect balance between the saltiness of the duck legs, the sweetness of the caramelized onions, and the kick from the ramps all held together by the potatoes.

What exactly are ramps?

I’d never tried or even heard of ramps until I moved to the east coast and hit what I call the “green market circuit” here in New York. When I walked into Whole Foods this week I was delighted to find a giant display of ramps, ripe for the picking. They’re so seasonal they only appear for a few weeks in the year. They’re packed with flavor and I’d describe it as a cross between a scallion, onion, and leek with a garlicky punch. In these hand pies, they help cut through the richness of the duck confit filling. If you’re looking to make these the other 50 weeks of the year, you can easily replace the ramps with chives or scallions.

Duck confit the easy way

If you’ve never made duck confit, it may sound like an intimidating process but it needn’t be. Traditionally, duck legs are cooked long and slow submerged in duck fat. Conveniently, duck legs (and especially the moulard duck legs sold at whole foods) are already packed with fat. The shortcut method just uses the fat that’s already in the duck legs, and slowly cooks the legs down in the oven at a low heat.

A few tips:

• If ramps are not available, replace with chives

• There may be additional filling leftover (which is great to munch on!), but don’t try to overfill the hand pies or else it will be challenging to close the seams

• The duck confit takes a few hours, but is almost entirely hands off so the active prep time is far shorter

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duck confit and ramp hand pies

serves 4

ingredients

for the pie crust:

1 1/4 cup AP flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, cut into large cubes

4 - 6 tablespoons ice water

for the filling:

1 duck leg

salt & pepper

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 medium yellow potato, diced

1 bunch of ramps

optional:

1 egg

flaky salt

steps

Pie crust:

1. Mixing dry ingredients with butter: Combine the AP flour and salt. Toss in the butter cubes (make sure the butter is as cold as possible) until the individual cubes are covered in flour.

2. Flatten the butter: Working quickly (so the butter doesn’t warm up too much), start flattening the butter pieces between your fingers but leave them in large chunks.

3. Hydrate: Drizzle in the ice water, and toss with the flour/butter mixture (like you would toss a salad - do not knead). The optimal hydration for your dough is to have it hold together in a ball with no floury streaks. If your dough is still too crumbly, add water slowly as a little water can go a long way. Start with 4 tablespoons and continue adding the rest of the water slowly to prevent over hydrating your dough. The dough should be just hydrated enough to be able to hold together without dry flour, but it shouldn’t be tacky to the touch. Form into a disk, wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for at least 30-60 min.

4. Extra folds: This step is optional, but this is the key to getting a really flaky crust. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle and fold into thirds like an envelope. Rotate 90 degree, and repeat the process of rolling and folding 2 more times. The dough should start to smooth out by the third fold. Let it rest in the fridge for another 30 min.

Filling:

5. Make the duck confit: Generously season the duck leg with salt and pepper. Prick the skin all over using the tip of a sharp knife to help the fat render while cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and in a small baking pan, bake skin side down for 20 minutes. Flip the leg over and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 F, and bake for 2 hours until the meat is incredibly tender and falls right off the bone. Shred once cool enough to handle and set aside. Save 2 tablespoons of the duck fat for the potatoes.

6. Make the caramelized onions: In a medium hot pan, heat up the olive oil and add the caramelized onions. Toss to evenly coat the onions in olive oil and cook while stirring every few minutes to prevent any the onions from burning. After 10 minutes, sprinkle with some some sugar and salt and continue cooking and stirring sporadically for the next 30 - 45 minutes. If the onions start burning before finishing caramelizing, add a few tablespoons of water.

7. Cook the potatoes: In a medium hot pan, add the diced potatoes along with 1 tablespoons of the leftover duck fat. Sear the potatoes until crisp and tender on the inside, approximately 5 - 10 minutes. Salt to taste.

8. Sear the ramps: Carefully wash the ramps to remove any dirt. Roughly chop and quickly sear in a medium hot pan with 1 tablespoon of leftover duck fat. Salt to taste.

9. Combine filling: Mix together the shredded duck confit, caramelized onions, potatoes, and ramps together.

Preheat oven to 375 F

10. Fill the hand pies: Roll out the pie crust into a 12 x 8 in rectangle and cut into 8 smaller 3 x 4 in rectangles. On one layer, add the filling to the center and brush the edge with water. Layer a second rectangle on top, and use a fork to crimp the edges of the crust. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

11. Egg wash: Beat one egg until no more streaks. Brush the tops of the hand pies with a layer of egg wash and cut some vent holes on top. Top with flaky salt (optional).

12. Bake: On a sheet of parchment paper, bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

spring asparagus and pesto rye tart

As the weather warms and the trees blossom, my favorite sign of spring is when asparagus season hits. The green stalks are bright and tender, and it’s a telltale sign of a cornucopia of seasonal produce to come.

Sitting on top of a flaky rye crust, the pesto brings together the asparagus, shallots, and crumbly feta cheese. The rye offers a deeper and more complex alternative to all purpose flour, which complements all the bright flavors coming from the topping.

The rye tart crust

To create a shattering tender crust, make some extra envelope folds in your dough before rolling it out. Keep the initial butter chunks large, as they will get incorporated into the crust more as you fold the layers. The initial dough will be craggly with bumps and ridges, but as you make the folds, the dough will smooth out.

