Strawberries! A Shrub and a Salad for the Season

Space Division

There are so many ways to use this tart syrup. I like a ratio of 3 tablespoons to ½ cup sparkling water for a light, refreshing drink. Or try muddling some mint and mix the shrub with rum or vodka and a splash of bitters. You just made your new favorite spring drink! Makes 3–4 cups syrup.

1 cup sugar 1 cup water 4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved 4 cups chopped rhubarb stalks, cut in 1-inch pieces ½ teaspoon black peppercorns Vinegar—this is the fun part! (See tip)

Mix sugar and water in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add rhubarb, strawberries and peppercorns. Stir occasionally as fruit releases liquid and returns to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Cool and strain through a sieve, pressing on solids to release liquid.

Mix 4 parts fruit syrup to 1 part vinegar. Store in the refrigerator.

Space Division

Strawberry & Shaved Fennel Salad

Serves 6

Red, white and Waldorf. This is my take on the classic American salad created at its namesake New York City hotel near the end of the 19th century. Crisp fresh fennel stands in for celery while sweet spring strawberries replace fall apples. Toasted pumpkin seeds replace earthy walnuts and a white balsamic vinaigrette offers a lighter alternative to the traditional mayonnaise dressing. So maybe, after all, this has nothing at all to do with a Waldorf salad—but it did provide exquisite inspiration.

This light, crisp, sweet salad is the perfect side for your Memorial Day cookout. Serve it on its own, or over fresh greens like baby spinach or butter lettuce.

For dressing:

• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ⅓ cup white balsamic vinegar
• ⅔ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil

For salad:

• 2 cups hulled and sliced strawberries
• 2 fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fennel fronds, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
• ¼ cup toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

In a medium bowl, combine shallot, sugar, mustard and vinegar with a pinch of salt. Whisk together. Combine strawberries, fennel, fennel fronds and mint in a separate bowl. Toss together.

While whisking, add oil to vinegar in a thin stream, to form a creamy emulsion.

Taste dressing with a forkful of fennel and strawberry. Season dressing to taste with additional sugar or vinegar as desired and toss with salad. Sprinkle with toasted pepitas and serve.

Tip: Fennel has a hard, white, cone-shaped core. To remove it, quarter the fennel and cut out the core before thinly slicing the more tender bulb.

About the Chef

Jonathan Bardzik is a DC–based storyteller, cook and author. He is self-taught and inspired by the fresh produce he enjoyed from his family’s garden and now finds at DC’s wonderful farm markets, where he gives weekly demos throughout most of the year. His new book, Seasons to Taste: Farm-fresh Joy for Kitchen and Table, is a four-season look at farm- and garden-fresh food and the people we share it with. It follows his first book, Simple Summer: A recipe for cooking and entertaining with ease. Jonathan’s books and original recipes can be found at JonathanBardzik.com, along with a calendar of his live appearances.

Goat Cheese and Blackberries, A Summer Love Affair

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Words and photos by Sara Axelrod, special to Edible DC

French chef Jacques Pepin once said, “If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it's hard to beat bread and butter.” That's how I feel about blackberries this summer. They have reached the peak of their growing season right now and have been exceptional, standing up to the heat, plump and sweet. The epitome of the perfect summer berry, blackberries are the perfect accompaniment to both sweet and savory dishes.

The recipes here really showcase blackberries at their peak. Simple ingredients, unassumingly prepared, coming together to create a delicious dish that tastes the way summer should.

Warm Goat Cheese and Blackberry Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

This salad pairs the sweet and complex berry with creamy warm goat cheese medallions perfectly accentuating the summer’s best ingredients. (Serves 2.)

Ingredients

Goat Cheese Medallions

- 1 large egg white

- 1 teaspoon of water

- 4 (1/3 inch thick) medallions of soft goat cheese (keep the log in the

refrigerator until ready to cut)

- 3 tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

- 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar

- 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin-olive oil

- 1 teaspoon of honey

- ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme, finely minced (dried can also be used)

- Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad

- 4 cups of mesclun greens or an assortment of summer greens

- 3 spears of hearts of palm, sliced into ¼ inch coins

- ¼ cup of thinly sliced sweet onion

Instructions

Whisk together egg white and water. Dip cheese rounds in egg wash, evenly coating. Shake off the excess then dredge in breadcrumbs, pressing lightly to adhere. Chill 15 minutes.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in small skillet on high heat until hot but not smoking. Place cheese medallions in oil and sear evenly on both sides until crisp and golden brown. About 30-40 seconds per side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Assemble the greens, hearts of palm rounds and onion slivers on a plate. Gently place goat cheese medallions on greens. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve.

Note: The easiest way to cut goat cheese into perfect rounds is with a piece of unflavored dental floss.

Goat Cheese and Blackberry Grilled Cheese with Basil and Summer Greens

Accompanied by a simple summer green salad, this is the perfect treat for a lazy afternoon. Look for firm, plump berries at your local farmers market. The goal is to choose berries that are firm enough to hold their shape when surrounded by melted cheese—so that when you bite into the sandwich the berry juice bursts in your mouth. (Makes 2 sandwiches.)

Goat Cheese and Blackberry Grilled Cheese with Basil

Ingredients

- 4 slices of your favorite bread (I prefer the Seeduction bread from Whole Foods)

- 1 small log of fresh goat cheese- with herbs or without based on your preference

- 1 pint of blackberries

- High quality butter for spreading

- 5-6 leaves of fresh basil

Instructions

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter and place bread, buttered-side down, in a pan over medium-high heat. Top each slice with crumbled goat cheese, roughly ½ tablespoon-1tablespoon depending on the size of the bread slices. Cover pan. Slice blackberries in half and set aside. Chiffonade the basil so you have very thin strips and set aside.

Once the bread has the beginnings of a nice golden crisp and the cheese is beginning to melt, top each slice with the halved blackberries (roughly 4-8 halves depending on the bread) and top with the basil to your own taste. I prefer a light layer of basil, about 5-6 pieces per sandwich.

Combine the 4 separate tartines into two sandwiches. Cover and continue to cook over medium heat for another minute being careful not to burn the bread. Flip the sandwich and sear the other side. Remove from the heat and leave covered until the cheese is melted.

Slice in half and serve with a simple salad of summer greens.

Summer Green Salad

Ingredients

Salad

- 3 cups of assorted and available summer greens (arugula, dandelion greens, spinach, purslane)

- ¼ cup of shaved pecorino

- ¼ cup of sweet onion thinly sliced

Dressing

- ½ teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest

- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

- 1 teaspoon of honey

- ½ teaspoon of mustard seed

- ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt, or to taste

- 3-4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

- Ground white pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash greens and set aside to dry. Combine all dressing ingredients and stir vigorously until combined. Toss dressing with greens and garnish with pecorino and onion. Serve alongside Goat Cheese and Blackberry Grilled Cheese with Basil.

Blackberry

Hawaii/Colorado native and DC transplant, Sara Axelrod is a frequenter of farmers markets, vegetable enthusiast and constantly lusts after the perfect French fry. When she is not cooking or exploring DC’s thriving restaurant scene, she works at the DC-based public affairs firm, The Glover Park Group, as a communications professional on the Energy and Sustainability team, with a focus on food policy and sustainable agriculture.