St. patrick's day lunch

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 pint Nettle tops
1 ounce Butter
1 ounce Oatmeal
1¼ cup Water, stock or milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

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

¾ 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.

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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 1.⅐

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