Recipe from The Clifton Inn, Charlottesville
Seasonal Garden Vegetable Medley with Black Cocoa Crumb and Nasturtium Yogurt
Nasturtium Yogurt
4 ¼ cups milk, whole
1/3 cup non-fat milk powder
½ cup plain yogurt
2 cups nasturtium stems and leaves
In a large bowl, place nasturtium stems and large leaves in whole milk, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Remove nasturtium milk from the refrigerator, strain, and add milk powder. Heat milk mixture to 180 degrees, remove from heat and let cool to 115 degrees. Mix in yogurt. Let the mixture sit in warm space (around 100 degrees) for 7-9 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker and tangier it will be.
Black Cocoa Crumb
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
7 ½ tablespoons butter
2 ¾ ground chicory root
2 ¾ tablespoons black cocoa powder
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead until it becomes a crumbly dough. Spread the dough onto a sheet tray and bake in 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until crispy. Break up the baked cookie and grind up in a food processor until crumbly and resembles soil.
Garden Medley
5 radishes
6 wild cherry tomatoes
3 small baby cucumbers
4 baby squash
6 nasturtium flowers and leaves
1 cup baby Swiss chard
1 cup baby kale
Herbs for garnish
1 bunch garlic chive flowers
6 basil flowers
12 borage flowers
12 cucumber flowers
18 wood sorrel
Slice the radishes very thin (on a mandolin) into a container of ice water. Thinly slice squash. Leave cherry tomatoes and cucumbers whole. Gently rub fur off cucumbers.
Spoon some of the nasturtium yogurt onto large plates. Top with some of the black cocoa crumb. Arrange the tomatoes and cucumbers around the crumb and then begin plating the rest of the vegetables. Continue adding the leaves and herbs to the plates, arranging them whimsically. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and coarse flake salt.
Serves 6
