Wild Edible Recipes - Chickweed & Garlic Mustard

by Tom DiGangi Jr.

As Laura enjoys that second cup of coffee, marveling at the price point for colonial homes in Merida, Mexico while watching House Hunters International, I am stuck figuring out how to cook all those damn weeds with health benefits she keeps leaving on the chopping block.

I doubt cooking is magic or art as some would suggest. Rather, it is craft, based on science and education. You learn how to manipulate stuff that already tastes good into new stuff that hopefully tastes better by applying heat or salt or combining it with other stuff that also tastes good. The chances of success in producing a meal increase dramatically if the cook actually knows a little bit about the stuff to be cooked. At least on Chopped, there are instructions on the packages of the unknown products so the contestant chefs don’t accidentally kill someone by preparing the unknown foods the wrong way – think rhubarb, which has toxic leaves, but edible stalks. Laura’s wild harvests are accompanied by no such guidance.

This leads to a question: What do I know about cooking broad leaf plantain, garlic mustard, lesser celandine or chickweed? The answer: Absolutely, nothing. But, I am willing to experiment. This is science, right? So, I taste, trusting Laura’s has no plans for my early demise.

Garlic mustard, it turns out, tastes not surprisingly like bitter, mustardy garlic, but in leaf form. Chickweed has no distinct flavor, but has a spinach-like texture to its leaf. Here is how I used them to make dinner for two, inspired by the egg and pancetta goodness of carbonara.

Chickweed & Garlic Mustard “Carbonara”

Ingredients

½ oz dried porcini mushrooms (reconstituted by soaking in ½ C hot water)

4 oz crimini or button mushrooms, cut into thick slices

1 small yellow onion (sliced)

1 ½ C garlic mustard leaves

1 ½ C chickweed tips (not the tougher lower stalks)

1 slice pancetta (about ¼ inch thick), cut into sticks

3 T white wine

3 T extra virgin olive oil

½ lb of fusillli pasta

2 egg yolks

½ C grated parmigiano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.

Reconstitute the dried porcini in ½ cup of hot water by soaking for at least 15 minutes, drain and reserve the soaking water for later use in the recipe. Roughly chop the reconstituted porcini.

Using 2 tablespoons of the oil, render the pancetta in a large sauté pan, along with the onions. As they begin to brown, add the crimini mushrooms, and continue browning until the pancetta has begun to crisp.  Add the chopped porcini, the reserved soaking water, white wine, chickweed and garlic mustard, and cook together for a few more minutes.

Drop the fusilli into the pot of boiling, well-salted water and cook until al dente.  Remove the pasta from the water and add to the sauce in the sauté pan, with a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Stir and turn off the heat.

Finish by dressing the pasta with the parmigiano cheese, the remaining oil, the egg yolks, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine. The residual heat of the pasta will cook the yolks while maintaining a creamy texture.  Serve immediately, with the same white wine used to make the sauce.

Chickweed & Garlic Mustard Pesto

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Garlic mustard leaves, washed and removed from stem

1 Cup Chickweed leaves, flowers and stems, washed and chopped

1/4 Cup Pistachio nuts

1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil

2 T. Grated parmigiano cheese

1 T. Lemon juice

1 t. salt

Procedure

Combine all dry ingredients plus lemon juice in a food processor, and grind. Drizzle in olive oil slowly, pausing to scrape down the sides, until the ingredients form a thick paste. Store in refrigerator. Mix with pasta, warm potatoes, or grain dishes for a healthy meal. Add to soup as a bright flavor booster. Top off cheese and crackers with a small amount. Try it out and have fun!

Real Sicilian-Style Pizza

Written and Photographed by Tom DiGangi, Jr. 

My grandmother lived with my family when I was a boy.  And, I learned a lot about food because of it.  She was born and raised in the small hill town of St Anna on the southern coast of Sicily before she settled in Philadelphia after an eventful emigration from the old country.  As I have been told, the journey involved a gun, a stowaway, and oddly enough, a donkey.  But, that is a story for another day.

Grandma used to make a pan pizza that I still dream about.  It bore no resemblance to the uber-cheesy, topping heavy, beasts that Pizza Hut, Pizzeria Uno, or any of the other unfortunately Italianesque chains perpetrate on diners in shopping centers and food courts around the US and the globe. 

No.  Bernadina Abruzzo’s pizza was sublime.  A medium crust - not to thin, not to thick, crispy to bite, yet airy to chew - was the foundation for it all.  The rest was incredibly simple.  A base-coat of fine olive oil.  A sparing amount of homemade tomato sauce, lightly flavored with garlic and basil, topped the crust.  An even more sparing dusting of parmigano, or more often then not, pecorino, cheese finished the pie.  After all, she was from Sicily, where sheep milk and its resulting pecorino cheese still reigns supreme. 

  

Simple as it was, I cannot imitate it and have given up.  Instead, I have taken to improvising on her theme of simple, high-quality ingredients used in shockingly small proportions.  The following recipe is one of those attempts.  It elicited a “this is absolutely delicious” response from Laura who rarely expresses praise above “good.”  What can I say?  She is part German, so as long as the food is on time, it’s usually o.k. by her.  With that context, “delicious” is high praise.

Pan Pizza with fennel sausage, mushrooms and arugula

Ingredients

4 Cups Pizza Dough – see recipe

4 Oz. Sweet Pork Sausage with Fennel

1 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce, homemade – see recipe

4 Sun-dried Tomatoes, finely diced

2 T Dry Vermouth

2 Cups Hen of the Woods Mushrooms (A.K.A. Maitake), roughly chopped

(substitute with crimini or button mushrooms)

2 Cups Arugula, roughly chopped

1 Cup grated Caciocavalo Cheese

1 Cup grated Parmigano Reggiano Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure

To make the pizza dough…

Laura makes great (and easy) bread dough every week that we leave in the fridge.  Check out Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for the recipe and procedure.  When we want to make bread, we pull out a handful of the dough, form it into the desired shape and let it rise for an hour while the oven is heating-up.  To convert this bread dough into pizza dough, we add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and kneed it in.  Then, let it rise in an oiled bowl on the countertop for a couple of hours, but it could sit there all day and would only get better.  The longer the dough is left to rise, the lighter the pizza crust.  You could always use store-bought dough, but you wouldn’t, would you?

To make the tomato sauce…

Sauté a few cloves of crushed garlic in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until lightly browned.  As you may infer, precise measurements are not critical here.  Add a small can (about 20 oz) of high-quality whole plum tomatoes that you crush with you hands or a masher.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer.  Season with salt, add about a dozen leaves of whole basil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Done!

To assemble the pizza…

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the sausage, crumbling it into small pieces.  Cook over medium heat until brown.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, tomato sauce and two tablespoons of dry vermouth.  Scrap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any good stuff stuck to the pan.  Simmer for a few minutes and set aside.

Coat a half sheet pan with a liberal amount of extra-virgin olive oil.  It should be thick enough so that you can write your name in the oil in the pan with your finger.  Stretch the dough with your hands to roughly the size of the pan without breaking the dough.  Do not use a rolling pin, as this will break the edges and release the air from the dough.  Your goal is to keep as much of the developed air (or rise) from escaping from the dough.  Press the dough into the pan, leaving at least a half-inch edge to develop the perfect crust handle.  If the dough is too elastic and pulls away from the sides, let it rest a few minutes, then finish the job.

Remember, it is all about the dough, so add the toppings sparingly!  Start with the tomato sauce and sausage, then the mushrooms and cheeses.  Reserve the arugula.

Place the pizza-in-a-pan on the center rack in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.  Then rotate the pan and cook for another 10 minutes.  Add the arugula and return to the oven for three to five minutes.  Total cooking time is approximately 25 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for at least five minutes before serving. 

Accompaniment

I dreamed-up and indulged in a cocktail while making this dish, and named it the British Virgin Islander, because it incorporates the English favorite, gin, with the Caribbean staple, rum.  But, there is nothing virgin about it.  If someone else has already created this drink or used this name, please accept my apologies.  I am aware of neither.

In a shaker, mix plenty of ice with 1 part gin, 1 part white rum, ¼ part dry vermouth, juice of ½ of a lemon, and juice of ½ an orange.  Mix and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Finish with a rim garnish of a wedge of orange and a wedge of lemon. 

I can’t promise you’ll love it, or that it goes best with the pizza, but it felt right to me. Enjoy!

Wild Foods Of Spring: Fresh Trout and Twin Crustini

by Tom DiGangi, Jr.

I set out to create a meal constructed fundamentally of wild ingredients.  This endeavor has become something of a rite of spring in recent years.  It sounds like a big project - making a meal without a trip to the store - but in all honesty, it’s pretty easy. 

The project began at six o’clock on a drizzlely Tuesday evening, after the standard vehicular combat along Interstate 78 that some people would call “commuting.”  A quick change of clothes – from blue suit, red tie and winged-tip shoes to wading pants, fishing vest and Indiana Jones-inspired hat – and I was soon casting a fly into the Pohatcong Creek that borders our property.  A dozen or so casts later, and the main ingredient was procured and dispatched, streamside.

SOAPBOX WARNING (If you are uninterested in conservation, skip this paragraph.)

Now, it is rare that I keep a fish to eat.  Years of informal fishing education have gotten at least one important concept to stick in the chowder that passes for my brain.  That is…we can’t just treat our planet like everything in it is ours for the taking.  We humans have to conserve the gifts of nature, not screw around with them, or worse, not recognize them as gifts at all.  I suppose that’s why Laura and I take so much pleasure in gardening.  You plant something.  You care for that thing.  That thing and the other things around it support each other (e.g. bees and fruiting plants).  Finally, that thing feeds you, and you start the cycle all over, again.  So, when I kept a single trout for dinner on that Tuesday evening, it was with great humility and respect, and promises to release the next dozen fish I catch and to support a Trout Unlimited stream restoration project next weekend.

ALL CLEAR (It is now safe to keep reading.)

Cleaned trout in hand, I proceeded to the garden, along the way, pulling some dandelion greens from the lawn.  In the garden, I snipped some chives and harvested some over-wintered spring onions.

Here is what I did with the ingredients, including some of our previously harvested and stored garlic, locally produced honey and unfiltered apple cider vinegar.  Laura makes her own bread.  So the only products not self-produced or local were the salt, pepper and olive oil.  Not bad.

Pan-Seared Wild Trout with Dandelion and Spring Onion Crustini (Serves Two)

Ingredients

1 Whole Wild Trout (gutted, head and fins removed)

4 Spring Onions or Scallions (roots removed)

4 Slices of Crusty French Bread (½-inch think slices)

1 Garlic Clove

3C Dandelion Greens (roots, stems and flowers removed)

½C Chives

1T Wild Flower Honey (local, if possible)

7T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1T Apple Cider Vinegar

Black Pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure

To make the Crustini… Toast the bread slices until golden brown.  Rub each slice with the whole garlic clove to transfer the essence of garlic to the bread.  Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over each slice (4 teaspoons in total) and set-aside.

