Herb Fritattas, fluffy and light, are remarkably versatile and when hens in the valley are producing at their height and the farmers market is chugging along, we often find four dozen (or more!) eggs in the kitchen each week.  And, as the season progresses, that number dwindles until the darkest days of winter when we've no eggs at all.  We don't often think of animal foods as seasonal, but they are.   Milk has season.  Beef and lamb and even chicken have a season too.  And, of course, eggs.  In 24-7 supermarkets, where animal foods from industrial farms are available every hour of every season, it's easy to lose touch with the true seasonality of the foods we eat much in the same way its easy to lose touch with just how those foods were produced.

In our home, we rely on farm-fresh ingredients and with good reason.  Animals raised on pasture, as opposed to industrial farms, experience a more natural life with free access to the foods rich in nutrients such as bugs, grubs and sprouts for egg-laying hens or fresh green grass for milk cows.  Clean air, clean water and clean food provides more than a humane existence for these animals; it also ensures that the meat, milks and eggs they provide us are richer in nutrients - particularly vitamin A, conjugated linoleic acid in milk products and a more favorable omega-3 : omega-6 fatty acid ratio.  For this reason, I encourage you to source your ingredients directly from farms who uphold these time-honored traditions and operate through a holistic approach including pasture- and grass-based ranching.

A few weeks ago we visited the farm that produces many of our eggs, saw the hens pecking at grubs and bugs among the tall, green pasture grasses. The farm takes an intensive, holistic approach to raising their animals and producing their foods.  And it is this approach - that begins with the soil and the grasses - that yields some of the most nutrient-dense and most richly flavored meats and eggs.  So when eggs are in season, we use them liberally - and never shy away from these herb fritattas which require one dozen fresh from the pasture.  Custards and omelets also find their way to our table.

Herb fritattas are remarkable.  Remarkably simple to prepare and requiring only the simplest of ingredients - eggs, butter, fresh herbs and a touch of cream - it's imperative to use the best quality ingredients you can afford for the dish.  Good quality ingredients yield better flavor and where there's flavor and color, there's nutrients.  And even including the price of fresh herbs, fresh pasture-raised eggs and fresh cream, an herb fritatta is an inexpensive dish - hovering at about $1.25 per serving.  Unlike omelets where eggs are barely beaten, it's important to whisk the eggs together thoroughly to produce a light, fluffy and tender fritatta.  Use any fresh herbs you have available and in season - my preference is for chives, parsley and dill.

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herb fritatta: recipe

Herb Fritattas, filled with fragrant chives and dill and parsley and enriched by a touch of fresh cream, are as nutrient-dense as they are flavorful and make for a simple, but decidedly fresh, breakfast or lunch. Make this dish in summertime when both fresh herbs and pasture-raised eggs are in full production, easily accessible and inexpensive.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Author Jenny

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 tablespoon ghee
• 12 eggs
• 3 tablespoon heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
• 1 ½ cups tightly packed fresh herbs (parsley, chives, chervil, dill etc., minced)
• additional fresh herbs (to garnish)

Instructions

• In a 12-inch oven-proof skillet, preferably cast iron or enameled cast iron, heat three to four tablespoons clarified butter over a medium flame until melted.
• While the butter is melting, crack one dozen eggs and whisk them vigorously to incorporate a bit of air.
• Once the eggs are sufficiently beaten, smooth and creamy with no separation of white and yolk, whisk in three tablespoons cream and minced herbs.
• Pour the mixture of eggs, cream and herbs into the melted fat in the hot skillet.
• Shake the pan gently as the eggs set to minimize sticking or gently press the egg away from the sides of the skillet to allow the uncooked mixture of egg to seep through to the sides of the skillet and set.
• Allow the egg, herb and cream mixture to cook over a medium or medium-low flame for about five to six minutes, or until the the mixture firms up.
• Once the mixture is thick and firm but for a bit of uncooked egg on the top of the fritatta, place it in your oven under the broiler for four to six minutes.
• Remove from the oven, either plating the frittata or serving it directly in the skillet. Garnish with additional fresh herbs, as desired.

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Baked eggs are rustic, but elegant breakfast or brunch dish. They're nutritious offering protein, essential fatty acids if you purchase pastured eggs, lecithin, riboflavin, phosphorus, vitamin B12 and selenium. The cost per serving of this lovely dish is only $0.86.

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Herb Baked Eggs

Fresh herbs melt into creamy egg yolks for this simple, easy breakfast recipe.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, French

Keyword eggs, herbs

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 177kcal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons salted butter softened
• 8 eggs
• ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons chives chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon dill chopped fine
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 350 F, and then butter 4 (6-oz) ramekins.
• Drop two eggs into each ramekin, top with fresh herbs and a drizzle of heavy cream.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the yolk is set to your liking.

