Dreaming about a terrine

Yes, you read that correctly- I woke up this morning in mid-dream (thank you, Tom, for leaving your alarm clock on while in CA; it beat the boys this morning, but at least it was NPR and 6:03a), focused on a fresh english pea, goat cheese and pureed walnut terrine. Might this make sense? I’m thinking a tiny bit of roasted garlic, a drizzle of walnut oil? The peas are so gorgeous right now. I have made exactly 1 terrine in my life, so if you have tips, do send them on to me. Chef Mike B in Tulsa- do you ever concoct terrines? I am thinking of this terrine chilled and served alongside a cold, poached salmon. Yes? I’ll have to start reading recipes to get a gist of terrine construction.

I am also beyond thrilled to see fresh favas- this truly marks the start of spring whether poor Mother Nature knows it or now (we have really done a doozy on her, world peoples). If you live in the DC area and have not had 2 Amy’s Fava Bean Crostini, your life is not complete, and you must make haste to have some. I know my friend, Charis, will concur. T and I tried to replicate it all last season and got close, but theirs is just remarkable. I sometimes call for a pick-up order of it while I’m out running errands and scarf it down greedily between red lights. Think grilled bread, fava beans/basil?/mint?/parmesan whipped into a gorgeous green froth, spread on the bread, topped with a shave of parm and then generously drizzled with EVOO, s&p. Insane.

We did find a fava bean crostini recipe last year that called for fresh pea shoots resting atop the parm. That was quite good, a nice addition. You should discover pea shoots/tendrils this season- farmers market should have them or you might be thinning your peas… Try the shoots as a base for a salad, OR, and this is delish, saute’ them quickly in very hot EVOO. Yuuuumm!