Login
Our 5 favorite (new) farmers market recipes
Last week, I wrote about the pasta that finally taught me how to shop at the farmers market. What I didn’t mention was that I ate the first quarter of my bowl standing up, at the bar top between my kitchen and the little alcove where our two-person table sits. I had simply stopped there. The cornbread crumbs were crisp, the chèvre was creamy, the squash had gone sweet and spicy and jammy after some time over low heat, and together they briefly became more interesting than wherever I had been headed.
I don’t want to overstate the revelation. I know what happens when you apply butter and patience to good vegetables. Still, that particular bit of alchemy never gets old to me. Especially when I realized that what was in the bowl had begun as a five-item farmers market haul, helped along by a few things I already had at home.
One excellent thing, I was reminded, is often enough.
Want more great food writing and recipes? Sign up for Salon’s free food newsletter, The Bite.
The five recipes below all begin the same way: with one market find good enough to make me want to cook — sweet corn, ripe peaches, September carrots, a jar of hot giardiniera — and a wickedly simple form to build around it. Pasta. Baked rice. Simple syrup. A rolled pastry. Snack cake. Some of what you need may come from the market, especially at one with eggs, cheese, dairy or even pizza dough on offer; the rest can happily come from your pantry or the supermarket.
The market doesn’t have to provide dinner. Sometimes it just has to provide the idea.
This is the pasta that finally taught me how to shop at the farmers market: Start with a form, bring home one or two beautiful things and give them somewhere to land. Here, grated yellow summer squash and onion spend the better part of an hour over low heat, slowly becoming soft, sweet and jammy. Miso, honey and red-pepper flakes deepen the mixture; pasta water turns it glossy enough to tuck itself into the tubes and folds of a sturdy short pasta.
This is not a 30-minute dinner, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Think of it instead as a very light weekend project, the kind you can tend occasionally while doing something else nearby. The toppings are market-flexible, too: Use whatever chèvre or goat cheese you find, whether it crumbles into little pillows or lands in soft clouds, and turn a leftover hunk of cornbread into crisp, salty crumbs.
Ingredients
-
2 medium yellow summer squash
-
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
-
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, olive oil or a combination
-
Kosher salt, to taste
-
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-
2 teaspoons garlic powder
-
1 tablespoon white miso paste
-
2 teaspoons honey
-
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
-
1 pound short, sturdy pasta, such as rigatoni, shells or cavatappi
-
1 cup coarsely crumbled cornbread
-
Olive oil, for the skillet
-
Flaky salt, optional
-
About 4 ounces chèvre, or more to taste
-
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil
Preparation
-
Prepare the vegetables: Grate the summer squash on the large holes of a box grater. Roughly chop the onion by hand, or pulse it briefly in a food processor until finely chopped but not puréed.
-
Start the sauce: In a large, wide skillet or Dutch oven, heat the butter, olive oil or combination of the two over low heat. Add the squash, onion and a pinch of kosher salt. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for 45 to 60 minutes. The vegetables should become deeply soft and jammy while retaining a little texture; you are not trying to cook them into a completely smooth paste. Taste occasionally and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
-
Deepen the flavor: Once the vegetables are soft and jammy, stir in the garlic powder, miso, honey and red-pepper flakes. Continue cooking over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the seasonings have melded into the squash.
-
Make the cornbread crumbs: While the squash cooks, tear the cornbread into roughly pebble-size pieces by hand, or pulse it briefly in a food processor. Lightly coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and set it over medium heat. Add the cornbread and cook, stirring and turning occasionally, until crisp and golden. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and season with flaky salt while still warm, if desired.
-
Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until just shy of al dente. Before draining, reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
-
Build the sauce: Take the squash mixture off the heat for a moment. Add the drained pasta and a splash of reserved pasta water and toss to combine. Return the pan to low heat and continue adding pasta water, a splash at a time, stirring gently, until the squash loosens into a glossy sauce that works its way into the pasta’s tubes, ridges and folds.
-
Finish: Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped basil. Taste and adjust the salt, black pepper and red-pepper flakes as needed.
-
Serve: Divide among four bowls. Top each generously with chèvre — crumbled if firm, dolloped if soft and spreadable — and about ¼ cup of the crisp cornbread crumbs.
Our Summer sale ends August 31!
A jar of fruit syrup in the refrigerator is one of those small things that can make summer feel remarkably well-appointed. This version simmers ripe peaches with honey and whole black peppercorns until the fruit collapses and the syrup turns fragrant, floral and just a little prickly. I prefer mine on the less-sweet side, but both the honey and pepper are easy to adjust depending on your fruit and your taste.
Use it anywhere a little concentrated summer would be welcome: shaken into cocktails or mocktails, stirred into iced matcha or sparkling water, drizzled over gelato or spooned onto yogurt. Peaches are particularly lovely here, though I’ve made the same syrup with blackberries to equally good effect.
Ingredients
-
3 ripe peaches
-
1 cup water
-
½ to ¾ cup honey, depending on desired sweetness
-
1 to 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, depending on desired intensity
Preparation
-
Prepare the peaches: Peel the peaches, if desired, then remove the pits and roughly chop the fruit. Peeling produces a slightly cleaner finished syrup, but because the mixture will eventually be strained, leaving the skins on works perfectly well.
-
Simmer the syrup: Combine the peaches, water, honey and black peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat as needed to maintain it.
-
Mash the fruit: Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. As the peaches soften, periodically crush them against the side of the saucepan with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to help release their juices. For a stronger peach and pepper flavor, let the mixture simmer toward the longer end of the range.
-
Strain: Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl or heatproof measuring cup and pour in the syrup. Press firmly on the peaches with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid, color and flavor as possible. Discard the solids and peppercorns.
