Lamb's Quarter Saag Curry

Had I thought of making this dish when I still had raw milk, I would have made some paneer to go along with it! But, I used up all of my raw milk to make yogurt, so that will have to come another day. Instead, I made a straight up saag curry, as well as a shrimp curry with tamarind and fresh peas, and a couple of baby zucchni from my garden. I almost attempted a daylily version of Nepalese style okra with jerusalem artichokes, but that got a bit too ambitious for my weekday evening. 

Both curries turned out really delicious, very distinct from one another, though I took some liberties with the latter. It was my first time using tamarind paste, which I bought at the Ethiopian market sometime last year. I love the tang! Even without curry leaves, it was still really good. That recipe inspiration is here (I also used coconut cream instead of fresh coconut, which went fine), and the only thing I'd do differently is be more attentive to the shrimp - mine overcooked because I did not turn the heat all the way off for the curry to thicken. Next time I'd let it simmer a little longer before adding the shrimp, then just serve as soon as the shrimp is cooked.

I made my lamb's quarter saag following a combination of this recipe and this one. I promptly harvested more lamb's quarters on my post dinner walk to freeze for more of this exact preparation. Yum. (Though, this morning as I was steaming them, I noticed a distinct pee smell. Some of my greens came from around my boulevard tree, and I think that was not the most judicious choice. I rinsed them again and added some extra ginger - I'm hoping for the best.) 

Lamb's quarters work especially well here because you blend them up, so you can be extra forgiving with leaves and stems (just remove the tough main stem of larger plants), but you could use any green. Note: you blend up the lamb's quarters with ginger and garlic and some jalapeno, and you add a little extra ginger/garlic later to saute. They are listed separately below, but heads up for your "mis-en-place" if you do that kind of thing. Also, the nuts here serve to thicken the saag. I liked that addition, but it would be fine without, or just add extra cream at the end. I had leftover soaked and dehydrated almonds that are soft and blend well, so I used them. If I hadn't, I would skip that.

Lamb's Quarters Saag Curry

• 4-6 cups lamb's quarters (4 if they are pretty tightly packed; this is flexible)
• 1" knob of ginger, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/8 jalapeno pepper, chopped (or more if you want extra spicy)
• 10 soaked cashews or almonds (opt)
  
• 2 T ghee or butter
• Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
• 1" cinnamon stick piece
• 2 cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 c red onions, minced (I used part onion part garlic scapes)
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
  
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tomato chopped (or 1/2 c frozen tomatoes)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• 1-2 T heavy cream to serve 

1. Prepare the lamb;s quarter puree: Steam or blanch your greens. I did this by bringing 1-2" of water to a boil in a pot,  then adding the greens and covering the whole thing. I stirred them a couple of times, so that in 2-3 minutes the greens were all wilted/steamed. You could also do a 1 minute blanch and then rinse in cold water. You don't want to overcook because you will lose the bright green. Once the greens are cool, add them, the ginger, garlic, jalapeno and nuts to a food processor and puree until smooth. 
2. For the Saag sauce: heat ghee or butter in a heavy skillet/pot over med heat. Once hot, add your whole spices: cardamom seeds, cinnnamon, cumin seeds. Saute just for 30 seconds or so, and add your minced onions. Saute until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Add your tomatoes and sea salt, and stir to combine well. The tomatoes will have lots of juice, so let that release. You want a sort of wet paste. Once the tomatoes are soft, add the garam masala. Saute 2-3 minutes. You may need to add a little extra water here to keep the mixture wet.
3. Once the sauce is thickened, lower the heat and add your green puree. Heat just for a couple of minutes, until the curry starts to bubble. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or a little hot water if it is too thick. *If you have paneer, you would also add that in now, also stir in 2-3 T cream if you prefer that to nuts. Serve with some swirled cream on top. 

This would be great with dosa, which is on my list of fermented things to try making, and also of course rice or the Indian spice Kohlrabi or again, the Nepalese style okra and jerusalem artichokes.

Creamed Lamb's Quarters with Eggs

Remember last spring when I posted about the really prolific and delicious weed Lamb's Quarters? Well, it keeps very well in the freezer if you blanch it/steam it for a few minutes, squeeze out any excess water, and freeze the greens in a baggie. And the lamb's quarters are DELICIOUS in the creamed spinach recipe I posted in November. Actually, they are better than the spinach I think because they are a bit heartier. Really, I will never go back to spinach. Lamb's quarters are so much better and I don't even need to plant them.