To make the Fish… Season the whole, cleaned fish inside and out with salt and pepper.  Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a non-stick pan and place over medium heat.  When the oil starts to shimmer, add the fish and the spring onions to the pan.  Cook for 5-7 minutes depending on the size of the fish.  Flip the fish and cook an additional 5-7 minutes.  The onions should finish in the same time as the fish.  Remove the fish and onions from the pan.  With a sharp knife, remove the fillets from the fish by making an incision along the back (dorsal) of the fish and gently separating the fillets from the bones.  Set-aside.

To make the Salad… In a non-reactive bowl, make the dressing by whisking the honey, vinegar, salt and pepper to combine.  Slowly add 3 tablespoons of the oil while whisking to create an emulsion. Add the dandelion greens and chives to the bowl with the dressing and toss gently to coat.

To plate the dish… place a fillet in the center of each of the two plates, and a slice of crustini on both sides of each fillet.  Top one crustino with the green onions and the other crustino with the dandelion and chive salad.  Duplicate with the other plate.  Drizzle both plates with the remaining oil, and serve with a white wine such as Riesling Trocken.

Gourmet Weed Primer - Dandelions, Part II

Dandelion Pappardelle with Chicken Ragu (Serves 4) - Tom DiGangi Jr.

Here are a few things to know about this recipe. First, pappardelle is a ribbon-shaped pasta about five inches long and one inch wide. Second, if you don’t have duck fat lying around the house like we do, just use a little extra olive oil or bacon fat. Third, please do not use chicken breast meat, as it will be dry and tasteless in this dish. Finally, stirring-in the ricotta cheese with the heat off is critical to making a creamy sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Pasta:

3 Eggs

2 ½C (300g) All-purpose flour

1C Blanched and squeezed-dry dandelion greens

4 Chicken thighs (bones and skin removed)

1T Extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:

3T Extra virgin olive oil

1T Duck fat

1 Yellow Onion, diced

1 Carrot, diced

2 Celery Stalks, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1t Red pepper flakes

2t Dried sage

1C Red wine

8oz Canned Plum tomatoes with packing juice

½C frozen peas

2T Fresh garlic chives, minced

2T Ricotta cheese

2T Grated parmigano reggiano cheese

Salt to taste

Procedure

To make the pappardelle, squeeze all of the water out of the dandelion greens and process to a fine paste in a food processor. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and process until well incorporated. Next, add the flour and process until a ball of dough is formed. Remove the dough and kneed for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface to form a smooth, not sticky, ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least a ½ hour. Roll out the pasta into thin sheets, using extra flour to keep the dough workable. Using a pasta roller attachment for an electric mixer is a good way to make the rolling process easier and the end product more consistent. Then cut the sheets into 1-inch wide ribbons to form the pappardelle.

To make the ragu, heat the duck fat and 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the chicken thighs for a few minutes on one side. Turn the chicken over and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, red pepper flakes and sage. Sauté the chicken, vegetables and spices for a few minutes more, then add the tomatoes (crushing them in your hand as you go) and red wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 40 minutes. Add the peas and continue simmering for another 10 minutes.

To finish the dish, boil the pasta in a gallon of salted water for just a couple minutes. Add the pasta to the ragu. Remove the ragu from the heat. Stir in the chives and cheeses. Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately with a hearty red wine, like Dolcetto.

Think we're done with dandelion? Nope. Stay tuned for Tom's next wild foods meal and his recipe for Pan-Seared Wild Trout with Dandelion and Spring Onion Crustini.

Gourmet Weed Primer - Dandelions, Part I

I mean it! It's dandelion week in our yard, house and blog, and Tom is fired up about it. I harvested a smidgen of a fraction of those onerous weeds cropping up in our garden beds, and Tom has been blanching, sauteing, kneading and pulverizing these things into new recipes. Even NPR caught the vibe of his enthusiasm this week with an interview of wild greens forager Sam Thayer. If you're not sure WHY you should be eating dandelions, check out the NPR interview or visit my blog entry from last year - The Easiest Way To Remove Dandelion Weeds From Your Garden. But if you want to know WHAT you should be doing with the dandelions once harvested, TommyD is your man.

Dandelions – My Port in a Storm

Tom DiGangi Jr.

In all honesty, I don’t love dandelion greens. Most of the time, I just like them. Arugula, chard and spinach are the greens I would marry. Dandelions deserve a couple of dates, and then… move on. But, that’s just fine with me.

As winter wanes, my desire for fresh greens waxes. So, each spring, dandelions and I have a nice dinner, maybe take-in a movie, you know… get reacquainted. Then, we lose touch for the rest of the year, until winter creates that longing, once again. It’s a great relationship. And, after a harsh winter like this one, I’m fired up about spending some time in my port in a cold and snowy storm.

The dandelion is bitter and intense. Yet, it is enticing because it is the first produce from our yard. The trick is to find ways to tame the intensity of dandelions. Here are two recipes to mellow the personality of this spring spark plug. They both employ a technique called “blanching,” which reduces the bitter flavor and sets the bright green color of the greens. The recipes also utilize my other favorite harbinger of spring – garlic chives – highlighting the adage “what grows together, goes together.”

