Frittatine di Ortica (Stinging Nettle Subrich)
From the Jim Dixon collection
| Serves | 4 to 6 |
Introduction
This recipe was adapted from Faith Willinger’s Red, White, and Greens, one of my favorite cookbooks. She says they’re called subrich (soo-brick) in the local dialect in the Piemonte town where she found them. Frittatine means “little frittatas,” and since they contain an egg binder it’s as good a name as any, but I usually just call them “fried green things.” There’s also a chard version on my website.
Ingredients
| 2 to 3 | lb. nettles (leaves and slender stalks), enough to yield about 2 cups when cooked and squeezed dry | |
| 1 to 2 | bulbs spring garlic, including 3 to 4 inches of the green tops (or 3 to 4 cloves ordinary garlic) | |
| 3 | eggs, plus one more if needed | |
| 1 | cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese | |
| 1 | tsp. sea salt | |
| 1 to 1½ | cup breadcrumbs, preferably homemade (see Note) | |
| ~ | Extra-virgin olive oil | |
| ~ | Juice of one lemon |
Steps
- Using tongs or wearing gloves, drop the nettles into 3 to 4 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then lift out, drain in colander, and squeeze dry when slightly cooled. Reserve the water for soup stock.
- Coarsely chop the drained and cooled greens, removing any thick stems, then place in a food processor (or chop finely by hand and place in a bowl).
- Coarsely chop spring garlic and add to processor or bowl. Process with nettles until finely chopped.
- Add eggs, cheese, salt, and breadcrumbs; process until well blended.
- Test consistency; the mixture should just hold together when pressed into a ball. If not, add another egg and process briefly. If too wet, add more breadcrumbs.
- In a heavy skillet, heat enough extra-virgin olive oil to cover the bottom until it just begins to simmer. Use two soup spoons to shape roughly egg-shaped ovals of the nettle mixture. Slide them into the oil and flatten gently.Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until nicely browned, then flip and cook other side. Remove from skillet, place on a rack or paper towel, and keep warm while cooking the rest.
- Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Notes
I make breadcrumbs by setting the last few slices of whatever old bread I have out on the counter to dry for a few days, then pulverizing them in a food processor. You can speed this up by drying the bread in a warm oven.
Read more in Jim Dixon’s Produce Diary on nettles.
This content is from the Jim Dixon collection.