It has come very recently to my attention (yesterday) that there are many delicious egg centric recipes related to the Easter table. Sure, I was aware of ham, lamb and happy baby spring vegetables, delicious chocolate bunnies and neon yellow peeps…….but I missed out on the associated celebration of the egg, aside from the chocolate eggs. I, a big fan of eggs, feel cheated. In case you are new to this blog, my access to all celebrations whether pertaining to my childhood or not is centered on food. I quite literally consume the Super Bowl (Jim is still trying to teach me the rules of the game), Easter, Eid, Diwali, Thanksgiving , July 4th….you name it. I’m an equal opportunity eater. I know this is a bit reductive and possibly sacrilegious but my intentions are simply to share the joy and means no disrespect. So back to my Easter recipe search. I tried two of the many I found online.
Lemon Buttermilk Saffron Pie
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-buttermilk-pie-with-saffron-51223970
This is an wonderful combination of lemony tartness and flowery sweetness. The saffron makes it both exotic and familiar depending on which part of the globe your taste buds woke up. It really tastes like spring in all its bright, sweet, floral glory. I’m guessing not very traditional but voting that it should be.
Leek and Feta Tart
This was a savory taste of spring with sauteed leeks in a velvety egg blanket studded with feta. I can imagine endless variations of this tart…… asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, mushroom, squash…just to name a few.
This recipe was measured in grams and I was too lazy to officially convert, so I just used 3 eggs and about a cup of heavy cream. It worked great. Looked and tasted delicate and refined.
For both recipes I used store bought pie crust. I had both done in a little over an hour (including baking time). The store bought crust meant I only had to mix the filling. This fact makes me think of the book I just finished reading “The American Way of Eating” by Tracie McMillan. Learned a lot. Fascinating and scary read. She mentions how even when we cook at home we use a lot of processed and packaged food. Makes me rethink the concept of home cooking and my use of Pillsbury pie dough. The book deserves a detailed discussion, maybe on a different post. We should start a foodie/eater book club….does anyone know of one out there already?
https://americanwayofeating.wordpress.com/
The best part about making/ assembling/ baking these two pies was cooking with my 13 year old. She first reluctantly sauteed the leeks and later eagerly measured the buttermilk, the sugar (commented on the amount…good for her), separated eggs, whisked and mixed. There are many social, anthropological and philosophical studies about our unique human practice of cooking. Frankly, I don’t know if the pies actually tastes as magical as I remember or if I’m tasting a rare-unhurried-salty-sweet-spring Sunday afternoon with my growing-into-a-cook, baby.
Maybe it doesn’t matter.
Wishing you many happy celebrations to eat through together,
The Hungry Philosopher
The Hungry Philosopher 