Sunshine and rain just about guarantees everything’s going to be green. The garden is lush with kale, spinach and rocket, admittedly the best is in the tunnel but it’s all zooming ahead. The outside crops are taking off again after sitting there patiently all winter. We’ll get quite some picking from both inside and outside crops until they decide to bolt and go to seed by which time this year’s seedlings should be ready to step in. As I always tell everyone at this time of the year these crops are well worth growing as from one sowing you’ll get about a nine month supply of fresh greens and they are all pick and come again crops. Even if you don’t have a vegetable patch, a small row of kale or spinach will sit prettily amongst the flowers and for a small family half a dozen plants will yield a steady supply. Just in case you are thinking of doing this we grow perpetual spinach and soft leaved kales like Raggedy Jack, Red Russian or asparagus varieties. I’m not so fond of curly kale, as although it’s robust it’s also coarse and takes longer cooking.
Without the shop to supply we have a massive amount of kale and spinach that we share with our friends and the chickens. The chickens are probably even more delighted than our friends to receive this beautiful green nutrition and the bonus is the super rich yellow yolks in the eggs that they lay.
We have a colourful crew of hens, it’s like the United Nations of poultry in the run. Brown, white, black, black and white with speckles….we have all sorts and they lay a variety of eggs in different colours and sizes.
I’ve been having fun making ‘Humpty Dumpy’ eggs with my granddaughter. Humpty Dumpty eggs, which I learnt to make at primary school, are egg shells that are repurposed as growing containers with toilet roll bodies. The egg is filled with seeds that grow and become ‘hair’ that can be snipped and eaten. They are very simple to make.
Carefully lop the top off of a large egg (any egg will do but small ones might slip down inside the toilet roll). Fill the cavity with moist compost then scatter a few seeds on top. When I was a child we used cress seeds but really anything will grow if the conditions are right – ie kept moist. I used rocket seeds this time, as I had plenty but cress, lettuce, spring onions or rocket will all do the job, each giving a different hairstyle and taking slightly different times to germinate. Rocket and cress are the fastest.
These are great fun to make and introduce children to the wonder of growing vegetables. Before filling the egg shell paint a face on it and also paint a body on the toilet roll. The shells are fragile so care is needed filling with compost. Once assembled just sit the Humpty on a windowsill, water it carefully – don’t drown it, and watch the hair grow.
Even if you are not a vegetable grower there’s plenty to forage outside this time of the year. You should be able to find wild garlic, dandelions, sorrel and nettles if you keep your eyes open.
Nettles grow in abundance once they get going. One minute I’m scanning for the small plants and the next they are three feet high and a nuisance. I’ve used them in this month’s recipe for a spinach and nettle frittata. You could use just one or the other but it makes a good combo.
Young nettles are tasty and tender. The part of the plant that needs to be picked is the tip – a bit like picking tea. If you are careful they won’t sting you but if you’re in a hurry or in doubt wear a pair of gloves. Either way use a pair of scissors to snip the tips from the plants.
Nettle and Spinach Frittata
Ingredients:
• 1 onion
• 25mls olive oil
• 5 eggs
• Large handful of young
nettle tips
• 100g – 150g spinach leaves
• 150g buffalo ricotta
• salt and pepper
Method:
Peel and chop the onion. Heat a small non-stick pan and add enough olive oil to barely cover the bottom and then add the chopped onion. Turn the heat to medium and gently cook the onion until it softens. Stir in the nettles, keep the heat on medium and cook gently until the nettles wilt and soften. Wash, drain and shred the spinach then stir in with nettles. Cook until the spinach wilts down. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Crack the eggs into a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper, whisk them to mix then stir in the wilted nettles and spinach. Break the ricotta into clumps and gently stir in, don’t over mix, you need a little lumpiness.
Put the pan back on the heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is hot pour in the nettle and egg mix, then turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook gently for three to four minutes. The frittata should be setting. Put the grill on hot and pop the frittata under to finish. Don’t leave it to go too golden, just a little. It’s better a little soft than overdone, as it’ll continue cooking off the heat. Leave to rest for few minutes before serving.
Happy Easter!
Karen
Lettercollum Kitchen Project,
Timoleague
info@lettercollum.ie
www.lettercollum.ie
