3 recipes to make the most of season’s fruits and vegetables – from your garden or the market
Summer is here and farmer’s markets are in full bloom. Thankfully, we can enjoy the local produce, dairy and flowers that are grown nearby.
It’s the time of year when eating local and often organic go hand in hand. What better way to eat than what’s in season? After many years of living in California where we had farmer’s markets year round, it’s a pleasure to live so close to three fabulous markets in the Triangle.
Cooking can seem daunting when it’s 90 degrees outside, so combining a few salads can make a complete meal. Let creativity, along with what’s on hand, be your guide, and you can combine just about any vegetable with lettuce, grains, cheeses and even leftover cooked protein, such as chicken, tofu, fish or steak.
I recommend making a large batch of vinaigrette to store in the fridge, which can be augmented with fresh herbs from your garden or minced garlic or shallots. Vinaigrette will last indefinitely as the acid in the vinegar or citrus acts as a natural preservative.
1. Plan ahead
Planning ahead saves you time in the kitchen. I keep bags of sliced cucumbers, celery and carrot sticks and rinsed and halved cherry tomatoes for ease of preparation when I want to create a quick salad.
Cook all your vegetables on the grill, brushed lightly with olive oil, and store them in the fridge for a week to use when needed. Many markets carry bags of mixed greens that can be the base of your salad. And for those of you with gardens, this is when everything is ripe for the picking.
Cook extra protein for dinner so you won’t need to turn on the stove top or oven for the next couple days.
2. Combine flavors and textures
Remember to add flavor with fresh herbs such as basil, mint, chives, parsley and cilantro. I don’t chop most herbs but instead snip them into the dish with scissors right before serving to preserve their freshness.
Herbs like rosemary and thyme can be lightly chopped and are wonderful with roasted or grilled vegetables. Texture can be added with toasted nuts, sliced radishes, julienne red and yellow peppers or creamy chèvre. Just about any cheese is good crumbled into a vegetable dish, and I especially love feta, chevre, bleu cheese or shaved parmesan.
3. Composed or tossed salads
For impressing your guests and entertaining, I always choose a composed salad, meaning it is arranged attractively on a serving dish rather than tossed. A perfect example is a salad nicoise, which is a complete meal with vegetables, cooked potato, grilled tuna (or high quality canned) and wedges of hard boiled egg.
Tossed salads can be lovely to look at as well with a combination of color from tomatoes, carrots, peppers and white vegetables such as daikon or jicama. The key is to stay local and pick what’s ripe and in season, making a trip the farmer’s market an enjoyable event.
4. Cooking from the market
You never know what is available at the farmer’s market until you go, so planning a dish will require flexibility. Many farms grow the same produce in the Triangle, which may mean less variety than what a specific recipe requires. For example, I had planned to make a watermelon and yellow cherry tomato salad for this story. But when I cut into my melon, it was yellow.
This presented me with a chance to use some lovely ripe red tomatoes in place of the yellow cherry ones. The moral of the story is to work with what you have, and if an ingredient needs to be omitted because you can’t find it, use your creativity to prepare a dish you will enjoy.
Amanda Cushman is a culinary instructor, food writer and cookbook author. She can be reached at chapelhillcookingclasses.com.
Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint and Basil
This salad can be made in the morning or even the day before and dressed right before serving. If you chose red watermelon, pair it with yellow tomatoes, or in this case I worked with a yellow melon and red tomatoes. The presentation is very summery and colorful. Recipe by Amanda Cushman.
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large ripe red tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 shallot, finely diced
5 tablespoon snipped mint leaves
10 basil leaves, chiffonade
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1/2 pound cold yellow watermelon, rind removed, seeded and cut into bite-size cubes
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Whisk together the balsamic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Combine the tomatoes, shallot, salt, pepper and herbs in a large bowl. Add about two tablespoons of the dressing and toss. Marinate for about half an hour. Add about half of the remaining dressing, olives and watermelon and toss gently.
Divide the salad between serving plates and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Garnish with the feta and serve immediately.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Roasted Beets with Romaine and Chevre
Beets can be roasted ahead and served anytime within a week. You can combine yellow and red beets if they are available. Recipe by Amanda Cushman.
2 pounds small beets, washed and quartered
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons snipped chives
2 1/2 cups romaine, ripped into pieces, washed, dried
1/3 cup almonds, walnuts or pecans, toasted and lightly chopped
5 ounces chèvre or feta, optional
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the beets on a half-sheet pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile combine the zest and lemon juice in a small bowl and slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters and set aside in a small bowl. Toss the romaine with half the dressing, taste and add more if desired.
Divide the salad between four plates and garnish with the beets, nuts and chèvre.
Yield: 4 servings
Peach and Plum Crisp
Any fruit can be used that is ripe and in season, including apricots, nectarines, apples or pears. This dessert can be made a few days ahead and served at room temperature or heated slightly in a low oven. Recipe by Amanda Cushman.
3 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into chunks
3 ripe plums, pitted and cut into chunks
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts, chopped or sliced
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Whipped Cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the fruit mixture in a large bowl. Transfer to a greased 9-by-13 inch baking dish.
Make the topping: Combine the flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon, salt and nuts in a medium bowl. Add the butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives.
Scatter the topping mixture over the fruit and bake until golden and bubbly about 30 to 35 minutes.
Make the whiped cream: Combine the cream with the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Serve the whipped cream with the crisp while still warm.
Yield: 8 servings
This story was originally published July 31, 2018 at 10:30 AM.