Market Recipes

Do you ever wonder what to do with the bounty of produce you haven't ever seen before?

I remember the first time I went to a farmer's market in a new state. There were all kinds of things I had never seen - kohlrabi, Jerusalem artichokes, squash blossoms, and many more. I wanted so much to try them all, but had no idea how they tasted, texture, how to or if they should be cooked first. These were the days before Google and smart phones, so I had to write down the names of these strange new things and go ask friends or research them at the library.

To help out, here are some recipes and links to recipes or pages for some things that you will be able to find at the market.

Spring

Kohlrabi

These alien looking veggies are related to broccoli and cauliflower. The flavor is very much like broccoli stems, but milder and sweeter. You can eat both the leaves and the bulb (which is actually the stem).

You can slice them, chop them, julienne them and add to salads or use for dipping. Versatile as they are kind of odd looking, you can also roast, steam, boil, or saute them.

Simply Recipes

They have ideas on what to do with them, a little history of the plant, and 11 recipes. 

Epicurious 

They love them so much they have 2 pages of recipes listed! Some I'm going to need to try are a salad with kohlrabi and apples and mashed with brown butter.

Summertime When The Living Is Easy

Squash Blossoms 

These tender and delicious flowers are exactly what they say they are - the blossoms from summer squash plants. You can normally only find them at farmers' markets.

There are many ways to enjoy these tasty summer treats. Slice them thinly (chiffonade) and sprinkle on soups, salads, or pasta or get more creative and try some of the recipes listed on these sites:

Brit & Co.

They have lots of great how to articles. This one links to 15 of their favorite squash blossom recipes.

Epicurious

Great website for gourmet recipes and meals. This takes you to their top 12 squash blossom recipes.

Autumn / Fall

Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)

Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes are known as perennial sunflowers by flower gardeners. you eat the tuberous roots. They are not related to artichokes in any way, but the flavor resembles an artichoke. 

They are very tasty - raw, boiled, roasted, baked, or fried. They are best when they are super hard and tend to keep well if you store them in a dry place.

 Food & Wine

Nice article that talks about how to enjoy these fresh and two different recipes for cooked sunchokes.

The Cooking Channel

Great ideas and 25 recipes.

Jicama

When I first tried jicama, it was sliced into sticks and served with hummus. Not being adventurous with food when I was younger, I stuck with that for a year or so. Then I learned the error of my ways. There are so many different things you can do with this fantastic root!

The Kitchn

Nice article on the lowly, but fabulous jicama. Lots of ideas on how to prepare it. One I haven't done before is using it in a stirfry... that is now on my list.