RECIPES: Get excited about spring with asparagus, lamb and strawberries
Chef Forough Vakili opened Le Bon Nosh in late 2021 in Atlanta’s Buckhead Village. The name of the cafe and market roughly translates to “the good bite.”
Vakili grew up in Iran and came to the U.S to study chemical engineering at Georgia Tech. Later, she decided to go to culinary school in France to fulfill her cooking dreams.
“I always had a burning interest in food,” she said, describing Le Bon Nosh as “a neighborhood kitchen” — adding that the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are focused around “local, simple and seasonal ingredients.”
With that in mind, we asked Vakili to come up with recipes for spring-inspired dishes. She answered with a seasonal starter, main dish and dessert, aimed at serving a party of four.
“In my mind, spring is about a fresh start and rebirth,” Vakili said. “Today, when we’re talking, it’s the first day of spring, and we’re kind of struggling with how many ingredients we can get locally. But very soon, in April, comes all the bounties of spring, with peas and arugula and morels.”
Surprisingly, perhaps, Vakili revealed that the thing she’s most excited about every spring is ramps, which look like scallions, but are smaller, slightly more delicate, and often difficult to find, unless you’re a forager.
“Interestingly enough, there are foragers that know restaurants want them, and they’ll bring them to us,” she said. “And I know farmers that have friends who come to their farms to forage for ramps. But you can find green onions or green garlic in farmers markets. Those colors speak to spring, too.”
Asparagus is another green vegetable on Vakili’s mind right now. “I grew up, like many American families, having asparagus with every steak dinner,” she said. “But when I was introduced to asparagus in season, that’s when I went, ‘Wow. What a difference.’ It’s a short season, but I only eat asparagus in April and the first part of May now.”
Lamb is a spring thing for Vakili, too. “Baby lamb is spring to me, because it’s something I grew up with,” she said. “You can find local lamb in Georgia, and it changes your perception so much. The gaminess that people associate with lamb isn’t there like it is with the lamb we get from Australia or New Zealand.”
At Le Bon Nosh, local rack of lamb is cooked on the grill to medium and served with a pea and morel ragu sauteed with shallots, onions and butter. Plus it’s plated with a refreshing pea sauce made with pea milk from the grocery store, and frozen or fresh peas with mint.
“We like to sear the lamb on the grill, and you could do it on your grill outdoors for a party,” Vakili said. “We’re doing them in two racks, so that’s four chops per rack. And it’s something that can be assembled right before serving.”
For a spring dessert, Vakili said she “loves, loves strawberries,” and she likes to make strawberry tarts. “It’s such a classic,” she said. “One of my biggest draws to that was during my time in Paris. You find all these beautiful strawberry tarts in pastry cases.”
For those intimidated by baking, Vakili has a shortcut: “Do not make the tart shell, buy it. For example, Trader Joe’s has this amazing tart shell that you can buy and just put in a ring and bake. That saves you a big part of the preparation. Making a pastry cream may seem daunting, but it’s very easy. Just make sure you stir it, cover it, and cool it.”
Thinking about this three-course meal, Vakili is looking forward to the delights of spring weather and the opportunity to cook and eat outdoors.
“I think spring has a sense of excitement in the air,” she said. “You see people start to come outside more. To me, it’s a season of rediscovering. For the restaurant, this is our first spring. So I’ve been looking forward to doing this collaboration with the team to come up with dishes that are true to how we cook simply and source locally.”
RECIPES
These favorite spring recipes from Le Bon Nosh chef and owner Forough Vakili include a starter of Grilled Green Asparagus with Ramps Sauce, a main course of Georgia-Grown Grilled Lamb Rack with Pea and Morel Ragu, and a Strawberry Tart for dessert. Vakili likes to cook the asparagus and lamb outdoors on the grill in honor of the return of warm weather.
Grilled Green Asparagus with Ramps Sauce
For this bright spring starter, barely blanched asparagus is grilled and served with ramp sauce.
- For the asparagus:
- 1/2 cup kosher salt, for blanching liquid
- 4 quarts water, for blanching liquid
- 24 jumbo asparagus, tough ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch finishing salt, such as Maldon
- For the ramps sauce:
- 1/2 cup ramps, washed and finely diced, or 1/2 cup washed and finely diced green onions
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, washed, dried and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, washed, dried and chopped
- 1 lime, juiced and zested
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Heat grill to medium (350-400 degrees).
