The Spring Vegetable Stew recipe below is from The Nourished Kitchen: Farm-to-Table Recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle Featuring Bone Broths, Fermented Vegetables, Grass-Fed Meats, Wholesome Fats, Raw Dairy, and Kombuchas, a cookbook by Jennifer McGruther.
Check out my post from the other day: It's not a cookbook, it's a work of ART!
Here's Jenny…
After a long winter of heavy dishes—meats, potatoes, root vegetables, and breads—I look forward to the clean and vibrant abundance of spring. I make this Spring Vegetable Stew with the many firsts that spring brings: the first leeks, beans, peas, and artichokes. They stew together in Chicken Foot Broth, which offers up its delicate but still rich flavor as a companion to the vegetables. At the end, I toss in fresh basil, parsley, and mint, which brighten the stew a bit more with their clean and faintly floral notes. Lemon juice and zest add a punch of sourness that further complements the flavors of the stew.
If you do not have fresh lima beans, peas, and artichoke hearts, you can prepare this soup from frozen vegetables—as I often do in autumn and winter if I’ve had the forethought to preserve a little of the spring harvest. Keep in mind, however, that if you do make this stew from frozen vegetables, it will not need to cook as long as it does when using fresh ingredients, and can be finished in about 20 minutes start to finish.
Spring Vegetable Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon pastured lard
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus more to serve
- 1 large leek white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 4 cups Chicken Foot Broth See below for Jenny's recipe, and also you can click here for my post: Chicken Feet in My Broth – SICK!
- 2 cups lima beans
- 1 pound English peas shelled (1 cup)
- 1 cup baby artichoke hearts halved
- Finely ground unrefined sea salt
- 1/4 cup torn fresh basil
- 1/4 cup torn fresh mint
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Stir in the broth, lima beans, peas, and artichoke hearts. Cover and simmer until the vegetables become tender, about 30 minutes. Season to your liking with salt, stir in the herbs and lemon juice, and serve.
Chicken Foot Broth:
Whenever our local rancher processes chickens, I arrive with bags in hand, not for the whole chickens, but to ask for the feet, lest they feed them to the dogs. Chicken feet have very little marketable value. Gnarly and doubtlessly repulsive with their scaly yellow skin and sharp talons, they nevertheless make the best broth. As with other odd cuts of meat, it’s easy to cast off the humble chicken foot, but in allowing squeamishness to get the better of you, you also miss out on the powerful nourishment and deep flavor they lend to broth, soups, and sauces.
Chicken feet are an extraordinary source of amino acids, particularly collagen, which is why chicken foot broth gels so readily. Its flavor is rich and concentrated, but somehow still delicate.
Chicken Foot Broth Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken feet scrubbed very well
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 large leek root tip removed, white and green parts thinly sliced
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 6 to 8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 4 to 6 quarts cold water plus more as needed
Instructions
- If necessary, peel away and discard any yellow membrane that adheres to the chicken feet, then chop off the claws. (The process of defeathering chickens often removes that yellow membrane; however, if it remains, it—and the talons—can create off flavors in the broth.)
- Combine the chicken feet, onion, leek, celery, carrots, peppercorns, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, and wine in a large, heavy stockpot. Cover the chicken feet with the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 8 to 12 hours, adding water as necessary to keep the feet submerged. From time to time, skim away any scum that might rise to the surface.
- Strain the broth, discarding the solids, then pour it into jars, cover, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 6 months. With chilling, the broth should gel enough that it must be scooped out of the jar with a spoon. This is normal, and the broth will liquefy once you heat it. A thin layer of yellow fat may harden on the surface of the gelled broth; I recommend discarding this fat, as it doesn’t lend itself to cooking. I now know how quick and simple pressure cooker broth is so I can make some mineral-rich broth more quickly in a pinch.
(Note from Kelly: I now know how quick and simple pressure cooker broth is so I can make some mineral-rich broth more quickly in a pinch. If you just don't think you will make it or want some on hand for when you're really crunched for time, try this bone broth — it's 100% grass-fed with a bunch of gelatin, organic ingredients, and it's shelf stable! I love keeping their beef and chicken broth on-hand for quick recipes because they make it just like I do here, and without the nasty msg-like ingredients, additives, or preservatives that store-bought has. Also, here's how to make broth for rookies.)
Click here for Jenny's Nourished Kitchen cookbook
Click here for another of her recipes: Wild Mushroom Soup from Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen {Includes Bone Broth Instructions}
morewithlessmom says
I have to admit I’ve never made broth from feet, but if I had some I would. Thanks for posting, I shared this on my May real food meal plan.
Alice Reybitz says
OOPS..forgot to say I have pre-ordered the book..very excited to get it!!
Alice Reybitz says
This sounds YUMMY…I make Thai Chicken feet with lemongrass, coconut milk, and ginger simmered on the stove for an hour or two..OR the crock pot on low for 6 hours…HEAVEN on a bone!!!