Stinging Nettles Recipe - Nettle Lentil Soup

Stinging nettles

Because of the extra cool, extra late spring, nettles are at the perfect stage for picking in southern New England right now. Nettles (Urtica dioica) are a perennial herb growing on a hollow, stringy stem. The leaves are coarsely toothed, papery, 1-3 inches long, with a pointed tip and are shaped a bit like an elongated heart. All parts of the plant contain the stings, which are like mini hypodermic needles filled with formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine and other nasty things to irritate your skin. Pick the shoots in early spring before the small, greenish, inconspicuous flowers appear by using gloves. In a large patch, it is easy to fill a large paper bag quickly.

The sting disappears with cooking or drying. You can steam the leaves, but the stems can be too tough and fibrous to eat. We also add the leaves directly to cook in soup, chop them up to use in quiche or spanikopita filling, or eat then lightly stir fried as a green. The stems and leaves can be dried in a dark place to use for an herbal tisane in the winter months when the "green" flavor is a welcome one. Nettles contain wonderful amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, beta carotene, and provide an excellent source of plant-based protein.

Nettle soup with focaccia

This recipe is available in our book, available Spring 2016.

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239108626260&

Stinging nettles patch

Garlic Mustard Recipe - Garlic Mustard Hummus

Garlic Mustard
flower stalks

A common invasive species, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) can take over entire areas of habitat. Right now, the flower stalk is about 24 inches high and the 4 petalled, white flowers are blooming along roadsides, in yards, in fields, and disturbed areas. The top 4 inches or so of the flower stalk is still tender, and we pick it along with the flower head and top triangular leaves along the stalk. The taste of the flower buds can be quite fiery, like raw horseradish and add a bite to whatever we eat them with. We usually eat them raw or lightly boiled since cooking them in a sautée pan seems to bring out the bitterness. In this hummus, we added them raw to give the hummus a green spiciness. We also added ramps greens (Allium tricoccum), but garlic can be substituted.

Garlic Mustard Hummus       makes about 2 1/2 c.

2 c. washed, chopped garlic mustard leaves
1 c. washed, chopped ramps greens
2 c. cooked chick peas
5 T olive oil
4 T lemon juice
2 T tahini
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 T cumin

1. Place the chopped garlic mustard leaves, ramps greens and chickpeas in a food processor. Process until chunky.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, and process until smooth. We like our hummus very thick, but you could add more olive oil. Serve with pitas.

Garlic mustard flowers

Dandelion Recipe - Dandelion Jelly

Dandelion Jelly over focaccia

There are lots of recipes floating around the internet, and a few available in older cookbooks. This is the exact recipe we used, and it worked for us. Robert picked a bucket of flowers, and we pulled all of the yellow petals out of the flower head. We had to remove the green bits, as they seem to be bitter. Picking the petals is a time-consuming, shoulder-aching, and finger-staining job, but the jelly is so tasty, with a deep floral honey flavor that it is all worth it in the end.

This recipe is available in our book, available Spring 2016.

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239108626260&

Violets



White with purple veins,
see the "butterfly" shape?

 There are hundreds of species of violets growing in the temperate northern hemisphere, which makes it difficult to identify them specifically. They all belong to the genus Viola, and the colors can range from yellow to white to blue and purple, with some mixing of colors. Violets tend to grow in shade or partial shade, and like a moist environment. They are perennial herbs, and will often overtake lawns. The flowers open in early spring, lasting until June, while the green leaves last until the frosts come.

Purple violet clusters

The leaves are slightly toothed and heart shaped, each up to 5 inches across. The leaves and flower stalks grow directly from the rhizome underground. Flowers have 5 petals, and a spur at the back of the flower. The flower is roughly butterfly-shaped, with the fifth, lowest petal being the longest, with deep veining. The young leaves are edible raw or lightly cooked, but tend to be bland and sometimes gummy in texture. The leaves contain vitamin C and vitamin A. The flowers are very lightly perfumed and delicate, a wonderful trailside nibble. The flowers look really nice in a salad, or on top of a cupcake. They can be dried to use later in the season for tea, or candied with egg white and sugar. We collect them in quantity to make a brightly hued syrup or jelly, the recipe can be found here.

