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Recipes: Spring Fare From Trattoria Dell'Arte Managing Director Brandon Fay

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Spring is in the air, and many are seeking lighter fare after a winter heavy on hearty dishes.

More: NYC Spring Restaurant Openings

Brandon Fay, managing director of Trattoria Dell'Arte in Midtown, stopped by CBS2 on Sunday to share some of his favorite recipes.

See below for more, and click on the video above for some how-to tips!

Spring Pea Deviled Eggs

Dozen eggs

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tbsp. small diced pickles

1 tsp. pickle juice

Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Kosher Salt, season to taste

1 dash Tabasco Sauce

Vegetable chips to garnish

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

What You'll Need: Pea Puree 

1 cup Peas, blanched

2 tsp mint

1 lemon juiced

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

(Using a food processor/blender, add in all ingredients, Puree till smooth)

How to Make It:

  1. Place a large saucepan of water over a high heat and bring water to a rolling boil. Add salt and white wine vinegar to the boiling water.
  2. Carefully lower eggs into boiling water using a slotted spoon. Be careful not to let eggs drop to bottom of pan, they may crack.
  3. Maintaining a gentle boil let eggs stand for 10 minutes.
  4. Filling a large bowl with water and ice to create an ice bath. Transfer boiled eggs to ice cold water.  This stop the cooking process.  Let eggs cool down.  Peal eggs under cool running water.
  5. Slice ¼ of the top of the egg off. Using a melon baller or a spoon remove yolk from egg.
  6. Place all yolks in the bowl of a food processor. Add mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, a dash of Tabasco sauce, freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt; season to taste and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
  7. Using a spatula add the pea puree into the yolk mixture. Then fold in half of the diced pickles.
  8. Spoon yolk mixtures into a disposable plastic piping bag. Cut corners of bag, pipe filling mixture into 6 hallowed hardboiled egg whites.
  9. Garnish Spring Pea Deviled Eggs with vegetable chips and remaining small diced pickles.

Tip: Not everyone has a disposable piping bags, a zip lock bag will do the trick.

Tip: Adding the white wine vinegar to the water before boiling eggs will prevent cracking, and the shells will peel off much easier when they're done.

Stuffed Flounder

Two 10 ounce flounder fillets

4 oz peeled & cooked 36/40 shrimp

4 oz Jumbo lump crab meat

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. finely Chopped mint

1 tsp. Finely Chopped Parsley

1 tsp. finely Chopped basil

Tabasco sauce to taste

¼ Lemon zest

¼ orange zest

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 oz white wine

2 oz clam juice

1 tbsp. butter

Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt, to season

 Peas Leaves

Pea leaves, washed and dry

1 large Shallot, finely diced

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Kosher Salt, to season

Braising Liquid, pan jus leftover from cooked flounder

How to Make It:

  1. Stuffed Flounder; Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a medium size mixing bowl combine crabmeat, shrimp, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, mint, parsley, basil, and Tabasco sauce; season to taste. Zest a ¼ of a lemon and a ¼ of an orange.  Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated.
  3. Lay out flounder filets on a cutting board, presentation side down. Then spoon the shrimp and crabmeat mixture evenly onto the center of each flounder filet.
  4. Roll the filet up and fasten with bamboo skewers.
  5. Place the fish on a baking dish, seam side down. Drizzle the fish with extra virgin olive oil, white wine and clam juice. Place a tbsp of butter right on top of the filet, fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt; season to taste.
  6. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until fish is cooked thru. Remove the fish from the oven and let rest. While the fish is resting sauté your Pea leaves.
  7. Pea Leaves; Heat oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat; add finely diced large shallot and sauté. Add Pea Leaves, freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt; season to taste, for around 10 to 15 seconds until aromatic.
  8. Plate the Pea leaves and place the stuffed flounder on top. Spoon the remaining pan jus on top of cooked flounder as a sauce.

Tips:  if can't find flounder, most any white, flatfish will be a good substitute, you can always ask your local fishmonger.

Tips: You can always buy from your local gourmet market pre-made crab and shrimp salad.

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