Summer Berries!

Bloomfield's red berries are here! Raspberries are fragile gems of summer flavor that stain my skin and open my palette to the possibilities of summer fruit. They are particully delicious with a small pitcher of cream or eaten in the morning with muesli. I love them layered in a white cakes, in a financier or just eaten unadulterated,  raw and freshly picked.  The brambles love the cool mornings at Bloomfield. And we love that they love it here! 

Here is a seasonal recipe for your raspberries that is super easy!

Simple Raspberry Tart

 A crisp pastry, a sweet cream and a perfect berry = a simple tasty raspberry tart

7 ounces puff pastry ( homemade or store bought: Dufour from Whole Foods)

1 cup of heavy cream ( add 3 tablespoons of sugar if you like it sweet or more depending)

2 cups of raspberries

Layer a sheet of puff pastry on a baking sheet and score the rim 3/4 from the edge all the way around the perimeter. Prick the plane with a fork. Bake in a hot oven at 375F for 20 minutes until crisp. Let cool.  Pile on whipped cream and then pile on the berries. Make sure the berries are dry after washing them and the cream is thick but not butter. Serve immediately.

 

Fava Season

Not day passes at Bloomfield that ceases to surprise and stun me with beauty and wonderment.  Whether it's witnessing the bees visiting the wildflowers in the fields or seeing bananas growing and green on the lofty trees in the hothouse. Our medicinal tea garden is in bloom too. So lovely! It's fava bean season again and this recipe will surely celebrate my favorite Italian legume. This one uses both Bloomfield's beans and garlic!

Fava Bean and Garlic Puree

1 1/4 lb. fresh fava beans in their pod (about 1 1/4 cup shelled)

1-2 green garlic stalks ( scapes even better)

1 teaspoon fresh mint, optional

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or pecorino

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Fine sea salt, to taste

Shell fava beans and blanch them for one minute, drain them and plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Drain them again, then remove the skin from the beans to bring their bright green core to light. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Chop coarsely a stalk green garlic. Spread all the garlic onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and sprinkle with olive oil and a bit of sea salt. Bake for 15.

Put fava beans and garlic in the food processor and pulse to chop. Add herbs and process some more, then add the cheese and process briefly. While pulsing, dribble the oil into the feeding tube, then the lemon juice. Finally, sprinkle a bit of salt and process to a smooth paste by pulsing for several seconds at a time.

Let the spread rest for 20 minutes or so, then taste and adjust seasoning (salt, lemon juice). Refrigerate until ready to use and take out of the refrigerator in advance, so that the spread in not cold when you serve it. Serve on toast or  even use it in pasta like a pesto.

Preserving Spring

It’s been a couple of months since writing on our blog and now with Spring in full force, we're back. Even with little rain over the winter, the fields at Bloomfield Farms have shifted from grasses, to flowers and baby shoots of green. We have young fava beans, grape leaves, snap peas and shoots, chives, green garlic and loads of edible flowers.  So how can we celebrate Spring? One way is to preserve grape leave and make dolmas—a savory symbol of the season. This recipe includes fava beans and fresh herbs and a technique to preserve your own grape leaves.

Preserved Grape Leaves

Makes 1 pint

20 to 40 grape leaves, stems removed

Salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

pint jars

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough salt to make it taste like the sea. Get another large pot of water ready for the mason jars and canning lids (the rings, not the gaskets). Get a large bowl of ice water ready too. Boil the grape leaves for 30 to 45 seconds, then plunge into the ice water to cool. Drain them. Take about 6 grape leaves at a time and roll them up into a cigar from the side — not the top or bottom. Pack the grape leaves into the jar, making sure you have about 1 inch of space at the top of the jar. Add lemon juice to each pint jar. Bring the water you used to cook the grape leaves back to a boil and ladle it into the jars. Make sure the grape leaves are covered with the brine. Wipe the edge of the pint jar with a clean towel and seal the jar. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. These will keep for a year.

