Kohlrabi and apple salsa-salad

Not sure if 'salsa' is the best description for this - perhaps it's more like a finely-diced salad. Either way, the idea is that it can easily be scooped up with tortilla chips or bits of bell pepper. It is for our lab happy hour (apple themed), and I thought of making it after the success of this mango and sweetcorn salsa.

I used kohlrabi because we had some in the fridge and it seemed like it would go well with apple. Think jicama would also be good - similar crispy freshness.

1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and finely chopped
2 tart, medium-sized apples (Granny Smith or similar), peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp nasturtium seeds, finely chopped*
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
salt to taste

Prepare the apple and kohlrabi and toss with the lime juice immediately to prevent the apple from browning. Add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until needed.

*I might have used some finely chopped green chilli and / or finely chopped root ginger as well / instead.

Mango and sweetcorn salsa

The first PhD student ever to graduate from the lab I'm working in is defending his thesis today. So we will have a little 'reception' afterwards. It will feature a zebra-shaped pinata: I am excited... We also needed snacks and nibbles for mid afternoon, so I decided to make a few dips and chop up some veg (I have lots of peppers right now) to go with them; perhaps make some crackers if I have time. One person in the lab doesn't eat nightshades (ie peppers, chillies, aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes) so the two dips I made are both nightshade-free as well as gluten-free and vegan. I made a red lentil dip and this. I was thinking of using fresh corn but ended up using frozen for speed and ease - fresh corn would probably be delicious.

1 cup frozen sweetcorn, defrosted (or use fresh)
1 cup frozen mango chunks, slightly thawed and then diced into ~7mm chunks
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp nasturtium seeds, finely chopped*
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of ~1 lime
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly-ground white pepper*

Prepare all the ingredients then mix together in a bowl. Taste for seasoning and lime.

*I used nasturtium seeds and white pepper to add a bit of spice in the absence of nightshades - I would add some finely chopped fresh chilli or some dried chilli flakes if nightshades weren't an issue.

Three bean salad

Amazingly enough green beans to do something with, already. This time a multi-bean salad. I used to make these a lot, chucking in as many kinds of beans as I had, trying to max out the bean variety count. This time I kept it to three, as I thought they looked pretty and tasted good together. With tomatoes, herbs and nasturtium seeds (our other current favourite thing) from my pot garden (and garlic and sweet pepper from the CSA), this is super fresh and packed with flavour.

~1 cup green beans, top-and-tailed and chopped into ~2 cm pieces
~1 cup black eyed beans, defrosted
1/2 cup chickpeas, defrosted
1/2 sweet pepper (mine was yellow), diced
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
~8 fresh nasturtium seeds, chopped
1 tbsp chives, chopped
1-2 tbsp mint, chopped
1-2 tbsp parsley, chopped
zest and juice of 1/4 lemon
1/8 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp honey
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Prepare the green beans and steam them for 10-15 min, until tender. Plunge into cold water to stop cooking, then drain. Mix the black eyed beans, chickpeas and green beans in a bowl. Add the chopped pepper, tomatoes, nasturtium seeds, herbs and lemon zest. Mix the lemon juice, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl then add to the bean mixture. Toss everything together, taste for seasoning and eat.


This was really fresh and crunchy and tasty. There was quite a lot of liquid in it so I reduced the dressing quantities listed above (originally used more like 1/2 lemon etc).

Pickled nasturtium seeds

I grew nasturtiums this year, because I love them. I love them because they are blowsy and beautiful, also because you can eat the leaves, flowers and seeds. And they taste awesome: peppery and distinctive. I remember playing with them in the garden as a child: my sisters and I would feed the seeds to each other (blindfolded so we didn't know if it would be a sweet raspberry or what) for the spicy thrill - they have an almost wasabi-like intensity.

But actually, one of the main reasons I wanted to grow them was because I wanted to try pickling the seeds. I've heard them described as 'poor man's capers', and I couldn't resist that description. As well as tasting amazing, the seeds look incredible: they are light green and striated with curved ridges, so each one is covered with an exaggerated fingerprint pattern.

Sadly, my harvest was rather small, but I decided to go ahead and pickle them anyway. I threw a few buds in as well to see what would happen - seems like they could be closer to a true caper.

Nasturtium seeds (and unopened or just-opening flower buds)
Brine (2 tsp salt in 100 ml water)
Spiced vinegar (1 peppercorn, small bayleaf, pinch of salt in 100 ml cider vinegar)

I collected the seeds over a week or two and stored them in a plastic tub in the fridge.

When ready to start making them pickled, mix up the brine and soak the seeds in it for 12-24 hours at room temperature.

Next, warm the vinegar with the peppercorn, salt and bay, and let cool. Put the seeds in a sterilised jar. Cover them with the spiced vinegar, seal and refrigerate. They should keep pretty much indefinitely in the fridge (think they'd also be fine outside of the fridge but to be on the safe side I'm keeping them in the fridge).

