Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook - Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors (25 page)

Right before serving, heat the olive oil in a large-size sauté pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the beans, remaining
3
/
4
teaspoon sea salt, and the pepper to the pan. Toss with tongs for 3 minutes, until heated through. Serve immediately.

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

Creamy Deviled Eggs

Apricot Lane has mobile chicken coops that move pasture to pasture after the sheep are herded to new grass. The chickens pile out of their coop in the morning, returning unprompted at dusk, just in time for us to close it up. The effort to keep chickens on a patch of fresh green grass does not go unreturned. Those chickens produce eggs with a color of orange that is unable to be faked. It’s their “thank you” back to the farmer.

8 eggs

3 tablespoons (42 g) Simply Mayonnaise (
page 178
)

1 tablespoon (14 g) Yogurt Cream Cheese (
page 40
)

2 tablespoons (30 g) Sweet Pickle Relish (
page 173
)

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons (2 g) chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon honey

Paprika, for garnish

Place the eggs in a medium-size pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove the lid and boil for 10 minutes. If necessary, lower the heat to medium-high to keep the water from spilling over. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and drain. Allow the eggs to cool to the touch before peeling.

Meanwhile, in a small-size bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese, relish, sea salt, pepper, mustard, chives, and honey. Whisk to combine.

Once the eggs are cooled, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolk of each egg half and place in a small-size flat-bottomed bowl. Mash the yolks well with a potato masher. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the mashed yolks. Stir well with a spoon to combine. Taste, adding additional sea salt as desired.

Using a teaspoon, carefully fill the cavity of each egg with the yolk mixture. Gently sprinkle the top of each with a dash of paprika. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.

YIELD: 8 SERVINGS

Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts & Parmesan

fall

Cooking feels the best to me when it has an element of “throwing it all together.” I love to feel the freedom of tossing things into a dish, popping it in the oven, and coming out the other side with a roasted, delicious pile of good food. This dish is a perfect example. Case in point: If you can’t find golden raisins, regular raisins or currants will work just fine.

1
/
4
cup (60 ml) bacon fat (
page 33
)

6 cloves garlic, smashed but whole

5 cups (500 g) bite-size cauliflower florets (about 1 large head)

1/3 cup (45 g) pine nuts

1
/
4
teaspoon sea salt

1
/
2
teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

3 whole fresh thyme sprigs

1
/
4
cup (25 g) freshly grated Parmesan, optional

1/3 cup (50 g) golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7). Melt the fat in a small-size pot over medium heat.

In a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) glass baking dish, combine the smashed garlic, cauliflower, and pine nuts. Drizzle the melted renderings over the cauliflower mixture, and sprinkle the sea salt and pepper over the top. Toss well with a spatula until the cauliflower is evenly coated. Place the thyme sprigs on top.

Bake for 25 minutes, then turn with a spatula, and sprinkle the Parmesan on top, if desired. Bake for 15 minutes more, until the edges of the cauliflower have caramelized and the nuts are nicely browned.

Place the pan on a cooling rack and remove the thyme stems. Add the raisins and toss well. Serve warm.

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

RECIPE NOTE

Bring the cauliflower to room temperature before preparation and dry thoroughly after rinsing. The bacon fat will seize if the cauliflower is cold, and extra moisture will prevent the dish from browning.

Meaty Baked Beans

Taking the time to properly prepare beans makes such a difference for the after-party. No more bellyaches. No more open windows. And think about it, if your belly is that upset, you can’t possibly be digesting properly. Weak digestion means that your body is not receiving the proper building blocks for energy and vitality!

8 ounces (225 g) bacon, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) reserved bacon drippings

1
1
/
4
cups (200 g) small diced yellow onion

1 pound (454 g) ground beef

1 tablespoon (14 g) chicken liver, optional

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 cup (240 g) ketchup (
page 174
)

1/3 cup (105 g) raw honey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) maple syrup

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard (
page 177
)

3 cups (510 g) cooked Great Northern beans (
page 52
), plus
1
/
2
cup (120 ml) reserved bean cooking liquid

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). In a large-size skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel–lined plate. Pour the renderings into a clean glass jar to cool. Measure 1 tablespoon (15 ml) bacon drippings back into the same pan. Over medium-high heat, add the onion and sauté for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion and place on the same plate as the cooked bacon (paper towel removed).

Into the same pan over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and sauté until well browned, approximately 8 minutes, occasionally breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or the tip of a spatula. If the meat begins to stick, lower the heat to medium. When the meat is browned, remove from the heat and add the sautéed onion, bacon, and liver (if using) to the pan. Stir to combine. Bury the butter in the warm mixture and set aside while the butter melts.

In the bottom of a 2-quart (2 L) baking dish, mix the ketchup, honey, maple syrup, and yellow mustard. Stir well. Add the beans and their cooking liquid and the meat mixture. Stir well once more.

Bake, covered, for 25 minutes, then 20 minutes longer either covered or uncovered. If you prefer a thicker consistency, like our family, cook uncovered. If you prefer a thinner sauce with your beans, cook covered. Either way, bake an additional 20 minutes and serve warm.

YIELD: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

RECIPE NOTE

The beans recipe on
page 52
must be doubled for this dish.

Fresh Corn Pudding