Green Plate Special – Christine Burns Rudalevige

July 16, 2017 by
 |  17 Comments  |  Leave Comment

Green Plate Special: Sustainable, Healthy, and Delicious Recipes by Christine Burns Rudalevige is packed with the author’s wealth of knowledge on sustainable cooking along with tips on how to take advantage of local fare and reduce waste to creatively revamp leftovers.

The author, a culinary school graduate, writes for numerous outlets including Food52 and Fine Cooking and is an expert in minimizing food waste and creating a greener kitchen. The style of the recipes in this, her first book, how they are written, the quality and uniqueness of the recipes and the photographs – all appeal to me.

Why not make a Veiled Country Lass and then use the apple peels to create Cinnamon-and-Spice Apple Peel Crisps or make your own Soba Noodles to use in the Hot Smoked Trout, Soba, and Asian Greens Salad. I particularly love Christine’s plan-over for leftovers – creative recipes to use your leftover potatoes or delicious Lobster and Corn Wontons to enjoy in a soup and freeze the remainder for a another day. There are myraid examples in this cookbook of the author’s unique and innovative way to make our meals special. 

Green Plate Special: Sustainable, Healthy, and Delicious Recipes picked up a Boston Readable Feast Socially Conscious Award and was runner up as Best Cookbook to Ana Sortun’s book, Soframiz (that’s high praise indeed). With recipes like Bacon Bubble and Squeak Cakes, Savory Double Dutch Baby, Grilled Lemon Thyme Buttermilk Biscuits with Strawberries and Cream, and Bulgogi Burgers with Quick Pickles and Spicy Mayonnaise it is little wonder it is an award winner. The recipes are approachable and perfect for weeknight meals or weekend entertaining. 

Special thanks to the author and Islandport Port press for sharing this tempting recipe (inspired by one of our mutual friends) with our members today. Be sure to head over to our contest page to enter our giveaway.

Lavender Lemon Posset with Candied Lemon Peel

This is a recipe based on one introduced to me by my virtual-world friend Liz Larkin of Pound Ridge, New York. It’s ironic that we share a real-world connection to High Lawn Farm in Lee, Massachusetts. I grew up on the milk of the Jersey cows on that farm, and her relatives delivered it around the county. The cream from Jersey cows make this simple custard simply decadent.

Serves 8

For the zest

4 lemons, limes, Meyer lemons, oranges or blood oranges
 3/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cups granulated sugar

For the pudding

2 cups heavy cream
 2/3 cups granulated
2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
5 tablespoons lemon juice

To make the zest, use either a citrus zesting tool or a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the fruit in long pieces, getting as little of the pith as possible. If you used a peeler, take a sharp knife and slice the peel into very thin strips. Place julienned zest in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes, then drain.

Place raw sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add zest. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer zest for about 15 minutes until it is slightly opaque.

Drain zest, reserving syrup for other uses. Allow the zest to sit in the strainer for 30 minutes to dry slightly. Place 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl and add drained zest. Toss zest in the sugar. Shake off the excess sugar and place candied zest on a dry towel. After it has dried for 2 hours, move zest to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

To make the pudding, heat the cream and sugar over medium heat to scalding in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, stir in lavender and let steep for 30 minutes.

Strain the lavender from the sweetened cream and return the cream to medium heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let the mixture cool, about 15 minutes. Divide evenly among 8 small ramekins. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, until set.

Garnish with a pinch of candied zest.

Add this recipe to your Bookshelf (click the blue +Bookshelf button).

Category: Book News, Recipes

Post a comment

17 Comments

  • sgump  on  July 16, 2017

    A trick with leftover? Almost any leftover sauced pasta–if not oversauced–can be converted into a cold salad, perhaps with the addition of some fresh vegetables (and possibly cheese, toasted breadcrumbs, or other goodies).

  • PennyG  on  July 16, 2017

    I definitely go for turning my leftovers into something other than the original dish.

  • heyjude  on  July 16, 2017

    We try not to waste food so new ideas for leftovers would keep us on track.

  • lgroom  on  July 17, 2017

    Most leftovers meet rice and scrambled eggs at my house.

  • Nancith  on  July 17, 2017

    For some veggie dish leftovers, turning them into pureed soup works pretty well. Pasta dishes, mix with egg & make a frittata.

  • Siegal  on  July 17, 2017

    I usually freeze my leftovers

  • JenJoLa  on  July 19, 2017

    I love putting leftover pasta into scrambled eggs.

  • matag  on  July 19, 2017

    Never tried putting lavender in a cake

  • EmilyR  on  July 20, 2017

    Virtually any leftovers can be freshened up with some rice or a salad at our house.

  • lhudson  on  July 21, 2017

    Would love some ideas on how to have less waste from our house.

  • abihamm  on  July 24, 2017

    You can turn almost any leftovers into a Frittata!

  • jenniesb  on  July 27, 2017

    Christine – I met you at a f52 Boston potluck for the publication of their 2nd book! Congrats on publishing your own cookbook! I can't wait to read it!

  • LaurenE  on  July 28, 2017

    I make them into empanadas

  • KarenDel  on  July 29, 2017

    I turn leftovers into burritos.

  • FrenchCreekBaker  on  August 6, 2017

    Nothing better than using day-old croissants into almond twice-baked delights! And bread has lots of leftover uses: when stale, use a food processor to grind to crumbs, adding herbs and grated Parmesan for a quick topping for vegetables or for soup thickening.

  • paulabee  on  August 8, 2017

    the caramelized gingered parsnips in the index look delicious!

  • t.t  on  August 13, 2017

    I may be alone here, but I actually don't mind eating leftovers…

Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives