Our guide to summer at the farmers’ market.
Summer is all about the grill — burgers, steaks, chicken and the like — but that doesn’t mean that side dishes using abundant summertime produce should be relegated to an afterthought. Here are some ideas for turning your produce into showstopping side di
Corn
I spied the first crop of sweet Brentwood corn just a couple of weeks back at the G&S Farms stand at the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Look for it to last through mid-October. Boiled or grilled and slathered with butter, nothing says summer more than fresh corn on the cob. I also like to cut the kernels from the cob and toss them with some olive oil in a cast iron skillet, add some sweet green chile peppers and serve as a succotash. Lately, however, I’ve been using it as a topping for corn and pepper flatbread: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is very hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, followed by ½ cup chopped red onion and saute for about 1 minute. Increase the heat to high, add ½ pound of chopped Basque fryer peppers (or shishito or padron), the kernels from 2 ears of corn and 1½ teaspoons minced garlic. Cook until the corn and peppers are crisp, tender and slightly blistered in places, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. To use as a topping for flatbread: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide 1 pound of thawed and proofed ready-made pizza dough into 2 balls. Use a rolling pin or your hands to roll and stretch each piece of dough into a 10-inch round. Place one round on a baking sheet, brush with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, top with half of the corn-pepper mixture and sprinkle with a generous handful of crumbled feta cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, rotating once, until the edges turn golden brown. Garnish with chopped cilantro and cut into slices to serve. Repeat with the remaining round.
Cucumbers
Crunchy, cool, refreshing. Great sliced and served with dip or in salads. I’ve been obsessed with smashed cucumber salad lately. Smashing, rather than the usual slicing, not only breaks down the cucumbers, allowing them to better absorb any dressing you throw their way, but it’s also fun for channeling your inner Incredible Hulk. Use a heavy pan or rolling pin to gently smash 1 large cucumber, such as Armenian (try to catch them at the Balakian Farms stall) or English, and then chop into bite-size chunks. Place the cucumbers in a small colander that’s tucked inside a larger bowl. Sprinkle with a generous pinch or two of kosher salt. Toss to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes, just long enough to draw out some of the liquid from the cucumbers. Place the cucumbers, discarding the liquid, in a medium bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme, 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame seeds and ½ teaspoon sumac. Season to taste with a bit of fresh lemon juice and finish with a sprinkle of coarse, flaked sea salt.
Summer Squash
Look for zucchini, pattypans, crooknecks and other varieties of summer squash now through October. Their hearty nature makes them a prime choice for grilling, yet Lonely Mountain Farm owner Kenny Baker — who grows some beautiful varieties, including safari squash, a striped zucchini — is a fan of grating the squash and turning them into a version of latkes. In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup plain yogurt, 1 clove garlic, minced to a paste with a pinch of kosher salt, and 1 to 2 teaspoons harissa paste. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grate 2 pounds zucchini or other summer squash and remove as much excess liquid as possible by squeezing in a clean dish towel. Place the grated, squeezed zucchini on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to help soak up any remaining moisture. Grate half a yellow onion and remove excess liquid the same way. In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated zucchini and grated onion, ½ cup bread crumbs, 2 large, lightly beaten eggs, plus 1½ teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, and when the oil is hot and shimmering, scoop dollops of the zucchini mixture about the size of 2 tablespoons and place in the pan, gently pressing down to form patties. Cook until the first side is golden brown, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook the other side and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer the cooked patties to a paper towel-lined plate and season with more salt. Serve hot with the harissa yogurt.
Garlic scapes
I’d never cooked with garlic scapes before, but Janet Brown of Allstar Organics had some great tips for me to get started. Garlic scapes should be available at farmers’ markets until early/mid-July. Look for springy, tender and flexible stalks. Use the scapes — the bright green, curly stalks that form in hardneck garlic — in the same way you would use garlic or green garlic. In particular, Brown likes to use them to make a much prettier rendition of garlic bread: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Blitz ½ pound of garlic scapes in a food processor until finely chopped. Melt 1 cup of unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbling, add the garlic scapes and a pinch of kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the garlic scapes are soft, about 15 minutes. Slice a loaf of crusty bread in half and generously spoon the garlic scape-butter mixture on each side. Place both halves on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a bit more kosher salt and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm.
Eggplant
There are plenty of varieties of these purple beauties to choose from at this time of year. I was particularly smitten with smaller varieties like Calliopes, Hansels and Fairy Tales at Star Route Farms. Both the Calliopes and Fairy Tales are white and purple, while Hansels are slender and deep purple in color. Unlike their larger cousins, these smaller eggplants have fewer seeds, less bitterness and don’t need to be salted ahead of cooking. The farm stand’s manager likes to grill, bake or fry the eggplants and then toss in pasta or even put them on a grilled-cheese sandwich. Inspired, I made a sweet, tangy and slightly spicy eggplant condiment that would be equally at home tossed with penne and a bit of crumbled feta, or nestled between two crisp-golden slices of bread and oozy melted cheese. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 pound diced small eggplant and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove the eggplant to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same skillet, add another 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-heat. When the oil is hot, add 1 diced medium yellow onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, ½ cup diced tomatoes, 1⁄3 cup chopped green olives, the eggplant, and ¼ to ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper, depending on how spicy you want it. Add 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture reduces and thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Edible flowers
In addition to their specialty greens, like meadowcress and pea tendrils, Marin Roots Farm specializes in edible flowers. It grows the flowers year-round, but owner Moira Kuhn says that the pinnacle time is July through September. This year she hopes to grow roughly 100 varieties, including dianthus, a member of the carnation family, which comes in hues from white to pink and purple, and has a sweet, slightly grassy taste. On top of the time spent farming the fields, she also spends about 10 hours each week researching new flowers to grow. To keep the farm’s trade secrets, she gives more unusual flower varieties new names like Star Flowers, a delicate star-burst shape blossom that comes in multiple colors. She’s also working on adding a new flower to her collection that has the flavor of a cucumber crossed with a briny oyster; its name, however, is still TBD. Take a cue from the dozens of restaurants around the Bay Area and use the farm’s edible flowers as garnishes for tarts, salads, oysters and even cocktails.