In this episode of GoGreenfields, your hosts River and Terran take you on a trip to their backyard… literally!  While on this journey, they demonstrate some of the great food sources that grow naturally in Washington State, foraging the flavorful ‘weeds’ just a short distance from their backdoor.

With their foraging bounty in hand, they head back to the kitchen to prepare a St. Johns-Wort tincture, Wild Mint Ice Cream, and a Beef Stew with Nettle Dumplings.  Special thanks to BelCampo for supplying the most delicious bacon and stew beef!

JOHNS-WORT TINCTURE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 or 3 handfuls of St. John’s Wort flowers (they can be foraging fresh or dried)
• 750ml Vodka

DIRECTIONS

1. Place flowers in a glass jar.
2. Gently add the vodka.
3. Close the jar tightly, shake for approximately two minutes.
4. Then, let the mixture soak and infuse for about 3 weeks in a sunny place.
5. Shake the jar daily.
6. After the 3 weeks, you can strain the mixture and keep the solution in dark glass bottles that are tightly closed.
7. Keep these in the refrigerator.

BEEF STEW WITH NETTLE DUMPLINGS

INGREDIENTS

• 800g BelCampo Stew Beef, trimmed and cut into 4–5cm cubes
• 300g BelCampo bacon, cut into 3–4cm cubes
• 100g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 4 thyme sprigs (River and Terran were also foraging in mom’s garden!)
• 2 tbsp Fresh-Pressed olive oil
• Two onions, thinly sliced
• Two celery sticks, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 500ml light ale
• 300ml beef stock, chicken stock, or water
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the dumplings:

• 250g Thrive Market self-rising flour
• 125g suet
• 100g nettle tops (watch the video for more information about foraging for nettle)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 2–3. Heat half the oil in a large casserole over medium heat, then add the onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Sweat the onions for 8–10 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over high heat. When it’s hot, turn down the heat and gently fry the pancetta or bacon until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden. Transfer to the casserole, leaving the frying pan on the heat. Toss the venison in the seasoned flour, then add to the frying pan, in batches, transferring each batch to the casserole as soon as it is well colored. Stir the casserole contents, then pour the ale over, along with enough stock or water to cover by 2–3cm. Season with pepper. Bring up to a simmer, then transfer to the oven, leaving the lid just ajar. Cook for 2½–3 hours until the meat is very tender.
2. Shortly before the venison is ready, make the dumplings. Bring a medium pan of water to the boil and add the fresh nettle tops. Cook for 2 minutes until wilted, then drain and allow to cool.
3. Squeeze all the water from the cooked nettles into a bowl and retain. Chop the wilted leaves relatively finely. Mix the flour, suet, and nettle together with some salt and pepper. Stir in enough cooled nettle water to form a soft dough – about 150–200ml. Using your hands, form the mixture into 10 spherical dumplings. Take the stew from the oven and remove the lid.
4. Distribute the dumplings evenly over the surface of the stew, replace the lid fully, and return the stew to the oven. Allow to cook for a further 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for a further 10–15 minutes, until the top of each dumpling has taken on a little color. Remove the stew from the oven and serve with buttered greens or a lovely mixed salad.

WILD MINT ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 20 fresh mint leaves
• ¾ cups turbinado (raw) sugar
• dash of salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine milk, half-and-half and mint leaves in a medium sized, heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge (which should be about 180 degrees). Do not let it boil!
2. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for ten minutes. That gives the mint flavor time to steep.
3. Uncover it and pour the mixture through a colander into a medium bowl. Press the mint leaves slightly with a big spoon to get all the flavor. Discard the leaves and pour the liquid back into your pan.
4. In a new bowl, combine sugar, salt and egg yolks. Stir with a whisk until the mixture is pale.
5. Gradually add half of the milk mixture to the egg mixture, while stirring constantly with a whisk.
6. Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk.
7. Cook over medium-low heat for about two minutes (or to 160 degrees), stirring constantly.
8. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.
9. Place the bowl in the fridge until the mixture cools completely, stirring occasionally.
10. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
11. If you’d like the ice cream to harden up a little more, freeze it for a couple of hours.

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