Day Fifty - Eight: Jumping on the Dip Bandwagon

I've been noticing as of recent that a lot of restaurants have a "dip" on their menus. By this statement, I'm not implying, a hummus or a spinach artichoke sort of dip, but a dressed up dish that is meant for sharing and typically is accompanied by crusty bread or crudities. Pulino's has an entire section on their menu, which they call "bruschette," dedicated to dips; Avoce Columbus serves a warm ricotta dip to all of its diners gratis; Ward III in Tribeca has a blue cheese and walnut terrine; you name it, a lot of restaurants are jumping on the dip bandwagon! It's an easy item to order with a group or to share with that special someone and a nice way to wet your palette.

So I thought on this positively balmy April Wednesday, I too would jump on the dip bandwagon. I'm envisioning this dip being eaten on a rooftop overlooking Manhattan with glasses of Channing Daughters Rosati di Merlot and crusty toasted baguette slices -- a perfect end to the day.

My dip is meant to highlight one of spring's classic ingredients - Peas! I personally love peas year round, but the frozen kind that one is forced to buy over the course of the winter does not even begin to compare to the little delicacies that you find at your local greenmarket come springtime. In the spring, you tend to find three different varieties of peas fresh: english, sugar-snaps, and snowpeas. Each pea type provides you with a healthy dose of Vitamins K and B6, along with folic acid -- essential nutrients for strong bones and cardiovascular health. Spring's peas are fresh, flavorful, sweet, and delicate and that is why we are going to incorporate all three pea varieties into the dip.

So lets get going on our locavore springy dip:

Let's start by lightly sauteing two cups of fresh English peas and one cup of fresh Fava Beans with extra virgin olive oil, one diced shallot, salt and pepper. Now we will place the peas and fava beans into a food processor with 2 oz of a fresh Montchevre herbed crottin goat's cheese and about a dozen basil leaves. Blend till coarsely chopped up. Place this mixture to the side. This will be combined with Salvatore Brooklyn's Ricotta, made by Besty Devine and Rachel Mark with milk from Hudson Valley Fresh, a non-profit co-operative of upstate farmers. What you get is a lovingly made, really unique ricotta cheese that has that crave-able quality of good fresh ricotta, mixed with the creamy unctuousness of a triple cream, and even the tangy, grassy, lighter notes of a fresh goat cheese. Moving along, you will combine a pound of the ricotta with your coarsely pureed pea mixture so that you get a white and green swirl of a dip. This will  be topped with a sprinkling of pine nuts, a handful of thinly diced snowpeas, a few basil leaves, a drizzle of both extra virgin olive oil, a light sprinkle of sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Serve with slices of warm crusty baguette and the crisp, crunch of fresh Sugar snap peas. Enjoy the weather ladies and gents!