Monthly Archives: May 2018

The Beauty of Duck Hunting

I enjoy Duck Hunting, but my culture is different from the majority of “Hunters” out there. I eat ALL of the duck, including livers, gizzards, kidneys, hearts, etc – ZERO WASTAGE.  There are so many wonderful recipes and the 11 ducks I harvested today can supply many a delicious meal for family and friends. I hunted for three hours only, then stopped, as I had enough – the rest of the “Hunters” were still busy making war and will do so for many hours and days to come, then throw away most, if not all, the wonderful food. I understand there is a duck shortage in the Northern Island this year – I AM NOT SURPRISED.

Pasta con Rutabaga (Italian Swede Spaghetti)

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A friend brought us a wonderful, big yellow swede. We admired it for a day while it sat on the kitchen bench, and this morning it got too much for Mrs BYF. She attacked it with the large chef’s knife and about 30 minutes later we had a delicious pasta. I only post the recipes I have used a lot and those that I am certainly going to use again. This recipe is one of those!

Ingredients

1/4 or less of a massive yellow swede  cut into pencil shaped pieces

3 Cloves of garlic smashed and chopped

1 pinch of chilli

6 tablespoons of olive oil

3 eggs, lightly whisked

a few silver beet leaves optional ( I was digging and the plant was in the way)

salt and pepper

grated parmigiano cheese

Method

Pour the olive oil in to a large pan with a lid. Add the garlic and the pinch of chilli. Add the rinsed and dried swede pieces and fry for a few  minutes. Add a few spoonfuls of water and the silverbeet and cover the pan. Once the swede feels a bit soft and has turned a lovely dark yellow, uncover and let the water evaporate. Put the pasta in the salted boiling water and cook until done. Fry the swede a bit more until a little brown appears but turn off the heat before  the swede disintegrates. Drain and put the pasta in the pan on top of the swede, wait until the sizzle has subsided then pour the egg over the pasta. Mix well by gently turning the mixture in the pan over a few times.

Serve with a generous sprinkling of parmigiano cheese and a bit of black pepper. A dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil will enhance the flavour.

I took some rabbit back straps from the freezer yesterday as well as harvested fresh salad this morning, hoping to have it as a main today, but after four helpings of Mrs BYF’s swede pasta, the quails were very happy with the salad and the rabbit is back in the fridge.

The Cherry and Black Current Wine complimented this wonderful dish perfectly

ENJOY!!

Cavolo al Forno (Italian style Roast Cabbage)

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I am harvesting a lot of cabbage. Cabbage is by far not my favourite vegetable, but Mrs BYF really loves cabbage in all forms. She is determined not to waste any part of the cabbage I brought in, so we have had the outer leaves stuffed yesterday, half of the cabbage fried along with some left over roast potatoes the day before, and today the other half roasted. The tastiest effort in my opinion was the roasted cabbage.

Ingredients

1 Head of cabbage sliced in 25mm thick slices, salt the slices very lightly on both sides

1/2 cup olive oil

1 pinch of salt

1 finely chopped chilli or pinch of flakes

4 cloves of peeled garlic

1 handful of fresh herbs from the garden i.e. oregano, thyme a sprig of rosemary

Method

Heat the oven to 200C

Crush the garlic and add to the oil. Add the salt and chilli and drench the bunch of herbs in the oil. Use the herbs as a brush to coat the slices of cabbage on both sides with the oil. Place the cabbage on a baking tray or pan, pour over the rest of the oil, and toss in the bunch of herbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until some of the outer leaves are crispy and the rest shows some brown colour. The herbs will be delicious also.

We ate fresh baked bread with the dish, because one needs to sop up all the lovely juices from the plate and the pan

Do not forget the home made red wine

ENJOY!!

Foglie di Cavolo ripieni di Carne (Meat filled Cabbage Rolls)

The harvest from our organic Back Yard Farm continues and every time Mrs BYF delivers.

Carefully remove the larger outer leaves of the cabbage and blanch them in boiling water until they are soft and flexible

Ingredients

1 small onion finely chopped

1 cup of pork mince
1 thick slice of white Italian style bread, dipped in milk, squeezed and crumbled
1  egg
1 handful of mixed fresh herbs, parsley, oregano, bit of thyme,  a sprig of rosemary, whatever you have, finely chopped
1 pinch of chili flakes
salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Method

Mix all the ingredients together well
Shape the mixture into rounded patties and fry until brown in a pan with some olive oil. Then lay each patty in the center of a cabbage leaf and fold the leaf so that the filling does not escape. Put the leaves folded side down in a pot that will hold all the rolls in a single layer. Add a few spoon fulls of good meat stock or water if you do not have stock. If you have a Dutch Oven or a heavy pot with a tightly fitting lid you can simmer the dish on the stove for 30 minutes until tender, adding a spoon full of good meat stock or water if you do not have stock, when needed. The rolls can also be baked in the oven at 190 C for 30 minutes.
We ate the rolls with polenta, but brown rice cooked with a hand full of lentils would also be good
Do not forget to enjoy this wonderful meal with enough home made wine
ENJOY!!