(Farmers) Market Report #1
Short dispatches and recipe ideas for locally farmed and made products
Green salad with radish and cucumber slices, homemade herb croutons, and a creamy dressing.
The word 'summer' means beach time or vacations for some. For me, summer means prime farmer's market hauls. New England has a relatively short growing season which makes it all the more precious. After a winter of abundant but repetitive farm shares of carrots (soooo many carrots), daikon, and other root vegetables, the reappearance of tender greens is like the sigh of delight on the first 50°F spring day.
Despite my odd work schedule (yay kitchen hours), there is a Monday farmer's market in Central Square, Cambridge that I'm able to attend and plan on taking full advantage of over the next few months.
This week's highlights: Romaine Lettuce and Bread
I purchased a HUGE head of romaine lettuce for $3 from one of the produce stalls. I did not realize just how voluminous it was until I got home and extracted it from its bag. Layers and layers of leaves, peeling away like flower petals, until you reach the tender leaves at the heart.
*Market Tip* Always wash and breakdown your produce when you bring it home, especially lettuces and leafy greens!
Remove stems and leaves (you can keep and use them if you like!)
give everyone a good rinse and ride in a salad spinner or let dry on towels
Wrap slightly damp leaves with cloth or paper towels and pack into air tight bags/containers
Is doing this every time annoying? Yes.
But!
Not only does it make using your greens 100% easier and reduces the space they take up in your fridge, they will last for weeks in your fridge rather than days. Talk about food waste control!
The tender inner leaves I left whole since they will be perfect for lettuce wraps and the larger, slightly tougher leaves I chopped up so they would be ready to dress up like they're going out for a night on the town - lively dressing, sliced and chopped veggies, and crunchy accessories galore!
Speaking of crunchy toppings, I also bought a lovely multigrain sourdough loaf from a local bakery - Hi-Rise Bakery's Luce loaf - to snack on over the next 24 hours (48 hours if I can manage it, I'm a carb-horder). Once home, I realized I definitely had enough bread to also make some croutons. So I threw something together.
Time for a kind-of recipe!
Herb Croutons
Cut and torn multigrain sourdough bread dusted with dried herbs and nutritional yeast
Preheat your oven to 375°F. On a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil or parchment, combine the following:
Two or three thick slices of fresh bread, crusty sourdough or otherwise, cut or torn into large pieces
A generous drizzle of olive oil
A few pinches of Herbs de Provence or other dried herbs of your choice
Nutritional yeast, dusted over everything*
Kosher or other flaky style salt
Mix everything together right on the sheet pan, making sure the bread pieces are entirely coated in oil and seasoning.
Toast in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the bread is light golden brown and the kitchen smells like Thanksgiving. Use immediately or let cool (they will crisp up as they cool, but nothing wrong with a warm crunchy/chewy crouton!)
*Could you make this crouton without the nutritional yeast? Sure! But, the slightly funky, cheese-like savoriness it brings makes these croutons truly moreish.
Full salad making spread
My finished salad featured more locally grown vegetables - jewlel like violette radishes and diva cucumbers - and Julia Turshen’s Parmesan + Peppercorn dressing (from Simply Julia). It’s an almost but not quite caesar salad, and croutons were the perfect touch!