Spring Salad with Homemade Green Goddess Dressing

by Market Chef Julia Whitehorn

INGREDIENTS

Green Goddess Dressing
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight or for about twenty minutes prior to blending.
1 cup spring herbs of choice (we used cilantro and dill from Simple Promise Farms, and carrot tops)
1 garlic clove or green garlic bulb
Juice from one lemon
Splash of apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Spoonful of Native Roots Bruja Verde hot sauce
Add some water to thin out as needed

Salad
Lettuce of choice, torn or chopped into pieces (we used lettuce from Bouldin Food Forest)
Spring veggies of choice (we used diced carrots from New Leaf Agriculture and cucumbers from Bernhardt’s Farm)

DIRECTIONS

To make the dressing, add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth – add water to thin as needed. Chop salad ingredients, toss well with salad dressing, and serve. Also makes a great veggie dip!

Kale Salad with Pickled Cauliflower & Bacon Vinaigrette 🥬🥓
By chef @colterpeck

INGREDIENTS

Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
1 package bacon
Apple Cider Vinegar
Shallot
Persimmon Jam
Salt & Pepper to taste

Salad
1 bunch curly kale
1 head cauliflower
1 sunchoke, shaved into thin slices
Pickled red onion

Colter started by chopping the bacon (Smith & Smith Farms) into small pieces and cooking in a skillet until crispy. He then used the rendered fat from the bacon to make a warm vinaigrette, whisking it together with apple cider vinegar, shallot, salt & pepper, and some persimmon jam (Bernhardt’s Farm) for sweetness. Mix in some of the cooked bacon bits too, and use the rest to top your salad with.

For the salad Colter used kale (VRDNT farm) and cauliflower (Emadi Acres Farm). Tear or chop the kale into small pieces, and toss with cauliflower quick-pickled in your vinegar of choice. A pro-tip we’ve learned from chefs like Colter is that if you don’t have vinegar on hand, you can use the brine from a jar of pickled veggies like the pickled red onion he picked up from Bernhardt’s Farm

Add the dressing and toss well. Top with shaved sunchokes (grown by Emadi Acres Farm) for an added burst of bright flavor, and some pickled red onion.

Scrambled Eggs with Homemade Ricotta on Sourdough Toast
By Chef Colter Peck of Elementary

Ingredients
Raw milk and cream (Pre-order from Ash Acres for pick up at Lakeline or Mueller!)
Eggs
Lemon juice or vinegar
Salt
Sourdough Bread
Butter
Garnishes (optional): Pickled red onions, hot honey

Instructions For Making Ricotta

To make homemade ricotta, you will need a sauce pan, cheesecloth, a strainer, and a container to strain the cheese in/collect the whey.

Add raw milk, cream, and salt to saucepan on medium to high heat. About ½ gallon of milk, pint of cream, and a pinch of salt makes a large batch. Keep a close eye on it and do not bring it to a full boil. When it starts steaming and a layer of foam starts to develop, turn the heat down and add the lemon juice (or white vinegar) – about ⅓ cup – and remove from heat. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and the curds will separate from the whey (the term for the leftover liquid).

Fold your cheese cloth over itself about three times, and use it to line a strainer. Pour the mixture into the strainer, letting it drain until most of the liquid has strained. Next, carefully remove the cheese cloth containing the ricotta, and using the corners of the cheesecloth, tie to a wooden spoon and rest that on top of the container to continue to strain out the whey. The longer you strain it, the more the ricotta will solidify.

NOTE: The leftover whey can be used in baked goods as a sub for water or milk! Traditionally, ricotta is made using whey from other cheeses, as opposed to raw milk/cream.

Instructions for Scrambled Eggs & Toast

While your ricotta is straining, start toasting up some thick slices of sourdough bread (we used Texas French Bread). On Sunday, Colter slathered these with some miso butter he had made, but regular butter and some sea salt works just as well!

Scramble the eggs low and slow to get a nice creamy consistency, mixing in ricotta as desired. Top the toast with a nice healthy scoop, and then top the eggs with your garnishes of choice! Colter used pickled red onions (you can find these from some of our vendors at market or make your own!) and a homemade hot honey mixture. You can also find hot honey from Round Rock Honey at the market, or make your own by mixing honey with crushed red pepper or chili flakes.

Here are some recipes we rounded up for further instructions/inspiration!

Homemade Ricotta Recipe

Creamy Ricotta Scrambled Eggs

Miso Butter

Butternut Squash Ricotta Soup Recipe

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Butternut Squash Pasta
By Monique Santua
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 cup butternut squash, small dice
1 carrot sliced thinly
½ cup onions
3 sage leaves
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

Spaghetti or pasta of your choice
¼ cup pancetta or bacon (sub oyster mushroom for vegetarian option)
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
2 sage leaves chiffonade
Parmesan, microplaned

Directions

Heat a pot of water for pasta. Make sure to salt the water!

In a medium saute pan, bloom garlic. Add onions and saute with a pinch of salt. Add carrots, butternut squash, and sage and cook through.

Blend butternut squash mixture, adding honey and water to thin as necessary.

Wipe pan clean. Render bacon. If using oyster mushrooms, heat neutral oil until just smoking and saute oyster mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Add sage, minced ginger, and garlic and saute until fragrant (1 min). Deglaze with white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drop pasta into the pasta water

Add pureed butternut squash to the pan and heat. Add in butter and stir until melted. Adjust salt to taste. Hold on medium low until pasta is ready.

When pasta is cooked through, add directly into the sauce and toss to incorporate. Add parmesan. This will thicken the sauce, so add a splash of pasta water to thin the sauce as needed. Add salt to taste. Finish with olive oil.

Market Recipe: Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 bag of VRDNT farm sweet potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes

Tahini Dip:

1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup raw cashwews
Juice from 2 lemons
1 tbsp capers & caper juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash the potatoes and cut in half or quarters, length-wise .

Spread evenly on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, then give them a quick toss and let bake for 10 more minutes.

Tahini Dipping Sauce: Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until mixture reaches a smooth, creamy consistency