goat cheese

March in the Kitchen – Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Spring Peas
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March in the Kitchen – Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Spring Peas

Happy Spring! My thoughts lately have been turning to Easter and the foods that define it, primarily eggs.

My garden has been producing a few handfuls of snap and snow peas, not enough at any one time for a full vegetable side. However the quantity is adequate for a supporting role with another key player, such as stir fried rice, pasta, or eggs. If you have never eaten snap or snow peas on the same day they are picked, you are in for a treat. They are sweet and juicy, nothing like the starchy three-day old peas you find at the grocers. Grab a bag full if you see them at your local farmer’s market and be sure to cook then the same day. With older peas use a trick of my mother’s,  add a pinch of sugar to the pan while cooking them. You could also use frozen regular peas. This is the perfect dish to serve at a spring brunch.

If you are lucky enough to have your own chickens, this dish is star quality. For years we had backyard chickens and the eggs were amazing, with bright orange yolks. Unfortunately, to our great sadness, the last one died about six years ago. She was 12 which is a very advanced age for a chicken. Atlas (that was her name) was a pet and hadn’t laid an egg in years, but she would follow me around the garden happily eating any insects or slugs I discovered while gardening. One day I hope to have chickens again, we were the number one tourist stop in the neighborhood.

Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Spring Peas (serves 4)

  • 2 cups snap and/or snow peas, stringed, rinsed, and sliced lengthwise
  • 2 tablespoons sweet butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt plus more for the eggs
  • 9-10 eggs (preferably organic and pastured)
  • 1 tablespoon of water or heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup of fresh goat cheese, crumbled
  • Additional salt and pepper as needed
Scrambled eggs with goat cheese and spring peas
  1.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  2. When it stops foaming, add the peas to the pan. Saute for 2 minutes or until bright green.
  3. Meanwhile, scramble the eggs in a bowl with a tablespoon of water or heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt.
  4. Add the eggs to the skillet with the peas, sprinkle with the goat cheese, and turn the heat down to medium.
  5. Gently cook the eggs, pushing the eggs around in the pan until large curds form. Don’t hurry this process or over stir the eggs. Cook to your liking (my family likes soft curds but your own might like the eggs cooked longer) this took about 5 minutes.

Serve with buttered sourdough toast.

Sam - son of Priscilla

Sam – son of Priscilla

 

Scrambled eggs with goat cheese and spring peas

Scrambled eggs with goat cheese and spring peas

November in the kitchen – Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese
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November in the kitchen – Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese

Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese

I love goat cheese. There is not much that can’t be improved with a bit of goat cheese on top, at least in my opinion. This recipe uses thinned goat cheese as a sauce for slowly roast carrots and farro.

I got the idea for this recipe from one on the blog My Kitchen Stories. On her blog, Tania suggests using cooked Buckwheat in place of the farro. If you want this to be gluten free, it would be a good substitution. I used farro (which is made from a wheat grain) as I had a package in the pantry. The oven was already on; I was slow roasting some lamb shanks at 300 degrees F for 6 hours. I decided to pop the carrots in the oven with the lamb to roast slowly.

This would be a wonderful vegetarian meal on it’s own, gluten free if you substituted Buckwheat or another grain for the Farro.

Roast carrots with farro and goat cheese

Roast carrots with farro and goat cheese

Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese (serves 2-4)

  •  1 cup (8 oz) of soft goat cheese
  • 3 tablespoons of buttermilk
  • 1 cup of cooked Farro
  • 2 bunches of baby carrots, peeled
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • Grated rind of one lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • Garnish – parsley or cilantro or pomegranate seeds (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (if not already on at another temperature). Mine was at 300 degrees F, you could go as high as 400 F. The cooking times would be shorter.

Most of this could be done ahead, reheat and assemble at serving time. It would also be good at room temperature. In that case I recommend you be more aggressive with your dressing of the grain. Maybe a bit of mustard, more vinegar and oil.

Cook the farro.

  1. Rinse the farro in a strainer, then cover with about 2 inches of water in a saucepan.
  2. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes until cooked.
  3. Drain the farro and set aside until ready to assemble (if serving at room temperature, toss the farro with oil and vinegar, a bit of Dijon mustard, taste for salt).

Prepare the sauce by mixing the buttermilk with the goat cheese until it is softly spreadable. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble.

Carrots

Carrots

Cook the carrots

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet.
  2. When hot, add the carrots and sauté on medium-high heat until browned in spots.
  3. Sprinkle the carrots with salt, grated lemon rind, and cumin; stir gently to mix
  4. Transfer the carrots to the oven (still in the skillet or on a baking sheet) and cook for about an hour at 300 degrees F, shorter if your oven is higher
  5. When done to your liking, transfer the carrots to a plate to cool slightly

Assemble the dish

  1. Add the final 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same skillet you used for the carrots
  2. When hot, add the drained farro and rewarm
  3. Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar, taste for salt
  4. Spread the goat cheese mixture on one side of the plate
  5. Lay the carrots over the goat cheese
  6. Spread the farro on the other side of your platter
  7. Garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds

Carrots on goat cheese

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