The seeds ended up a bit disappointing - pale, and they have lost their spiciness. However, the plants have had a second coming and I have loads more seeds (mid-end August), so there is a chance for a second attempt - I think I will try using my faux-Grillo's brine, and perhaps add some nasturtium seeds to other pickles if I happen to get my grubby paws on more cukes or courgettes.

Following a few experiments with picking and salting I have decided it is mostly best to just keep nasturtium seeds in a loosely-covered pot in the fridge - they keep quite long (several months) and retain their crunch and pepperiness this way.

Spring pizza

Ramps were the one I hadn't tried in the Northeast Spring trinity (the other two in the trinity being fiddleheads and morels). They are essentially wild leeks, and while they grow in other places too people seems to be particularly nuts about them around here. I'd given up hope of eating ramps this year: Spring is basically over, and I thought my last chance had come and gone in Philly. But then they were selling them in the canteen at work (about the last place I would have expected!): they weren't in the best nick but good enough and I couldn't resist, so I bought a bunch.

But then, what to do with them? I settled on pizza as a good way of extending a small quantity of a fancy ingredient. I decided they would go well with hazelnuts, but otherwise wanted to keep that one simple. But figured we would need more than one pizza, so made enough dough and a second pizza with a riot of colourful (mostly green) Spring tastes on it. I wanted to explore a few more things regarding pizza: hoping for a good, quickish dough recipe, using 00 flour (bought by accident a while ago when looking for pasta flour, but probably perfect for pizza?), pre-heating our cast-iron pan / sliding prepped pizza onto hot pan, and freezing dough for future use. Decided to try out Jamie Oliver's recipe, as it contained both 00, semolina and olive oil, all of which seemed right in pizza, and also it proves in one hour (not unreasonable).

For the dough:
(makes enough for 4 smallish or 3 bigger pizzas)
3 1/2 cups strong white bread flour / 00 flour
(or 2 1/2 cups strong white bread flour / 00 flour plus 1 cup finely ground semolina flour (pasta flour))
1/2 tbsp fine sea / desert salt
1 3/4 tbsp dried yeast
1/2 tbsp raw sugar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

Toppings for ramp pizza:
~4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dandelion-ramp miso
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch (5) ramps, cleaned, trimmed, separated into bulbs and leaves and chopped
~8 hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (add after baking)

Toppings for green pizza:
1/2 cup frozen broad beans (without jackets), defrosted
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1-2 tbsp mint leaves
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt+pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small bulb fresh spring garlic, trimmed and chopped (including green parts)
bunch of spring greens: nasturtium leaves, radish leaves, rocket leaves, roughly chopped (~1 cup when chopped)
5 black olives, de-pitted and chopped
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 piece of dry tofu, thinly sliced
flowers from 2 chive flowerheads (add after baking)

Mix the flours (I used the mixture of 00 and semolina) and salt with a fork, then dump on a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes. Add some of the liquid mix to the well, then bring in the flour, continuing to add the liquid and bring in the flour gradually until you have used all the liquid and the dough starts to come together. Knead for about 10 min, until the dough is smooth and springy. Put the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, prepare the toppings. For the ramp pizza, mix together the tomato puree, vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, salt+pepper and miso, then thin with a little water until a good spreading consistency. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, then add the white parts of the ramps and fry for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add green parts, season and fry for a minute or two more until wilted. For the green pizza, put the broad beans, peas, mint, 1 tsp olive oil, salt+pepper and lemon juice in a blender cup and blend until they become a smooth, green puree. Cook the garlic and spring greens together as for the ramps, adding the garlic first and then the greens.

Punch down the dough. Divide the dough into 3-4 balls (one per pizza). You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required (I used two balls for this and put two more in the freezer*). For immediate use, roll a dough ball out to a rough circle about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a piece of baking paper scattered with semolina on top of a large wooden board. Put a pizza stone, cast iron pizza pan or baking sheet in the oven and heat to 450F. Arrange the toppings on the dough circle: smear the puree or sauce across the surface, taking it right up close to the edges, then sprinkle with the remaining ingredients (except stuff to be added after baking). Open the oven and carefully slide the paper and pizza onto the heated stone or pan. Bake for ~20 min, until the pizza is lightly browned and puffy around the edges. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a minute or two, then sprinkle with the final toppings (hazelnuts on ramp pizza, chive flowers on green pizza) before eating.


Both came out pretty good. The sliding onto pizza pan worked out pretty good, and the dough puffed up nicely (although there is definitely a sweet spot with thickness - it is possible to go too thin and end up with something super crispy that doesn't really puff up and browns instantly at the edges). I liked both topping combinations: ramps and hazelnuts definitely go well together, and the radish/nasturtium/rocket mix was very tasty with the green puree, sunflower seeds and pretty purple chive flowers.

*To use dough from the freezer, take frozen dough balls out to defrost ~2 hours before you want to use them (I had no problems with them sticking to the clingfilm or anything like that). When they are soft, you can roll them out as for the fresh dough and proceed from there.