In This Installment:
Pickled Asparagus from California
I’m a sucker for cheese and charcuterie boards because they all (should) have pickles on them. Pickled cucumbers, pickled carrots, pickled beets, pickled jalapenos…I love ’em all. They always add unexpected flavor with a big bright crunchy texture to boot.
We had the pleasure of tasting more than a few samples from Last of Seven and we thought Elizabeth Osterman and her small crew were doing something special. They pickle in small batches and they only use fresh picked produce to do it. They recieved a bit of recognition for the pickled carrots last year, but I love asparagus and I really fell for this one. Even fresh asparagus can get mushy and soft awfully fast, but amazingly Elizabeth and her crew are able to capture that just picked ‘snap’ of the stalk you’re hoping for. If you have cause to entertain, include these pickled treats on the charcuterie board or in the relish tray (assuming folks still do a relish tray). Your guests will gobble them up.
Kare Kare Peanut Sauce from Fila Manila
There are lots of reasons why I fall for sauces like this. For one, they’re delicious—obviously—but I really love how easy they make my life. They’re sort of the AI for dinner night: how do I make something flavorful in a matter of minutes and feed these four hungry mouths? Answer: Kare-Kare.
Fila Manila is still a young company (we also sell their version of Adobo sauce, check it out) with a clear vision: bring the flavors out of the home of a first generation Filipino American and share them with curious culinarians around the country. Kare-Kare (pronounced “kah reh-kah reh”) is their version of a thick, rich peanut sauce. It’s sweet, creamy, nutty, a little tangy and all around delicious. I usually use this with chicken and serve over rice, but it’s great with roasted or cooked veggies (not the pickled ones in this installment, necessarily, but give it a whirl if you want to). Simply cook your protein till it’s tender then add this sauce and simmer it on low for ten minutes or so. It also makes a great marinade and since all the ingredients are real and pronounceable and vegan and gluten-free, you can use it to make a dressing for a spring salad, too. Give it a shot and see what you can come up with.