Pickled Chard Stems

Not sure what to do with chard stems? Pickle them!

Many people like to lightly steam chard greens for their health benefits. But don’t throw the stems away! Once pickled, they can be added to salads or sandwiches, or just munched as is.

1 pound chard stems (from about 4 bunches), cut into 4″ lengths
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons Nash’s black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Toss the chard stems and shallot slices in the salt and let them stand in a colander in a sink for 1 hour. Rinse and drain well.

Meanwhile, toast the mustard and caraway seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until mustard seeds begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Let cool.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; let cool slightly. Pour brine into jars. Let cool slightly, add chard stems, shallots, and seeds, then cover and chill for 24 hours. They will last for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

We thank epicurious.com for this recipe.

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Posted on June 21, 2014

Chard Frittata with Garlic Sauce

Rainbow chard stalks stay vibrant even after you cook them!

1small onion, chopped
1 bunch chard, stems and leaves separated and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
6 eggs, whisked
Cheese for topping
Ground black pepper

In a skillet, saute onion and chard stems with basil until tender. Cover and stir occasionally. Add chard leaves. Pack it in and replace lid. When shrunk add scrambled eggs, stir quickly and press evenly in pan. Cover and turn heat down very low. Top with cheese and sprinkle with pepper. Cut with pie server when egg is cooked and top with sauce.

Sauce
1 cup yogurt
3 garlic scapes, finely chopped, or 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup cream (optional)

Mix together and serve generously on chard frittata with fresh tomato.

We thank Teri Crockett of Nash’s Farm Store for this recipe.

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Posted on June 17, 2014

Triticale Berries with Basil Oil and Seasonal Greens Stir Fry

Triticale Berries
Rinse berries well and soak overnight. Drain and simmer in water for 1 hour.

Imagine the aroma in our basil greenhouses — and imagine that same lovely scent in your own kitchen.

Basil Oil
1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup olive oil

Blanch basil in boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat basil dry with paper towels. Transfer to blender, add oil and puree until smooth. Transfer to small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

Seasonal greens
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 bunch chopped rainbow chard
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch baby dill
1 1/2 pounds fava beans, husked and blanched
2 tablespoons oil
Splash apple cider vinegar or other vinegar

In a medium skillet, saute garlic scapes and 1 cup cooked triticale berries in 2 tablespoons oil. Once berries start to turn golden brown, add fava beans, rainbow chard, baby dill and spinach. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the greens cook down, add a splash of vinegar. Take off stove, plate up, and drizzle with basil oil.

For a more meaty option, serve with Nash’s spicy Italian sausage, made into patties and pan fried. Makes a great sweet and spicy combo!

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Posted on May 20, 2014

Six Nettle Recipes

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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Posted on February 20, 2014

Roasted Sunchoke and Sauteed Greens

Add roasted sunchokes to a bed of warm greens.

2 to 3 sunchokes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 sprig rosemary, chopped fine
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch tat soi, chopped into one-inch pieces
1 bunch chard, chopped into one-inch pieces
Half a lemon
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Scrub sunchokes under cold running water, then slice 1/4-inch thick (leave skin on).

Toss sunchokes and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil until evenly coated, then place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sunchokes are tender inside, like potatoes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add garlic, tat soi and chard, and saute until soft.

Just before removing from heat, grind pepper and squeeze lemon juice over greens, stirring to mix.

Top with roasted sunchokes and serve warm.

We thank Annie McHale for this recipe.

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Posted on February 14, 2014

Cabbage and Chard Slaw with Orange-Tahini Dressing

Nourish, Sequim’s new garden-to-plate restaurant and gathering place, is featuring a series of meals created using items from Nash’s farm share boxes each week. Here is a colorful, crunchy salad that appeals to your eyes as well as your taste.

Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons tahini

1/2 small head cabbage, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1 cup thinly sliced Swiss chard leaves
2 large carrots, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Red cabbage, orange carrots, and green parsley make a brightly colored salad.

In a small bowl, combine the orange zest, olive oil, salt, orange juice, water and tahini. Whisk together until thick and very smooth. Set aside.

Combine the cabbage, chard, carrots, scallions and parsley in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and stir well to combine and coat the vegetables with the dressing.

Makes 4-6 servings.

We thank Messy Apron for this recipe.

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Posted on September 4, 2013

Grain and Bean Soup

“I like to stir in a big handful of cheese and garnish the top with some as well!” says Lynne Vea, PCC Chef.

1 cup Nash’s dried kidney beans (or any other dried beans, such as cannellini, navy, adzuki, black-eyed peas, etc. in any combination)
1/2 cup Nash’s whole grain wheat berries (kamut or barley also work)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
6 to 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 can (14 ounces) Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (or your favorite brand)
1/2 cup lentils (optional)
2 cups frozen tortellini
2 cups winter greens, such as chard, kale or collards, coarsely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Romano or Parmigiana cheese for garnish

Soak the beans and grains together in about 3 cups of cold water overnight. Drain and proceed with the recipe.

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the vegetables and herbs for 5 minutes. Add 6 cups of the stock, the tomatoes and the soaked beans and grains. Add the lentils here if you are using them. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the beans are tender. (Add a little more stock if the mixture is too thick.) Stir in the tortellini and the greens and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes more or until the pasta is just al dente. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve garnished with freshly grated Romano or Parmigiana cheese.

We thank Lynne Vea, PCC Chef, for this recipe. It appeared originally in PCC Fresh in January 2010.

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Posted on May 8, 2013

Sauteed Celery Root with Swiss Chard

“Because I love to cook, I’ll use any excuse to make dinner for my family or friends. Most of the recipes I concoct are partly based on how the ingredients look-presentation is very important to me,” says Dave Purdy of Hopewell, New Jersey. “Here, I combined celery root with Swiss chard because the colors and textures contrast so nicely.”

This tangy side dish would be good with roasted poultry or meat.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 ounces celery root, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 pound Swiss chard, stems trimmed, leaves cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add celery root and sauté until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Add chard; cover and cook until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

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Posted on April 27, 2013