Entree Recipes

Six Nettle Recipes

Nettle leaf

Young nettles are easily blanched and frozen to enjoy year round. They are easy to dry as well for healthy herbal teas.

Farmer’s Nettle Frittata
Saute red onions, mushrooms in season, grated carrot, finely sliced broccoli spears and minced chickweed together in olive oil until wilted. Add a handful of minced young nettle stalk and leaves on top, cover and let steam until nettles wilt. Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of eggs, minced parsley and dried basil. Stir well and pour it over the steaming veggies. Place a cover on the pan, wait until eggs set, then flip until done. Delicious as is or with salsa or chickweed pesto.

Leek, Chickweed and Nettle Soup
Saute chopped leeks, celery and crushed garlic cloves in olive oil until soft; add diced potatoes (I use russets or Yukon golds). Add minced chickweed, nettles, parsley, dried basil, turmeric, salt and perhaps a bit more oil or butter. Saute a few minutes more, mixing all the ingredients well to blend the flavors. Cover with stock or water and simmer until everything is tender. Other veggies can be added, such as tomatoes, grated carrots, or perhaps a tin of salmon added at the end for even more variety. Unlike most leek and potato soup recipes, I do not use milk or cream as an ingredient, nor do I find a need to puree if the ingredients are diced small enough, as everything seems to meld together just fine.

Nettle Lasagna
Any spinach lasagna recipe will do for nettle lasagna with the obvious substitution of sauteed or steamed young nettles. If you make your own noodles, toss a spoonful of dried nettle powder into your flour mixture for added nutrition or into your homemade tomato sauce.

Nettle Quiche
Again, there are countless recipes for making quiches. My favorite is from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. Since I make my own crusts, sometimes I’ll throw in a tablespoon of dried nettle powder with my flours. For the filling, I use a large handful of chopped and steamed nettles, along with sauteed onions, mushrooms in season, chopped broccoli, and an assortment of fresh and dried herbs laid on a bed of feta and shredded raw cheddar cheeses. Over that goes an egg-and-milk mixture to which I might mix in an additional tablespoon of flour depending on how moist my ingredients are.

Nettle Greens Medley
Saute slivers of red onion and garlic in olive oil or coconut oil until translucent. Add equal amounts of chopped Swiss chard and nettle tops. Pour in a small quantity of water, cover with lid and steam until wilted and tender. Mix gently to blend the veggies and oil, sprinkle on some sea salt and serve.

Sesanelp
A seasoning mixture of sesame seeds, nettle seed and nettle herb plus kelp and Celtic salt. Tasty! Roast 1/2 cup sesame seed in a frying pan to your liking. Cool. To a blender add cooled sesame seeds, 2/3 cup of nettle seed, 2 tablespoons dried nettle herb, 2 tablespoons kelp granules and 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt. Blend till fine. Store in a glass jar. Goes great with a wide variety of foods. My morning toast is sprouted grain bread with a dribble of olive oil topped with this mixture and nutritional yeast. Yum!

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Potato and Sweet Potato Torte

Alaska Bloom Potatoes

These Alaska Bloom potatoes would love to become potato torte!

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, trimmed, washed (see tip) and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 small), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 pound all-purpose potatoes, preferably Yukon gold (2-4 medium), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

Position oven rack at the lowest level; preheat to 450°F. Coat a 9 1/2-inch, deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper or foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks and thyme; cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. (If necessary, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to prevent scorching.) Season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Arrange half the sweet potato slices, slightly overlapping, in the prepared pie pan and season with a little of the remaining salt and pepper. Spread one-third of the leeks over the top. Arrange half the potato slices over the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Top with another third of the leeks. Layer the remaining sweet potatoes, leeks and potatoes in the same manner. Cover the pan tightly with foil.

Bake the torte until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the torte to loosen it. Invert onto a serving plate. Remove paper or foil and serve.

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Death By Garlic (Revived by Kale)

Garlic bulb with rustic background

10 minced cloves of garlic lightly browned in olive oil and tossed with parsley, Kale, red pepper flakes, hot penne pasta and freshly grated Romano cheese makes a heady and flavorful dish.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes
Servings: 4

1/2 cup olive oil
10 cloves Polish hard-neck garlic, minced
1 bunch Nash’s kale, torn from the thick stems in bite size pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 pound dry penne pasta
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

In a pan, brown the garlic in oil for 2 minuets, then add kale and stir for 5 more minuets until the kale is wilted. Add salt, pepper and parsley and remove from heat.

