It was Alan’s birthday and i wanted to make a cake. i did. i wanted to make the best cake ever, but i was soooo jetlagged, stumbling around the kitchen, the house, my life, blindly, wondering once again, how the hell did i get from san francisco and new york city to waterlooville. how did it happen? i asked the dogs. they were so happy to have me  home, but understood my question. suggested a nice long walkies to cheer up.

But when we got back i still couldn’t decide on what kind of birthday cake to make. I opened Amanda Hesser’s New York Times Cookbook, and settled on a salted caramel tart by pastry chef Claudia Fleming which i then proceeded to kind of destroy in forumulation, and yes i did end up with a very different result, totally different result, but i’d like to believe that both Claudia and Amanda would approve. Because truly: it was awesome. AWESOME. so delicious. and so unique that i still can’t figure out if its a pie, cake, candy, or just a big delicious thing. Big delicious BIRTHDAY thing.

(Several things: one, a confession: yes, i–i who do not approve of, i who has been k nown to throw the stuff away even if i find it in other peoples refrigerators, i used about a third of vegetable spread instead of all butter. it was in the fridge (purchased while i was away, i hadn’t gotten around to throwing it out yet) and i figured that by stretching the butter a bit i wouldn’t have to make the trek to the supermarket). two: the coca powder i used was valrhona, i think it is the most chocolatey, deeply darkly delicious of cocoa powders. and i had it on hand. 3. the cream i used was double cream. the creme fraiche was actually fat free. it was what i had, it was fine, i’m sure the regular full-fat version will be good too. or stay with fat free…….or use greek yogurt).

Chocolate Salted Caramel Big Birthday Cake-Pie

Makes 9 inch cake pan (though you will need two pans to make the one cake)

Crust:

5 tablespoons salted butter

3 tablespoons vegetable spread

1/2 cup plus one tablepoon or two of confectioners sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1-2 teaspoons creme fraiche

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

Caramel:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup granulated light brown sugar (muscovado, or similar)

1/4 cup Golden Syrup (gives that buttery caramelly taste)

5 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons vegetable spread

1/2 cup double cream or heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons cream fraiche

Several pinches good sea salt or kosher salt

Chocolate Ganache Topping

4 ounces dark chocolate (65-70%)

1/2 cup heavy whipping or double cream

Dough layer:

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and vegetable spread (i used a microwave) then beat in the rest of dough ingredients (i used a wooden spoon).

Press into the bottom of 2 cake tins (don’t bother with the sides.). Bake until mixture is no longer liquidy, about 10 minutes; it will be soft but no longer liquidy. Remove from oven and let cool.

Caramel:

In a heavy saucepan ( i used calphalon nonstick) over low to medium heat, melt the sugars together with the golden syrup, stirring until they totally melt, start bubbling, turn a reddish brown. Remove from heat, and add the rest of the ingredients, (it will bubble over) stirring until it is smooth but still has some unmelted sugar lumps. Pour the caramel into the two crust-lined pans and leave to cool.

Put it together.

When the pies are coolish, take one of them, and, using a spatula, remove as much of the pie as you can, crust and caramel from the pan and place it on top of the crust and caramel in the other pan. Repeat until you have ONE pan filled with crust and caramel and ONE empty pan which you will probably find yourself licking for any errant bits of crust and caramel. Chill to firm up a bit.

For the Ganache:

Melt the chocolate and cream in either a microwave or on top of the stove; mix well with a spoon, then pour this chocolatey cream over the top of the fill crust and caramel pan, and spread it in a thick layer. Cover with cling film or parchment paper and chill until ready to serve.

To serve: cut into small wedges, and if you like, sprinkle with a few grains of sea salt.

I fell in love with fermented tofu in Taipei last winter. At several chefs events there was an east-west attitude being promoted, with chefs saying: lets use fermented tofu like the western cheese! both are fermented umami bombs, delicious combined with vegetables, meat, fish, sauces, and so on.

