Shirred Eggs with Grilled Ham, Peppers and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
What comes to mind when you think of ham and eggs?
Shirred duck eggs with grilled smoked ham & peppers, roasted tomatillo salsa and fried tortillas..
Shirred Eggs with Grilled Ham & Peppers, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
For the Salsa
(adapted from a recipe by Rick Bayless)
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved
4 fresh serrano chiles, stemmed
1 small white onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon non-refined sugar (optional)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons whey (optional)
filtered water
Broil the tomatillos and chiles until cooked through and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degree and roast onions and garlic (turning often) until well browned, about 15 minutes.
Pulse the chiles, onions and garlic until chunky and pour into a bowl. Purée the tomatillos and cilantro and combine with the chile mixture. Add whey if using, thin with water, season to taste with salt and add sugar if its too tart or spicy for you.
If you’re using whey, jar the salsa and allow it to stand on the counter overnight before transferring to the refrigerator for up to several weeks. Otherwise, jar, refrigerate and use within 3 days.
For the eggs, crack 2 duck eggs (substitute chicken eggs) into a buttered ramekin. Pour 1 tablespoon cream over the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Place the ramekin inside another larger ramekin and pour in enough hot water to come 1/2 way up the smaller ramekin. Bake at 325 degrees until set, about 12 minutes.
Cut tortillas into thin strips then fry in a bit of oil or leaf lard. Griddle the ham and roast the peppers. Slice the peppers on the bias. Arrange everything on a plate as shown, and drizzle with salsa.
-
- Shirred Eggs
Pickled Red Onions (probiotic)
Love the idea of making and eating healthy, pro-biotic, homemade sauerkraut or kimchi, but not too crazy about the flavor, or just want to try something different? You might like this super-easy, not-too-tart recipe for pickled red onions..
Pickled Red Onions
(adapted from recipes by David Lebovitz and Sally Fallon)
3/4 cup organic white vinegar
3 tablespoons non-refined sugar
1 pinch of sea salt
1 bay leaf
5 whole allspice berries
5 whole cloves
1 dried chile pepper
1 large red onion, peeled, and thinly sliced into rings
2 tablespoons whey
Heat all ingredients except the onions in a non-reactive pan until boiling.
Add the onions, reduce the heat to low and stir for 60 seconds.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Stir in 2 tablespoons whey, then transfer all to a glass jar, allowing at least 1 inch headroom.
Cover and let stand at room temperature for 48-72 hours before transferring to the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Serve as a condiment or side-dish- pickled red onions are particularly good with Mexican-style pork dishes.
Ready for more? Try 10 Ways to Get More Probiotics (without Dairy)
at The Nourished Kitchen
Roasted, Raw and Fermented: Heirloom Salsa
Ah, the bounty of a Texas summer!
Heirloom Salsa
This homemade salsa combines the dark smokiness of roasted heirloom tomatoes, garlic, sweet onions and peppers with the fresh taste of raw tomatoes, cilantro and lime.
As good as this is, it is even better if allowed to ferment into a pro-biotic riot of Southwest flavor..
For 1 pint
1 large heirloom tomato, quartered
1 medium Texas 1015 onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
1-2 jalapeño peppers
1 mild red New Mexico pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 chile chipotle (Dorado or Morita), soaked, toasted and chopped
1 small lime
2 tablespoons whey
fresh cilantro
Roast 3/4 of the tomatoes, 1/2 the onions and all of the garlic and peppers (except the chipotle) on a comal in a 500 degree oven until slightly blackened. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, steep 1 dried chipotle in hot water until soft and pliable.
Split the re-hydrated chipotle open and discard the stem and seeds. Toast the chipotle with cumin seeds until browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Eat within a day or two, or add 2 tablespoons of whey and allow to stand on the counter for 24 hours before transferring to the refrigerator for up to a few weeks.
This post is part of Food Renegade’s excellent Fight Back Fridays
Sour Cherry Scones with Vanilla Cream
A scone is a leavened quick-bread of Scottish origin.
Organic soaked wheat and malted barley flour, pastured butter, cacao nibs, dried cherries and raw cream..
Soak 1 /1/2 cups of organic whole wheat flour in 1/3 cup filtered water and homemade whey overnight. Soaked flour is easier to digest, thereby increasing the bioavailability of the nutrients.
Pour fresh raw cream into a stainless steel or enameled pan. Add a split and scraped vanilla bean and heat the cream very slowly until the surface begins to wrinkle, and then continue to heat until thickened, about 1 hour over low heat (do not let it boil, or you’ll have to start over). Allow to cool to room temperature; this is the vanilla cream.
Stir 1/2 cup of malted barley flour into the soaked wheat flour and pour into a glass mixing bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt and then cut in 4 tablespoons pastured butter. Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add 3/4 cup raw milk, 1/2 cup of raw cacao nibs and a cup of coarsely chopped, dried tart cherries.
Work by hand into a soft, slightly wet dough. Mixture will be quite thick and a little sticky.
Drop heaping tablespoonful of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with rapadura and bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Serve warm with additional cacao nibs and vanilla cream.
This post is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival
Show Me The Whey pt. 2
In an earlier post, I took at look a using yoghurt as a source of liquid whey, which in turn can be used to make all sorts of great stuff like lacto-fermented ketchup or raisin chutney. I also touched on some of the ways to use the solids that are left after the whey is removed.
In Show Me The Whey part 2, I take a closer look at some of the ways to use those solids, including a fresh cream cheese replacement and the traditional Middle-eastern labneh and oil-preserved, spice-coated dried labneh balls, all of which may be made at a cost of less than $5.
Once separated from its liquid whey, the solid labneh is ready for use as a replacement for cream cheese, including everything from a sweet or savory spread to crab & cream cheese wontons to cheesecake. In this form, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to about a week, a little longer if salted.
Here, I’ve spread labneh on some thin pumpernickel (made from whole-grain sprouted rye) and topped with lingonberries & rosemary, fresh chives & black sea salt flakes and homemade orange-ginger jam with red pepper. It would work just as nicely on a sprouted bagel with smoked salmon..
Labneh on Pumpernickel with Assorted Toppings
Another good use for labneh is as labneh balls, which are made by rolling the labneh into balls, removing the remaining water by air-drying on absorbent paper for a day or so, rolling in spices such as dried mint or za’atar (sumac, thyme, sesame seeds and salt) and then preserving in olive oil. Made this way, the labneh will last indefinitely on the counter (no refrigeration needed), or at least until it gets eaten..
This post is part of The Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter Thursday
Show Me the Whey pt. 1
(Please also see Show Me the Whey part 2)
I use whey for all sort of things here and am often asked both how to make it and what to do with the leftover solids. Here’s a really easy demo..
You’ll need a strainer, clean cloth, bowl or jar and a tub of plain yoghurt. Be sure to use plain, cultured whole milk yoghurt without gelatin.
Line the strainer with the cloth, pour in the yoghurt and fold the towel over to keep it clean. Let it sit on the counter overnight. That’s it!
In the morning, you will have collected approximately 12 ounces of clear, greenish looking whey. Pour the whey into a jar, cover tightly and refrigerate. It will keep up to 6 months.
The leftover solids (roughly 18 ounces) are variously referred to as strained yoghurt, yoghurt cheese, labneh or dahi. By any name, it is similar in taste and texture to cream cheese, which is how I typically use it.
It’s great plain, with fruit, or with herbs and spices. I’ve added Lebanese Za’atar (sumac berries, toasted sesame and sea salt) to half, and fresh oregano, basil and garlic to the other half. The cheese will keep up to 1 month in the fridge.
