Well my mantra to bring along summer didn’t quite work as I had hoped. This morning it poured rain real hard but that didn’t stop me from heading to the farmer’s market in Trout Lake with a couple of friends. When I got home, I was soaked from head to toe but my bags were full of organic, local produce. The other day I had spied some mustard greens over at PocoCocoa and was curious since I’ve never eaten them before. Lo and behold, there were mustard greens galore at the farmers market, so I picked up a bunch along with some pretty tomatoes, baby beets, baby portobellos, baby potatoes, rhubarb and some sunchokes. I was pretty pleased with my haul and had all sorts of ideas regarding dinner floating about in my head. Crystal’s recipe for mustard greens and pasta would be the basis of the meal and since I had also picked up some fresh, crusty sourdough bread earlier that day, I decided that bruschetta would be the perfect accompaniment. And oh boy, dinner was awesome! The meal was put together in about 20 minutes and the flavours were simple enough to let the freshness of the vegetables and herbs do their thing. Pair this meal with a glass of wine (or two), put some old records on the hi-fi and eat this up with your favorite someone and you might even forget that it’s raining outside.
The original pasta recipe called for lemon zest but I only had a naked (zest removed) lemon in the fridge, so I just used the juice. I’m sure the zest would only make things more awesome. And the tomatoes I used for the bruschetta were half cherry tomatoes and half of these crazy green & orange striped ones. They had the perfect sweet/acidic balance and were possibly the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten.
fettucini with mustard greens
(based on a recipe from Crystal)
250g fettucini
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb mustard greens, washed & trimmed
3 T parmesan cheese, grated
pepper1. Prepare fettucini according to package directions. Make sure to salt the water because that’s the only salt you’ll find in this recipe.
2. In a large skillet, heat up olive oil and butter. Add garlic and saute until fragrant and slightly golden. Add mustard greens, tearing them into bite sized pieces. Saute until bright green. Add drained pasta to skillet along with the lemon juice, 1 T of parmesan and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Toss and serve with remaining parmesan cheese.
bruschetta
1/2 loaf of fresh sourdough bread, sliced into thick slices
10 large cherry tomatoes, quartered or cut into eights
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 basil leaves, torn
a small handful of parsley, torn
1-2 t balsamic vinegar
1-2 T olive oil
fleur du sel & pepper
1/2 c parmesan cheese1. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, parsley, balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Arrange sourdough slices on a cookie sheet. Brush bread with the olive oil/balsamic/tomato juice mixture from the bottom of the bowl. Toast under the broiler for a few minutes until slightly golden. Remove from oven and spoon the tomato mixture on top. Sprinkle with parmesan and return to the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
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Coincidentally, I was reading today’s local paper and apparently there is a new trend sweeping the citizens of TO. There is a demand for locally grown produce (re: 100-mile diet)and as a result a whole crop of farmers markets are springing up around the city. There’s one tomorrow actually and hubby and I were chatting about checking it out.
Unfortunately, it starts at 9 a.m. on Sunday and being the night owl that I am, I will find it extrememly difficult crawling out of bed in the a.m.
One definite motivator is the delicious looking meal you came up with from your farmer’s market purchases. This might just be the kick in the butt I need to get me going tomorrow.
I’ve had mustard greens before. Let’s just say it wasn’t a gourmet experience. My mom used to make them. Her recipe involved boiling them to death and then dousing them with olive oil and lemon juice. Super soggy green mush…yech!
Tip:
A good way to ensure you always have lemon zest on hand is to used dried zest. Moroccan cooking often uses dried lemon zest. Peel the lemon skin with a veggie peeler. Dry the peel for a few days in the sun or window sill and then mince or grate the dried bits. Store the dry and grated lemon in a tightly sealed jar. You can do the same with oranges and limes.
Ahhh, I guess I took the good weather away with me…I just left Vancouver a week ago! Had a lovely book launch at Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks – what a great place! (Never saw a drop of rain!)…I just checked out the Chatelaine article – good stuff!
Ah full support of farmer’s markets kick butt! I love going and then finding more than needed, realizing you don’t have enough money. It’s sooo sad, but peaches are in season, so that means everything peach.
this looks like a great meal for a rainy day!
my farmer’s market was brimming with spring onions and chard. i came home with armfuls . . .
What a delicious meal! Very fresh.
joanne, i hope you made it to the farmer’s market! we have 5 to choose from & most of them are on different days, so there is lots of options! as for the zest tips, i use zest all the time…more so than the lemons, so that’s why i always have a surplus of naked lemons in the fridge 😉
damn you maruysa! you probably took the sun with you!
jerry, i have yet to try a peach this season! must eat one soon. yum 🙂
wellunderstood, yes, so much chard to be had and so many different colours! it was so pretty.
thanks kristen, it was.
Alas, I never did make it to the market on Sunday morn 🙁 I’ll aim for next Sunday…
Hooray for mustard greens! 🙂