OPB’s “Superabundant” explores the stories behind the foods of the Pacific Northwest with videos, articles and this weekly newsletter. To keep you sated between episodes, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian, food writer and ecologist, highlights different aspects of the region’s food ecosystem. This week there’s another brand-new episode — Hops — and a recipe for matzo-crusted chicken schnitzel with onion-cider gravy.

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Hops may be harvested in the fall (Oktoberfest tends to occur at around the same time), but as we all know in the Northwest, beer is always in season. But beer isn’t the only way to enjoy hops — for folks who avoid grains, hopped ciders are more widely available than ever, and hopped seltzers are a crispy and refreshing way to enjoy those complex and aromatic compounds (mainly acids, terpenes and essential oils) without grains or alcohol.

In the Northwest, it’s really about the funky little green cones. Just as the heat of different varieties of chilis is measured in Scoville units, the bitterness of various hops is measured in special units — do you know what they’re called? Read on to find out!

Hip hop hooray, leaven can wait, give (beach) peas a chance and good things in markets and gardens

Come on, get hoppy

Last week we looked at coffee, and this week we have another staple Northwest beverage: beer. Well, hops, to be specific (not all hops go into beer, after all). But how did our region drive “hophead” culture, culminating in what can only be described as an IBU (International Bittering Units) arms race? The latest episode of “Superabundant” explores how the Pacific Northwest found itself smack-dab in the middle of hops’ past, present and future.

Chag Pesach sameach!

Monday, April 22 marks the beginning of Passover, the eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the exodus of Israelites escaping enslavement in ancient Egypt. Like many major religious holidays, Passover observances use symbolic foods — in this case, the seder meal — as prompts for reflection. Kosher law also prohibits chametz during the holiday, so leavened products like bread (and any grains that have begun to ferment) are off the menu. Just as Ramadan did last month, Passover falls during a complicated time this year. May all who celebrate it find peace and healing.

A good beach read

At the Oregon Coast, the beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus) is beginning to leaf out, so we foraged a few handfuls for stir-fries and pasta dishes. We also read this fascinating (and super discursive!) article about the plant’s history and myriad uses on the blog “Wild Harvests,” written by Northwest author and ethnobotany professor T. Abe Lloyd.

Good things in markets

The hits keep coming with crispy-sweet crucifers: hakurei turnips, breakfast radishes, purple sprouting broccoli and all manner of raabs are all at their peak. Asian varieties like mizuna, komatsuna and choy sum are all delicious ways to eat your leafy greens. Green alliums like chives, leeks, scallions and spring onions are also in their prime, as are ruby stalks of rhubarb. Greens, alliums and rhubarb are all equally suited to tarts — try a savory tart with fresh cheese and plenty of herbs, or a rhubarb tart with hazelnut frangipane.

Wild forageables like fiddleheads, nettles and miner’s lettuce are still here to remind us of the ephemerality of spring foods; fiddleheads will be winding down soon, so get them while you can. Morels are still streaming in too, especially in Southern Oregon. And if all these things weren’t lovely enough, edible flowers like pansies, violets and cherry blossoms remain available to fairy up your dishes.

Winter steelhead season will be winding down over the coming weeks as fish return to the gravels whence they hatched. Luckily, winter steelhead numbers are higher than they’ve been in 20 years. On a recent episode of “Think Out Loud” OPB’s Dave Miller chatted about it with Zach Urness, the outdoors editor of the Statesman Journal.

In the “Superabundant” garden this week

It’s been a good week for tender herbs and garlic chives. The woody herbs have been a bit hit or miss so far; the oregano is lush as ever and the winter savory has put out a ton of new tender leaves, but the thyme seems to have taken a hit over the winter and the sage is getting chomped on by some creature. However, the mint, cilantro, chervil and cress are going gangbusters.

The fig tree is leafing out — you can use the early, tender leaves for making syrup that’s at once nutty, grassy, herbal and slightly spicy-fruity, ideal for cocktails and sorbets. The pawpaw and persimmon are also putting out their first leaves of the year, so it seems like the right time to pull the hoja santa and cherimoya out of the greenhouse.

