Thursday, April 2, 2015

Springtime recipes: Hop shoots and dandelion greens


Check out these recipes from LFM members Trevor and Sarah:

Risotto di Bruscandoli (Venetian hop shoot risotto) 
300 gm hop shoots
300 gm arborio or carnaroli rice
½ onion or 1 shallot, chopped fine
60 gm butter
1 glass dry white wine
1 L broth (vegetable or chicken)
75 gm parmesan cheese

Chop hop shoots into small pieces and saute in a little olive oil with the shallots. Melt half the butter in saucepan, add rice, cook until translucent, add wine and let evaporate. Add shoots and a bit of the broth. Stir until broth absorbed. Keep stirring adding broth a little at a time, waiting for it to be absorbed. When rice is cooked through, add rest of butter and parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand for 5 min. Serve hot.

Sicilian dandelion soup 
64 oz chicken stock
5 eggs beaten
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/2 a plastic grocery bag of packed dandelion leaves (best before they bloom)
5 cloves of chopped garlic
salt to taste
red chili flakes to taste
olive oil for sautéing

Saute the garlic for a few minutes and then toss in the dandelion. Saute until completely wilted. Heat chicken stock to boiling. Stir the simmering stock in a steady fashion while slowly pouring the egg in a steady stream. Stirring the stock during this process is important so that the egg cooks the right way. This part is much like Chinese egg drop soup. Following the egg, put in the dandelion and then the cheese. Salt to taste along with the red pepper flakes. Serve right away.