The Four Seasons (3)
Cooking and eating my way through winter, spring, summer and fall
Summer Farmers Markets in New Haven
This is it...it's here....but it won't last very long.
Late August was always an anxious time for me, it marked the end of childhhod summer recklessness, staying up late at night, playing oustide until way past dark, hot box with my friends (and later with my sons), the ice crream truck, grilled foods, and not having to do homework. But, late August also means that the summer harvest is here.
The local farmers markets in New Haven can be slightly underwheling especially when you compare them to the New York markets or even the Santa Monica farmers market. But, we are a small community, and our local farmers bust their butts planting, tending to and now, picking and selling the fruits of their labor. This is a great time to get out, support our local growers and benefit from the beautiful fresh fruit CT soil provides.
Check out cityseed.org to get a listing of the local New Haven Farmers Markets before well... before we are scraping frost off of our windshields.
The Italian to English translation of pesto is to crush or a sauce of crushed ingredients. Basil pesto is one of the cleanest most delicious and healthiest sauces you can make in less than 5 minutes. This time of year, fresh basil practically grows like a weed and it’s a good time to buy quantity while the price is right. I just purchased 6 fresh plants and made 2 quarts of sauce for my own personal use. If you haven’t made your own basil pesto sauce, you really should give it a try. Prepared pesto is typically made with citric acid and other stabilizers, which take way from the clean pure taste of a good freshly, made sauce. After pulling the leaves off the stem of 6 full basil plants, I soaked the basil in lots of cold water in a prep sink. I like to give the water a good stir, dropping much of the soil that might have collected under the leaves to the bottom of the sink. I move pretty quickly because fresh basil isn’t exactly tolerant of sitting around in a hot kitchen. In a food processor, I combine ? cup of a good virgin unfiltered olive oil. I just love the taste of unfiltered green oil. To the oil, I add 6 cloves of fresh peeled garlic and pulse for 15 seconds or until the garlic is macerated into the oil. Next I start piling the basil leaves into the food processor and turn on the machine until the leaves turn into a stiff puree. I add one cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and nuts. Classic pesto features pignolis or pine nuts, the actual seeds found inside of certain varieties of pinecones. I use walnuts or sometimes macadamia depending on what flavor profile I am gong for. Walnuts are certainly the most affordable to use and provide a good full buttery flavor. Once the pesto is blended, I bottle it and top it with more olive oil to keep it from oxidizing. Not only is pesto delicious served at room temperature over pasta, but also it’s a great marinade or finish for grilled meats or fish. It is bustling with flavor and a classic Italian sauce.
I grew up loving figs. My Sicilian born grandfather had fig trees in his back yard, and my grandmother used to harvest the fruit midsummer and make fig puree to later use when baking fig cookies every Christmas. Today, figs are becoming more popular and used in a variety of ways.
Fresh figs tossed with blue cheese and caramelized onions make for a great California style pizza, especially when drizzled with a little bit of brown butter. It's sweet, creamy, crusty and delicious, I'm a big lover of figs and goat cheese, and this makes for a great appetizer. Simply cover a thin slice of toasted baguette with diced fresh purple figs topped with crumble goat cheese and candied walnuts, place three of these fig bruschettas on a nest of fresh argulala for a great trendy $7 appetizer. For a mid-priced entrée, sear two center cut pork chops topped with flash grilled fig halves and roasted shallots drizzled with a reduced madeira wine.