Spring Dolmas with fava beans and herbs

Makes 15-20

 22-25 fresh vine leaves (spray-free), or a jar of preserved vine leaves ( extra leaves if you have them)

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup feta cheese

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 minced garlic cloves or one head of green garlic and include a bit of the green stalk

1/2 cup medium grain rice, washed and drained ( jasmine or basmati ok too)

2 tablespoons pine nuts or other nut like almonds

2 tablespoons currants

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped mint

2 tablespoons cilantro

1 tablespoons marjoram

1 tablespoon of  chives

1/2 tea spoon fine sea salt ( or to taste)

freshly ground black pepper

lemon zest of 1 lemon

 1 cup water, extra

the juice of 1 large lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil, extra

If using preserved vine leaves carefully separate them under running cold water. Rinse well, then place in a bowl of cold water. If using fresh, trim the stalks off the fresh vine leaves, then cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and plunge several leaves in at a time, leaving them for 1-2 minutes before removing with tongs to a bowl of cold water. When all are done, drain, shake off excess water and snip off the stems.

Heat the first measure of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic gently until soft, then add the fresh fava’s that are already prepped by shelling them, blanching them and taking off the outer skin. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring then add nuts, currants, parsley, mint, and other herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat. Cook the rice. Once it’s cooked add the herb mixture to the rice mixture. When cool enough, add the feta cheese and lemon zest.

Place the vine leaves smooth-side-down on a clean surface, a few at a time. Put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each leaf. Fold the stem end up, followed by the sides, then roll up tightly to form a log shape.

 Use any torn leaves to line the base of a small heavy-based frying pan, then put the dolmades in the pan, in one layer, seam-side down. Pack them as close as possible to prevent them unfolding during cooking. Cover the top with more leaves. Combine the 1 cup of water with lemon juice and the last measure of olive oil and pour over dolmades. Place a small plate over the top of them, to hold them in place then top with the lid. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a very low simmer and cook for about 1 hour, or until they are very tender. Remove from the heat and let sit, without taking the lid off until cool. When cool, transfer to a container, cover and chill until serving time. Serve with an extra squeeze of lemon.

What is a Shrub?

 A shrub has many definitions. A nickname for a former president, a woody plant smaller than a tree and most importantly, a vinegar-based drink made at Bloomfield Farms. "Drinking vinegars" aka shrubs have recently got some attention from mixologists and chefs who use them in diluted forms to create refreshing drinks. Our version is a base of feijoa and apple cider vinegar with some basil, kaffir lime, mountain mint cane sugar. The syrup will last up to four months in the refrigerator after it's opened and it mellows with time. The key is shake it up before using and to dilute it with sparkling water or a prosecco and lemon slice for a start then you can experiment with vodka or other favorite alcohols. 

The box delivery this week includes a small bottle of feijoa shrub, Bloomfield pesto ( add your own cheese), a bottle of lacto- fermented pickles of kohlrabi, carrots, daikon, coriander seeds collected from our own plants and chili. We also have collards greens, micro mix, onions, herbs ( rosemary , thyme, magoram, and oregano).

Lacto fermentation: a phenomenon that allowed people to preserve foods for extended periods of time before the advent of refrigeration or canning. It involves a simple mixture of salt and water to form an acid, which acts as a preservative. The simplest form of lacto fermentation is the venerable pickle.

Recipe for a New Year

A wonderful way to use your pesto is to eat it with fresh Dungeness crab. To cook a crab and clean it- see this "Intructables" or just buy precooked crab. Then get some good quality linguine —my favorite "Rustichella d'Abruzzo"— cook al' dente and mix in your pesto. This bottle does not have cheese already added so add your own top quality parmesan. Serve the pasta as a side dish to your cracked crab or add crab picked from the shells and mix it in the hot pasta. Making pasta is a great way to extent the crab and it adds a wonderfully rich flavor. Another option is to make a dip for the crab with the pesto. Just heat up the pesto with a little olive oil and use it as a condiment. 

                                   Happy New Year!!