Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 pt Nettle tops 1 1/4 c Water, stock or milk
1 oz Butter Salt and pepper to taste
1 oz Oatmeal

A possible menu for lunch on St. Patrick's Day:

Irish Nettle Soup
Gammon (Ham) Steaks with Whiskey Sauce
Irish-Style Boiled Potatoes
Irish Tea Bread

Nettle Soup

Odd (says the American expatriate) that the stinging nettle is
one of the commonest weeds in the USA, being common (my herb and
wild-food trailguide says) in "bottomlands, rich woods, waste
areas and roadsides". I played in country like that for most of
my childhood on Long Island, and never even saw a nettle. Not
until I got here and was weeding the garden did I run into one...
barehanded, unfortunately.

Nettles have a reputation here for being good as a spring tonic:
a deserved reputation, as it happens, since they are high in
iron. The soup, however, is not at all tonicky, but rich and
fresh-flavored -- nettles cook up rather like spinach, but with a
more delicate flavor. If you're planning to make this soup,
you're going to have to do your nettle- picking in the spring:
later in the season they become bitter and unpalatable. Wear
rubber gloves to do the picking. Take only the tender young
shoots at the top, and the upper leaves, and do it well before
the plants start flowering (the one in the illustration is in
flower) -- this usually means late March or early April. Freeze
as much as you like -- since they're going to wind up in soup
anyway, there's no need to be concerned about them losing their
texture. They keep well in the freezer for up to a year. Bear in
mind that it's the boiling that kills the nettles' sting, so even
after freezing and thawing, do not touch them with your bare
hands. Once the soup is boiling, you're safe. -- This recipe serves
4.

Wash the young nettle tops in several changes of cold water,
WEARING RUBBER GLOVES!!!! Still wearing the gloves, chop them
finely. (If you're going to freeze the nettles for later use,
this is the point at which to do so -- simply stuff the chopped
nettles into freezer bags and toss them in the freezer. Much
later, thaw and...) Melt the butter in a good heavy pot.
Sprinkle in the oatmeal and fry gently until golden brown. (Be
careful not to scorch it! Oatmeal fries very quickly.) Stir in
the water, stock or milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Then add the nettles, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil again,
then lower the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

Gammon (Ham) Steaks with Whiskey Sauce

4 ham steaks
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon whiskey
1 ounce flour
1 ounce butter
3/4 cup water or stock
Salt or pepper to taste

Brush steaks with melted butter. Snip fat to prevent curling,
and grill for 7-8 minutes each side. -- To make sauce, gently fry
onions in remainder of butter until cooked. Remove from heat and
stir in flour gradually. Add stock. Return to heat. Add sugar
and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes to cook
flour. If sauce seems a little thick, add more water. Add whiskey
and season to taste. Place gammon steaks on a warmed serving
platter and pour on sauce.

* QMPro 1.0 90-8356 * New Jersey, The Garden State

~-- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12
* Origin: LightSpeed Chronicle Dallas, Texas 214-840-1842
(1:124/1204.0)

Packet: NARROWS
Date: 11-30-95 (19:02) Number: 18612
From: Sharon Stevens Refer#: NONE
To: Joan Taylor Recvd: NO
Subj: *CR* Unusual #2 Conf: (164) FIDO: Home Co

~Begin Recipe Export- QBook version 1.00.14

Browse by categories