Vermont Special: Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

Occasionally I've posted about our trips up to Vermont.  Aside from the fact that anyone could find a bounty of local food stuff in that region, I've also mentioned that we are lucky to have (currently) Vermont-local family who also greatly appreciate great local products.  That family also happens to be the source of my most authentic Chinese recipes. Again, this combination has served me well.  

We arrived home from our last Vermont trip laden with a multitude of greens picked right from the family garden and a carton of the oddest shaped (and tastiest!) eggs I've ever seen courtesy of Earl.  I've cooked with spinach and arugula a million times, and so these were slotted into familiar recipes.  What, however, would I do with the great abundance of Chinese chives? 

Chinese chives are also known as garlic chives which should give you a pretty decent sense of their flavor profile.  When I took a nibble of the uncooked chives, they tasted like ramps on crack with a heavy dose of garlic.  Yes, please! Once cooked, the flavor does become more subtle, but not much.  

In the past, I've pretty much exclusively had these lovely greens chopped up in pork dumplings (and maybe once sauteed on their own).  Life has been busy and while dumplings are on the list for future adventures, this was not happening in the middle of the week without planning. 

Action shot: A shoots while I whisk.Once accompanied by Earl's eggs, the chives pretty much cook themselves.  In a traditional family interpretation, I scrambled four of the largest, most golden yolks you have ever laid eyes on with a mountain of chives.  Usually a side dish, we ate it as a main course served over rice with a spicy cucumber and radish salad.  

It would have been satisfying even without the esteemed provenance of our eggs and chives, but the flavors were elevated to fabulous by keeping it close to home.  If you don't have access to my particular purveyors, good farmers' market eggs will do and I have seen the Chinese chives at the Union Square Greenmarket.  Give it a try! 

Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

• 1 large bunch of Chinese chives, chopped in roughly 2 inch lengths 
• 3-4 farm-freshest eggs you can find, beaten
• 1-2 tbsp light tasting oil (olive oil is fine, but something light is preferred), divided. 
• pinch of sea salt

1. Heat half of oil in large pan. Pour beaten eggs into oil and cook about halfway.  Remove eggs from pan and set aside. 
2. Heat remaining oil in same pan.  Add chives and stir fry over high heat.  When almost cooked and still bright green, add eggs to chives.  Sprinkle with salt and cook until just formed, but still moist. 
3. Enjoy over rice. 

Everything's Coming up Pickles!

It seems like everywhere I turn someone or another is talking about pickles. Since produce is starting to pop up in the farmers markets, I suppose it's time to get preserving!

I've fallen down on the job with my canning challenge, but I intend to catch up one of these days. In the meantime, I've taken it upon myself to play with some quick pickles.

These center on radishes which are popping up in both your traditional red and the adorable Easter egg color bunches which make me just too happy for words. Yes, my friends, it appears I'm a radish dork.

The first pickle just features radishes and has a tangy sweet ginger flavor which mimics a pickle one might find on a Chinese dinner table (so A tells me). It is bright and refreshing and got a non-radish eater to ask for more.

The second recipe is more of a brine and the radishes share the stage with cucumbers. This one relies on garlic and black pepper for flavor. In a surprising twist, this dark horse stole the show at a recent lunch party.

Both are surprisingly easy and can easily be doubled or tripled in case of a party. Or a recently converted radish fan. Enjoy!

Quick Radish Pickles (adapted from Gourmet magazine)

• 1/2 bunch/lb radishes (about 7), quartered
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 (1-inch) piece peeled ginger, cut into thin matchsticks (1 tablespoon)

1. Toss radishes with 1 tsp salt in a small bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.  Drain in a colander, but do not rinse. 
2. Heat vinegar with sugar over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. 
3. Remove from heat.  Pour over radishes and add ginger.  
4. Marinate, chilled for 2 hours and up to 1 day.  (They taste great after one full day of marinating!)

Brined Cucumbers and Radishes (adapted from Gourmet magazine)

For additional recipes in the Grilled Chicken Summer Salad, read more http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Chicken-Summer-Salad-354215#ixzz0ozPq5Zid

• 4 cups water
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 bunch radishes
• 4 Persian cucumbers or 1 seedless cucumber
• 1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

1. Boil water with salt, sugar, garlic, and peppercorns in a 4-quart pot, uncovered, 10 minutes.
2. While brine boils, trim and halve radishes. Halve cucumbers lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
3. Remove brine from heat. Add radishes and cucumbers and let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, discarding garlic and peppercorns. Transfer radishes and cucumbers to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain well in colander.
4. Transfer to a large bowl and chill, uncovered, about 20 minutes.
5. If using parsley, toss with fresh herbs and serve. 

