Nettle Frittata

Nettle Frittata

1 bag Stinging Nettles (approx 1/4 lb)

 6 duck eggs

Fresh chives (approx 1/2 bunch)

Olive oil or butter

Salt and pepper

1. Blanch nettles, drain, and rough chop (see nettle instructions).

2. Chop chives fine.

3. Beat 6 duck eggs in bowl.

4. Add nettles, chives, salt and pepper to eggs and mix.

5. Heat some olive oil or butter in a skillet, and pour in beaten egg mixture.

6. Cook without stirring over medium heat a few minutes, until bottom is set. FLIP the frittata by holding a plate against the skillet and flipping it on to the the plate. Then slide the frittata back in the skillet and cook a few more minutes.

Slice and serve with spinach salad or something else tasty!

Chive and Tarragon Duck Egg Omelette

Herbs are in! It's always exciting to have the first flush of anything, and spring herbs are really special. They add fresh, flavorful dimensions to any dish, and egg dishes are especially suited to highlight the herbs used with them. You can use any herbs you choose, but we really like this combination of chives and tarragon. This recipe serves two hungry people.

Ingredients
Two sprigs tarragon
5-10 chives
Four duck eggs - five to six chicken eggs if you want to substitute
Olive oil, butter or bacon fat (for the pan)

        
Recipe
Put a skillet on the stove on medium-high. Put your cooking oil of choice in the pan.
Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat lightly. Strip the tarragon leaves from the stem and chop into about 1/2" pieces. Chop the chives more finely, to about 1/4". At this point you can mix the herbs into the eggs,where they will make beautiful green specks, or save them to go just in the middle (in the middle they will be just-warmed, not cooked, so you get more fresh-herb flavor).
When the oil is shimmering - but before it smokes - pour the beaten eggs into the skillet. Turn down to medium-low. If you like a gooey omelette, add your herb (or other) filling (see notes!) when the underside of the omelette just starts to brown and bubbles have come through to the top surface. If you like your eggs firmer, wait until the surface of the eggs loses its shiny look to add your filling.
Gently fold the top half of your omelette over onto the bottom half. If cheese was one of your additional fillings, wait a minute or two for it to melt. Otherwise, cut in half, serve, and enjoy!

Note: Other great fillings include cheese of any kind, sauteed spinach, mushrooms, nettles, or pea shoots, cooked bacon or sausage...the sky is pretty much the limit!

 

Savory Dutch Baby with Spring Greens

This yummy treat is also known as Finnish pancake. I wouldn't be surprised if it had other names also. It's simple and delicious. You can make a sweet version (I'll explain in the Notes), but I love the savory kind. I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

I have adapted this recipe from The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook, by Sharon Kramis & Julie Kramis Hearn. This recipe is indeed perfectly suited to a cast iron skillet or a small Dutch Oven. It serves 4.

Dutch Baby in the Dutch Oven. Who knows how these things get named.

Savory Dutch Baby

3 tablespoons butter
8 extra-large eggs*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 cups filling - for example:
       1 cup grated cheese and 1 cup wilted spinach
       1 cup wilted nettles and 1 cup caramelized onions
       1 3/4 cup wilted sorrel and 1/4 cup chopped chives
 

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Prepare the fillings first. This is a very forgiving recipe, so you don't have to be exact. To wilt the greens, heat a pan (I usually use a cast iron skillet) on medium-high heat with a splash of oil or butter. When the pan is hot, toss in the greens and immediately pour about 1/4 cup of water (or lemon juice or vinegar if you like tangy) over the greens. They will steam and curl up quickly. Stir them around to steam them evenly. When they are thoroughly limp but still brightish in color, remove the greens from the pan to a bowl, draining them and discarding extra liquid in the pan. You can also blanch the nettles in salted, boiling water for a few minutes (and then drain them) instead of wilting them - as always, with nettles, remember to wear gloves or use tongs!

Melt the 3 tablespoons butter in the skillet. While it is melting, whisk together the eight eggs, flour, and milk. You can also blitz them in a blender or food processor if you want a really smooth texture. 

Fold the fillings you are using into the batter, and pour the mixture into the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and bake about 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and puffy. 

As soon as it is done, slice it up and serve!

Notes

*You can substitute eggs of any size, but you want to have about the same volume of eggs. Eight extra-large chicken eggs is usually around 2 cups - see this article in the Portland Press Herald's Source for more info about cooking with varied egg sizes.

To make a sweet version, omit the fillings. Mix up the batter and bake as directed. Serve with your favorite pancake topper - maple syrup, blueberry sauce, lemon juice and powdered sugar...! 

Russian Carrot Salad

This is a favorite of ours. Carrot salads are usually sweet; this one is sweet and pungent and delicious. It is also a great fresh salad from winter storage vegetables.

Russian Carrot Salad

• 4 medium-large carrots
• 2-4 cloves garlic AND your favorite mayonnaise OR garlic aioli (recipe below)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the carrots using a medium-large grate. Mince the garlic. Mix the carrots and garlic with enough mayonnaise to lightly coat the vegetables (or depending on your preference for mayonnaise). If you are making the aioli, mix the carrots with one recipe of aioli.

Aioli (from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food)

2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt, a pinch or to taste
1 egg yolk, separated into a mixing bowl
1/2 teaspoon water
1 cup olive oil

Pound the garlic in a mortar and pestle with the salt. If you don't mind larger chunks of garlic you can just mince it. Add half the garlic and the water to the egg yolk. Now comes the fun part:

Mix well with a whisk OR an electric mixer. Start to dribble the olive oil into the egg yolk mixture, whisking or mixing constantly. Keep dribbling, a little at a time, until the mixture thickens, gets lighter in color, and becomes opaque. Then you can add the oil faster, still whisking or mixing until you have added all the oil. You can add more salt, garlic, lemon juice or vinegar to taste.

Note: if you use extra virgin olive oil, the mixing process releases some of the bitter compounds in EVOO, so if you don't want that flavor, use other oils (like safflower oil) in combination or as a replacement.

Note 2: if you use duck eggs, which have larger yolks, you may need to add a little more oil to reach the desired consistency.