Toss penne pasta with garlic mixture and add Romano cheese and serve!

Note: Add sliced Polish kielbasa at the same time you brown garlic for a special treat.

We thank Walt Wielbicki (Garlic Breath) for this recipe. If you love garlic too, check out his Lebanese Garlic Sauce and Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce for Ice Cream.

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Pork, Apple and Potato Cakes

1/2 pound ground raw pork
1 pound potatoes
4 ounces cooking apples, finely chopped or grated
2 ounces onion, finely chopped or grated
1 tablespoon fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 dessert apples
8 sage leaves for garnish

Peel the potatoes and cut into even-sized pieces. Steam or cook in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain thoroughly and mash well. Add the ground pork.

Add the apple and onion to the potato. Chop the sage, add to the mixture and season generously. Work the mixture together until evenly combined. With lightly floured hands, shape the mixture into 8 cakes.

Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, and cook the cakes for 12 – 15 minutes, turning them occasionally until golden-brown on both sides.

To check that the mixture is cooked, insert a skewer into the center of one cake and leave it there for 10 seconds. Draw the skewer out and touch it. If it feels hot then the mixture is cooked.

While the cakes are cooking, core and cut the dessert apples into quarters. Fry the apple and sage leaves in a small amount of hot oil until the apples are cooked through and the sage leaves are crisp. Serve the cakes with an apple quarter and a sage leaf on top of each one.

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Sweet Potato and Kale Chicken Patties

green curly kale

Here is a tasty way to combine kale, sweet potatoes, and chicken into gluten-free, paleo-friendly patties.

2 green onion
1/2 medium sweet potato
2 1/2 cups kale
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut flour

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with 1 teaspoon coconut oil or avocado oil (or bacon grease), add green onions, and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add sweet potatoes and cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, until barely tender. Add kale and cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

Add chicken to a food processor and process on pulse until ground. Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Add salt, garlic, paprika, Dijon mustard, rosemary, egg, coconut flour, and sweet potato mix. Mix together with hands until well combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, even better, overnight.

Divide your chicken mixture into 6 to 7 even patties.

Coat a large non-stick pan with coconut oil or, even better, bacon grease to just coat the bottom (not a lot). Add patties and cook until golden crust forms, about 5 to 6 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook until golden and cooked through.

Serve as is, with a side salad, or with guacamole.

We thank MultiplyDelicious for this recipe.

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Traditional Field Peas

1 pound dried field peas
1 meaty ham bone
1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1-2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot cooked rice for 6
Sliced green onions for garnish

Rinse, pick over (for pebbles that may have escaped the cleaning process), and simmer field peas in water for about 1 1/2 hours. Rinse and drain the peas. In a slow cooker, combine peas with ham bone, onion, celery and garlic. Add 1 cup water or broth. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Add Cajun seasoning, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking for 1-2 hours longer. Serve with hot cooked rice and sprinkle with sliced green onion if desired.

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Hogaholics Dry Rub

This is the go-to rub for Sid, who oversees the farm’s pork sales.

1 tablespoon lemon peel
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all ingredients and rub into meat. Let marinate at least 24 hours before cooking.

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Sloppy Joes

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
4 ounces tomato paste
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
A little water
1 pound Nash’s ground pork

Brown the onion on low until tender and caramelized. Remove from pan. Sautee garlic until lightly browned, remove from pan and add to onions. Brown and break up the ground pork on low until almost done (you don’t want crunchy pork). Mix the onion, garlic and all remaining ingredients, except the tomato paste and water, into the pork. Once the mix is blended well, add the tomato paste and stir. Add water until the desired consistency is reached. If additional spice is desired, try adding some good ground chipotle or Guajillo pepper or some fresh jalapeno.

Eat and enjoy!

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Quinoa Sunchoke Pilaf

sunchokes

The mild, nutty flavor of sunchokes complements quinoa nicely.

1/2 cup quinoa
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cup vegetable (or chicken) broth
3/4 cup chickpeas or field peas, cooked
1 cup peeled, chopped sunchokes
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place quinoa in a large bowl and fill with cold water. Pour into a strainer, then return the quinoa to the bowl and rinse 4 times more. Drain well.

Heat the oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rinsed quinoa and cook, stirring, until it cracks and pops, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft.
Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the chickpeas, sunchokes, peas, and pepper, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

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