Recipes

Root 'N Roost Recipes

Sometimes it's difficult to figure out what to do with all of the fresh produce coming off the farm, so the Root 'N Roost Farm crew is putting together a collection of our favorite recipes to help inspire your inner chef. Bon apetit!

Have an idea for a recipe? Please email us and we'll post it to share with others.

Root 'N Roost Wild Salad

Recipe by Cheyenne Zigmund, June 2014

So many of the 'weeds' coming up in our gardens right now are edible, highly nutritious, and scrumptious!

So when you're next looking to make a green salad, look no further than that humble patch of weeds for a handful of wood sorrel, lambs quarters, chickweed, dandelion leaves, purslane, and a few chives and calendula flowers.

There are so many variations on this dish, you'll never have the same bowl of salad twice!

Pictured above right, is a salad of baby lettuce mix, lambs quarters, wood sorrel, radishes, raisins, toasted sunflower seeds.

Add your favorite dressing and enjoy!

Spinach Chickpea Salad

Recipe by Cheyenne Zigmund, June 2014

Chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, are a great source of protein, and are easy to turn into this delicious salad:

Ingredients and Directions

1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight, cook for 1 hour then chill.

1/4 lb baby spinach, dandelion greens, or any other green that you enjoy raw. Slice or tear into bite sized bits.

1/4 onion, diced

Handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped.

Combine all and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice generously.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

As usual, the options with this salad are ENDLESS! Sub in your favourite veggies and herbs, add a little spice, the world is your chickpea!

Fried Egg and Claytonia

Breakfast Bagel

Recipe by Shannon Pritchett, April 2014

you can spread any condiment on your bagel. I prefer butter usually but sometimes I use hummus, sometimes a bit of ricotta cheese.

serving: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

Bagel

1 tbsp oil (cocunut oil, canola oil, light olive oil)

1 egg (duck or chicken)

handful of claytonia

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut bagel in half and toast

2. heat oil in a non stick pan or cast iron skillet. Oil should be hot when egg is added.

3. cook the egg as desired. (recommended: over-hard or scrambled. For sandwiches on-the-go, its less than ideal to have yolk going everywhere while you're eating with one hand)

3. When egg is cooked to desired level, take off the heat, season with salt and pepper and assemble.

Spinach Tomato Quiche

Recipe by Shannon Pritchett, April 2014

This quiche is a bombshell so recipe is designed for two quiches. I could eat a whole one myself but if you're not a pig the good news is that it freezes really well so make space in your freezer. When doing the crust, I was worried that it was too wet and added a couple tablespoons of flour. The final product it was a wee bit on the dry side. So if it feels more sticky than normal, you're doing it right and resist the urge to add flour. The lard makes this crust so flaky and delicious, substitute at your own risk. And, if you hate soggy bottom on pie crust like me, definitely take the time to prebake the crust. It works.

serving: 2 crusts

Crust Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour (I used wheat flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt (not sea salt)

3/4 c. lard

1/4 c. water

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp white vinegar

Serving: 2 quiche filling

Quiche filling ingredients:

1/3 c. butter or oil

6-7 garlic cloves

1 medium onion diced

20 oz frozen spinach thawed, drained, and chopped into bit sized pieces

1/2 c. chopped button mushroom

16-20 oz shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

8 eggs beaten

2 c. whole milk

1-2 tomatos sliced into half moon shapes for the top (optional)

Crust directions:

1. sift flour, baking powder and salt. cut in the lard until mix resembles course meal

2. in a small bowl mix water egg and vinegar. pour into flour mixture and stir until dough forms a sticky ball.

3. refridgerate for an hour or up to 3 days, otherwise freeze.

4. take out the dough and rolle out gently to fit into a 9 in pie pan and put back in the fridge until baking time.

Filling directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack. Prebake pie crust for 5-6 minutes. take out and set aside.