Recipe: Matzo-crusted chicken schnitzel with onion-cider gravy

Passover begins on Monday, but now that it’s warm and sunny out, a traditional braised brisket or matzo ball soup just don’t sound as good as they did a month ago. We’re craving something crispy with a squeeze of lemon, and schnitzel just happens to fit the bill.

When and how did schnitzel become a mainstay of the Israeli dinner table, anyway? According to the culinary paper trail, breaded and fried veal cutlets — cotoletta — originated in 18th century France and the dish was brought to Italy and Austria during the Napoleonic Wars. In Italy the dish was rebranded milanesa and in Austria it was renamed “Wiener schnitzel.”

The dish continued to spread. It arrived in Texas with German immigrants in the 19th century, becoming chicken-fried or country-fried steak. At the turn of the 20th century, it would come to new Italian-American enclaves as veal parmigiana and chicken parm. During the Japanese Meiji period of the turn of the 20th century, cotoletta also evolved into katsuretsu; Japanese cooks changed it to a pork dish, renaming it tonkatsu. Finally, Ashkenazi Jews brought the dish from Europe to Israel in the 1940s, and it changed once again, this time to a chicken dish to keep kosher when veal wasn’t widely available.

This dish goes well with a richer beer gravy, but since beer is off-limits during Passover (and apples are already represented in the seder’s charoset) we thought we’d try this with a tangy hopped cider instead. We like a simple, local, fresh-hopped cider here like the one made by fifth-generation cider maker Bauman’s in Gervais, but don’t be afraid to experiment with sweeter or funkier ciders, which will also pair beautifully with roasted onions. Serves 4.

Ingredients

Onion-cider gravy

1 tbsp chicken schmaltz or olive oil

1 small red onion, Frenched (cut into thin wedges)

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

4 cups chicken stock

16 oz (2 cups) hopped apple cider

1 tbsp potato starch

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Schnitzel

1 lb (about 2 large) skinless, boneless chicken breasts

½ cup flour

3 tsp kosher salt, divided

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1 cup unsalted matzo meal (or breadcrumbs, if you don’t eat kosher)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp paprika

Oil for frying (vegetable, grapeseed, or avocado are preferable)

Sliced lemon for serving

Instructions

1. Make the gravy: Heat the schmaltz or olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they begin to brown, stirring to coat in the fat. Toss in the thyme sprigs and pour in the chicken stock and cider. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by about half. Stir the potato starch together in a small bowl with a splash of water and stir to dissolve. Stir the potato starch slurry into the simmering broth/cider and simmer, stirring constantly, until the gravy is thickened.
2. While the broth and cider are reducing, butterfly the chicken breasts: Lay the breast flat and, holding your hand flat on top to secure the breast, slide your knife from the thin side of the breast toward the thicker side to make two thin cutlets (the “butterfly” normally comes if you stop before you cut all the way through and open the breast like a book, but you’re just going to slice them down the middle anyway). Repeat with the other chicken breast, then sprinkle the cutlets on both sides with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
3. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap (or reusable silicone baking mat) on a cutting board, place a cutlet in the middle, and then lay another sheet or mat over the chicken. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken cutlets into flat paillards about ⅛” thick.
4. Arrange three shallow bowls for dredging. In one bowl, stir the flour with another pinch of salt and pepper. In the second bowl, beat the eggs. In the third bowl, mix the matzo meal with the remaining salt and pepper, the onion powder and the paprika. Dip each cutlet in the flour, then the egg, and then the seasoned matzo meal, and then set aside on a plate.
5. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat a couple inches of frying oil to 350o. Fry the breaded cutlets, two at a time to avoid overcrowding, until they’re golden brown, about 5-6 minutes (flip them halfway to ensure even cooking). Remove the cooked schnitzels from the oil and set them to drain on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
6. Serve the schnitzel with the sliced lemons and onion-cider gravy. This is nice with mashed potatoes, fries or a light salad.

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