Thai Dandelion and Carrot Soup (Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 Quart Asian-inspired stock (see below)

1 Carrot, quarter inch dice

1 Quart freshly harvested dandelion greens (no roots or flowers, please)

1T fresh garlic chives, minced

2T soy sauce

Salt to taste

Procedure

Blanch the dandelion greens by placing them in a large pot of salted and vigorously boiling water for two minutes. Remove the greens and “shock” them in a large bowl of ice water, mixing the greens until they are cool. Then drain the greens, and set-aside.

Combine a quart of the stock and the diced carrots in a small pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer until the carrots are almost cooked through (about 10 minutes). Chop the blanched dandelion greens into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot to simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and stir-in the chives and soy sauce. Adjust the salt to taste and slurp up the liquid health.

Asian-inspired stock

Ingredients

Handful of leftover chicken and/or pork bones

1 Onion

1 Carrot

3-4 Fennel stems

3T Fresh cilantro

3 Dried Thai chiles

1 Star anise

3T sun dried tomatoes

3 Garlic cloves

3 Fresh quarter inch thick ginger slices

3 Quarts of water

Procedure

To make the stock, combine all ingredients in a 4-quart (or larger) pot and simmer, mostly covered, for at least 2 hours. Skim the foam off the top of the stock occasionally while simmering. Pass the stock though a sieve. Discard the solids. Let your imagination and the contents of your pantry and fridge create variations on this list. Ultimately, you are just looking for a homemade, healthy and flavorful stock, with some classic Asian dimensions.

Come back tomorrow for Tom's recipe for Dandelion Pappardelle With Chicken Ragu!

Welcome Back to the Autumnal Gourds

Tom DiGangi, Jr.

One great thing about living in a part of the world that experiences seasons is that there is always something different to eat. Each fall, we enjoy the transition from the fresh fruits and crisp salads of summer to the more mellow flavors and softer textures of slow-cooked hearty vegetables that fit with the cooler weather. The earthy sweetness of onions, leeks, chards and especially the wide range of gourds, from acorn squash to pumpkins, are perfectly appropriate for cooking in this autumnal style. Butternut squash is a favorite as it is easy to find at markets - if you aren’t growing your own - and it tastes great.

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Smoked Mozzarella Cheese

On a trip to Italy a few years back, Laura and I discovered that Italians don’t make a big deal about varieties of squash. For the most part, it is all just “Zucca.” We learned this from a gregarious and rotund chef at a small osteria in Campania. Due to the wine involved in the dinner, I remember very little about the place. In fact, I only remember the chef was gregarious and rotund because of a photo – embarrassingly enough – of Laura and me seated on his lap (rotund), while he sang songs (gregarious). In addition to being our chef and host, he was essentially our gondola and gondolier, all in one enormous package. It’s weird, I know, but true.

The other thing I remember was the “Risotto di Zucca con Scamorza” or “Pumpkin Rice with Smoked Mozzarella Cheese.” It was November, and the season for zucca was in swing, so we had to try it. It was fabulously creamy and a lit bit smoky. Scamorza is a lightly smoked cheese, traditionally made by hanging balls of mozzarella over a hearth for a short time. I have had versions of this cheese in the States, and they are usually too smoky for my taste. So, for this recipe I combine smoked and fresh mozzarella to keep the flavor subtle. Butternut squash plays the role of zucca.

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups Arborio Rice

1 Small Butternut Squash (seeds removed, shredded on the large side of a box grater)

1 Medium White Onion (finely diced)

6 Leaves Fresh Sage

¼ t. Freshly Grated Nutmeg

3T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6T. Butter

1 Cup White Wine (not cooking wine)

6 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock (hot)

4oz. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (shredded on the large side of a box grater)

4oz. Smoked Mozzarella Cheese (skin removed, shredded on the large side of a box grater)

¼ Cup Grated Parmigano Reggiano Cheese

¼ Cup Finely Diced Flat Leaf Parsley

Black Pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure

In a large slope-sided pot, melt only 2 T. of the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, squash, sage, nutmeg, and two heavy pinches of salt, and cook slowly for a few minutes until the onion and squash soften a bit and the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the rice, and cook for a few minutes until the rice changes color a bit. Add the wine and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook the mixture while stirring, until the wine evaporates. Add a ladle-full of stock and cook while stirring, until the stock is absorbed. Repeat adding stock, a ladle-full at a time, until the rice reaches the desired consistency. I like risotto prepared “al dente” or “to the tooth.” The rice should be creamy, not soupy, and each grain should have a bit of resistance when bitten.

Remove from the heat, add the three cheeses, parsley and remaining 4 T. of butter. Adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper. Stir to incorporate.

Serve immediately, with a subtle white wine. Old world white wines such as Chablis, Soave or Frascati are ideal. New world versions of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are often too heavy and too grassy, respectively.

An Afternoon Snack - Scented Geranium Cake

Tom DiGangi, Jr.


An afternoon snack - Geranium Cake

Who needs afternoon tea and biscuits when you can have espresso and geranium cake? I sure don’t. And, it is all because of Laura’s over-exuberance for herb planting. Let me explain. No, let me sum-up, for all you “Princess Bride” fans.