- With a paring knife, scrape the outer membrane from the stems of the asparagus.
- In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil.
- Set up a large mixing bowl with ice and water. Blanch the asparagus in the water for 4 minutes, then move to the ice bath. When the asparagus is cooled, dry with paper towels, then brush with olive oil. Lay asparagus on the grill for 2 minutes, turning halfway through, then transfer to a serving plate.
- Prepare the ramps sauce: Put the ramps, shallot, parsley, cilantro and chives into a medium mixing bowl. Press the lime juice and zest into the mix. Add olive oil and salt, and mix together very well.
- Pour the ramps sauce on top of the asparagus, then finish with additional salt to taste. Serves 4.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 238 calories (percent of calories from fat, 86), 2 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 24 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 619 milligrams sodium.
Georgia-Grown Grilled Lamb Rack with Pea and Morel Ragu
Grilled Georgia-grown rack of lamb is cooked on the grill to medium and served with a pea and morel ragu and a refreshing pea sauce.
- For the pea and morel ragu:
- 1 pound dried morels
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 1 pound frozen English peas, defrosted, or fresh if available
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, washed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, washed and chopped
- For the pea sauce:
- 1 quart Ripple pea milk, available at Whole Foods, Publix and online
- 2 cups frozen English peas, defrosted
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- For the lamb racks:
- 2 racks of lamb (4 chops each) frenched (ask your butcher to do it for you)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Prepare the ragu: Soak the dry morels in the water for 30 minutes. Remove morels from the water (reserve the soaking water for the sauce), then dry them on a paper towel. Transfer the morels to a cutting board and slice.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add the canola oil and saute the sliced morels with salt for 2 minutes.
- Add butter and cook morels for 4 more minutes on low heat. Add the shallots and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the vermouth then let cook until reduced by half. Add 2 cups of the reserved morel water then reduce it until it reaches a creamy consistency. Add the peas, parsley and mint before serving and toss it all together. Keep the ragu warm in an oven or reheat in a saute pan before serving.
- Prepare the pea sauce: In a blender, combine the Ripple pea milk, peas, kosher salt, lime juice and zest. Blend until a creamy texture forms. Season with more salt if needed. Heat the pea sauce in a saucepan on the stovetop quickly before serving.
- Prepare the lamb: Heat grill to medium (350-400 degrees). Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper. Protect the bones with an aluminum sheet. Brush the racks with olive oil then start to cook them on the grill. You should cook them to medium, which is an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Rest the lamb for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and cut into chops.
- To serve: Spread the pea sauce on a platter then add the ragu, and place the lamb chops on top. Serves 4.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 1,059 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 43 grams protein, 117 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams fiber, 51 grams total fat (17 grams saturated), 101 milligrams cholesterol, 2,009 milligrams sodium.
Strawberry Tart
It’s not that difficult! It does take time to make the sablee dough, form a tart shell and bake. But you can take a shortcut and buy a pre-made tart shell.
- For the sablee dough:
- 1 cup flour
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons butter
- 1 egg
- For the pastry cream:
- 1 cup milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 egg yolks
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 3 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 pound sliced strawberries for serving
- 2 tablespoons toasted chopped pistachios for garnish (optional)
- Prepare the dough: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, salt and butter. Mix until the dough forms crumbs. Add the egg and mix until the dough comes together. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 8 hours in the refrigerator.
- Prepare the pastry cream: In a medium saucepan over low heat, add milk and vanilla bean. In a bowl, mix together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and flour with a whisk. Pour the warm milk into the yolk mixture and mix well. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook on low, constantly mixing with a whisk. Cook until the cream becomes thick. Add the cold butter and mix into the pastry cream until smooth. Pour the cream into a container and cover with plastic wrap, touching the surface of the cream to avoid creating a skin. Cool in the refrigerator for 12 hours before using.
- When ready to bake the dough: Heat oven to 320 degrees. Dust the surface of a table with flour and, with a rolling pin, roll out the dough. Roll to a thin round circle large enough to cover a medium round high-sided tart mold. Pinch the dough with a fork before baking. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Let cool before filling.
- Assemble the tart: Using a silicone spatula, mix the pastry cream to loosen. Spread the cream into the baked sablee tart, and top with the fresh strawberries. Serves 4.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 660 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 10 grams protein, 77 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 36 grams total fat (21 grams saturated), 224 milligrams cholesterol, 871 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
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