Marialella, my Master Gardener friend, is into micro greens.  She grows flats of sprouted herbs and harvests then when they are just an inch or two high and have their first two to four real leaves.  They have amazing flavor and texture.

Marianella has invited me to cook something for a school tour (80 third graders plus teachers and a few parents) at the teaching garden she manages for the Master Gardeners.  She gave me a tray of lemon basil microgreens and said, “I know you’ll come up with something good.”  No pressure, right?  I’ve enjoyed experimenting with the microgreens and have come up with an idea for the activity.  I’ll share that on May 5, after the program.

In the meantime,  here’s another idea I came up with and enjoyed very much.

On the plate from the top:  grilled romaine leaves topped with tomatoes stuffed with homemade ricotta and minced lemon basil microgreens with mixed olives for garnish; center stage is a sicilian sausage on a ratatouille of grilled eggplant, tomatoes, onion and red bell pepper tossed with a little balsamic vinegar and a splash of jarred marinara sauce. In the foreground, a foundation of farfalle (bow tie) pasta and parmesan peek out from under the ratatouille.  A few seconds on the grill wilts the romaine lettuce and gives it a slight char flavor. It is a quick process because you don’t want to burn the lettuce to the crumbling point.  It’s a nice touch for the occasional salad.

Co-chef Sarah Rich of Rich Table fame in San Francisco has a recipe for homemade ricotta in the May issue Bon Apetit.  It is simple to make and so very much better than the grainy ricotta from the store. Sarah is the daughter of my good friends Darryl and Susan Williams.  I am so enjoying the success she and husband Evan Rich are having with their restaurant and the reputation they are gaining in the culinary world.  I really love it when one of their recipes gets published and I get to try my hand at it. This ricotta is a keeper I’ll make again and again.