To my surprise, some varieties of geranium are actually edible. And, this year, Laura produced more edible geranium than anyone could possibly use. To make the excess even more excessive, the plants just won’t die. It is mid-October and Laura’s “Old Fashioned Rose Scented Geranium” is going strong. She has already put its intense combination of rose and citrus fragrances to use as potpourri, to make teas, and even to spice-up a mixed drink. Just ask her about a recent concoction of vodka, lemon, lemoncello, simple syrup and seltzer, finished with geranium. But, I digress.

In a sheer act of desperation to reduce the mountain of geranium accumulating on our counter top, I experimented. What follows is a twist on the barely sweet cakes that often represent the Italian equivalent to the baked goods served with English afternoon tea. It is roughly based on a recipe from Mario Batali for rosemary cake, which is excellent and can be found in “The Babbo Cookbook.”


Geranium, Lemon and Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

4 Eggs
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Light Brown Sugar
2/3 C. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 T. finely chopped fresh geranium leaves
1 Lemon (zest and juice)
1 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 T. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Kosher Salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 340 F.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set-aside.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and both sugars until the mixture thickens, and turns foamy and pale. With the mixer running, gradually drizzle in the olive oil, and then add the geranium, lemon juice and lemon zest. Finally, add the flour, baking powder, and salt mixture, with the mixer on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl and finish combining.

Pour the now combined contents of the mixing bowl into an oiled 10-inch loaf pan, and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

Serve a slice as an afternoon snack, ideally with a topping of fresh whipped cream, sorbet or a fruit jam. Espresso, “corrected” with a bit of Sambuca, would be a fine accompaniment. If coffee isn’t your thing, consider vermouth, port or vin santo as excellent alternative beverage choices.

Cooking With Corn

It’s September and our garden is finished producing corn, or “maize” if you want to get all technical about it. The problem is I am not finished consuming corn. I love the stuff - on the cob, in a soup, as a muffin; you name it and corn works with it. Frankly, our garden just can’t keep up with our demand.

Thankfully, living in semi-rural northwestern New Jersey, there is no shortage of part-time farmers growing the miraculous maize plant. So, the other day I stopped by “Crazy Cooter’s” to pick-up a few ears of the good stuff. Crazy Cooter’s is the unofficial name of the junkyard / auto repair shop / farmer’s market just down the road from our home. Only in this barely-tolerant-of–the-law corner of the state would a business trifecta like Crazy Cooter’s be permitted to exist, let alone flourish. Yet, we are unaffected by the sight of oil stains and the sound of air compressors in such close proximity to our fresh produce. Where the unexposed suburbanite might frown on this establishment, those of us who have become accustomed to it say, “Bring on the corn, Cooter.”

Here are two ways to feed four people with – dare I say – only three ears of fresh corn, and some other garden goodness.

Pan-Roasted Corn, Cucumber, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

This Italy-inspired salad is only as good as the ingredients and demands the freshest produce. It is critical to cook the corn as soon as possible. Don’t take it home and store it in the fridge for a day or two. If you are not going to eat the salad the day you pick or buy the corn, then cook the corn immediately and store the cooked corn in the fridge until you are ready to make the salad.

The recipe calls for “Corno di Toro” peppers. And, yes, I am aware that the pepper in question for the corn salad is called “Corno.” Regardless, the Corno di Toro is a long, Italian heirloom pepper that is both sweet and just a little bit spicy. If you are not growing these, you should be. The plants are easy to cultivate and yield much fruit, which we use in just about everything from omelets to salsa. If you are looking for these peppers in the market, you may need to substitute with any mildly spicy variety, such as anaheim or jalapeno.

Ingredients

3 Ears of Sweet Corn

4 Tomatoes (preferably heirloom, such as Brandywine)

2 Cucumbers

2 Corno di Toro Peppers (seeds removed, thinly sliced)

1 Shallot (thinly sliced)

8oz. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

5-8 Leaves Fresh Basil (thinly sliced)

4T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1T. Balsamic Vinegar

Black Pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure

Peel away the cornhusks, which can be discarded or saved to make tamales. One at a time, stand each ear of corn on a cutting board that is covered by a clean dish towel and run your knife along the cob, scraping off the kernels. Rotate the cob, and repeat until all the kernels are removed. Do the same for each ear of corn. Reserve the cobs for another use, like making stock. Gather-up the corn kernels in the towel for easy transport and set-aside.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 T. of the oil, the thinly sliced shallot and peppers, and all of the corn kernels to the pan. Cook the corn, shallot and pepper for about 5 minutes, stirring often. The corn contains a lot of sugar, and stirring will prevent the sugars from burning. Remove the corn, shallot and peppers from the skillet and spread it out on a sheet pan to cool.

Cut the cucumbers in half, length-wise. This will expose the seeds. Using a teaspoon, scrap the seeds from the cucumbers and discard the seeds. Then, cut the cucumbers into ¼ inch thick half-moons. Slice the mozzarella cheese into similar sized half-moon shapes, as well. Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Slice the basil.

Add the cucumbers, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and the cooled corn, shallot and pepper mixture to a large serving bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Dress with remaining 3 T. of oil and balsamic vinegar.

Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread and a crisp white wine, such as Verdicchio, or a light-bodied red, such as Barbera.

Corn, Potato and Broccoli Soup

This soup is the ultimate “waste not, want not” solution for leftover corncobs and broccoli stems. It relies on the starch in the corncobs and potato for its base and body. The uncooked spinach gives the final product a vibrant green color, and the cilantro and lime emphasize the south-of-the-border roots of both corn and potato.

Ingredients

3 Quarts Spring Water

3 Corn Cobs

1 Russet Potato (peeled and roughly chopped)

3 Broccoli stems (peeled and roughly chopped) or 1 Broccoli crown (roughly chopped)

1 Clove Garlic (minced)

1 Cup Fresh Spinach (chopped)

2 T. Cilantro (chopped)

1 Lime (juice)

White Pepper (freshly cracked)

Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure

In a stockpot, combine the water, corncobs, potato, broccoli and garlic. Add 4 heavy pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potato and broccoli are soft. Remove from the heat and let cool.

When the soup has cooled, remove the corncobs and discard. Add the spinach, cilantro and limejuice. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Pass the soup through a sieve for a more refined texture, if desired.

This soup can be served cold in a glass with a twist of lime as a hot-weather faux-aperitif. But, we prefer it served warm in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream, alongside cornbread and a lager-style beer.

The Easiest Way To Organically Remove Dandelion Weeds From Your Garden

Oh, what to do about the evil lurker known, properly known as Taraxacum Officinale? Never mind that dandelion greens are an amazing source of Vitamin A and beta-carotene, and are also rich in Vitamins B, C, D, calcium, iron and other minerals. Ignore that dandelion roots are used in natural medicine as an appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and diuretic. They are horrible nasty little bits of nature that find their way into every nook and cranny of our lawns and gardens. Have you seen the bright yellow flowers they produce in spring? Disgusting!

I treat these noxious little buggers exactly the way they deserve to be treated. Here's my simple process for dandelion weed management the organic way:

Step 1: Assemble your tools - basket, gloves, and scissors/pruners.
Step 2: Step outside, saying loudly to yourself and any neighbors who may be listening, "I AM GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE NOW!"
Step 3: Pull the dandelion up at the base, getting as much of the root as you can. You won't get it all and it hardly matters. Cut off the root and flower stem for the compost pile. Put the flower tops and leaves in the basket.

Congratulations! You've organically removed dandelions from your lawn, and they are halfway read to be put in a pot. "Not fair!" you say. "They will grow back from the root that's left in the ground!" you say. True indeed, but you missed my point. I promised you information on the easiest way to remove "dandelion weeds" from your garden organically. And the easiest way to do that is to rename them "dandelion greens" and call them dinner. Done and done. However, if that does not satisfy you, I suggest you check out this article by radio garden host guru Mike McGrath consisting of actual lawn management tips for dandelion control.

As for those of you who are still reading, I leave you with Tom's basic dandelion (or any other kind of) greens recipe. Last week he made a homemade ricotta gnocchi in a sauce of dandelion greens, shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan cheese - but didn't write down the recipe. When I can get him to recreate it, I'll do another post. In the meantime, here's another great website. Wildman Steve Brill tours, lectures and writes all about foraging for wild foods. Here are a few more of his dandelion recipes. The very first leaves of spring dandelions can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed, but they get progressively more bitter as they get older. The recipe below includes boiling the greens first, which helps soften the stronger late season flavors. Although I haven't tried them yet, googling the phrase "dandelion fritters" will lead you many recipes for battered and deep fried dandelion flowers. Enjoy!

Dandelion Greens Sauteed in Olive Oil and Garlic

2 C. packed dandelion greens, washed and chopped
1/4 C. olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced or minced
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Thoroughly wash and pack dandelion greens. Add to boiling water and simmer for about five minutes until the leaves turn bright green. Immediately move greens to an ice water bath to retain the color and continue rinsing. (The boiling and rinsing helps remove the compounds that cause excessive bitterness, especially in dandelion greens that have already produced a flower). Let rest, and add olive oil to a saute pan turned on medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and saute for a few minutes to release flavor but before garlic browns. Squeeze water out of the dandelion greens and add to saute pan to continue cooking until completely wilted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe: Make Your Own Horseradish

Horseradish… dispense with the jarred stuff

By: Tom DiGangi, Jr.

After my wife walked into the house smiling broadly and displaying an enormous quantity of horseradish from the garden, I was curious. After reading the ingredients on a jar of store bought horseradish in our refrigerator, I was inspired. Why don’t we make our own?

A bit of research and a few minutes later, we were comparing our own homemade horseradish to the stuff from the jar. The difference was remarkable. Ours was, for lack of a better word, pure. The jarred horseradish was eggy and sweet, in an unpleasing way. And, the heat difference was remarkable. The homemade product was hot, a good hot. The kind of hot that makes you want to eat, then eat more, then wipe your brow and when you’re done, blow your nose. That’s worth making your own horseradish.

Horseradish (Basic Preparation)

Ingredients

1 Large Piece of Horseradish (about 5 inches)

3 T. Water

3 T. White Vinegar

Kosher Salt to taste

Procedure

Peel the horseradish with a vegetable peeler, roughly chop and add to a food processor or blender with the water and salt. Puree until smooth. Add the vinegar and puree again. If you want the final product HOT, then wait a few minutes before adding the vinegar because the acidity halts the development of heat.

Adjust the seasoning with salt. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for a month or more.

Recipe: Potato & Leek Soup ... kinda

by Tom DiGangi, Jr.

After a long absence, we returned home to the garden on the weekend after Thanksgiving. The morning temperature was 31F, the first freeze. Yet, the garden was still doing its thing. We pulled up some leeks, celery and horseradish, which were still doing fine. Then we grabbed some potatoes and garlic that were harvested earlier in the year and stored in the basement. Time for lunch!

