A Farm-Fresh Easter Brunch Menu
We love celebrating with family, friends, and loved ones over a drawn-out Farm-Fresh Easter Brunch from morning to afternoon. This Sunday, fill your kitchen with the freshest of the season's produce, using rhubarb, young carrots, and asparagus to furnish the dishes on your table. Start the morning with sweet Easter Breads adorned with homemade strawberry rhubarb jam, and perhaps your favorite local cheeses. For the centerpiece of the meal, a classic glazed ham is sure to please, while a coconut layer cake provides the finishing touch. With plenty of sweets, spring berries, and a pitcher or two of herbal Bloody Marys, you'll be ready for egg hunts, family games, and all the other festivities your holiday may hold.
RECIPE: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Rhubarb, a reddish pink vegetable that grows in celery-like stalks and is harvested from spring through the late summer, has a pleasing tartness, so it pairs well with sweet strawberries in a jam. Our version tastes great spread over sliced bread or biscuits, or even spooned over vanilla ice-cream. This recipe includes canning instructions, but you can opt instead to store the jam in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
MAKES 3 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
5 cups rhubarb (about 1 ¼ lbs.), cut into ¾" x ½" cubes
2 cups hulled and quartered
strawberries (about ½ lb.)
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine the ingredients in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb breaks down and the jam has thickened, about 1 hour. To determine whether jam has set, place a small spoonful on a chilled plate; if the dollop of jam holds firm and doesn't get runny around the edges, it is ready for canning. If it runs, continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, submerge three 1-cup canning jars, along with their lids and ring bands, in a large pot of boiling water and sterilize over high heat for 10 minutes. Transfer sterilized jars, lids, and bands to a clean dish towel. Fill each jar with hot jam, leaving at least 1⁄4" of space at the top. Wipe jar rims with a clean dish towel, place lids on jars, and secure ring bands.
3. Transfer filled jars to a canning rack; place rack in a pot of gently boiling water so that jars are submerged by at least 1"; let boil for 10 minutes. Transfer jars, set at least 1" apart, to a dish towel and let cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. To test that jars have properly sealed, unscrew bands and lift each jar by the edge of the lid; if the lid holds, the jar is sealed. If it loosens, jar is not fully sealed, and jam should be refrigerated and used within 2 weeks. Sealed jars will keep, in a cool, dark place, for up to a year.
RECIPE: Glazed Carrots
Use carrots with tops attached for this dish-it makes for a hearty presentation, giving the impression they were just picked from the garden that morning.
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
12 medium carrots, with greens attached
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. sugar
¾ cup water
Sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Trim off all but 2" of green tops of carrots. Put carrots, butter, sugar, water, and salt to taste in a large skillet. Cover and boil over medium-high heat until nearly all liquid evaporates, 8-10 minutes.
2. Uncover and cook, shaking skillet over heat, until carrots are glazed, 1 ½-2 minutes.
RECIPE: Asparagus Frittata
Frittatas are typically made on the stove in a cast-iron skillet and then transferred to the oven, but preparing them in a bundt pan offers a convenient and beautiful alternative. This asparagus frittata is a perfect addition to an Easter brunch.
SERVES 10 - 12
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp. butter
2 cups grated white cheddar
1 small bunch chives, coarsely chopped
Salt
20 spears asparagus, trimmed
12 eggs, lightly beaten
2 small yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 small carrots, peeled, trimmed, and finely grated
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan with butter; set aside. Mix 1/2 cup of the cheese and 1 tsp. of the chives together in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook asparagus until tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain; cool under cold running water, then pat dry. Cut asparagus into 1/4"-thick pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Add eggs, onions, carrots, flour, milk, remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper, and mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until firm, about 45 minutes. Allow frittata to cool in pan on a wire rack.
3. Preheat broiler. Invert frittata onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle top with cheese and chives, and broil until cheese just melts, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to serving plate.
RECIPE: Apricot-Ginger Glazed Ham
A glaze made with apricot and ginger adds a sweet note to salty roasted ham. This recipe comes from Chris Williams, the chef of Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile in Santee, South Carolina, and is just one of the delicious ham preparations in Executive Editor Dana Bowen's December 2009 SAVEUR feature, The Wonders of Ham.
SERVES 15-20
INGREDIENTS
1 7-12-lb. half semiboneless ham
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
½ cup apricot preserves or jam
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
1 Heat oven to 350˚. Wrap ham in foil; transfer to a roasting pan. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of ham reads 145˚, about 15-20 minutes per pound.
2 Meanwhile, heat oil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger; cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add preserves, sugar, and vinegar; cook, stirring, until mixture becomes a syrupy glaze, about 10 minutes.
3 Unwrap ham and brush with some glaze; raise oven to 500˚. Bake, brushing occasionally with remaining glaze, until browned, about 20 minutes more. Let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
RECIPE: Coconut Cake
Fresh coconut and its sweet water are the keys to this cake, passed down from SAVEUR associate food editor Ben Mims' grandmother, Jane Newson. A handy rotary coconut grater produces snow-like coconut flakes, but a hand grater works well, too. To save time this Easter, make the cake the evening before. This recipe first appeared in our March 2012 issue, with Ben Mims' story Sweet Southern Dreams.
SERVES 10-12
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
2 ½ cups cake flour, plus more for pans, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
FOR THE FROSTING:
4 egg whites
½ tsp. cream of tartar
2 ¼ cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup fresh coconut water
3 cups freshly grated coconut
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°. Butter and flour two 9″ cake pans, and set aside. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together buttermilk and vanilla in a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, alternately add dry ingredients in 3 batches and wet ingredients in 2 batches. Increase speed to high, and beat until batter is smooth, about 5 seconds. Divide batter between prepared pans, and smooth top with a rubber spatula; drop pans lightly on a counter to expel large air bubbles. Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cakes cool for 20 minutes in pans; invert onto wire racks, and let cool. Using a serrated knife, halve each cake horizontally, producing four layers; set aside.
2. Make the frosting: Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form; turn mixer off. Bring sugar, syrup, salt, and ½ cup tap water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar; attach a candy thermometer to side of pan, and cook, without stirring, until thermometer reads 250°, 4-5 minutes. Turn mixer to medium speed, and very slowly drizzle hot syrup into beating egg whites. Add vanilla, and increase speed to high; beat until meringue forms stiff peaks and is slightly warm to the touch, about 3 minutes.
3. To assemble, place one layer on a cake stand, drizzle with 3 tbsp. coconut water, spread with 1 ½ cups frosting, and sprinkle with ½ cup grated coconut; top with another cake, drizzle with 3 tbsp. coconut water, spread with 1 ½ cups frosting, and sprinkle with ½ cup coconut. Place another cake over frosting, drizzle with 3 tbsp. coconut water, spread with 1 ½ cups frosting, and sprinkle with 12 cup coconut; top with remaining cake and drizzle with remaining coconut water. Cover top and sides with remaining frosting, and cover outside of cake with remaining coconut, pressing it lightly to adhere; chill cake to firm frosting. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
MORE IDEAS FROMSAVEUR.COM:
