Fresh Nettle Tea

Nettles

Stinging nettle loses its sting when you steep it, steam it, saute it, or put it in your blender.

Finely chop four heaped teaspoons of fresh nettle. Boil four cups of filtered water and remove from the heat. Add the nettle to the water and steep for 20 minutes with the lid on. Drink hot or cold.

You can also tie up your bundles of fresh nettle to dry, and enjoy nettle tea all spring long. Use 1 teaspoon dry tea to ounces water to make a strong, invigorating cup.

Recipe courtesy of herbsandoilsworld.com.

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Shepherd’s Pie

This version of shepherd’s pie is quite reminiscent of the dish from Britain with a few small tweaks to make use of all the gorgeous produce we have as we move into spring.

1 tablespoon high heat oil
2 leeks, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 pound ground beef or Nash’s ground pork
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
1 cup diced broccoli, broccolini, or Nash’s purple broccoli
2 pounds Nash’s huckleberry gold potatoes, cut into chunks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk (any fat content — I prefer full fat, you can also sub yogurt here)
Kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the leek, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Throw the diced garlic and broccoli in after 5 minutes. Drain the fat and add the broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk (or yogurt) and salt. Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Recipe adapted from epicurious.com.

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Blender Aioli

Garlic bulb with rustic background

Easy aioli!

Makes 2 cups

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
2-3 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil

Put everything except the oils in the blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Combine the oils and, with the blender running on medium speed, drizzle them very gradually into the egg-garlic mixture, stopping as soon as all the oil is added. Sauce should be creamy and thick. Serve with raw or steamed vegetables or grilled meats or fish.

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Rustic Garlic Soup

Two Garlic Bulbs

Making something out of nothing can really be something.

A certain rough-hewn elegance is apparent here: the garlic is mellow and sweet, the broth enriched with egg yolks. This classic peasant soup works as a first course as well as a Sunday night supper around the kitchen table. In Italy, it’s called aquacotta, or “cooked water.” Making something out of nothing can really be something.

5 cups water
2 large heads of garlic separated into cloves, smashed, and peeled
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 Turkish or California bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 loaf country-style bread (Nash’s Miche from Pane D’Amore is a great possibility)

Special Equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Combine water, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

Discard thyme and bay leaf. Force mixture through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then return to saucepan. Whisk together yolks, cheese, and 2 tablespoons oil in same bowl until well combined. Add 1/2 cup hot garlic broth in a slow stream, whisking, then add yolk mixture to remaining hot garlic broth, whisking.

Cook soup over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 170F on thermometer, about 5 minutes; do not let boil. Stir in pepper to taste.
Tear bread into bite-sized pieces and divide among four soup bowls. Ladle soup over bread and drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.

We thank The Gourmet Cookbook for this recipe.

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Pickled Garlic

Garlic bulb with rustic backgroundMakes 1 quart

About 12 heads garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons whey (if not available use an additional 2 teaspoons salt)

Remove outer skin and set garlic heads in a 300 degree oven. Bake until heads open and cloves can be easily removed. Place cloves in a one-quart wide-mouth mason jar. Mix oregano, salt and whey with 1/2 cup water. Pour over garlic, adding more water if necessary to cover the garlic. The top of the liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

We thank Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions for this recipe.

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Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Two Garlic Bulbs

There will be zero vampires anywhere near your zip code after you make this delicious dish.

Serves 4
Active Time: 15 minutes
Start to finish: 1 hour

In this family-style dish, long, slow cooking transforms its pungency into a sweet, mellow mash, perfect for smearing on a piece of crusty bread. Follow that with greedy forkfuls of the bird, and use a remnant of bread to sop up the luxurious juices.

1 four-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry (Organic whole birds for sale at Nash’s Farm Store)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 scant cup olive oil
2 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 fresh sage sprig
1 Turkish or California bay leaf
1 celery rib
40 cloves garlic, peeled (3-5 heads)
Accompaniment: toasted baguette slices

Special equipment: kitchen string; an instant-read thermometer

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F.

Sprinkle chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with kitchen string and fold wings under chicken. Heat oil in a 6- to 8-quart wide heavy ovenproof pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add chicken and sear, turning it carefully, until golden brown all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Tie herbs and celery together with string to make a bouquet garni and add to pot. Scatter garlic over bottom of pot and put chicken breast side up on top of garlic. Cover tightly, transfer to oven, and bake, basting twice, until thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (without touching bone) registers 170F, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes; reserve pan juices.

Spread roasted garlic on toasts and cut chicken into serving pieces. Serve chicken drizzled with some of pan juices.

We thank The Gourmet Cookbook for this recipe.

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Benedict Strata

8 slices whole-wheat bread
6 slices (4 ounces) bacon, chopped
6 farm-fresh eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel

Break the bread slices into 1-inch pieces. Place half of the pieces in single layer in greased 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the bacon. Repeat layers with remaining bread pieces and bacon.

Beat eggs, milk, mayonnaise, lemon juice and lemon peel in large bowl until blended. Slowly pour over layers in baking dish. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350°F. Remove strata from refrigerator; uncover and let stand while oven heats. Bake in center of 350°F oven until puffed, golden and knife inserted near center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Variation: sprinkle 1 cup finely chopped kale between the layers, and/or 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese on top for the last 20 minutes of baking.

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Nash’s greens with creamy horseradish dressing

1 bunch lettuce
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup strawberries, cleaned and sliced thinly

Clean the greens and chop to your liking. Place in a bowl, add the berries and top with dressing.

Dressing
2 tablespoons minced, peeled, fresh ginger
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 bunch Nash’s garlic scapes, minced
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup grape seed oil
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh horseradish

In a blender combine all the ingredients except for grape seed oil. With the blender
running on low, add grape seed oil until it all starts to emulsify. For more of a kick add more horseradish.

We thank Nash’s Farm Chef Karolina Tracz for this recipe.

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Triticale berries with baby bok choy and onion comfit

triticale1 cup triticale berries, cooked
2 bunches baby bok choy
1 bunch spicy radishes
1/4 cup onion comfit (see below)

To cook berries, soak them overnight in 1 1/2 cups water. Drain the water and place berries in a medium sauce pan. Add 2 cups water and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once cooked, let cool down.

Meanwhile, slice baby bok choy into quarters, place on a grill and cook till they start getting nice grill marks. Let cool. Clean and slice radishes.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl starting with berries and adding onion comfit, radishes, and grilled baby bok choy. You can also use fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro to garnish.

Onion comfit
2 large red onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium sauce pan place sliced onions and a little bit of oil, and cook on medium heat till translucent, about 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often until the liquid has been reduced, about 20 minutes. Store in fridge until ready to serve. Use on sandwiches or with a hummus dip.

We thank Nash’s Farm Chef Karolina Tracz for this recipe.

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Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin

1 pork loin (1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 pound bacon, thinly sliced
1 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat pork roast dry with paper towels. Season pork roast with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sear pork on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes total. Remove from heat.

Rub pork with chopped rosemary; wrap with bacon, overlapping strips slightly. Tie pork roast with kitchen string.

Roast in oven, basting occasionally with cooking juices, until internal temperature is 145°F on a meat thermometer, 35 or 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Transfer pork to a serving dish.

Make pan sauce. Place the roasting skillet on the stove top over low heat. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Skim off the fat. Reheat to serving temperature if necessary.

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