If you are interested in traditional potato and leek soup, I highly recommend the recipe by Paul Bocuse presented in French Chefs Cooking. It is great, classic and clean. It is a staple in our house, and we cannot improve upon it. The following recipe is not traditional, but based on the founding premise of the Bocuse classic.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Leeks, white parts only sliced thin

1 Stalk Celery, white stalk from the heart of the plant sliced thin

2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

2 T. Butter

1 Quart Turkey or Chicken Stock, enough to cover the vegetables

2 T. Heavy Cream

1 T. Homemade Horseradish (see other entry for recipe)

2 T. Freshly Minced Celery Leaves

Kosher Salt to taste

Procedure:

Melt the butter in a pot and add the sliced leeks and celery stalk. It is important to only use the white parts of the leeks and celery to ensure the soup retains its white color. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes to soften. Add the sliced potatoes, season well with salt and stir. Add the stock, using enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Press the pureed soup through a sieve. If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin with a little water or milk. If too thin, return it to the pot and reduce over low heat until your desired result is reached. When the consistency is correct, add the heavy cream, horseradish and finely minced celery leaves.

Serve with crostini (toasted bread) that has been rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with melted butter. As for wine, serve with anything you like because butter and potato marry with virtually everything.

Fishing + Farming = Fabulous Fooding, by Tom DiGangi

Fishing is just like farming, except there is no weeding to do, you can’t forget to water your seedlings, and you wear funny outfits that connote, “I am a superhero.” If you have ever seen someone in chest waders, this last phrase will make sense. If not, just imagine a grown man in tights with lots of gadgets hanging from a vest. Laura, my wife and host of this blog, particularly enjoys pointing out how ridiculous I look in said outfit. I digress. The point is… you don’t see many farmers in tights.

Now that I really think about it, there are actually very few similarities between fishing and farming. But, they do share one big thing in common. A meal prepared from either the produce just picked from your garden or the fish just caught from your stream is equally delicious.

A few weeks ago, I decided to combine the two when I hooked a rainbow trout in a pocket of fast water on the stream behind our house at 7PM and ate it at 8PM on a bed of organic field greens, paired with a grassy sauvignon blanc. Technically, the one hour from hook to table doesn’t count as a “30 Minute Meal,” but Rachel Ray isn’t gutting fish and harvesting greens during the ½ hour of pain she serves-up 10 times a day on the Food Network. So, one hour to prep and cook is ok by me.

This recipe is ideal for using-up all those cold weather garden products like radishes and greens before they grow too tough and bitter this summer. If you live by the sea, not the stream, the procedure and salad combination works well for striped bass, snapper, and other small saltwater species.


Baked Wild Trout with Field Greens and Radishes

To make the fish…

Ingredients:
1 Whole Wild Trout (extremely fresh, gutted)
2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
1 Tarragon Sprig (bruised)
2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Black Pepper (freshly cracked)
Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 450F. Place the trout on a baking sheet and coat with only 1 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle the exterior and the cavity of the fish with a pinch or two of salt, then stuff the cavity with the crushed garlic cloves and tarragon. Bake the fish at 450F for 20 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and prepare for service by peeling back the skin (on one side of the fish only) to expose the flesh. Use a spoon to gently lift pieces of the flesh away from the bones, and place on a serving plate. When the one side is clean, gently pick-up the tail of the fish, thus pulling the bones in one big creepy skeleton off of the underside. Discard the bones or use them to make fish stock. Then, use the spoon again to pull the newly exposed flesh from the skin, and place on the serving plate. Finish by drizzling the remaining oil over the fish pieces, then add a squeeze of lemon, a touch of pepper and adjust the salt to taste.

To make the salad…

Ingredients:

Mixed Field Greens (about 4 loose cups)
3 Radishes
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon (juice and zest)
1 T. Dijon Mustard
Black Pepper (freshly cracked)
Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher)

Procedure:
In a large, non-reactive bowl, make the dressing by whisking the mustard, lemon zest and juice to combine. Slowly add the oil while whisking to create an emulsion. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and set aside. Select a mix of field greens. (For my 8PM trout dinner, I chose a combination of romaine, oak leaf, endive and arugula, all from the garden. My father is particularly fond of a mix called, in Italian, “tre colore,” consisting of arugula, radicchio and Belgian endive. But, anything you like is appropriate.) Cut the radishes into matchstick size strips. Add the radishes and greens into the bowl with the dressing and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Garlic Scape Original Recipes By Chef Tom

As covered in my long-winded blog entry from last year at this time called In Defense of the Lazy Gardener, I accidentally discovered that garlic has more than just the bulb to offer up for good eats. At the time, I had earmarked twisty curly Q top of my garlic plants for the compost pile. I knew that the twisty part was actually the forming flower, and that the growing flower would sap energy from my precious garlic bulb. I don't know what made me stop, but a quick google search turned up the knowledge that this part of the plant was actually an edible seasonal delicacy known as the "garlic scape". How did we live before Google? And what exactly do you do with a garlic scape?



This year, we were ready and waiting for the scapes. But more googling for recipes resulted in pesto, pesto and pesto. There had to be something else, but I am no culinary genius. As luck would have it, my husband Tom is also my personal chef, and the following blog entry is written completely by him. Enjoy the recipes, but keep in mind that Tom is Italian which means that he does not believe in actual measurements. You take some of this, a bit of that, and you make it into a great big something else. I forced him into using real numbers for the ingredients list, but feel free to adjust for personal taste.