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Protein: 11g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 342mg | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 142mg | Vitamin A: 1030IU | Vitamin C: 5.9mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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After spending the morning gathering nettles, and with little else at my disposal but the products of the dairy - butter, eggs, cream, cheese and milk - I prepared this recipe for a simple omelet packed with stinging nettles and sprinkled with fresh chives.  

We served it with fresh berries and cream.  Stinging nettle, like other leafy greens, pairs well with full-fat dairy as the fats in the dairy products (rich in fat-soluble vitamins and minerals themselves) help your body to better absorb the antioxidants contained within the nettle leaf.

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Stinging Nettle Omelet with Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Filled with stinging nettle, chives and cheese, this 6-egg omelet makes a an excellent breakfast served with fresh fruit and cream, or a simple lunch when paired with a salad and crusty slice of sourdough bread If you cannot find stinging nettles, substitute spinach.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Author Jenny

Ingredients

• 8 ounces stinging nettle leaves
• 6 eggs
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh chives
• 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese sliced thin

Instructions

• Drop the nettle leaves into a medium sized stockpot, sprinkle with salt and pour in 1 to 2 tablespoons water. Set the pot over medium-low heat on your stove, and cover it with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the nettles to wilt until they release their juice, soften and grow limp - about 20 minutes. Remove the nettle leaves with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a fine-mesh sieve , press them firmly with the back of a wooden spoon so their juice runs out, then set them aside while you prepare the omelet.
• Beat the eggs with heavy cream until loosely combined, and not frothy.
• Warm the clarified butter in a large and well-seasoned cast-iron skillet ) over medium-high heat. When it melts, pour in the eggs, swirl the pan to promote an even layer of egg and let them cook in the hot butter until the edges begin to ruffle ever so slightly - about 5 to 10 seconds. Reduce the heat to low, and cover the skillet with a lid for 20 to 30 seconds or until the eggs set. Lift off the cover, and fill one side of the omelet with the wilted nettles, sprinkle with chives and top with slices of cheddar cheese. Fold the unfilled half of the omelet over the filling, return the lid and let it sit a further 20 to 30 seconds, then serve.

The post Stinging Nettle and Sharp Cheddar Omelet appeared first on Nourished Kitchen.

I'm trying to serve more sauces as they can truly enhance a meal.   This sauce--classic hollandaise--is one that is making it to our table more and more frequently.   Rich with butter and egg yolks, the sauce is dense with wholesome fats and micronutrients.   Make sure to use quality ingredients like eggs from pastured chickens and butter from grass-fed cows as these foods are the more nutrient-dense than their conventional counterparts.   We often serve it over eggs, salmon and vegetables.

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Frittatas with fresh herbs or seasonal vegetables are a mainstay of our diet, and we often serve them on the weekend for a late breakfast or early brunch.  In the summertime, we serve them with fresh tomatoes or roasted peppers and goat cheese; in the spring, we serve them packed with garden herbs or occasionally fresh English peas and pea tendrils.  In the autumn and winter, hardy greens and potatoes fill our frittatas.

Like the dainty omelets rustic and overbearing cousins, frittatas are less fussy, decidedly easier to prepare and more robust and satisfying for hungry bellies.  Of course, all that satisfaction comes at a cost; one good-sized frittata requires about a dozen eggs, providing about eight servings.  Take care to use only the best quality eggs available to you - fresh from farms where hens are given free access to green pastures where they can peck at sprouts and bugs.  Not only does this provide hens a better and more humane life, but it also increases the nutritive value of their eggs, meaning that your body is better nourished with one pastured egg than it is with three or even four eggs from conventionally raised hens.  In essence, the eggs from a pasture-raised hen are simply more nutrient-dense than regular grocery store eggs.

Indeed, an egg from a pasture raised hen offers two-thirds more vitamin A, two times more omega-3 fatty acids, three times more vitamin E and seven times more beta carotene than a conventional egg; furthermore, that pastured egg also contains ⅓ less cholesterol and ¼ less saturated fat than a conventionally raised egg¹.  Pastured eggs are also higher in vitamin B12 and folate than eggs from hens raised in confinement².  Moreover, pastured eggs are also less likely to be contaminated by salmonella than the eggs of hens raised in confinement, and the conventional method of raising egg-laying hens in cages is considered a strong risk factor for salmonella infection compared to outdoor, free-range and pasture-based methods³.  It's simple: healthier hens produce healthier eggs.  Indeed, the effects of battery-cage-based production of eggs are so deleterious both for human health and animal welfare that the European Union has agreed to a complete ban on this method of egg production by 2012⁴.

