Cooking with Fresh Ingredients from the Pearl Farmers Market

When it comes to writing recipes, I need an outside inspiration before I'll make the effort. Take Central Market's Hatch Recipe contest, for example. There's a contest worth spending some time in the kitchen and taking the trouble to write down every blasted little thing you're putting into the concotion. (And scratching it out when it turns out to be a mistake.)

This weekend, I was inspired by a request from the Pearl Farmers Market for food blogs featuring recipes using ingredients from the market. I have never posted recipes on my blog before (not counting Hatch recipes, of course). So I decided, after our visit to the market this weekend, to come up with some recipes to share, based on what we found. Ingredients marked with a ** were sourced at the market.

I hope you enjoy!

Green Bean and Fennel Salad

Salad:

• ½ lb green beans, trimmed**
• ¼ c raw slivered almonds
• ¾ c fennel fronds (stems removed as much as possible), roughly chopped **

Dressing:

• 2 T champagne, cognac or wine vinegar (the better the vinegar, the better the dressing)
• 1 t Dijon mustard
• ¼ t salt
• 1 t sugar
• 7 T extra virgin olive oil (see note on vinegar)
• 1 T chopped fresh chives
• 1 T chopped fresh oregano
• 2 shallots, finely chopped

Blanch beans in boiling, salted water. Check after 8 minutes; they should be crisp/tender. Remove from water and place in an ice bath to stop cooking.

While beans are blanching, toast almonds in a skillet. (I don’t like toasting almonds in an oven; too easy too forget.) Remove from heat when they develop a little color and you start smelling the oil. If you’re across the kitchen and smell them, it’s too late.

Place blanched beans, almonds, and fennel in a large bowl.

To make the dressing, mix the first four ingredients together thoroughly. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking constantly. Stir in the herbs and shallots. Taste for seasoning.

Toss dressing with salad. (Do not overdress. If you have leftover dressing, put it on tomorrow’s green salad.) Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Scalloped Potatoes with Fennel

• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• ¾ c onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 T sage, roughly chopped (divided)
• 1.5 c cream
• 1 T salt
• Several grinds fresh pepper
• ½ lb red potatoes, thinly sliced (a mandolin works well) **
• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (mandolin again) **
• ¾ c parmesan cheese
• ¾ cup fennel fronds, roughly chopped (remove as much of the stems as possible) **

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray.

Render the bacon in a skillet. While the bacon is rendering, add the sage, salt, and pepper to the cream and slowly heat. (Do not let it boil.) Simmer gently until you’re ready to assemble the dish.

When bacon is fully rendered, remove to paper towel to drain. Sauté the onions in the bacon fat until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add half the chopped sage and rendered bacon; remove from heat.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the casserole. Top with 1/3 of the fennel. Then layer 1/3 of the onion/bacon mixture and 1/3 of the parmesan. Repeat 3 times. Top with a little more parmesan.

Cover and place in oven until potatoes are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (one hour to one hour, 15 minutes). Remove foil and continue baking 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and garnish the top with chopped fennel fronds.