the beginning of spring gets me every time.  the simple pleasures of warmth, growth, and outside vibes are enough to make me super giddy. i’m looking forward to a less agitated beginning of spring since last year there was a stressful move to our new apartment while i was in the midst of finishing up my cookbook. so i can’t wait to get out into our little outside space and bring our backyard back to life a bit earlier this year.  i’m hoping to plant some of my favorite plants, veggies, and bushes, including sweet honeysuckle, perhaps a raspberry and edlerflower vine, and i’m super hopeful about growing a rhubarb bushel. i guess we shall see if these grow in brooklyn too!

spring also means a slew of new cookbooks hitting the shelves!  i couldn’t be more excited for so much of the creativity and beauty that dress the pages of so many bloggers and cooks that i admire.  so in the spirit of cookbook season, i’m sharing a recipe from autumn giles (of autumn makes and does), new cookbook, beyond canning!  i was so excited for this book, because i am totally overwhelmed by all things preserving, fermenting, pickling, etc.!  when i opened autumn’s book it was like a breath of fresh air – a steady voice guiding me through the steps until boom!, i had fermented my first piece of food without incident!  for this and many other recipes you will need a kitchen scale (which i’ve been using for a while now, and have really become reliant on especially when baking), mason jars/weck jars/ ball jars, salt, and water.  the fermented jalapeños were so welcome in this breakfast tostada situation, adding heat and tons of flavor that i’m eager to add them to a salad or blend them up in a dressing.  autumn also provides a recipe for fermented jalapeño salsa, which i think i’ll definitely be making with the leftovers as well!

and i’m thrilled to give away a copy of beyond canning: new techniques, ingredients, and flavors to preserve, pickle, and ferment like never before, to one reader (giveaway open worldwide!).  if you’d like to enter, please leave a comment below about your favorite spring or summer-time produce to preserve throughout the season – as a beginer who needs all the help i can get, i’d love to hear your thoughts!  thank you for entering 🙂 *giveaway closes friday, april 1 at 5pm EST

PEA SHOOT, RADISH + FERMENTED  JALAPEÑO TOSTADAS | GF

these can easily be made vegan by substituting the sunny egg for a chickpea or tofu scramble, or even leaving that off altogether and adding a grain like quinoa or brown basmati rice.

fermented  jalapeños

| makes 1 scant quart |

• 340 grams jalapeño slices; you can decide how thick you’d like them
• 5 percent brine to cover by at least 1 inch

tostadas

| makes 4 tostadas |

• 8 toasted tortillas (i like these)
• 1 batch 5-spice black beans, (omit cayenne pepper)
• roughly 1/4 cup fermented jalapeños
• 2 radishes sliced paper thin on a mandolin
• handful of pea shoots or microgreens
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 organic farm eggs
• 1-2 avocados, pitted and sliced thin
• hot sauce (optional)
• salt and fresh pepper

METHOD

fermented jalapeños

1. make the brine. place a quart mason jar on a kitchen scale.  zero the scale. fill it with water.  calculate 5% of the weight of the water, add that amount in salt which creates the 5% brine. cover and shake the jar until salt is dissolved.
2. drop the jalapeño slices into a clean quart mason jar, shaking the jar side to side to help them settle, but not packing them down. if you slice them especially thick, you may not fit the full amount in the jar.  fill the jar only to its shoulder.
3. pour the brine into the jar so that it completely covers the jalapeños.  jiggle a wooden chopstick around in the jar to help remove air bubbles.
4. weight the contents, secure with an airlock, and allow the jalapeños to ferment for up to 2 weeks. you may begin tasting for doneness after 3 days. jalapeños and other hot peppers have a tendency to produce more surface yeasts than other vegetables, so if that happens, don’t be alarmed, just skim it off and proceed with fermentation.
5. cover, label, and refrigerate.

tostadas

1. toast the tortillas using tongs over a gas stovetop flame, or heat them in the oven until warm.  plate one tortilla and top with the beans, a couple of jalapeños and radishes, and some pea shoots (or microgreens).  top with another tortilla and set aside. (repeat with remaining tortillas before you cook the eggs.)
2. heat a skillet over medium heat and add enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan.  once the pan is hot, carefully crack the eggs into the pan and cook until whites are set, but yolk is still a bit runny, about 5-6 minutes.
3. top each tostada with 1 egg, a few slices of avocado, more jalapeños, radishes, and pea shoots. drizzle with hot sauce (optional), a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.

enjoy!

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