-
Cool and store: Let the syrup cool, then transfer it to a jar with a lid or a deli container. Refrigerate and use within about 1 week for the best flavor.
Somewhere between a pizza roll and a savory breakfast pastry, these start with prepared pizza dough. Some of my better local farmers markets sell it in sweet little rounds, but you can also buy it from your local supermarket. Roll it out cinnamon-roll style, spread with cream cheese, Parmesan, herbs and hot giardiniera, then coil, slice and nestle the spirals together in a buttered skillet.
I like this recipe in particular because if the farmers market has otherwise failed you, there is a decent chance the pickle table has not. Even when the tomatoes are gone and the bread stall is picked clean, you can usually find some jar of something sharp, spicy and brined: giardiniera, hot peppers, spicy dills, pickled carrots.
Giardiniera is my first choice here — jars of it seem to appear at every Chicago market — but think of the filling as a template for whatever good, spicy pickled thing you bring home. Change the herbs accordingly: chives and parsley are excellent with giardiniera, while Mexican-style pickled carrots practically beg for cilantro and oregano.
Ingredients
-
1 pound prepared pizza dough, at room temperature
-
4 to 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
-
½ cup finely grated Parmesan
-
½ cup well-drained, chopped hot giardiniera
-
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, preferably chives and parsley
-
2 tablespoons butter, divided
Preparation
-
Heat the oven: Heat to 375°F. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a baking dish or oven-safe skillet.
-
Make the filling: Pulse the cream cheese, Parmesan, giardiniera and herbs in a food processor until chunky and spreadable, not smooth.
-
Roll the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into roughly a 12-by-16-inch rectangle, about the thickness of dough for cinnamon rolls.
-
Fill and roll: Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a small border. Starting at a long side, roll into a snug log.
-
Slice: Cut into 8 to 12 pieces; 8 makes generous breakfast-sized rolls, while 10 to 12 is better for sharing.
-
Arrange: Nestle cut-side up in the prepared pan. Melt the remaining tablespoon butter and brush over the tops.
-
Bake: Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and deeply golden. Serve warm.
Riso al forno — literally “rice from the oven” — is Italian baked rice, an adaptable format in which partially cooked rice finishes with sauce and cheese. This version leans hard into fresh corn, still in its cool green husks and already smelling sweet before you cut it from the cob.
Half the corn is blended with stock and cream into a velvety sauce; the rest stays whole for juicy texture. Parmesan or Pecorino keeps things more Italian, while cheddar nudges the dish toward American corn casserole. Crisp Mexican-style chorizo is optional, but I genuinely like this best when the corn gets to be extremely, unapologetically corn.
Ingredients
-
2½ cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
-
Kosher salt
-
4 to 6 ears fresh corn, kernels cut from the cobs, divided
-
1 to 1½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
-
½ cup heavy cream
-
Freshly ground black pepper
-
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
-
½ small onion, finely chopped
-
6 to 8 ounces Mexican-style chorizo, cooked until crisp and very well drained, optional
-
¾ cup grated Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or cheddar
-
Sliced scallions or chopped chives, for serving
Preparation
-
Heat the oven: Heat to 375°F. Butter or oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
-
Parboil the rice: Cook the rice in generously salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and transfer to the baking dish.
-
Make the corn sauce: Simmer half the corn with 1 cup stock for about 12 minutes, until tender, adding more stock if needed.
-
Blend: Remove from the heat, add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Blend until mostly smooth and pourable.
-
Cook the remaining corn: Heat the butter or oil in the same saucepan. Add the onion and remaining corn and cook over medium-low until the onion softens.
-
Combine: Fold the corn and onion, plus chorizo if using, into the corn sauce. Pour over the rice and stir gently to combine.
-
Bake: Top with cheese and bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rice is tender and the top lightly golden.
-
Finish: Rest at least 15 minutes, then scatter with scallions or chives.
September carrots can look almost too virtuous at the farmers market: sturdy bunches, feathery green tops, dirt in the creases. Here, they get cooked with butter, brown sugar, orange zest and salt until glossy and jammy, then folded into a simple sour cream cake scented generously with cardamom.
If you find candied citrus peel, toss some in; if not, use the zest of a full orange. Serve with lightly sweetened orange-zest whipped cream — homemade or straight from the spray can.
Ingredients
For the carrots
-
1 cup finely grated carrot
-
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
-
2 tablespoons brown sugar
-
Zest of ½ orange if using candied citrus peel, or 1 whole orange if not
-
Pinch of kosher salt
-
Water, as needed
For the cake
-
3 large eggs
-
1 cup granulated sugar
-
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
-
1 cup sour cream
-
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
-
1½ cups all-purpose flour
-
2 teaspoons baking powder
-
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
-
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
-
½ cup roughly chopped candied citrus peel, optional
For serving
-
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, preferably with orange zest, or canned whipped cream
Preparation
-
Prepare the pan: Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.
-
Cook the carrots: Cook the carrot, butter, brown sugar, zest and salt over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and jammy. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time if the pan gets dry. Cool until just warm.
-
Mix the wet ingredients: Whisk the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted butter, sour cream and vanilla.
-
Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt.
-
Finish the batter: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until combined, then fold in the carrots and candied peel, if using.
-
Bake: Pour into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, until golden and a tester comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
-
Cool: Rest in the pan at least 20 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
This story originally appeared in The Bite, my weekly food newsletter for Salon. If you enjoyed it and would like more essays, recipes, technique explainers and interviews sent straight to your inbox, subscribe here.
Read more
from “The Bite”
The post Our 5 favorite (new) farmers market recipes appeared first on Salon.com.