2. heat butter in a large saute pan. saute garlic and onion over medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 min. stir in spinach and mushroom. saute until mushrooms are soft. season with salt and pepper to taste. add 1/2 of the cheddar cheese. stir and spoon into prebaked pie crust.

3. whisk eggs and milk. season with a touch of salt and pepper. into pie crust over sauted veggies. Top with remaining cheese.

Note: careful getting these into the oven as it will be a full. I had a disaster here, filing the house with smoke. Next time I would put the pies on a baking sheet and then place them on the middle rack to cook. Another option might be to put a baking sheet on a lower rack to catch any spills.

4. Bake in oven at 375 until center is set (not giggling like jello), approx. 35-45 min.

5. Let cool at least 15 minutes on a wire rack. If freezing, let cool completely and seal in a freezer zip lock bag.

Dandelion Pesto Pizza

Recipe by Cheyenne Zigmund, May 2014

With so many spring greens popping up outside, I couldn't resist running out there and grabbing some fresh young dandelion leaves for some fresh pesto.

Some of you may have stopped by our booth at Foodstock last weekend, in which case you probably tried this pesto, along with the other tasty samples on offer that day! As promised, I putting up the recipes for them, as well as tonight's dinner that features the dandelion pesto, as well as my homemade mozzarella, in all their glory!

Ingredients:

1-2 cups dandelion pesto (see Wild Green Pesto)

One ball of your favorite pizza crust

About half a pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup coarsly chopped chives

Directions:

Press out your crust into an oiled pizza pan.

Spread out pesto on crust, then add cheeses and chives on top.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes (more if you like the crust to be crunchy).

Enjoy!

Wild Green Hummus

Another classic that can be freshened up with a taste of the wild. The possibilities are endless, try your favorite aromatic herb instead of greens for a more flavorful impact.

Ingredients:

2 cups chickweed (or lambs quarters, or purslane, or a mix!)

1 cup chickpeas (if using dried, soak overnight then gently boil for 1 hour, chill before use)

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp tahini (2 tbsp if you like your hummus extra creamy)

¼ cup water

2 tsp lemon juice

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small food processor combine lemon juice and chickweed, pulse until chickweed is coarsely chopped.

Add garlic, tahini, and chickpeas. Process until smooth, drizzle in water as needed.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

For an artistic display, serve hummus drizzled lightly with 2 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

Wild Green Pesto

This is a delicious and highly nutritious spring variation on our favorite classic basil pesto. Take the recipe below and substitute in your favorite greens and nuts, or try an infused oil.

Ingredients:

4 cups dandelion leaves (or lambs quarters, or chickweed, or a mix!)

8 cloves garlic (halve this amount if you don’t like garlic much). Use pickled garlic for a sweet variation.

½ cup lightly toasted sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds, or pine nuts, or almonds…)

½ cup olive oil

½ tsp coarse sea salt

2 Tbsp honey (only for dandelion recipe)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

In a small food processor, pack in the greens and drizzle in half of the olive oil. Process until finely chopped.

Add remaining ingredients and process until your favorite consistency is reached. If you like a smooth pesto, you may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor several times.

Serve pesto as a dip for corn chips or pretzels, as a spread on pizza or sandwich, or stir into hot pasta.

Spinach Ricotta

Decadence Quiche

Recipe by Shannon Pritchett, April 2014

This recipe is very similar to the "slightly out-of-season spinach tomoato quiche" though the ricotta really stands out as the main star creating a rich full flavor and texture. See the crust recipe in "slightly out-of-season spinach tomato quiche".

Serving: 1 quiche

Quiche filling:

1/4 c. butter or oil

3 garlic cloves

1/2 medium onion diced

10 oz frozen spinach thawed, drained, and chopped into bit sized pieces

1/2 c. chopped button mushroom (optional)

12 oz fresh ricotta

3 eggs beaten

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack. Prebake pie crust for 5-6 minutes. take out and set aside.

3. whisk eggs and add ricotta. season with a touch of salt and pepper. spoon into pie crust over sauted veggies.

