Perfect Rainbow Chard

Everything was so beautiful at the farmers market this weekend, I’m going to let my images speak for themselves.

Spring Flowers

Spring Strawberries

Red Radishes

Pea Tendrils

Lovely Spring Onions

Organic Green Garlic

Heirloom Tomato

Fresh Sage

Lovely Carrots

Baby Fava Beans

Early Cherries

Bergamont & Chocolate Mint

Purple Flowers

Today’s purchases:

• Strawberries (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farm)
• Red Russian kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Fava beans (Catalan Family Farm)
• Carrots (Catalan Family Farm)
• Cilantro (Catalan Family Farm)
• Sugar snap peas (Chue’s Farm)
• Italian parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Morel mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Salad greens (Star Route Farms)

Is your farmers market open yet?

Rainbow Chard

I realized I left many of you hanging this weekend after talking so much about chard without giving you my favorite recipe. Chard is a regular in my weekly meals because it is delicious, inexpensive and usually available year round. But this time of year, it shouldn’t be missed.

This recipe is a true crowd pleaser–I’ve won over more than a few self-proclaimed chard haters with it.

When older and larger, chard can sometimes take on a slightly bitter quality (not a problem this time of year). In this recipe I cut the bitterness with fresh mint, which brightens the dish in a subtle yet surprising way. I also add pistachio nuts to give the dish a pleasant crunch.

I love this dish with eggs or as an accompaniment to beans or lentils.

Swiss Chard With Pistachios And Mint

Makes 2-3 side dishes

Ingredients:

• One bunch Swiss chard, any color
• One shallot or leek
• 1/4 cup pistachio nut meats
• About 12 fresh mint leaves
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

To start, dice a small mild onion such as a shallot, leek or ciopollini. If you use a leek be sure to clean it well and remove all the trapped dirt between the leaves.

Next slice a large handful of mint leaves. Leaves such as mint and basil are easiest to cut if you chiffonade them by stacking the leaves on top of each other and rolling them lengthwise like a cigarette. From there they are easy to cut into thin strips. Set the mint aside.

Clean your chard. If the stems are very thick (which they often are) you may want to remove them from the leaves. After removing the stems, cut the chard leaves into 1 inch squares. If you want to include some stem in your dish for color and texture, cut them in half and add them to the pan a few minutes before the leaves so they soften and are easier to eat.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat until it swirls easily in the pan. Add onion, pistachio nuts and chard stems and sauté until the onion is soft and starts to brown slightly.

Add chard leaves and stir to coat in oil. Gently sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover for 1-2 minutes, allowing the chard to wilt. Uncover, stir and continue to cook until chard is dark green and the stems are tender, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle mint over the chard and stir. Continue cooking another 1-2 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Have you ever tried chard with mint?

Recipe was originally published August 17, 2008, but has been much improved.

Summer Squash

I do not want to call it summer just yet, but we’re certainly getting close. I was finally able to return to my beloved Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this weekend in San Francisco. What a delight!

Last time I visited cherries were just starting to get good and a few apricots and tomatoes were peeking out. Now stone fruits have completely taken over the market, tomatoes are abundant and summer squash have exploded in a way I don’t remember from years past. Truly breathtaking.

Larian & Rainier Cherries

Organic Plums

Strawberries are particularly sweet right now, while blueberries are the perfect combination of sweet, tart and crunchy. I saw raspberries for the first time today, but did not get a chance to taste them.

Another remarkable sight was the fresh herbs. Scents of basil, thyme, mint, oregano and lavender infuse the air with the unmistakable fragrance of the coming summer. I couldn’t help but buy all I could carry.

Oregano

Spearmint

Some notable early spring items have also disappeared. There are no longer aspargus or *sniff* ramps. Citrus is also on it’s last legs.

Finally, today was the first time I have been to the market since plastic bags were banned. I bought a roll of the biodegradable kind from the CUESA information booth. Some vendors gave them out for free, but most did not. All around the experience is a little bit annoying (I accidentally spilled a bag of cherries on the ground because of the chaos in my shopping bag), but mostly manageable. I do wish there were a better solution, but I’m sure I will get used to the inconvenience eventually.