A few tips:

• Trim the tough bottoms off the asparagus - you can even break them off with your hands

• Keep the dough cool at all times, and leave some space in your fridge to easily pop in the dough if it starts to warm up

• Feel free to customize to your taste. You can leave out the shallots if you don’t like them or switch out the feta for another cheese like parmesan or goat cheese.

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spring asparagus and pesto rye tart

serves 6

ingredients

for the rye crust:

1 cup AP flour

1/4 cup rye flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

4 - 6 tablespoons ice water

for the topping:

1 bunch asparagus

4 tablespoons pesto

1/2 shallot, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 egg, whisked (optional)

flaky salt (optional)

steps

Rye crust:

1. Mixing dry ingredients with butter: Combine the AP flour, rye flour and salt. Toss in the butter cubes (make sure the butter is as cold as possible) until the individual cubes are covered in flour.

2. Flatten the butter: Working quickly (so the butter doesn’t warm up too much), start flattening the butter pieces between your fingers but leave them in large chunks.

3. Hydrate: Drizzle in the ice water, and toss with the flour/butter mixture (like you would toss a salad - do not knead). The optimal hydration for your dough is to have it hold together in a ball with no floury streaks. If your dough is still too crumbly, add water slowly as a little water can go a long way. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for at least 30-60 min.

4. Extra folds: This step is optional, but this is the key to getting a really flaky crust. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle and fold into thirds. Rotate 90 degree, and repeat the process of rolling and folding 2 more times. The dough should start to smooth out by the third fold. Let it rest in the fridge for another 30 min.

5. Roll out dough: Trying to keep the dough in a rectangular shape, roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick. The shape should be long enough to hold the asparagus stalks. You can trim the edges of your dough to get a perfect straight edge if you’d like, but I kept mine as is to avoid wasting any dough. Let the rolled out dough rest in the fridge as you prepare the rest of the toppings.

Preheat oven to 375 F

Topping:

6. Blanch the asparagus: Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat and quickly drop the asparagus in, cooking for ~2 min. Transfer the asparagus over to an ice bath to stop the cooking and pat dry.

7. Build the tart: Thinly spread a layer of the pesto over the tart. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer. Toss the shallot slices in a teaspoon of olive oil, and add on top of the asparagus along with the feta. Optional: brush the edges with egg, and top with flaky salt.

8. Bake: Bake in a preheated oven for 25 - 30 min, or until the edges turn golden brown. If the shallots start browning too quickly, turn the heat down to 350 F midway.

ganbara's basque wild mushrooms

In the coastal city of San Sebastian located in Spanish Basque country, you’ll find scores of bars serving pintxos, which are essentially the basque take on tapas. The counters of each bar is filled to the brim with plates of incredible small bites, often served on bread, along with a vast selection of options you can order from the kitchen. It is truly one of my favorite places in the world, and I could spend everyday hopping between bars filling up on pintxos, washed down with some txakoli, a local lightly sparkling wine poured from way up high.

Ganbara is an essential stop on a pintxos crawl in the heart of San Sebastian, so you’ve got to be assertive to get up front and get your order in amongst the crowded bar. You may be swayed by the mouthwatering spread across the bar (and if they have the carb tartlettes, definitely get yourself a few of those), but you’d be remiss to not order a plate of their seared wild mushrooms, or hongos a la plancha. Anthony Bourdain called it one of his favorite dishes, and I couldn’t agree more. The selection of mushrooms vary depending on the season, but they’re always seared in a garlic olive oil before topped with a fresh egg yolk and a light sprinkle of truffle salt. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can add a piece of seared foie gras on the side as well. It’s a simple dish that highlights the earthy flavors of the wild mushrooms (that you probably paid a pretty penny for) brought together with the creaminess of the egg yolk.

A few tips for success:

• It can be hard to find wild mushrooms, but feel free to use any combination that you can locate. I used chanterelles (pricy but delicious) and king oyster mushrooms. If you live near one, Eataly is a great place to locate wild mushrooms.

• Cook each mushroom type separately as different varietals cook at different rates.

• Don’t crowd the pan - we want to get a nice sear on these mushrooms without overcooking.

• Make sure to use an egg yolk from the highest quality egg you can find.

• The recipe below is for a pintxo-sized portion, but can be easily doubled.

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Ganbara’s Basque Seared Wild Mushrooms

makes an appetizer for 2

ingredients

1/2 pound mix of wild mushrooms (e.g. chanterelles)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup high quality olive oil

salt & pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

finishing salt (truffle or flaky salt), optional

1 egg yolk (high quality), optional

steps

Infuse the olive oil: Mix together the minced garlic with the olive oil and let it sit for 30 min.

Prepare the mushrooms: Because we are using wild mushrooms, be sure to clean the mushrooms with a wet cloth thoroughly. Slice mushrooms into bite sized pieces, not too small, and keep each type separate as we will be cooking them separately.

Sear the mushrooms: In a medium hot pan, add the olive oil only along with one type of mushroom at a time if you’re using a mix. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t move the mushrooms around the pan too much to get a nice sear. Once you have a nice color on them, throw in some of the minced garlic once the mushrooms are almost done for some extra flavor. Don’t add it too early or the garlic may burn. Finish with parsley once the mushrooms are done.

Plating: Plate the mushrooms by grouping the mushrooms by type. In the middle, add an egg yolk before sprinkling with some either flaky or truffle salt for an extra layer of earthy flavor. Serve immediately, and mop up all the extra yolk and juices with some bread.