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swiss chard & potato frittata

Frittata with swiss chard and potatoes with fresh herbs or seasonal vegetables.

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Jenny

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon ghee
• 2 shallots peeled and sliced thin
• 1 bunch Swiss chard stem removed and chopped coarsely
• 4 small potatoes about 1 lb, sliced thin
• 1 eggs
• 3 tablespoon heavy cream not ultrapasteurized
• fine sea salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Melt three tablespoons clarified butter in a skillet over a medium flame. Toss peeled and thinly sliced shallots into the skillet and fry in butter until fragrant.
• Add coarsely chopped Swiss chard and thinly sliced potatoes into the skillet and continue to cook until the Swiss chard wilts and the potatoes are tender when pierced by a fork.
• Beat one dozen pastured eggs with three tablespoons heavy cream until the mixture becomes uniform. Season the eggs to your liking with salt and black pepper.
• Reduce the flame to medium-low then pour the beaten eggs and cream into the skillet, over the vegetables. Cook over medium-low until barely set, about six minutes or so.
• Place the frittata in your oven, under the broiler for about six minutes until it is cooked through.
• Serve warm.

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I love the richness of a true, Spanish-style sofrito - that beautiful meld of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil graced by just a touch of smoked paprika and fresh herbs from the garden. It's easy to spoon a dollop of sofrito over chicken as it bakes, or blend a little with homemade mayonnaise to spread against whole-grain sourdough bread for sandwiches.

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Baked Eggs with Ham Recipe

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, spanish

Keyword eggs, ham, spices

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 382kcal

Author Jenny

Ingredients

For the Sofrito

• 1 yellow onion (chopped coarsely)
• 4 cloves garlic
• ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
• fine sea salt

For the Eggs

• salted butter (for greasing the cocottes)
• 6 slices deli ham
• 6 eggs
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

• Puree the onion and garlic together in a high-speed blender until smooth.
• Warm the olive oil in a wide braising dish over medium heat, then pour in the onion and garlic puree. Cook over medium heat the onion and garlic release their fragrance, and begin to color. Pour in the pureed tomato, and then turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir in the smoked paprika and drop in the herbs. Simmer, uncovered, until the flavors marry and the sauce thickens, about twenty minutes. Pluck out the herbs, adjust seasoning with salt, and transfer to a bowl.
• Heat the oven to 350 F.
• Butter your ramekins or cocottes, then line each cocotte with a slice of ham. Evenly distribute the sofrito into each of the cocottes, over the ham, and crack an egg over the sofrito. Bake until the white is set, but the yolk remains soft - about 8 minutes. Top with freshly chopped parsley and serve.

Notes

You can make the sofrito ahead of time, storing it in the fridge up to a week. Then simply assemble the eggs and ham ten minutes before you plan to serve breakfast for a quick and easy meal.

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 181mg | Sodium: 503mg | Potassium: 427mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 9.9mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2.5mg

The post Baked Eggs with Ham and Sofrito appeared first on Nourished Kitchen.

Every once in a while you want for something beautiful and delicate and elegant - something that makes you feel cared for and deeply nourished.

Here's a secret: Often, the most elegant and deeply nourishing cooking is also wonderfully simple and uncomplicated.  The key then is to focus on the quality of ingredients, because that's what can really make (or break) your dish.  Things like pasture-raised eggs, rich in vitamins and carotenes, or wild-caught salmon, full of B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, are not only a more powerful source of nutrition than farmed alternatives, but they also offer better flavor as well.  And who doesn't love good flavor coupled with good nutrition?

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Baked Eggs with Smoked Salmon Recipe

There's a lovely elegance to traditional baked eggs that belies its simplicity. The eggs retain a delicateness that's further enhanced by fresh cream and balanced by meaty smoked King salmon and fresh herbs. And it only takes five minutes to prep the ingredients before you toss them in the oven.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine French

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 245kcal

Author Jenny

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salted butter
• 4 ounces smoked wild-caught salmon
• 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• coarse sea salt

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 350 F, and then butter the mini cocottes. Set a kettle on the stove to boil.
• Crumble an ounce of the smoked salmon into each of the cocottes. Top the salmon with tarragon leaves, and then crack an egg over the salmon and tarragon into each cocotte.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons heavy cream over the eggs, and sprinkle them with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
• Place them into a baking dish, and cover the cocottes with their lids. If you're using ramekins, cover them with foil. Pour enough hot water into the baking dish so that it reaches half-way up the sides of the cocotte.
• Transfer the baking dish to the oven, and allow the eggs to bake, undisturbed, until the whites are set, but the yolks are still runny - about fifteen minutes. Remove them from the baking dish, uncover, and serve immediately.

