Buongiorno. Strawberry season is back! I know we had a few decent batches on the stands over the winter, but they rarely delivered that sweet, succulent burst of flavor we expect from this marvelous fruit. Finally, the first flavorful Albion strawberries can be found on the Miramonte Farms and Tomatero Farms stands: they're a confirmation winter is finally ending.
What I liked this week at the San Francisco farmers markets:
Artichokes are getting to be just right: plump leaves and meaty stems. When you're at the market, check for freshness by holding the artichoke in your hand — it should
feel heavy for its size and should squeak when squeezed. If it just feels spongy, it's probably old: try a different one. Sometimes the leaves will be streaked brown or
white from frostbite or windburn. Though unattractive, this won't affect taste.
Baby red onions are here. You can use the bulbs in salads and the stalks in soups or (my favorite) as topping for Japanese soba noodles with bonito flakes.
For that zing in your Thai or Mexican dishes, cilantro withits roots intact is here. Store it by putting it in a glass of water when you get home: It will stay fresh much longer and will release its fragrant scent in your kitchen.
Baby Rainbow chard can be found on the Tomatero Farms stand. Try it in this savory tart with Vella Cheese Romanello.
Purple asparagus is available from Couture Farms from Kettleman City. This cultivar from Albenga, Italy is sweeter than the green variety and perfect in spring salads. To keep its color, steam it or quickly stir fry it: prolonged cooking or boiling will turn it back green.
Fresh mint can be found on many stands, as pungent as you need it to be.
Champagne mangoes are here. A particularly hard-to-find, sweet, tropical fruitbrought to us by Andrea Tran's farm, in Palmdale. The Champagne variety has a very soft, delectable, juicy flesh: it's great served with grilled chicken or in salsas on a sunny spring day. If you keep them in the fridge, let them come back to room temperature before serving to revive their full flavor.
Andrea Tran also brought us the first Golden Finger bananas. This is a cultivar first developed in Honduras for use in salads: it's tangy and won't brown when cut!
Fresh nopales are here. Here's a selection of recipes from one of the growers.
Enjoy!
Marco Flavio
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