I recommend making a double batch for dinner one night: Eat one batch's worth for dinner (I ate some with steak and bacon) and then eat batch 2 for breakfast a la eggs florentine. Just reheat the creamed lamb's quarters/spinach in a saucepan or cast iron and then either poach your eggs right in the greens, or make a couple of eggs to put on top. This would be excellent on some ham with hollandaise sauce if you want to go for the whole shebang. *Note: I used a little less coconut milk/cream than the original creamed spinach recipe, and I think it turned out nicely. I also played with the ratios and used a little more coconut cream than dairy cream. I suspect this recipe would be good with all coconut milk/cream if you want to go that route.

Spicy Lamb's Quarters

SO many lamb's quarters!

Last weekend was a giant harvest of the 3 foot tall lamb's quarters at the north-side homestead. They took over the beds and aisles that are now planted with tomatoes and peppers, resulting in A LOT of lamb's quarters (two 5 gallon buckets that are stuffed full)!  I feel happy that the beds got a successive "planting" (if I can call the edible weed growth a planting). Seriously, if you have not tried it yet, this plant is really delicious - see post from a week or two ago about identifying this weed (there are lots of online recipes too).

Much of the harvest will go in the freezer for soup, but the stuff I kept out will likely go to this recipe created by My Charming Companion. It tastes sort of creamy with some nice spice and reminds me a little of East African collard greens (that I think I've had a few places, but including the Blue Nile). These are SO good!

Picture these but more creamy & yellow, with onions*

Spicy Lamb's Quarters, serves 2
1 small onion, chopped
4 c. chopped lambs quarters (or several big handfuls)
2 T coconut oil
1/4 c. coconut milk
2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1) Heat coconut oil in a cast iron pan. Add onions and saute 3-5 minutes.
2) Add spices and stir.
3) When onions are translucent, add 1/2 of the greens with some water to steam and cover the pan. After a few minutes, add the rest of the greens plus the coconut milk and stir. Cover again to steam the next batch. Add a little more water if needed. Let cook a few more minutes so that greens are wilted and cooked through.
4) Salt to taste. Just before serving sprinkle with apple cider vinegar.

*Photographic side note: I am still without camera. I am somewhat bereft at this, but making due. If I had the means to be taking pictures, you would definitely have more accurate reflections of these dishes, including a shot of the two 5 gallon buckets filled with greens. There would also likely be a photo of the garden because it is looking so dang good right now - though perhaps that would not translate to photo as much as in real life. : )

Lamb's Quarters, aka free spinach

Have you seen this weed growing prodigiously this spring? It's in my garden beds and along my house and sidewalk. And it is edible and tastes like spinach. I love free food!

I just cut off the top couple branches of leaves, wash the whole thing (it has a sort of powdery coating on the leaves that I like to rinse a little), and then chop them up (stems and all) and steam them and eat them like I would spinach.  Over the past two weeks I have had them in stir fry, soup, and with eggs a la egg bake. Read a little more about how to identify lamb's quarters here.

Things felt especially bountiful and forage-y when My Charming Companion came home with several pounds of morel mushrooms last week, which lead to many meals of morels, nettles (another edible "weed"), lamb's quarters and a general feeling of joyfulness. I started singing that song that tends to be sung in winter (It's the most wonderful time of the year) but changed the words to better reflect spring and growing food and free things. : )

Anyway - here is a soup recipes that My Charming Companion produced out of nowhere that turned out great. We also made some creamy versions of soup where the lamb's quarters (and sometimes nettles) were blended up with some broth and cooked mushrooms. It was very free form and very tasty.

Brothy Soup with meat:
Heat (homemade) chicken stock in a pot
Add 4 green onions/scallions, chopped
Throw in whatever veggies you have on hand: sliced purple cabbage, red/orange peppers, mushrooms, etc.
Fill the pot with lamb's quarters and cook down
Chop some bits of steak or chicken to toss in for the last few minutes (they will cook very fast)
Flavor with sriracha, splash of tamari, salt, and sesame oil