One of the wonderful things about shopping local at the Market is the wonderful seasonal produce. This is about as close to “farm to table” as it gets. Catch the produce at the peak of its goodness! Try new things.
Our vendors offer a wonderful diversity of products. Maybe we are not all familiar with all of them, and need help figuring out how to use them. Or maybe we are just in search of new ways of using familiar products.
Here we will begin to offer some recipe suggestions. Please feel free to send in your suggestions — what are your favorite ways to use products from Gilmanton’s Own Market, especially recipes that might be new to other people? Send your suggestions to gilmantonsown@gmail.com .
GREENS
The Market is loaded with a wide variety of greens in June! Here is a sampling of what you can find: arugula — both wild and cultivated, bok choi, chicory rossa di treviso, head lettuce, kale, micro greens, mixed greens, mixed lettuce, spinach, tatsoi.
All of this can be used raw in salads.
Bok choi, a type of cabbage, is a wonderful vegetable to use in stir fries. It’s very common in Asian cooking and has a great flavor. Here are some ideas online:
- The Spruce Eats has lots of nice recipes: Here is their page for 10 great Bok Choi recipes: https://www.thespruceeats.com/top-bok-choy-recipes-p2-695369
- Here’s another delicious and simple recipe: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/sesame-ginger-bok-choy/
Tatsoi is also a type of cabbage. It is a tender green that can be used anywhere you would use lettuce or spinach. We love it in salads to give a slightly different taste. But use it in any stir fry.
Arugula: The Market sells two different kinds of arugula — Wild and Cultivated. These are two different plants.. The cultivated variety is what you usually see in markets — it has bigger smoother leaves. The wild variety is just that — it’s wild. It grows all over the Italian countryside. They two types of arugula have somewhat different somewhat bitter tastes. Try both to decide what you like. They are both great raw in salads. But there are many ways to use it. Here are some great options: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/get-spicy-19-awesome-ways-eat-arugula
Kale: Kale is also a vegetable from the cabbage family, and is amazingly versatile. There are many different kinds, so try the different kinds!
- To use Kale in a salad, first get rid of the spine of the leaf, which can be tough. (The spines are great in cooked food, especially if you cut them up. You can tenderize kale by massaging the leaves. Literally. There is also a great Italian kale salad
- One of our favorites is a Tuscan kale salad with pine nuts; raisins or currants or dried cranberries, and pecorino or parmesan cheese: https://www.seriouseats.com/shredded-kale-salad-pine-nuts-currants-parmesan
- Here is a bunch of different kale recipes — so many look good: https://www.loveandlemons.com/kale-recipes/
Gilmanton's Own Market 