Nasturtium Recipes!

 

Nasturtiums are beautiful AND delicious!  I’ve collected some recipes for you to try at home! They almost taste like a peppery radish 🙂

Nasturtium Pesto

Nasturtium leaves and stems add fresh peppery flavor to chef David Kinch’s homemade pesto, which serves as a garnish for his Nasturtium Risotto.

SOURCE: THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW, MAY 2010

• YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 2 CUps

• 2 cups nasturtium leaves
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced nasturtium stems
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; prepare an ice-water bath and set aside. Add nasturtium leaves to boiling water; cook for 10 seconds. Drain and transfer to ice-water bath until cool. Drain and set aside.
2. Place leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and oil in the jar of a blender; blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and fold in stems and cheese.

 

Nasturtium Risotto

This one-of-a-kind risotto, from chef David Kinch of Manresa, uses all parts of the nasturtium plant, and it tastes as wonderful as it looks.

SOURCE: THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW, MAY 2010

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced, white and light-green parts only
• 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Coarse salt
• 3 cups Nasturtium Bouillon, heated
• 3/4 cup Nasturtium Butter
• 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Nasturtium Pesto, for garnish
• Fresh chervil sprigs, for garnish
• Nasturtium flowers, petals, or buds, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until grains are opaque, start to sizzle, and stick together, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until liquid is completely absorbed, about 30 seconds. Season with salt.
2. Reduce heat to low and add enough bouillon to cover rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup bouillon and continue cooking and stirring, until liquid has been absorbed. Continue cooking and adding bouillon, 1/2 cup at a time, until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
3. Stir in butter and remove from heat. Fold in cheese and season with salt. Serve garnished with nasturtium pesto, chervil, and flowers.

 

Stuffed Nasturtium Flowers

http://www.food.com/recipe/stuffed-nasturtium-flowers-126169

Ingredients

• 12nasturtium petals (whole flowers)
• 1(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1garlic clove, minced fine
• ¹⁄₂tablespoon fresh chives (you may use chive blossoms, chopped)
• 1tablespoon chopped fresh lemon verbena (or lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon basil, lemon catnip, or lemon zest)

• salt and pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Make sure flowers are clean and dry. Pick as close to serving time as possible, but definitely the same day. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Mix cream cheese thoroughly with herbs. Season to taste. Place 1 or 2 teaspoons of mixture (depending on size of flower) in center of flower. Pull petals upwards to cover the cheese as much as possible. Press lightly into cheese to stick. This makes 4 servings, 4 stuffed flowers per person.

Nasturtium Fingerprint Cookies (makes about 40 small cookies)

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/10/08/nasturtium-cookies/

FOR THE FILLING:

10 nasturtium flowers
½ cup apricot preserves

Rinse nasturtiums well and inspect closely for bugs, rinsing again if needed. Remove petals; discard stems and leaves (they are edible but not so pleasant for baking, in my opinion). Dry petals well, then slice them into small pieces. Gently mix the minced petals into the apricot preserves. Set aside. (I left mine in the fridge overnight and was amazed by its remarkable flavor the next day; the taste of apricots came alive with tropical, citrusy hints.)

FOR THE DOUGH:

1 cup butter at room temperature
Scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
5 nasturtium flowers

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Mix butter and granulated sugar until creamy and even, then sift the flour, white pepper, and salt (if using) over the mixture.  Mix dough by hand until it sticks together.

Wash, mince and dry 5 nasturtiums, then add to dough and mix until evenly distributed. While still at room temperature, roll dough into balls about 1 scant tablespoon each, and place on cookie sheets at least 1.25 inch apart.  Pressindex finger about 3/4 of the way into each ball.

Put the apricot-flower preserves in a pastry bag or plastic bag with a small piece of the corner cut off, and fill the fingerprints until filling just domes over the surface of the cookie. Preheat oven to 325˚ F.  While oven heats, chill the filled cookies for 10 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges and bottoms are golden brown. Let cool to room temperature on cookie sheets.

FOR THE ICING (OPTIONAL):

½ cup powdered sugar
2+ teaspoons orange or lemon juice

Place powdered sugar in a bowl and gradually whisk in the citrus juice. If too thick for drizzling, add just a few more drops of juice, being careful not to make it too thin. Lightly drizzle across the cooled cookies, and let it sit for at least 15 minutes or until icing is firm and dry to the touch.

Mixed Greens Salad with Grilled Chicken, Nasturtium Flowers and Ginger Soy Dressing

https://pastaprincessandmore.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/mixed-greens-salad-with-grilled-chicken-nasturtium-flowers-and-ginger-soy-dressing-are-you-a-flower-eater/

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Process until smooth.

Salad Ingredients

• Mixed greens
• Arugula
• Avocado
• Red Pepper
• Grape tomatoes
• Crumbled blue cheese
• Mushrooms
• Grilled Chicken
• Nasturtium

Nasturtium Hot Sauce

http://larderlove.com/nasturtium-hot-sauce/

You will need approximately 1 cup of closely packed nasturtium flowers. It is always best to pick flowers at herbs in the morning after the dew has dried off their leaves and petals but before the sun is high in the sky (noon) when the plants are too dry.

1 clove of garlic.

1 tiny red chilli pepper.

2 cups/500ml of apple cider vinegar.

The only equipment you need here is a jar large enough to hold all your ingredients. Please sterilize it first, see instructions on my sterilizing resources page, and some small sterilized bottles to store the resulting hot sauce in.

Remove any dust and particles from the flowers and carefully pat dry.

Pack the flowers into your jar .

Peel and chop the clove of garlic and add this to the jar.

Split the little chilli and add this to the jar.

Now pour in the apple cider vinegar.

Pop the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.

Store in a cool dark cupboard for 1 week remembering to shake it every day.

After a week the flowers will have colored the vinegar the most gorgeously vibrant color. It will depend on the color of the flowers what color of vinegar you get, yellow flowers give a golden hue while the deep red beauties will create a really rich almost burgundy color.

Strain your vinegar through a sieve lined with kitchen paper or muslin and decant into smaller bottles.

Your hot sauce will keep for up to 6 months in a cool dark cupboard.