Karin's Week Nineteen Recipe: Ramps 'n' Taters

Last year we had discovered ramps at our local Farmer's Market, and loved the way they tasted. What are ramps, you ask? They are sort of like a combination of leeks and green onions.  They can be called Wild Leeks, and are only available in the early spring. This year, we saw them again, and I decided to look for a recipe to use them with. I found several, but this seemed the easiest and I had all ingredients on hand.

Ramps 'n' Taters

4 or 5 large potatoes, diced
1 lb bacon
1.5 lb ramps, cleaned and cut up (we used about 13, and only the white bits)
6 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry diced potatoes in bacon grease for 3-4 minutes, then add ramps, and cook until potatoes are done. Add eggs and scramble with potato mixture. Place bacon on top, and simmer for 2 minutes until heated through.

This was excellent. And easy. And tasty. Although, we did take out about 1/2 the bacon fat before putting the eggs in, as otherwise I think we'd have had bacon grease soup. And we crumbled the bacon into the pan at the end. We had this for a weekend breakfast, and would definitely make it again. It also reheats well in the microwave, if you can't finish it all in one sitting. There was also discussion that this would make a great camping breakfast, using green onions instead of the ramps. I think the camping version may be trialled later this summer...

Jennifer's Week Eleven Recipe - Brussels Sprouts Gratin

Ok, I like brussels sprouts when they are cooked correctly. They can go horribly wrong if not prepared right. I find pickled brussels sprouts delicious; I will eat them right of the jar. I think it comes from the fact that I ate them for the first time voluntarily; they were never forced on me when I was growing up. (My mother's casserole is another story...) I'm also trying to get my family to eat a wider variety of foods, so this was an experiment. I found the recipe from allrecipes.com - here.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

1 pound Brussels sprouts, cleaned and trimmed

2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (doubled this. It's bacon!)

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter, cut into tiny pieces (I skipped this. With heavy cream and bacon involved, I figured this could be skipped)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook uncovered until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, then immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold to stop the cooking process. Once the Brussels sprouts are cold, drain well, and cut in halves or quarters, depending on size. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until limp and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in the Brussels sprouts. Season with salt and pepper then toss for about 1 minutes to evenly distribute the seasonings. Arrange bacon and Brussels sprouts on the prepared baking dish. Pour cream evenly over the Brussels sprouts, then sprinkle breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Distribute pieces of butter over the bread crumbs.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Well, I liked it. My guys could never have it again and be perfectly happy. So, I guess I need to find some other people who will enjoy this dish.

Jennifer's Week Four Recipe - Quiche Lorraine

This recipe comes from France: The Beautiful Cookbook - Authentic Recipes from the Regions of France. I've had this book for nearly 11 years and have made only desserts out of it before this. The recipe has you make shortcrust pastry for the crust (another recipe in the book) but I made it with some left over refrigerated pie crust. I also did not have a tart pan, so I used a pie pan instead.



Quiche Lorraine (Egg and Bacon Quiche)

8oz (250g) shortcrust pastry
8oz (250g) thinly sliced bacon
2oz (50g) butter
3 eggs
1 cup (8oz/250ml) heavy (double) cream or creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 pinches of freshly ground nutmeg

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F (215C). Lightly butter a deep 9 to 10 inch tart pan. Roll out the pastry and line the tin, crimping the edge. Refrigerate until needed. Remove rind from the bacon and cut the bacon into small pieces. Drop these into a small saucepan of boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, rinse under cold running water and pat dry. Melt half the butter in a nonstick 8-in (20 cm) skillet and lightly fry the bacon, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Drain on paper towels.

2. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork until blended, adding the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

3. Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Scatter bacon over the bottom of the pastry. Pour egg mixture and dot with the remaining butter. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the quiche is lightly browned. Serve hot.


Would I make this again? Yes. It went over well, even if the only thing Erik was interested in eating was "plain bacon not in a pie".