The Main Menu: Celebrate the merry month of May with these recipes

By JAN MAIN

The merry month of May is a time of celebrations starting with Mother’s Day on May 10 and concluding with our first long weekend — Victoria Day. This year’s celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday is on Monday, May 18.

In between, there are a number happy times – weekends away at the family cottage, birthdays, anniversaries and simply a time to enjoy sunny days – especially after a long cold winter. It is also when our gardens come alive, flourishing with new crops. May includes the weekend when we can finally plant our gardens and watch them materialize from drab brown to vibrant green full of vitality.

With these new beginnings, we celebrate out-of-doors with meals and recipes to reflect this joy.

Simnel Cake

Simnel cake traditionally is a fruit cake made to celebrate Mothering Sunday in England, the fourth week in Lent. It was a time when children who worked away from their homes returned on that Sunday to visit their mother with this cake.

If you love fruit cake as I do, it is the perfect dessert for our Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10, or that special event: a birthday, anniversary, wedding or shower. It is a cake for a joyous event! It is rich and delicious. I thought many of you may enjoy this cake too! Like all good fruit cakes, it freezes well and can be baked, well-wrapped and frozen ahead of serving time – ideal for entertaining!

Elizabeth Brown, a wonderful baker at St. Nicholas church makes this regularly for special events at St. Nick’s. She helped me with the research for this recipe.

She soaks her dried fruit in ½ cup Grand Marnier. I use dry sherry. Both add a depth of flavour to the cake but if you prefer, orange juice may be substituted.

1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature, softened
1 cup (250 mL) light brown sugar, packed
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) almond flour (ground almonds)
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) EACH, salt, allspice and freshly ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (125 mL) Grand Marnier, dry sherry, brandy or orange juice
1 cup (250 mL) each, well washed and dried currants and raisins
1 cup (250 mL) mixture of the following of your choice: glace cherries or dried cranberries, coarsely chopped or mixed peel or chopped dried apricots
1 tbsp (15 mL) each, grated fresh orange and lemon peels
8 oz-1 lb marzipan (available at Bulk Barn)

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Line the bottom of a deep 8- inch (20 cm) cake pan with parchment paper and spray sides with baking spray or wipe with salad oil.

Wash, dry and soak dried and candied fruit overnight in the liqueur, sherry or orange juice. The next day pre-measure dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter until soft and fluffy, beat in eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients with spices and salt gradually into creamed mixture then add the soaked fruit and liquid combining well.

Prepare marzipan: sprinkle parchment paper with sifted icing sugar and roll out marzipan as thin as you can to make 2- 8- inch (20 cm) circles of very thin marzipan to cover the middle and top of cake.

Spread half the cake batter in prepared cake-pan then top with one of the marzipan layers. Cover with remaining batter and top with last marzipan layer.

Bake in oven about 1 ½- 2 hours or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Once cool may it may be wrapped in plastic wrap and overwrapped with aluminum foil then frozen for up to 3 months or simply refrigerated until ready to serve. If you wish, top layer of cake may be frosted with a lemon butter cream over marzipan layer and decorated with edible flowers such as pansies. Serves 8-12.

Asparagus on Greens with Orange

One of the pleasures of May is our own homegrown asparagus!

It is a simple thing to cook but must not be overcooked. To prepare asparagus, break ends off where they break easily – discard ends or use for vegetable stock.

2 containers Boston lettuce (serves 4-6) from an Ontario greenhouse.
Increase containers as needed, break into bite sized pieces
4 navel oranges, rind cut away and thinly sliced horizontally about 6 thin slices/ orange
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 bunches of asparagus, cooked in a large pot of boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. Immediately refresh under cold water. Do not overcook!

Lemon Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 -2 tbsp (25 mL) liquid honey
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh lemon juice and the grated rind of 1 lemon
3/4 cup (175 mL) vegetable oil

In a food processor combine garlic, salt, honey, lemon juice and oil. Combine. Pour into jar and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enough for several salads.

For Salad: Break lettuce into bite sized pieces; toss gently with fennel and asparagus. Toss with enough dressing to coat leaves and arrange orange slices on top. I like to display salad on a large platter for visual appeal.

Fresh Salmon or Trout

One of my favourite meals is so simple but wonderful – fresh fish – usually Atlantic salmon or trout from Seaport on Victoria Park Avenue just south of at St. Clair Avenue East (416-755-9960).

Like asparagus, salmon or trout is simple to cook but do not overcook!

Allow 6-8 oz / of fish per person
Drizzle of olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Arrange boneless, skinless fillets on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place lemon slice on top.

Bake 15 minutes. Serve immediately on warm plates or cover and refrigerate to serve cold later on with dill sauce or lemon aioli.

Dill Sauce

1 bunch dill, fronds removed from stem. Stems discarded
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) white wine vinegar
1/2 cup (125 mL) imported Dijon mustard
3/4 cup (175 mL) vegetable oil

In a food processor combine sugar and fronds to chop; add vinegar, mustard and oil. Combine until smooth.

Store in jar refrigerated up to 3 weeks. Makes 2 cups/500 mL.