Photo by Melanie Dunea
Singer songwriter Sunny Ozell logged time in the food world (she met husband, actor Patrick Stewart, while working at Brooklyn’s Franny’s) before shifting her attention to music full time; her latest album Take It With Me, is a thoroughly enjoyable bluesy, jazzy, country-tinged romp. Here Ozell, a frequent home cook who splits her time between New York and L.A., shares one of her favorite springtime recipes and an accompanying spring playlist.
Late Spring Veggie Crostini
I’m all about green things in the spring: asparagus, shelled English peas, favas. And in the interest of maintaining their “green-ness”, I lean towards the “barely blanch” method.
Get a pot of water boiling, and add a generous amount of kosher salt; you want the water to taste ocean-y. Toss in your veg (I used asparagus and favas, but the type and quantity is up to you) in batches. Cook for two minutes, then scoop them out and plunge them into a bowl of ice water (to keep them bright green).
Slice the asparagus into inch-long slices, and peel your favas… which is a real and true act of love. (I like to blanch veggies in advance; let them dry after their ice bath on some paper towels and they’ll keep beautifully in a Ziploc bag in your fridge for at least two days.) Cut a nice loaf of bread (like a batard or ciabatta) on the diagonal into slices, and toast on a sheet pan under your oven’s broiler. When your crostini are toasted and cool enough to handle, rub a peeled garlic clove over them, layer on the best fresh burrata or ricotta you can find, and then pile on a tangle of your blanched veggies. Finish with flaky sea salt, a generous squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and torn mint leaves. Wow your diners with the depth of your love.
