fennel

Celebrate Beer Week by pairing great local brews with fantastic produce from the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers’ Market. Find fuyu persimmons at Ranchito Rainbow, Lone Oak Ranch or Smit Orchards, and combine them with fennel from Suzie’s Farm and Nicolau Farm’s chevre in this salad; pair it with Alesmith Li’l Devil, a bright, fruity and spicy Belgian-style ale.

Roasted winter squashes from JR Organics or Proios Family Farm go great with amber ales; we especially liked this kabocha squash recipe with Green Flash Hop Head Red. San Diego brewers are best known for their India Pale Ales, but you’ll need a bold dish to stand up to their strong flavors - try throwing wild Alaskan salmon filets from the Salmon Slinger on the grill with a glaze of pureed guavas from Gilbert Quintos Farm.

There’s some tasty ideas brewing at the market this week!

PRECIOUS RUBY
Ruby red rhubarb from Gilbert Quintos Farm adds a dash of color to the Little Italy Mercato farmers' market this week.  Look for long, thin stalks that resemble celery but with a characteristic crimson color and large, red ribbed leaves at the end.  

Botanically speaking, rhubarb is a vegetable, but it’s often regarded as a fruit due its sweet-tart flavor that makes it a favorite in desserts.  It’s traditionally known as “The Pie Plant” because of its popularity as a  pie filling, where it excels alone or in combination with strawberries from Kawano or JR Organics, or apples from Smit Orchards.  It’s also  great in Susan Russo's Rhubard Crumble using Pudwill berries, tarts, muffins, or a cheesecake made with fresh quark from Springhill Cheese Company.  

BREAK THE SLAW!
We’re making a slew of slaws from the fresh, crunchy vegetables at the Little Italy Mercato farmers' market this week.  If you think of cole slaw as a bowl of limp cabbage swimming in vaguely mayonaise-y dressing, you’ve been missing out on some great spring salads! Almost any of the fresh produce at the market can be made into a slaw, which is nothing more than fresh, raw fruits or veggies sliced thin and tossed with your favorite dressing.  

Stop by Suzie’s Farm and Smit Orchards to stock up for carrot-apple fennel slaw.  Lacinato kale from JR Organics, an avocado from Gilbert Quintos, and toasted almonds from Hopkins AG combine in this kale slaw.  Make up your own recipe using broccoli, cabbage or kohlrabi from Vang Farms; create a dressing of artisan oil and vinegar from Gianni's, citrus fruits from Paradise Valley Ranch, and Mikolich honey. Or use local olive oil from Marion's pastured eggs from Schaner Farms if you really like the mayonnaised version.  Just make sure everything in your recipe is fresh and local - it’s the slaw of the land!

ORANGE YOU GLAD?

Though they grow pretty much year round in San Diego, oranges light up the night at farm stalls at the North Park Farmers' Market during the winter months. Versatile, sweet, and terribly healthy, organic oranges should be at the top of your shopping (and cooking) list this season.

Paradise Valley Ranch, John Gilruth's Rainbow Ranchito and R&L Farms sell their locally grown Navel and Valencia oranges, as well as juicy, easy- to-peel tangerines, and tart and sweet limes and lemons.

Orange wedges with shaved fennel and boiled or grilled chunks of Chiogga beets from Suzie's Farm make a delightfully refreshing salad. Chill the beets, and toss with tender winter lettuce or vibrant leafy greens from Maciel Family Farms and an easy vinaigrette made with orange juice and California Olive oil and vinegar.

Saute onions, garlic and ginger together and then deglaze the pan with just-pressed orange juice from Paradise Valley Ranch. Reduce the liquid to glaze pork chops and roasts from Da Le Ranch, or start with the same combo and add crushed chilis from Valdivia Farms and stir fry a batch of Kawano Farm green beans with a taste of Thailand.

Cooking with oranges makes everyone feel like a fuzzy navel, doesn't it?

Did you know that fennel actually grows wild in San Diego? A weed, but a treasure none the less, this rootvegetable will capture your heart over and over again as you fall in love with new recipes. Find bulbs and fronds of friendly fennel and more this week as you shop at the Little Italy Mercato.