Ramp Carnival! Spaghetti with Ramps and Ramp-Infused Olive Oil

It's that time again! All of a sudden, whispers of ramps hit Twitter and of course I could think of nothing else.  I hit the Borough Hall Farmers' Market this past weekend and found ramps at Wilklow Orchards and Rexcroft Farm (Wilklow Orchards had given the Twitterworld the heads up on Friday). 

Though I've enjoyed ramps at such local lovelies as Lunetta in Cobble Hill, I'd never cooked with them, so I bought myself one little bunch and resolved to make the Mario Batali Babbo Spaghetti with Ramps recipe that I've been holding onto since last year. 

And to add a little twist, I thought I'd preserve some of them either by pickling the bulbs or making a confit.  The pickling recipes called for loads more ramps than I wanted to invest in right away, so I went with a ramp confit recipe from The Improvisational Cook.  I've had this book around for years, but haven't done much with it.  Now I will - I definitely love the approach.  Take a basic recipe and play with it any number of different ways to get exciting new dishes. 

Because I just had my little bunch of ramps, there are not so many bulbs in my confit, but I was able to infuse about 16 ounces of extra virgin olive oil.  This seems reasonable to me since it is meant to be kept in the fridge for 2-3 weeks and not to be preserved long term.

When I had finished with the infusion, I sauteed some bread crumbs (1 slice of diced whole wheat bread) in just a bit of the infused oil, a nod to the Amateur Gourmet's recent post on bread crumbs and croutons.  I boiled up some spaghetti and sauteed the thin white/purple stems of my ramps in regular olive oil with some chili pepper flakes.  Once the spaghetti was ready, I tossed it in the skillet and added the ramp greens to wilt.  I drizzled a touch more infused oil over the pasta, cracked some black pepper and grated a touch of pecorino, finishing things off with a good sprinkle of breadcrumbs.

The result: light, spring-infused and satisfying.  Love!

Sausage and Leek Pasta, or New Experiences with Local Pork

The last couple of weeks have been intense in Forager land, with excitement happening as far away as Mexico and, of course, right here in Brooklyn.  I'm back on track on this spring day that feels like summer to tell you about a recipe that was born out of a winter day that suddenly turned into spring.  

I love spring! It offers up brief baths of sunshine in the coldest days of winter and, for a couple of weeks, plays hide and seek as well.  On one of the first beautiful spring days, I hit the Grand Army Plaza Farmers' Market to take advantage of the textile recycling and see what was on offer.

In poking around the booths, I found Bradley Farm , based in New Paltz, NY, with beautiful pork sausage on display.  I loaded up on onions for the Tigress Can Jam and got some late winter butternut squash and greens.  These seemed like the perfect ingredients for a last cold weather casserole, until spring came out from hiding in full force, screaming for something lighter - less squash, more leeks.

I went with a recipe from Lidia Bastianich using sausage, leeks and campanelle.  I've actually not made one of her recipes before and can't imagine why I never did.  The recipe was simple, flavorful and really beautiful.  I found tricolor vegetable radiatore at Trader Joe's that mimicked the campanelle just enough to catch the sauce and bits of sausage.  It also called for just a small amount of sausage which stretched a pricey and amazingly tasty product a long way. 

Sausage and Leek Pasta (adapted from Lidia Bastianich)

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2/3 lb sweet Italian sausage (casings removed), crumbled
• 2 large leeks, trimmed, light green and white parts cut into 1/2-inch pieces, washed well, and drained
• 1/2 small white onion, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups frozen young peas
• 1 cup homemade or low-salt chicken broth
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. campanelle or other shaped, dried pasta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving if you like

1. Heat large pot of salted water for the pasta.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage, breaking up the lumps, until golden, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook for 1 minute.
4.  Add 1 Tbs. of the butter, the peas, and the broth. Heat to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, cover the skillet, and set aside; keep warm.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot over low heat. Add the sausage and leek sauce to the pasta and toss well. Remove the pot from the heat, add the remaining 1 Tbs. butter and the grated cheese; toss well.
6. Transfer to a warmed serving platter or individual bowls. Serve immediately, with more grated cheese on the side, if you like.