4. Bake in oven at 375 until center is set (not giggling like jello), approx. 35-45 min.

5. Let cool at least 15 minutes on a wire rack. If freezing, let cool completely and seal in a freezer zip lock bag.

Bok Choy Slaw With Creamy Almond Dressing

Recipe by Samantha Hale, June 2014

Here at Root n’ Roost, the bok choy is wonderfully growing in bountiful amounts. A white cabbage, bok choy is deliciously packed with vitamins A and C (among other important nutrients). It is typically used in stir-fries and soups. However, we wanted to spark your creativity by giving you a slaw recipe using bok choy. It is a true summer’s delight! We hope you love it!

Slaw Ingredients

3 – 4 cups bok choy, chopped thinly with greens
2 – 3 carrots, grated
1 cup jicama, julienned or sliced thin
¼ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup of raw or roasted almonds, sliced or chopped
¼ cup raisins
¾ cup Creamy Almond Dressing (or more, if desired; recipe below)
Extra salt and pepper to taste

Creamy Almond Dressing Ingredients

½ cup raw almonds
2 ½ tbsps. Apple cider vinegar
2 tbsps maple syrup or honey
2/3 cup water (or more as needed)
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Juice from ½ a lime or lemon (optional)
½ tsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A pinch or more of curry powder (to taste)

Directions

1. Place the slaw ingredients in a large bowl and toss.

2. With a standard blender, puree all ingredients for the Creamy Almond Dressing (adding additional water, curry, salt/pepper to taste).

3. Add the dressing to slaw ingedients, starting with abut 2/3 cup and adding more as desired. Toss well, and let sit for at least 5 minutes.

4. Serve and eat plentiful! YUM!

Optional Additions or Substitutions

1 apple, julienned or sliced thin; a bunch of radishes; fennel, julienned or thinly sliced (in combination or in place of Jicama); cucumbers; grated beet; kale in place of bok choy (and call it Kale Slaw!)

Poached Duck Egg Salad

Recipe by Shannon Pritchett, April 2014

This recipe is incredible versatile. I used an idaho potato and bean sprouts in dish pictured above however I've also used a sweet potato and black beans which looks great and has tons of nutrients. I've used simple arugula or leftover salad. Basically you can use any starch on the bottom and any salad mix you enjoy. The poached duck egg is the fun (or challenging) aspect. Hopefully you have a couple of eggs in case you don't like the outcome of first or second attempt (as was the case with me).

Poaching an Egg:

First, heat a pot with a few inches of water in it. Put a splash of vinegar in the water. This helps tighten up the egg.

You don’t want boiling water. You don’t want simmering water. You want very hot water at the point right before it simmers where large bubbles have formed on the bottom of the pan. If the water is too hot the yolk will cook before the whites. See disaster image below.

If the water is not hot enough when you add the egg it wont cook correctly. See image below

If your water has already begun boiling, bring the temperature down to below the boiling point.

Then, break an egg into a small dish. It is always easier to slide the egg in from a dish.

Make a whirlpool with your spoon, spatula, whatever you’re using.

Slide the egg into the middle of the whirlpool with your other hand (this is why you put the egg in the dish first). The reason for the whirlpool is that it really helps the egg stay together, wrapping the white around the yolk. However, you can help it along too with your spatula or spoon by gently pushing it all in as it initially sets.

If your egg has stuck to the bottom of the pot, just slide the spatula very very gently underneath after 30 seconds or so of cooking.

A few minutes later, your mostly-perfect egg should be ready. (I look for an egg that wobbles, but just a little, when nudged with the spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes of cooking time.) Scoop it out with a slotted spoon.

Recipe:

1 potato

a handful of greens tossed with a touch of olive oil and salt and pepper

2-4 oz beans

2-3 oz cheese (cheddar, feta, your choice)

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cover and cook potato in a microwave safe bowl for about 10 minutes depending on the size. Make sure you have poked potato with a fork before microwaving.

2. Poach egg (see instructions above)

3. Cut the potato in half. Top with cheese, beans, greens, and finally the poached egg.