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!

 

Spinach and Meatball Soup

This is a favorite in my (Ailish's) family. My parents made it a lot when I was growing up and, even though it had spinach in it (gasp, vegetables!), I always loved it. 

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (we suggest pork!)
1 egg, beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or GF bread crumbs; or mashed potato)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups stock or broth (my parents always used beef broth, but your favorite will work well)
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (or GF pasta) - usually ditalini, but other small pasta like orzo, stelline, etc. work well
Spinach, coarsely chopped - 1/2 pound if you want it spinach-lite, 1 pound if you loooove spinach

Recipe
Pour the stock and water into a soup pot and bring to a boil.
While the soup comes to a boil, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Form into balls about 3/4 of an inch wide.
Once the soup boils, add the meat balls to the soup. 
After all the meat balls are in, add the pasta. 
Stir, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
When the pasta is done to your liking, add the spinach. Sometimes it is helpful to add it in batches so it all wilts promptly.
Once the spinach has wilted - serve!

For a vegetarian option, add diced potato (give it five or so minutes before adding pasta if you cut a large dice) or shiitake mushrooms (add with the pasta). 

Spinach Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
A loosely packed cup of spinach
Your favorite cheese (that melts - I used a combination of Cabot Cheddar and Spring Day Creamery Blue)
Your favorite grilled cheese bread (I had a nice, light rye from Zu bakery handy)
Butter (or your preferred cooking oil)

Recipe:

You wouldn't think it, but there are definitely different ways of making grilled cheese. This is the way I (Ailish) make it. Ben makes it differently, and I will describe his variation.

1. Assemble your ingredients. Slice the bread. Slice the cheese so it will comfortably fit on the bread, and tear the spinach into smaller pieces if it looks like it won't sit comfortably on the bread either. You can also wilt the spinach first, and then it will drape nicely on top of the cheese.
2. Turn your skillet or griddle on to medium heat.
3. Butter the outer sides of each of your pieces of bread. Place one slice, buttered-side down, on the hot skillet. Quickly place the cheese, spinach, and other slice of bread - buttered-side up! - on top. 
4. Turn the skillet down to medium-low and cover the sandwich with a lid (this helps the cheese melt without burning the bread)
5. Check the bottom in a minute or two - when it is golden brown, flip the sandwich over completely. Cook on this side until golden brown. It should be another minute or two, and the cheese should be perfectly melty. 
6. Variations: Ben likes to make each half of his grilled cheese separately, by melting butter in a medium hot pan, and putting both slices of bread in at once. Usually, both slices get cheese and toppings, and then the lid, to hold in heat and melt the cheese faster. Check to make sure the bottoms aren't burning after a minute or so (turn down the temperature, if so. When the cheese is melted, pick up one half and flip it over onto the other half, making your sandwich complete.
7. More variations: add caramelized onions, a slice of ham....the options are endless!
8. Enjoy!

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...!