One taste, though, and I understood fermented tofu immediately: it was full of that funky fermentated flavour that long ago seduced me into the world of stinky cheeses, but it was also: strikingly unique. more like miso, to my taste, and like both miso and cheese, fermented tofu comes in a wild wide range of flavours: strong smelly spicy sweet: fermented plain, with chillies, with whole soybeans or simply clear liquid, or…..like this treasure jar i found in Taipei’s military dependents culture cafe/shop, pineapple-fermented with whole beans. My friend, who grew up in the military dependents village, said: this is very Taiwanese: the pineapple, the whole beans. What do i use them with? i asked. which is a wonderful way to get recipes.

With fish. delicious with fish.

was the answer.

but when i got home i opened my jar, and began lifting out squares of fermented tofu, mashing it, adding it to marinades, vegetable stir-fries (esp with green leaves such as spinach or chard), even to fried rice. Slightly sweet, the little beans are like little morself of umami, the marinade that cloaks the soft pungent tofu studded with pieces of candied pinapple. By the time i was nearing the end of the jar, i hadn’t used it with fish.

So, inspired by Taipei, where I also found my beloved sweet herb, Thai basil, flung into many dishes, each time I inhaled its perfume bringing a smile to my face…..i whipped up this dish.

Taipei-Inspired Fermented Tofu-Fish, with Thai Sweet Basil

Serves 2 (double for 4, etc)

2 medium sized fish fillets: i used plaice, with the skin on, though cod would also be good: any mild white-fleshed fish

About 2 squares fermented tofu, preferable pinapple–if its not available use plain or with whole beans: don’t use the chile-spiced fermented tofu as the dish is meant to be mild

(optional: if using plain rather than pineapple-fermented tofu, add a generous pinch or two of sugar)

About 2 teaspoons thinly julienned or coarsely shredded fresh ginger

Dash soy sauce

Sesame oil brushed in nonstick pan

A few leaves of ramps/bear garlic, or thinly sliced tender leek/or chopped spring/green onions

Small handful Thai basil leaves, coarsely torn

Rinse fish in cold water then pat dry; place in bowl and cover with mashed tofu, ginger, soy sauce.Let sit about 10 minutes.

Heat nonstick frying pan to a medium heat, brush with small amount sesame oil, then place the fish, still covered with its marinade, into the pan (skin side down if using fish that has skin). Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, until fish just begins to firm up, then flip over onto the other side, add the ramps or other green onions, cover pan with a lid, and turn off the heat. Leave for 5-10 minutes, letting fish steam in its own juices.

Serve hot/warm, sprinkled with torn thai basil leaves.

not only do i live in the middle of a blackberry forest, come august, in springtime it is a nettle woods, and when spring segues into early summer, its a forest of wild garlic, ramps, or l’ail d’ours–bear garlic: leaves of glossy lush green-ness that exhudes the aroma of garlic, of strong green leafy garlickness. Bear garlic, aka ramps, or wild garlic, is not for the culinary faint of heart. Its not even garlic, despite its name: bear garlic is a wild leek, wild garlic is in my forest too, and i might do a posting of it before the season ends…..it looks different, with thin stems, and smells more garlicky and strangely more delicate. Ramps, bear garlic, man these things are wild!

I’ve been informally polling friends about how they use their foraging cache: raw in salads, check! chopped in omelets, check! shredded with new potatoes, baby peas, olive oil and goats cheese. My Himalayan friend Mridula says that in India it is used to wrap spice-coated fish; gardener friend Steven stuffs chicken with it,  and Judy who grew up in Fiji and the Caribbean cooks it like a stir-fry; as for me, i’m thinking about adding it to Iranian style rice pilau, scrambling it softly with eggs, or kneaded into country bread, as i usually do rosemary, or thyme, or dill. but really:  no matter what else i cook and eat and frolick in garlic wise, in truth:  i’m all about pesto.