Raw fennel tastes like the love child of celery and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out complex flavors and satiates our cravings for warm, tender food now with winter's return. Select a few stalks from Suzie's or Vang Farm this week and simply chop the bulb into quarters, then coat the pieces with a healthy dose of oil. We recommend trying avocado oil from Marion's or even a fine balsamic vinegar and oil from Gianni's Fine Foods. Toss with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until the outsides begin to crisp, leaving the insides warm and tender. Also, try roasting fingerling potatoes from Polito Farms with a bit of fennel seeds sprinkled on top for a sweet infusion.

For a flashier meal- experiment with this Yellowtail & Fennel Crudo recipe from Chef Brian Sinnot- An elegant, yet simple dish with fresh fennel, pomegranate seeds, and mint. Sift through the ruby round pomegranates at Lone Oak Ranch or Heritage Family Farms. Grab a bunch of mint from Schaner's, toss everything together and serve fresh. 

Fennel is that gorgeous, stalky frond that grows rampant throughout San Diego- A weed, but a treasure none the less, this root vegetable will capture your heart over and over again with new recipes. Find bulbs and fronds of friendly fennel and more this week as you shop at the Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers' Market.

Normally fennel tastes like the love child of celery and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out complex flavors and satiates our cravings for warm, tender food now with winter's return. Select a few stalks from Suzie's Farm this week and simply chop the bulb into quarters, then coat the pieces with a healthy dose of oil (have you tried the avocado oil from California Olive Oil?). Toss with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven until the outsides begin to crisp, leaving the insides warm and tender. 

For a flashier meal- experiment with this Yellowtail & Fennel Crudo recipe from Chef Brian Sinnot- An elegant, yet simple dish with fresh fennel, pomegranate seeds, and mint. Sift through the ruby round pomegranates at Lone Oak Ranch or pick out a prize from John Gilruth. You can find fresh yellowtail or other filets with Miss Sushi, and Suzie's Farm has tiny, fragrant bunches of wild mint...

Why is it a natural reaction so say "oh that's so cute"  whenever you see something that is smaller than it normally should be (like baby chickens, Smart cars, or those itsy bitsy Mexican gherkin cucumbers)? If the cucumbers got you, you'll be sure to fall hard for this season's tiny Cipollini onions at the Little Italy Mercato. Sweet and elegant, Cipollinis add amazing balance and richness to any dish. You can find some of the cutest little ones at Schaner Farms this weekend, and head home with them to make a tasty, full bodied Fall salad. 

Buy a few heirloom potatoes from Sage Mountain Farm and one or two stalks of sweet, fragrant fennel from Suzie's. Dice the onions and halve the potatoes, sauteeing them both in a Tuscan Herb Roasted Olive oil from Gianni Fine Foods. Add a bit of vegetable stock, and flat leaf parsley from JR Organics, let it simmer until the potatoes are soft. Then drain most of the liquid (saving it for your next soup, of course!), dust with a grating of Spring Hill Goat Cheddar, and serve warm, with salt and pepper to taste. 

If you want the pure flavor of the onions, roasting them with a bit of balsamic vinegar and thyme is an excellent option as well. This way, you can pair the onions with meat, chicken, or fish, or simply have an incredibly flavorful side dish to accompany soups or salads during these cooler nights. 

FINOCCHIO!

It's so fun to say, and it's the Italian name for fennel, the fragrant bulb sprouting beautiful, feathery green fronds at Suzie's Farm this time of year.  Fennel doesn't enjoy quite the same popularity here as it does in Italy, and that's a shame.  Raw fennel is adds an amazing flair to  salads. You can find a fantastic recipe here; find the crimini mushrooms at Kawano's stand, the cheese at Taste, olive oil at Bistro Blends and lemons at Paradise Valley. 

With our recent cool weather, you may also want to try braising fennel; put a little olive oil in a sautee pan, brown the fennel lightly, then add chicken or vegetable stock and braise until the fennel is soft and your house is filled with that fantastic aroma.  You may want to add leeks, thinly sliced carrots, apple slices or use our imagination to come up with your own recipe.  Have fun and enjoy your finocchio!