Notes

Need a dairy-free version? Skip the cream and keep an eye on them as they bake so that the whites don't become overdone. Coconut cream and milk do not make a good dairy replacement in this recipe.

Don't have tarragon? Dill or fresh chives will work nicely here.

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 222mg | Sodium: 334mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 972IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2mg

Try these sustainable seafood recipes next

The post Baked Eggs with Smoked Salmon appeared first on Nourished Kitchen.

For a long time, mayonnaise making was pretty hit-and-miss for me.  Sometimes it came together in a beautiful, smooth emulsion, and other times it was thin and gloopy - a miserable waste of eggs and oil.  After a few years of making my own, I stumbled across a tip that has helped me to make smooth, beautifully emulsified mayonnaise every time without a hitch.

Fresh Egg Yolks

Mayonnaise is a classic sauce that is based on raw egg yolks which allow for the emulsification of oil into a bit of lemon juice, water, and vinegar.  Raw eggs are particularly rich in choline, a heat-sensitive B vitamin that is critical to several biological functions.  Choline deficiency is linked to liver disease, atherosclerosis as well as neurological disorders (read it here).   Choline, much like folate which is found in leafy greens as well as organ meats like liver, is critical to women of reproductive age because it helps to mitigate the risk of birth defects in their children (read it here).  Further, women with higher intakes of choline are less likely to suffer from breast cancer according to some researchers (read it here and here).

The best source of dietary choline is egg yolk, followed by organ meats like liver and kidneys as well as fish roe.  Choline is heat-sensitive, like many vitamins, so I make sure to include some choline-rich foods in their raw or minimally cooked forms, as for this avocado oil mayonnaise.

Further, when you choose eggs from pasture-raised hens - those hens who are allowed to stretch their legs outside, under the sun, and peck at grubs, bugs, sprouts, and the occasional kitchen scrap, you're serving a more nutrient-dense food in general.  The eggs from pasture-raised hens are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene than the eggs of hens kept in confinement.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice brings a little bit of acidity to mayonnaise, balancing its light and neutral flavor.  Any acid will work, including vinegar, but lemon juice brings a freshness that vinegar doesn't.  If you can use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.

Sea Salt

Salt helps us to taste other flavors, and brings balance to the foods we eat.  I favor sea salt, because I like its briny notes and the way each different salt tastes a touch different depending on where it's from.

These unrefined sea salts offer mildly different flavors, come in different colors and retain the trace minerals that are typically removed through the refinement process of table salt.  As unrefined sea salts are not iodized like table salt, it's important to make sure you're eating plentiful other iodine-rich foods like sea vegetables.

Avocado Oil

Avocados, like olives, are particularly rich in monounsaturated fat.  Monounsaturated fat is a heart-healthy fat, thought to reduce inflammation, and you can find it in abundant quantities in olive oil, lard, hazelnut oil, and sunflower seed oil as well as in avocados.

My best trick for getting smooth, thick mayonnaise ...

If you've ever tried making mayonnaise at home only to watch it fail miserably at emulsifying, leaving you with a viscous, oily yellow goop the consistency of salad dressing, you know the meaning of disappointment.  I know it, too.  I tried making homemade mayonnaise for years.  Sometimes it would come out, and sometimes it wouldn't.

Then I learned a simple, but counter-intuitive trick to getting thick mayonnaise every time: add water to it.  No joke.  About a tablespoon of water added to the yolks, salt and lemon helps to emulsify the mayonnaise, ensuring it comes out thick and spreadable every single time.

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Avocado Oil Mayonnaise

This makes a smooth, thick mayonnaise with a light, neutral flavor owing to the inclusion of avocado oil which tastes much less assertive than olive oil. Avocado oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, thought to support cardiovascular health and optimal cholesterol levels.

Course Condiment

Cuisine American, French

Keyword avocado oil, egg yolks, lemon

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 58kcal

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 ½ cups avocado oil cold-pressed, naturally refined

Instructions

• Drop the egg yolks into the basin of your food processor, then sprinkle them with salt. Spoon in the lemon juice and water.
• Close the food processor, and pulse it once or twice to combine, and then turn it on so that the blade continues moving smoothly. Working a half cup at a time, pour the avocado oil into the feeder tube of the food processor, allowing it to drip into the egg yolks in a very thin, smooth stream until the mayonnaise thickens and all the oil is incorporated into the egg yolks, about two or three minutes.
• Scrape the mayonnaise into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator no longer than a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g | Calories: 58kcal | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 7mg | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.2mg

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