pesto was my introduction to wild garlic: in a farmers market in strasbourg, france; a little stall was selling jars and offering tastes: it was ardent, it was fragrant, it was strong, nearly unbearably so. but, garlic crazy-lady that i’ve always been, i loved it. i bought jars and gave them to everyone i knew; many liked it in varying degrees. Others requested I never ever mention wild garlic again.

but i was undaunted and each season when the bright green leaves start growing abundantly, determinedly, i’m there with a bag to fill. each and every day. until the season is gone.and there are hints of the blackberries to come….

simple wild garlic/ramp/bear garlic pesto:

pesto:

big handfuls of fresh unblemished wild garlic, ramps, bear garlic, cut up coarsely

enough olive oil to puree the leaves with

a small handful coarsely chopped walnuts or pinenuts (about 1 tablespoon)

Several tablespoons grated grana/parmigiano/asiago or other hard cheese

Several pinches salt

1. put it all in a food processor or blender and whirl, turning it off and on, so that all the leaves have a chance to puree evenly.

2. taste for seasoning; i might be so strong it will take your breath away. get a nice chunk of bread and eat it spread on the bread; if you’re going to fall in love, this might do it.

3. place in a bowl or jar and drizzle olive oil over the top. i like to eat it fresh tossed with al dente pasta, green beans and potatoes as you’d do with a classic basil pesto in Liguria. It freezes well; pour into a jar, drizzle olive oil over the top, pop on the lid and freeze; should last up to about 3-6 months in the deep-freeze but really: you’ll want to nosh it sooner than that.

Potato Salad with Tangy, Green, Ramp/Bear Garlic Dressing

Meanwhile, to eat today, this very moment when the ramps are fresh and you’re wondering what to do with them: potato salad. green, green, and very tangy, potato salad.

About 1 lb new potatoes, or fingerlings, ratte, other small delicious waxy spuds, peeled or not, as you prefer

2 eggs

About 10 leaves of ramp/bear garlic, coarsely cut up

About 3 heaping tablespoons mayonaise

About 3 heaping tablespoons yogurt

1-2 tespoons brined capers with a few droplets or more, as desired, of their juice

A few drops of lemon juice

About a tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are just cooked through and no more; drain well and set aside. Hard boil the eggs; i often just put them in with the potatoes when the spuds are about halfway cooked.

To peel the eggs, crack each against the other, rinse under very cold water, and peel. Rinse again to rid the eggs of any shells.

In a blender or food processor, whirl the ramp/bear garlic with the mayo, yogurt, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste. The dressing should be quite a nice green, and very aromatic. that is to say, it smells like a garlic forest.

Slice the potatoes, chopped the eggs, and combine. Let cool so it doesnt melt the dressing; when cool enough spoon in the dressing and mix well; garnic with thinly sliced fresh bear garlic/ ramp leaves, and eat now or chill until ready to serve.

Soft Scramble of Ramps and Eggs

Serves 2, multiply at will

Big handful of ramps: thinly sliced, about 20 leaves or as desired

2-3 tablespoons butter

4 eggs, lightly beaten with a tablespoon or two of water or milk added

1 tablespoon cream cheese

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste–i’m quite fond of toasted, coarsely crushed Szechuan peppercorns

In a small omelet or other frying pan, such as nonstick, warm about half the butter then add the ramps; melt together, over medium light heat, rather than fry. When ramps are wilted, pour in the eggs and add the cream cheese; sprinkle with salt to taste.

Cook over medium heat, quickly, as the eggs form curds lift up the edges and let the liquid run under; stir a bit to be sure the cream cheese is melting into the eggs and ramps. If desired, when the eggs are about halfway through add the rest of the butter–though this adds deliciously smooth richness, the ramps and eggs are good without it, too. Use your concience or desire to decide.

Do not overcook, serve it in satiny curds, along with crisp crunchy pain levain which really:don’t need buttering at all: the eggs are lusciously buttery enough. More on the toast will simply obscure.