Violet Jelly on buttered bread

Violet Recipe - Violet Jelly

Violet Jelly spread over buttered bread

We gather purple violets from a shady park, even though there are plenty growing in most peoples' lawns. I give the violets a quick rinse in cold water, and a spin dry to remove bugs or sand before making the infusion for the jelly. Before making the infusion from the flowers, I don't remove the green parts behind the flower, but do try to remove as much of the green stem as possible. Some of the  species of violet we have in our area are very pretty but not strongly scented, so we tend to just eat them raw in salads. This jelly is more sweet and tart from the sugar and lemon juice than flavorful from the flowers-- but they do contribute a mild floral flavor. This is an updated version of this recipe.

Violet Jelly             makes about 11- 4 oz. jars

2 c. packed violet blossoms, stems removed
2 c. boiling water

1. Pour the boiling water over the violets and allow them to steep at least 2 hours, overnight is best. Squeeze the water from the violets, and measure out 1 3/4 c. violet infusion. It will be very dark blue.

1 3/4 c. violet infusion
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 c. sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin (3 oz.)

2. Put the violet infusion, lemon juice, and sugar in a large pot. You'll notice the dramatic change of color from dark blue to electric purple! Bring it up to a rolling boil.
3. Add the Certo pectin, and bring the mixture back up to a rolling boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove the jelly from the heat and ladle into hot, sterilised jars. Cover, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Japanese Knotweed Recipe - Knotweed Jelly

Japanese knotweed Jelly served over yogurt

This recipe took a few tries to get correct, and we are very happy with the final product. One characteristic of the knotweed is that it is not very juicy. Usually when you make jelly, you are using a fruit juice. This is made with more of a knotweed infusion. Through trial and error, I found that I needed to start with a lot of water and even more chopped knotweed than you would think to end up with enough "juice" for the jelly recipe. The color is surprisingly pink, we were expecting green.

Japanese Knotweed Jelly    makes 6- 8oz. jars

4 c. water
8 c. chopped Japanese knotweed stalks, leaves removed

1. Add the water and the chopped knotweed stalks to a large pot. Bring the water up to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool, then hang the stewed knotweed in a jelly bag or in cheesecloth, and allow it to drip for an hour or two. You need to end up with 3 1/4 c. knotweed juice.

3 1/4 c. knotweed juice
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 box Sure-Jell powdered pectin (1.75 oz.)
4 c. sugar

2. Put the knotweed juice, lemon juice, and pectin into a large pot. Bring it up to a rolling boil.
3. Add all the sugar at once. Bring it back up to a rolling boil, and boil 1 minute while stirring constantly.
4. Remove from the heat and ladle it into hot, sterilized jars, cover. Process in a water bath for 10 minutes, cool.

Ramps Recipe - Stuffed Ramps Rolls

Stuffed Ramps Rolls

The leaves of the ramps that we have picked this spring have been especially large, and we thought it might work if we tried to stuff them like cabbage leaves. What follows is a loose recipe of what I put together for a filling, although there is a lot of room for substitutions. I had some cooked quinoa in the fridge, but you could use rice or another cooked grain. I used a vegetarian ground-beef substitute, but you could use ground beef, pork or sausage in it's place. Finally, I served these with a yellow tomato sauce we had made last year, but jarred pasta sauce would be fine.

Stuffed Ramps Rolls    makes 24-30
24-30 cleaned ramps leaves
1/2 c. chopped ramps bulbs, or onion
1/2 pound ground beef substitute, ground beef, ground pork, or sausage
2 c. cooked quinoa, cooked rice, or cooked grain
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. chopped ramps greens
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 c. yellow tomato sauce, or pasta sauce

1. Sautée the chopped ramps bulbs or onions in a bit of oil, cooking until they are translucent. Add the ground meat substitute or ground meat to the pan, and cook it fully.
2. Put the cooked meat mixture in a bowl, and add the cooked grain, beaten eggs, chopped ramps greens, and the breadcrumbs. Mix it all together, and add some salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to rest a few minutes. If it is still too wet, add more breadcrumbs. You want to be able to form loose balls with the filling.
3. Take a ramps leaf, and run the back of a spoon along the center rib to lightly bruise it. This makes the leaf easier to roll. Take about 3 T of filling and place along the bottom of the leaf. Roll up the leaf around the filling, leaving the ends open. Carefully transfer the roll to an oiled baking pan.
4. Spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray, or brush oil over them to prevent the rolls from drying out. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Serve over warm tomato sauce.