Salad Mix

Garlic and Squash Blossoms

Today’s Purchases:

• Bing cherries (Bella Viva Orchards)
• Summer squash (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• English shelling peas (Iacopi Farms)
• Garlic scapes (Marin Roots Farms)
• Tokyo salad turnips (Marin Roots Farms)
• French thyme (Marin Roots Farms)
• Lettuces (Star Route Farms)
• Mediterranean cucumbers (Happy Quail Farms)
• Padrones (Happy Quail Farms)
• Fresh eggs (Happy Quail Farms)
• Basil (Chue’s Farm)
• Italian parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Morel mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Heirloom tomatoes (Bruins Farms)

What did you find at the market today?

Roasted Beets With Fresh Mint and Chèvre

I am very proud to share this recipe with you since it came by special request from my dad–a self-professed beet hater. I won him over with these beets several years ago and he is still talking about them! The same recipe stole my heart back when I thought I hated beets too.

Are you convinced?

Roasted Beets with fresh mint and chèvre is an elegant, impressive dish that hardly requires any cooking skills. If you are still worried you will not like the flavor of beets, you can look for the milder and less messy golden or candy-striped beets. Whenever possible I like to use a few different beet varieties to mix up the colors and flavors, but today I’m sticking with the common red garden beet.

Mint Leaves

To begin you must eliminate all thoughts of substituting canned beets for the fresh ones in this recipe. Fresh roasted beets have a rich, sweet and earthy flavor that is completely unlike the flaccid purple slivers that come in a can.

You will also need fresh mint leaves. Most grocery stores and farmers markets will have fresh mint this time of year. Dried leaves really don’t cut it in this recipe.

Chèvre is a soft goat cheese that a close friend of mine describes as “like cream cheese only better.” A little bit goes a very long way, so I always buy the smallest amount possible (this time it cost me $2.89).

Chèvre

Be careful not to add the cheese directly to hot beets or it will melt and form an unattractive pink slime. It still tastes good, but it’s better to avoid this problem by cooling the beets beforehand. An hour in the refrigerator works well, but if you are in a hurry you can get away with 10-15 minutes in the freezer.

This dish is very easy to scale for large batches, making it ideal for parties and potlucks.

Roasted Beets With Fresh Mint and Chèvre

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of beets (3 large), any garden variety
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
• 1/4 oz. chèvre, crumbled
• Olive oil
• Sea salt or kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375.

If the leaves are still on your beets, twist them off leaving enough stem to use as a handle for peeling. If your beet greens are still fresh and springy I recommend cleaning them and cooking them up with some onions and garlic (cook them like spinach). Beet greens are so full of potassium that they are salty to the taste, so be careful with your seasonings because they are easy to over-salt. Both beets and beet greens are extremely good for people with high blood pressure.

Peel your beets using a vegetable peeler (I recommend this one) and chop evenly into bite-sized cubes. Discard stems. Cubes should be approximately 3/4 to 1 inch on each side. Keep in mind that the larger your pieces the longer they will take to cook.

Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil to beets and toss to coat. Sprinkle beets with salt and place in a single layer in a large Pyrex baking pan. Place in oven on middle rack and roast until beets are tender and have a glazed-like appearance, stirring every 8-10 minutes. Roasting takes approximately 35 minutes.

When beets are finished roasting, transfer them to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 30 min, but 45 min to 1 hr is preferable.

5 minutes before the beets are done chilling, stack mint leaves on top of each other and chiffonade them by rolling lengthwise like a cigarette and slicing into thin ribbons. I like to cut the ribbons in half once by making a single cut through the middle of the pile along the vein of the leaves. Discard the stems.

Using a fork, crumble a small amount of chèvre into a small bowl or plate and set aside.

Sprinkle mint onto the beets and stir, leaving a few ribbons for garnish. Adjust salt to taste. Transfer beets and mint to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chèvre and remaining mint. Serve immediately.

Do you love beets? Hate beets? Interested in having pink urine?