Balmy Spring days are perfect for alfresco dining. The taste of Spring is light and fresh … sweet peas, tender asparagus, silverbeet, parsley, new potatoes, Spring milk cheeses, golden eggs, new season’s olive oil and strawberries.
Freshly plucked greens, eggs and new season’s oil are my favourite Spring ingredients. Following a Winter of free-ranging on lush grass and juicy bugs, our chooks produce their richest yolks. To really appreciate golden yolks you’ll need freshly laid free range eggs cooked simply – maybe lightly poached and spilling onto toasted sour dough with a few flakes of salt.
The sensational pungency of early pressed extra virgin olive oil is Spring in a bottle - ready to pour onto and into just about everything. Swirl oil into spring vegetable soup, pour onto herb salads and pasta, drizzle over vegetables, add to bread and cakes, and use just a slick for pan frying fish.
To celebrate the start of Spring enjoy a lunch of garden greens frittata with lightly cooked asparagus, followed by goat’s curd topped with strawberries and new season’s honey.
Spring Green Frittata (this is seriously good)
Ingredients:
• 1 kilo of garden green leaves (silverbeet, spinach, or any seasonal greens)
• 1 cup of seasonal herbs (parsley) finely chopped
• ½ cup of fresh peas, podded & blanched
• 8 free range eggs
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 150g grated parmesan
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 230C. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, the garlic and then the leaves, cook for 5 minutes, then drain well and squeeze out all the water. Chop finely and mix well, season with salt & pepper and half the parmesan.
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, season with salt & pepper, and beat. Mix in the greens mixture, add herbs and peas, stir to combine.
Coat the base of a heavy based frying pan with olive oil and bring to a medium heat, then pour in the egg & greens mixture, leaving to cook until only just set. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan, drizzle with olive oil and place in the heated oven for a few minutes, or until the frittata is well browned on top.
Slice and serve straight from the pan or on a wooden board.
Spring Asparagus
• 20 almonds – skin on
• 20 freshly picked asparagus spears (adjust cooking time to thickness, you want them to retain some firmness)
• 2 tbspn new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbspn tarragon leaves
• salt flakes & fresh ground black pepper
Put almonds into a heavy pan over medium heat for a few minutes, toast gently, remove from the heat and set aside. When the almonds are cool, slice them lengthways into slithers.
Fill a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Trim the woody bases of the asparagus and drop the spears into the boiling water, blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, drain in a colander and run under lots of cold water until completely cool, then pat them dry on kitchen paper.
Put the spears into a bowl and mix with the other ingredients, toss well, taste and adjust the seasoning.
Freshly plucked greens, eggs and new season’s oil are my favourite Spring ingredients. Following a Winter of free-ranging on lush grass and juicy bugs, our chooks produce their richest yolks. To really appreciate golden yolks you’ll need freshly laid free range eggs cooked simply – maybe lightly poached and spilling onto toasted sour dough with a few flakes of salt.
The sensational pungency of early pressed extra virgin olive oil is Spring in a bottle - ready to pour onto and into just about everything. Swirl oil into spring vegetable soup, pour onto herb salads and pasta, drizzle over vegetables, add to bread and cakes, and use just a slick for pan frying fish.
To celebrate the start of Spring enjoy a lunch of garden greens frittata with lightly cooked asparagus, followed by goat’s curd topped with strawberries and new season’s honey.
Spring Green Frittata (this is seriously good)
Ingredients:
• 1 kilo of garden green leaves (silverbeet, spinach, or any seasonal greens)
• 1 cup of seasonal herbs (parsley) finely chopped
• ½ cup of fresh peas, podded & blanched
• 8 free range eggs
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 150g grated parmesan
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 230C. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, the garlic and then the leaves, cook for 5 minutes, then drain well and squeeze out all the water. Chop finely and mix well, season with salt & pepper and half the parmesan.
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, season with salt & pepper, and beat. Mix in the greens mixture, add herbs and peas, stir to combine.
Coat the base of a heavy based frying pan with olive oil and bring to a medium heat, then pour in the egg & greens mixture, leaving to cook until only just set. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan, drizzle with olive oil and place in the heated oven for a few minutes, or until the frittata is well browned on top.
Slice and serve straight from the pan or on a wooden board.
Spring Asparagus
• 20 almonds – skin on
• 20 freshly picked asparagus spears (adjust cooking time to thickness, you want them to retain some firmness)
• 2 tbspn new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbspn tarragon leaves
• salt flakes & fresh ground black pepper
Put almonds into a heavy pan over medium heat for a few minutes, toast gently, remove from the heat and set aside. When the almonds are cool, slice them lengthways into slithers.
Fill a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Trim the woody bases of the asparagus and drop the spears into the boiling water, blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, drain in a colander and run under lots of cold water until completely cool, then pat them dry on kitchen paper.
Put the spears into a bowl and mix with the other ingredients, toss well, taste and adjust the seasoning.
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