Aromatic Fresh and Zingy Ramp Mustard

Puree coarsely chopped fresh ramps–say, a big handful, 20 or so leaves, with about 1/2 cup or so tasty tangy mustard: for this i used half spicy and slightly sweet, one of my culinary souvenirs from Poland, and half a not-too-strong Dijon shlepped back in my suitcase from France. (my mustard shelf is my international treasure.) Whirl together in a food processor or blender, or simply chop the ramps finely and stir in with the mustard/s.

Slather onto pan browned fabulous sausages or fish as it is grilling. and yes, i eat it by the spoonful.

will last up to a week or so, covered, in fridge.

Green, Green, and Aromatic to the point of delicious reeking, Puree of Bear-Garlic (Ramps) Soup

Makes about 6 bowlfuls

1 potato, peeled and diced

6 cups or 1 litre broth/stock: chicken, vegetable, or a personal favourite, porcini (buy the stock cubes when you find em; speciality stores or if you’re lucky to be in italy, a good time to stock up and shlep back!)

Small handful green beans or 2 green runner beans (Romano beans), cut up

Big big handful ramps/bear garlic: lots. 20-30 big leaves, or 40 small ones, just a couple of handfuls. or as much as you desire, can tolerate, cut up coarsely

About 1 cup/250ml heavy (double) cream, more if you like, or less if you prefer; the rich cream helps cut the shock of the bear garlic, rounds it out

Combine potato chunks and stock/broth in a saucepan and bring to the boil; simmer until potato is tender, about 10 minutes, then add green beans until they are tenderish but still bright green, a minute or two.

Puree in blender or food processor with the ramps/bear garlic, until it is smoothish. Salt and white pepper to taste and add cream.

Serve hot, warm, or cool, as a sort of garlic forest vichychoise.

Mediterranean Bread Salad with Ramps/Bear Garlic and Black Oil-Cured Olives

For 4

About 8 ounces dried country bread, pain levain

Several cloves chopped garlic

About 10 to 15 big bear garlic/ramp leaves, cut into thin strips

2 nice ripe tomatoes, diced (or 3, or 4, depending on the season and state of the tomatoes)

About 10 oil-cured black olives, pitted and cut into several pieces each

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or to taste

A few drops of white wine vinegar, or to taste

Salt to taste

In a large bowl place the bread then pour water over it. Leave for a few minutes to rehydrate–the exact amount of time depends on how dry the bread was to start with) then drain and squeeze out the excess liquid. Discard the squeezed out liquid, and gently combine the bread with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and set aside to combine flavours, until you are ready to eat. Taste for seasoning.

Good the next day too, possibly better.

Ramp-Wrapped Asiany-Mustardy Fish

Alas, no picture, we ate it before i had a chance to snap. it was so good, i must include recipe: if i make it again will snap and post. Meanwhile, delish just delish. Instead of ramps/bear garlic, if its not the season,  i’d wrap the fish around several times with a couple of tender-ish green leek leaves. The ramps/bear garlic/leek leaves don’t really stay on the fish, rather keep it moist, keeps the mustard from burning or sticking, and end up as both tender leaves and crispy bits in the pan.

Serves 4

4 thick cod fillet pieces, 4-6 ounces/ 125g-175g  each

Pinch salt

4-5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 -1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce (or regular and adjust salt accordingly)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

About 2 tablespoons mildish Dijon or Polish type mustard, or–if  you’ve made the ramp mustard, use that

About 20 ramp/bear garlic/tender leek leaves (blanch them if too tough to bend)

Rinse the cod fillets in cold water, then dry; sprinkle with salt, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil, rubbing it all in well. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes.

Spread each fillet with mustard, then lay each one out onto several ramp/bear garlic/leek leaves, and wrap up. The fish won’t be completely covered, which is okay, the leaves come off a bit when cooking.

Heat a nonstick frying pan just large enough to fit the fish, smear with a whisper of olive oil, then place the wrapped fillets into the pan. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until the fish begins to turn opaque then turn over. Cover with lid, squirt with a few drops of lemon juice, then remove from heat, and let fish finish cooking in its own steam.

Eat right away.