Intro to the Garlic Scape, by Tom DiGangi

Garlic scapes are the long curly-cue stems that produce the flowers, and ultimately, the seeds in the life cycle of the garlic plant. Most people only eat the cloves that comprise the bulbs of garlic plants. But, the scape is a near-perfect, tender, juicy and green representation of pure garliciness.

For several weeks in June of each year, our family enjoys garlic scapes in virtually everything. If you grow your own garlic, live near someone who does, or have access to a farmer’s market, get a hold of these things. Here are some simple ideas of how you can enjoy them, too.


Garlic Scape & Rucola(Arugula) Pesto

Pesto is usually made with basil, but this early in the season our basil is just thinking about growing. So, we replace the herby pungency of basil with the unmistakable scent and peppery finish of rucola. Rucola is a ubiquitous Mediterranean edible weed that is a cousin to arugula, which is widely cultivated in the USA. Our rucola has been reproducing every year since 2002 when we brought some seeds home from a trip to Sicily. It smells and tastes great, plus it is carefree to grow. We just let it go to seed naturally and every spring and autumn we have a tasty reminder of the Sicilian countryside.

Ingredients:
1/2 C. (about two stems) garlic scape, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 C. Rucola or Arugula
1/4 C. pine nuts, toasted
1/4 C. Parmigano Reggiano cheese, grated
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher salt)

Procedure:
Gently toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat until the nuts become fragrant and turn just slightly brown – not black! Combine the pine nuts, garlic scape, rucola cheese, lemon zest and juice and salt in a food processor. Process until finely ground. You may have to occasionally stop and scrape the sides of the processor with a spatula. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in the oil. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve as a dip for crusty bread or hearty vegetables (e.g. roasted onions or potatoes), topping for grilled meats, or as a sauce for pasta.


Garlic Scape Romesco

This is a riff on the classic Spanish sauce/condiment, which usually relies on tomatoes. In the summer, when it seems like everything we make contains tomatoes, this variation using bell peppers is a nice change of pace. The bell peppers replace the color and sweetness, and the vinegar adds the necessary acidity.

While this recipe is more suited to late summer when peppers are producing at their peak, it is no big deal because garlic scapes freeze very well. To freeze the scapes, just cut the stems into 9 inch long pieces, lay them out on a tray and put them in the freezer. In a couple of hours, gather up the frozen scapes and put them in a one gallon-size plastic bag. Return them to the freezer and they will keep for months.

Ingredients:
1/2 C. (about two stems) garlic scapes, cut into about 1 inch lengths
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, roasted
1 dried chili pepper (type of chili is up to your heat tolerance – we like chili de arbol)
1/4 C. almonds, slightly toasted
3 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher salt)

Procedure:
Roast the bell pepper over a burner or in a very hot oven until the skin turns black. Set the blackened bell pepper aside in a bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap. After 15 minutes, rub the blackened skin from the pepper and remove the seeds and stem, and set the pepper flesh aside. Soak the dried chili in a small cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the chili from the water, coarsely chop and set aside. Gently toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat until the nuts become fragrant. Do not let them burn and turn black! Combine the garlic scape, chili, bell pepper, almonds, red wine vinegar, and salt in a food processor. Process until finely ground. You may have to occasionally stop and scrape the sides of the processor with a spatula. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in the oil. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve as a dip for crusty bread or hearty vegetables (e.g. roasted onions or potatoes), topping for grilled meats, or as a sauce for pasta.


Chilled Potato, Turnip and Garlic Scape Soup

This is a surprisingly simple, healthy and refreshing idea for the early summer. We often serve the soup out of a thermos into shot glasses with appetizers out on the deck. Doing shots of soup evokes a party atmosphere without the undesirable side effects of embarrassment, shame and a hangover that accompany shots of vodka. Although, if you insist on alcohol, add the vodka, tomato juice and Tabasco to the soup and you’ll have one hell of a Bloody Mary.

This particular recipe is evidence of the “if it grows together, it goes together” school of thought. By the end of spring when garlic scapes are ready for harvest, our Zone 6 garden is turning out beautiful turnips, creamy Yukon gold potatoes and a hedge worth of tarragon. If you’ve got a cow, then you’ve got the heavy cream covered, too, and you are officially living off the land.

Ingredients :
2 medium sized turnips, cut into ¼ inch dice
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 C. (1 stem) garlic scape, finely chopped
1 sprig of tarragon, roughly chopped, with a few whole leaves reserved for garnish
Heavy Cream
Water (spring or some other high quality)
Salt to taste (sea, grey or kosher salt)

Procedure:
Place the turnips, potatoes, garlic scape, tarragon and several pinches of salt in a stockpot and cover with the water. The water should cover the solids by about an inch. Bring to a boil, than lower to a simmer and half-cover. Cook until a fork smoothly is inserted and removed from the turnips and potatoes, about 30 minutes. Discard the tarragon sprig and let the soup cool. Puree the cooled soup in a blender or food processor. Press the pureed soup through a sieve. If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin with a little water or milk. If too thin, return it to the pot and reduce over low heat until your desired result is reached. Remember, thinner is better than thicker for a cold soup. When the consistency is correct, add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream, and chill for service. Garnish with finely minced tarragon.

Tom's 2008 garlic scape invention: Long-in-the-tooth pea & garlic scape soup